Page 29 of Dead Devil's Playground
With a sharp flick, I slash through the fabric of his shirt, opening a shallow crease across his back. He jerks against the straps, a strangled cry escaping.
“That was just a taste,” I breathe, leaning in so only he can hear. “Again. Who hired you?”
His shoulders shake. “I—I swear, I told you—”
I slice again, parallel to the first cut. Warm blood puddles at the edge of his shirt. “Not good enough.”
Marcus gasps, but before he can beg, something in his eyes shifts. The panic drains away. He straightens, lifts his chin. The air around him seems to crackle.
“How was my acting? I took drama in school. You think that hurts?” he says, voice calm and cold. “You think this little dance matters?” A slow smile twists his lips. “I watched them all die. Your precious customers, writhing and choking on what I sold them. Their screams… music for the cause.”
I freeze, knife hovering. His voice is steady now, devoid of fear. “You’re dead devils,” he continues softly. “All of you. Just lie down and die already.”
Blood pulses at my fingertip where I grip the blade. My heart hammers—rage, betrayal, something darker—surging through me. I plunge the knife back in without thinking.
Time fractures into a brutal rhythm: question, cut, his laughter, grime and gore painting my hands. I drive each stroke to hear his voice crack, to prove he bleeds, to force something more from him. Skin parts, muscle yields, and he still smiles, drenched in his own poison.
Rev’s shifts out of the corner of my eye, silent witness to my fury. Kai’s low chuckle floats from behind me, warm against my back. Their presence hammers my fury into focus.
I carve deeper and his grin falters, replaced by a stunned whisper: “I’ll… never… tell… you…”
“Of course you won’t,” I snap, and the knife sings through his skin. Blood arcs across concrete in slow motion, the scent—metallic and sacred—filling my lungs.
I twist the blade, watching bone and tissue split. His eyes flicker, glassy, as the world narrows to this dance of steel and blood.
Then at last, he goes still. I blink, coming back to myself slowly. The knife handle is slippery in my grasp, tacky with drying blood. I look down at the corpse that was Marcus, at the masterpiece I've carved into cooling flesh, and feel nothing but frustration.
"Fuck," I mutter, wiping the blade clean on what remains of his shirt. "He was never going to talk."
Kai laughs behind me, the sound rich with appreciation. "Worth it to watch you work," he murmurs, sliding his arms around my waist. His body is hard against my back, his arousal evident. "The way you move when you've got a knife in your hand... it's like watching art in motion."
Rev steps closer, his eyes dark with desire as they rake over my blood-spattered form. "Nothing hotter than watching you lose control like that," he agrees, voice dropping to that register that makes my skin prickle.
I'm covered in blood, most of it not mine. It's warm and sticky between my fingers, drying in flakes on my forearms. The crimson puddle beneath the chair reflects the harsh overhead lights, making the floor look like it's covered in rubies.
"The coffee shop—" I start, but Rev's hand slides into my hair, yanking my head back.
"Hudson's handling it," he growls against my ear, his breath hot on my skin. "Right now, you're ours."
The exhaustion that's been clinging to my bones suddenly feels like electricity, like lightning crackling through my veins. I should be horrified at how quickly my body responds—at how the sight of blood and death makes me ache every time with need instead of recoil with disgust—but I'm beyond caring. Beyond shame.
I turn in Kai's arms, pressing my blood-slick palms against his chest. "I need—" I don't have to finish. They always know what I need.
Rev's hands find my hips, spinning me around to face him. His pupils are blown wide, only a thin ring of color remaining. "We know exactly what you need, baby girl."
His mouth crashes into mine, teeth scraping my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. The coppery taste mingles with the scent of Marcus's blood, creating a heady cocktail that makes my head spin. Kai presses against my back, his hands already working at my clothes.
Between them, I'm stripped bare in seconds, my skin prickling with goosebumps in the cool air of the room. The concrete is cold beneath my feet, but I barely notice, too consumed by the heat of their bodies surrounding me.
"So beautiful," Kai murmurs, trailing kisses down my neck as Rev drops to his knees before me. "All covered in blood and violence."
Rev's hands grip my thighs, pushing them apart. I brace myself against Kai's solid chest as Rev's mouth finds me, his tongue insistent and demanding against my already slick flesh. A moan tears from my throat, my head falling back against Kai's shoulder.
"That's it," Kai encourages, one hand sliding up to cup my breast, pinching my nipple between his fingers. "Let us hear you."
Rev works me with his mouth, skilled and relentless, bringing me to the edge too quickly. Just as I'm about to fall, he pulls back, leaving me gasping and desperate.
"Not yet," he says, rising to his feet, his lips glistening. "On your knees."
