Page 37 of The Devil After Dark
“We were so good together,” he started and I backed away. His hand snatched my wrist and pulled me flush against his body. “I need you, Liana. Things have been shit since you left. You made my world so much better.”
“It’s time for you to leave,” a man’s voice from the hall said.
My eyes snapped up to see Zac. Thank the gods Zac was here—oh fuck. What would Cassio do to me when he found out I had kissed another man?
“This isn’t your business,” Dimitri said through his teeth in response. Zac’s stance and posture told me he was used to dealing with men far worse than Dimitri.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Zac repeated as he lifted his shirt, exposing a holstered gun.
Dimitri dropped my wrist and huffed a cold laugh at Zac. Then he looked at me and shook his head. “We will have this conversation later,” he said and turned, leaving without looking back. When the lift doors closed behind him I finally felt like I could breathe a little.
“Thank you,” I whispered as I turned to Zac. I felt so ashamed I dropped my eyes to the floor. I couldn’t look at Zac. I should have felt relieved, but panic was filling my chest. Zac would tell Cassio. And there was no way Cassio would respond well to what happened.
“It’s time for you to go home. Come on,” Zac responded flatly. My shoulders sagged as I gathered my things and followed Zac to the car.
CASSIO
There was a man entering Liana’s office after business hours. She didn’t have a meeting on her calendar either. When I realized Liana was staying late, I immediately sent Zac to her office. There was no way I was risking her catching a ride with someone else again. He should be getting there any moment. My magic turned wild in my blood as I saw Liana recoil from the man as he advanced on her. Then he fucking kissed her. I furiously typed a message to Zac.
Get inside fast. There is a guy with Liana.
Moments later I saw Zac on the camera feed. I sighed in relief when the man left without further altercation. I pulled an image of him from the video feed and sent it off to my tech guy. I would have an answer on who the stranger was soon.
Liana’s abusive ex-boyfriend … ex-fiancé. The man in Liana’s office was her piece of shit ex. He left a digital trail trying to find her after she left him five years ago. It did not take much digging to find out they had been engaged and he fucked around the entire time. There were literal receipts from him paying for prostitutes and drugs.
And then there was Liana’s medical report from when they had been together too. A broken rib and black eye along with other suspicious bruises. The physician had also noted concerning behavior between Liana and Dimitri when she was at the hospital, but without Liana saying something or more evidence, the injuries could not be confirmed they came at the hands of Dimitri.
Zac had gotten there just in time. Who knows how Dimitri would have escalated the situation. Zac had informed me Liana hadbeen panicky and nearly cried on the way home. Tonight was the last night that piece of shit would lay hands on her.
LIANA
A warm body slid up to my back. Arms wrapped around me and my eyes snapped open. Warm kisses pressed against my neck below my ear a moment later. “It’s me, Angel,” Cassio whispered against my skin and my body relaxed. It was Cassio.
My relief was wiped clean in an instant as I realized he was probably here because Zac told him what happened. “Cassio … I didn’t know he was coming …” I stammered. Did Zac see Dimitri kiss me? Would he think I kissed him back? My heart was racing.
“Shh, baby. It’s okay. You’re safe from him now. He will never hurt you again,” Cassio replied. His hand turned my chin and he kissed me gently.
Hurt me? Dimitri had over stepped tonight, but he hadn’t hurt me. Turning up at my work was concerning and frightening, but he hadn’t hurt me. “What did Zac tell you?” I asked cautiously.
“He didn’t have to tell me, I watched the whole thing,” Cassio’s voice was still barely above a whisper as he kissed me between his words. He had watched? Of course, he put cameras in my home, I would not put it past him to have cameras in my office.
“You’re not mad?” I asked. I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was waiting for him to snap.
His hands held my chin firmly as he looked into my eyes. “You did nothing wrong, Angel,” he said with conviction. “He will never touch you again.”
Our sex had been slow and tender and thorough. I had even woken up in his arms in the morning. We were figuring this out. I could do nights and mornings like this. He was showing me he could be reasonable even after a questionable situation. I was floating on a renewed sense of hope for my relationship with Cassio as I walked into work.
Ivan and Stephan were huddled at Thea’s desk when I arrived at the office. “Morning!” I said brightly as I walked by.
“Hey, Liana …” Thea started. Her tone made me turn back to her. Something was wrong. “What was your ex’s name again?”
My entire body tightened. “Dimitri,” I said cautiously. Did she know he came to the office last night? Ivan and Stephan looked at each other like they were hiding something. “What’s going on?” I asked tentatively.
“Is there any way he was here in the city? I know you haven’t seen him for a while …” Thea said, not answering my question.
“What is going on?” I asked again, my voice rising with my panic. What had Dimitri done? Had he come by the office this morning?
“A guy was found dead in a hotel room this morning … he was murdered and it was pretty brutal,” Stephan blurted out.
