Page 44 of The Devil After Dark
Remington hauled me down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was still dark outside, but the kitchen lights were on. Expletives spilled from my mouth as I thrashed more and Remington deposited me into a chair, binding me swiftly to it with rope. Once I was secured, his magic dissipated from around my limbs. “Last chance, baby girl,” Remington offered, his face level with mine. My heart was pounding in my chest and I could hardly breathe. Tears welled up in my eyes and I furiously blinked, trying to blink them away. He was going to hurt me and make Cassio watch. He was going to hurt me. “Alright then,” he said as he straightened. Then he turned my chair to face the other way—to face Cassio’s limp body tied to a chair across from me.
Cassio was unconscious. His head hung forward and blood dripped off the tip of his nose. “Cassio!” I sobbed his name. Cassiodidn’t stir.
Rome yanked Cassio’s head up by his hair and I saw the bruises on his face. Tears uncontrollably fell from my eyes. With a few slaps to his cheek Cassio came to. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, then they fell on me. “Angel?” he gasped out in panic.
“I’m okay! I’m okay,” I tried to reassure him. Remington’s hands on my shoulders and sliding around my neck to firmly grab my jaw caused me to let out an involuntary sob. He pulled back and my head cranked backwards until I was looking up at him.
“She is okay … for now, Cass,” Remington practically cooed.
“Let her go and I will sign it all over to you, Remi,” Cassio said through his teeth.
He couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t let him give up everything to this piece of scum because of me. “Don’t, Cassio. Don’t do it,” I begged him.
Remington’s laughter filled the kitchen. Then his chin is on my shoulder and his warm breath on my neck sent a shiver through my body as he whispered, “So brave. How long will it really last?” Pain drew across my shoulder in a slow burn and I realized Remington was dragging a knife across my skin. Blood dripped from the wound and I gasped as my heart pounded so hard I thought I might pass out. Cassio was screaming. I didn’t even hear what Cassio was screaming as Remington used the knife to turn my chin to face him. “I will make you beg him to sign everything over,” Remington promised.
I watched him stand and smirk down at me. Cassio was yelling profanity and threats and Remington just looked completely smug with himself. “You don’t even know how to make a woman orgasm. Why would I believe you could make me beg for anything?” I spit at him with as much venom as I could muster.
The smirk on Remington’s face turned to pure anger. I saw stars as the back of his hand connected with my cheek. The tears kept coming and I tasted blood. Pain shot through my scalp as Remington grabbed a handful of hair and yanked my head back. Isqueezed my eyes closed. I could not look at him. I was trying to be brave and I just couldn’t. “I will fucking sign, Remi! Don’t fucking touch her!” Cassio screamed.
My head jerked forward as Remington shoved away from me. I brought my eyes up to Cassio. “Just look at me, Angel,” Cassio urged. “You are going to be okay, just look at me.” Gods I wanted to believe him.
“You want her to look at you? I’ll let her look at you,” Remington seethed as he cut me free from the ropes binding me to the chair. His strong hands grabbed me and lifted me with ease before slamming me onto my back on the kitchen table. The scream that erupted from me was uncontrollable. My head cracked against the table as Remington’s hand shoved my cheek into the wood so I was looking straight at Cassio. I thrashed with all my might as I felt my clothes being ripped and torn.
“No!” Cassio was screaming just as loud as I was.
A gunshot echoed in the room and my body curled on itself involuntarily as another two in quick succession rang out. A crushing weight landed on top of me and I scrambled to shove it away—to shove Remington’s dead body off me. I was sobbing and screaming as I freed myself from his limp weight and rolled away, falling off the table. My knees and wrists barked with pain at the impact of hitting the floor, but I pushed myself to my feet as quickly as I could. Arms enveloped me, firmly encasing me against a hard warm body. Then I felt warm metal press against my temple.
forty-eight
CASSIO
Remington’s bodydropped as blood sprayed from the hole in his head. “Liana!” I screamed as another two shots exploded in the room. I whipped my head around fast enough to see Rome clutching his chest as he fell to the floor, blood coloring his shirt crimson. In the same breath my eyes flicked to the doorway. Merrick Delacourt was stepping into the room and lowering his gun. Everything was in slow motion as he crossed my kitchen towards Liana, who was scrambling away from Remi’s dead body. In an instant Merrick had Liana in his arms and his gun to her head.
