Page 86 of Fighting Conviction
Phoenix scoffed. “He ain’t gonna save ya, coward. Do as the man said.”
Strickland slowly followed Devil’s command, showing the corresponding split knuckle Devil had expected on Strickland’s doughy middle finger.
Devil glanced again at Phoenix and Hawk, both of whom had their guns and eyes half on their targets and half on him. He bent down to Strickland’s eye level and pointed at him with the muzzle of his Glock. “You know, I heard something about you.”
Strickland gulped, his terrified eyes staring between Devil and the weapon.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve done this.” Devil tilted his head at the bed before caressing Strickland’s cheek with the muzzle of his gun. “Is it?”
Hawk and Phoenix cursed. Sweat puckered from Strickland’s blanched forehead.
“Thought so. See, I wanna kill you. I do. It would be a motherfucking pleasure to wipe your pathetic ass off the face of this planet. But there’s a woman I love who’s a fuckingangel. And she asked me to spare your life.”
Strickland relaxed a fraction, maddening Devil even further. How dare this murderer get a breath of peace when he strangled it from innocents?
Devil stood and aimed for the dead center of Strickland’s chest. Just below his evil heart.
“Too bad for you, I’m the devil.”
Boom.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“There are victims to rescue, Ellie. I can’t worry about saving your hurt feelings too.”
Dev’s words shuddered through her but she couldn’t shake them. He was right and she freaking knew it. She could help and she already had. But believing she was the only one who could help was ridiculous when trained professionals were involved. She was trained but no professional. She’d never thought about being a liability to the team.
The memory of the panicked faces of her fellow survivors had been the driving force behind her stupid decision to go to the party. She’d been consumed by her need to help these new survivors as soon as they needed her. Pulling Dev’s focus away from saving them was the exact opposite of what she’d wanted. But she’d done exactly that.
Ellie breathed in an even rhythm to manage the adrenaline and guilt burning through her veins. She’d had a myriad of emotions in the five minutes she and Dev spoke. Lust, fear, anxiety, terror… mostly the last three, but the lust on top of it was very confusing and none of it was helpful.
The whole thing was a bust. She’d already gotten caught and she’d only been at the party for a few minutes. And, to top it all off, she’d made her friend mad.
When Virginia showed up with Ellie’s dress, Virginia had been in one, too. While Ellie changed en route, she’d argued with Virginia about crashing the party. The poor girl had believed Ellie’s text was an invitation. When she’d dropped Ellie off, Virginia had huffed and puffed reasons as to why she should go with Ellie, until Ellie slammed the door shut. Her stomach had twisted with guilt as she watched Virginia peel through the back parking lot.
She’ll get over it… hopefully.
Ellie didn’t want Virginia anywhere near the party Ellie had been kidnapped from. If being mean to Virginia saved a life but lost a friendship, that was a sacrifice Ellie was willing to make. She wouldn’t go through losing someone again.
She’d meant what she’d said about Strickland. Ellie couldn’t have someone else’s death on her conscience. Not even the man who murdered her best friend. It was better to have kick ass lawyers like Jules keep him in jail forever instead.
Ellie smoothed her hair back out of habit, only to remember it was pinned up. Still, the gesture was soothing in its ritual. After finding her bearings, Ellie stepped from the alcove and rolled her shoulders back. It was time she faced facts. She’d thought she could help, but if she were honest with herself, she was more a liability than a lifeline.
Ellie sighed and turned to the exit, only to bump into someone coming out of what looked like a storage room.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I—Henry?”
Officer Henry Brown gave a forced laugh and nodded to someone behind her as he balanced her.
“Whoa, hey Ellie. I’m, uh, workin’ security for the function.”
“Oh.” Ellie scrunched her eyes, trying to hide the fact she already knew. “Where’s your uniform?” It was odd to see him dressed in a black suit. She’d only ever seen him in his uniform.
“Ya like?” He smoothed down his tie before looking back at her and smiling, winking his dimple at her. “They didn’t want us wearin’ our dress blues. Probably to avoid making the guests nervous.”
“Oh, right.” Ellie nodded. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“What’re you doin’ here? I thought your brother didn’t want you to come.”
