Page 41 of The Devils Melody
One of the onlookers is standing on the edge of the dance floor with his tie loose and face already dripping insweat. He says something to his friend and points to Wren. I can practically hear the things he’s saying just from the smug curl of his mouth. I see his fuckingintent.
I want to drag him onto the floor, rip his teeth out, and shove them down his throat. Let every asshole in this place know she’s not theirs to fantasize about. That girl down there isn’t just a fucking smokeshow, she’s ours. Mine and Kage’s. They don’t get to look at her like that. They don’t get towanther.
The heat inside me starts to bubble over. I’ve got this tight, sick feeling at the back of my skull. The line between restraint and violence is thinning, and I’m already leaning towards the wrong side. I’m about to move, to rip into these assholes and show them who Wren actually belongs to, when the air shifts around me. Something is off.
I scan the floor, and that’s when I see him, a fucking roach crawling out of the dark. Back corner, half hidden, but not enough to evade me.
Fucking Richard.
His face is bruised and swollen from the last time we saw him. He’s looking for Wren, scanning the crowd like a dog sniffing out drugs. His mouth is in a tight line, his eyes twitchy,you can tell he’s going crazy without her. He’s not here for the same reasons as everyone else, he’s here for her, and there’s not a chance in hell he’s going to take her.
His face shifts the moment his eyes land on them. Kage’s hand on her waist, Wren’s head tilted back as she laughs at something he said, unaware of the storm about to crash into her. I watch Dick’s shoulders tense up, fists balling at his sides. He’s about to do something fucking stupid.
Good. Let him try. Let me fuckingend him.
I’m already moving before the thought finishes. Mysteps are heavy on the stairs, shoulders pushing through the crowd, every step towards them is faster than the last. The thud of the music is nothing compared to the pounding in my chest. I feel wild and rabid. Something inside me has shifted and there’s no going back now. She’s mine to protect.
I lost sight of them halfway down the stairs, their bodies swallowed up by the crowd of people and flashing lights. I keep pushing untilI spot Kage in the crowd, his body still as death, but I would recognize that look anywhere. His eyes are fixed like loaded weapons, already spotting Dick before I could warn him. Fuck, the sight of him like that does something to me. It lights me up in all the wrong ways, because no one moves the way my brother does when he’s about to tear someone apart, and I want to see it. I want to watch him break that fucker apart for even thinking about touching her.
I’m seconds away from reaching them when Dick gets there first. He’s shouting something, spit flying out of his mouth as he jabs a finger into Kage’s chest. This motherfucker must have a damn death wish. I can’t hear what he’s saying over the music thundering throughout the building, but I can see the heat in his face and the veins bulging out of his neck like they’re about to burst.
Kage doesn’t flinch or say a word. He just stands there, arms crossed and calm as hell. The kind of calm that anyone with half a brain would be afraid of. But this dumb ass clearly doesn’t even have two brain cells to rub together. The lights are on, but no one’s home.
I’m proven right when Dick’s fist flies towards Kage’s face just a moment later. But Kage, the perfect bastard that he is, moves impossibly fast and ducks at the last possible second, a sick sadistic grin on his face likehefucking knewwhat Dick’s next move was.The man is predictable.
Dicks’ momentum shoots him forward, causing his fist to slam right into Wren’s face. There’s a sickening crack when his fist connects with her soft cheek, and that’s the moment when everything freezes. The music. The lights. Me.
She goes down hard. No scream or warning. Just a horrible thud as she hits the floor, and everything inside mesnaps.
All I see is fuckingred.
Kage is already on him, slamming Dick onto the floor so hard his head bounces off the tile with a loud, wet smack. The crowd explodes, bodies scattering everywhere, but I barely register them. I tear through the chaos like a fucking storm, shoving people aside, fists swinging at anyone dumb enough to get in my way.
“MOVE!” I bellow, voice ripping raw from my throat. Someone tries to grab me, and that’s a big fucking mistake. I drive my elbow into their ribs hard enough to hear something crack, then keep moving. Because all I can see is her.Wren.Crumpled on the floor, tiny and broken, her hands clutching her face. My fucking girl. I drop to my knees beside her, hands trembling as I brush her hair back, hating the way she flinches from me.
“You’re safe,” I stammer, voice shaking with rage. “I’ve got you, little phoenix. No one is going to touch you. No one.”
She whimpers and presses her forehead against my chest, and that’s it. That's the moment the last thread of restraint inside meshatters. I kiss the top of her head, one hand cradling her like she's made of porcelain. Then I stand up and turn towards Richard.
He’s struggling to get up, dazed and bloody. Good. It’ll make what comes next easier. I reach him in two strides, grab him by the collar, and haul him up as if he weighs nothing.
“You hither,you stupid piece of shit,” I growl, every word dripping pure violence. He tries to speak, but I punch him straight in the mouth, splitting his lip open and knocking him backward. Blood sprays across the floor. He stumbles, and I follow.
Another hit.
And another.
And another.
Until he’s sagging, half conscious with blood pouring from his already broken nose and mouth, my hands now wet and sticky. Everyone’s on their feet now, either trying to get the fuck out of here or screaming for someone to call security. Even the DJ cuts the music, the whole club suddenly turning into a goddamn riot. But I’m not done. Not even close.
I shove him back down to his knees and grab him by the hair, yanking his head back to look at me.
“You’re still breathing, Dick” I hiss into his ear. “And that’s a fucking problem.”
I'm about to put him through the goddamn floor, to make sure he never gets up again, when Kage’s arm clamps around my chest, dragging me back.
“Not here,” Kage snarls low against my ear, the only one strong enough to stop me. “Not yet. We need him alive.”