“I do hate snakes,” Merrick said into the now eerily quiet room as he looked at the dead bodies he created. Two of his lackeys stepped through the door and took up a position like they were guarding it. “How’s it going, Cassio?” Merrick asked as if none of this was going on. As if he had not just walked into my home—that he should not even know exists—shot two men and now held a fucking gun to my woman’s head. “Right, you have probably had better days. Well, you are welcome for dealing with this bullshit,” he said as he gesturedcarelessly with his gun towards Remington and Rome. Both of them were unmistakably dead. Remi’s brains were sprayed across the table and the wall behind where he had been standing. There was a pool of blood under Rome that no one could survive.
Merrick pushed Liana’s chin with his gun so her face turned towards his. The smirk on his face made my stomach turn over. I watched him lick his lips, then he turned back to me. “Remington here came to me with an interesting proposal, you know. Sold you out, which is surprising. Seems like he finally realized how great it would be to actually be you instead of work for you. One problem though, if he’s willing to sell you out, imagine what he would do to the rest of us.”
Merrick motherfucking Delacourt had just saved us from Remington and Rome. But who was going to save us from Merrick? I was tied to this chair and my magic wasn’t coming back until the tranquilizer was out of my system. It would probably be another twenty-four hours before my magic was fully back. Whatever reason Merrick had for being here was likely far worse than what we were just going through.
“Merrick, it’s nice of you to stop by,” I said as calmly as I could. My eyes caught on his fingers splaying across Liana’s abdomen and her body tensing. Liana looked absolutely terrified, her lower lip was trembling, but she was completely silent. I raised my gaze to hers and my chest tightened at the fear I saw in her eyes. I looked back to Merrick. “I clearly owe you a thank you for handling this unfortunate situation. How about we discuss it over drinks.”
Merrick laughed and used his gun to scratch his eyebrow. “It’s not that complicated, Cassio. We can discuss it right here. The deal has changed. You get to keep your empire and I don’t tell the other council seat holding families you’ve been picking off our people one by one. In exchange, you agree to a truce between our families and Liana here comes with me as payment for the blood you’ve spilled,” Merrick said as a cruel smile crossed his face.
There it was. He wasn’t just going to take Liana. That grin told me he already had plans for her. My heart felt like it was going to stop beating as I realized what he likely wanted her for. “What do you need a lesser human woman for, Merrick. Seems beneath you,” I replied as calmly as I could. My blood was boiling. I had gone through great measures to keep Liana safe and now here we were—turns out I was the biggest danger to her after all. I should have stayed away from her. I should have stayed away until I had killed all of them.
Merrick used the barrel of his gun to move Liana’s hair over her shoulder before pressing the muzzle under her chin. “Do you know how much money I will make at the next Claiming when people find out the prize is your woman, Cassio?”
My stomach dropped into my ass and rage coursed through me as I thrashed at my bindings, causing the chair to scoot a few inches across the floor. “Not happening,” I growled.
“Looks like you don’t get a choice,” Merrick laughed. “Don’t break our agreement or what happens to her will be for nothing.”
“I have agreed to nothing,” I spat back at him, yanking my arms as hard as I could against the rope. I could feel the blood dripping from where the rope cut into the skin at my wrists, but I just pulled harder.
“You know, I thought we might finally be getting along. I enjoyed my time here in your territory. You’ve got a great city and even better women. This one in particular caught my eye the first night I saw her in your club,” Merrick said as he twirled Liana’s long hair around the barrel of his gun. “I became quite obsessed after I saw her at the fundraiser for the hospital. Imagine my disappointment when I learned she was yours. Eh, well, not as disappointing as finding out from Remington what you have been up to. You did this. Remember that. I’ll see you around, Cass,” Merrick replied with a grin. Then his arm tightened around Liana’s middle and she screamed my name as he yanked her with him.
“Merrick!” I screamed after him as he dragged Liana from the room. I could hear her screaming for him to let her go and the sounds of pictures being torn from the wall and smashing on the floor. She was fighting back. Suddenly she was silent. “Merrick!” I bellowed after him again as I fought against my bindings.
Vehicles peeled out on the gravel driveway and I thrashed in my chair harder. I only succeeded in tipping the chair and slamming my shoulder onto the floor. I screamed into the silence of my home. The next Claiming was in two days. I had two days to save her.
