Page 159 of Dance With A Devil
He jolts, spins, sees us.
“Who the fuck?”
I tear the mask off.
He pales.
“You know exactly who I am, Gerald. Don’t play dumb, it’s unbecoming. I’m Wyck. And you just ran out of time.”
He stands tall, but his face twists into something mocking. “Ah… the Devils of Cliffside. I almost didn’t recognize you. You’ve grown from that pathetic little shit your father dragged around into something halfway dangerous.”
Mentioning my father earns him a broken nose.
My fist connects with a wet crunch, and blood sprays his cigar-stained teeth.
“Wrong again. You heardplentyabout us, from the Elders. But we’re not them. We don’t play pretend. We rewrite rules in blood.”
That’s when the door behind me opens, and Gage enters.
Dragging someone with him.
Perfect timing.
Erica.
Gerald’s face contorts when he sees her.
“Erica? What the hell are you-”
The shock. The betrayal. The fear.
Exactly what I wanted.
I grin.
“This is what happens when you try to steal from Devils. You lose everything, slowly. Painfully. And in the end, all that’s left is you… alone in the fire.”
Gerald stares at me like he’s finally seeing the truth.
That he was never in control.
He was prey from the moment he touched something that belonged to us.
And tonight?
We feed.
“The real question is, ” Erica’s voice cuts through the room like a blade. “What the fuck areyoudoing here, darling? Thought you were off playing executive in Chicago this week.”
Gerald lets off a tight, pathetic chuckle, fumbling for the lie. “I was. I… had to tie up some things here before heading back.”
“No,” I say, stepping forward, voice like smoke and razors. “You’re not headinganywhereafter tonight.”
Erica doesn’t even blink. She circles him slowly, predatory, like she’s walking a carcass. “You always have a reason, don’t you? Always some bullshit excuse that falls out of your mouth like clockwork. I used to let it slide. Used to tell myself a pretty little lie to keep swallowing your filth.”
Gerald’s jaw tightens, trying to play unaffected. “And what lie was that?”
She stops directly in front of him, close enough he can smell the betrayal leaking from her smile. “That I loved you.” A pause. “But now? I remember why I stayed.”
