Page 72 of The Devils Melody
Those two words gut me deeper than any blade ever could. Her eyes are pleading, and I realize she’s not just asking me to stay in her room. She’s asking menot to leave her.
I step closer, closing the space between us until her grip on my wrist loosens and then slides into my palm. I hold onto her hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world, fitting so perfectly in mine.
“I’m not going anywhere, phoenix,” I murmur, my voice rough with all the words I can't voice out loud. I only hope she can see it in my eyes. “C’mon, let's get you in bed.”
She crawls onto the mattress, the giant comforter swallowing her whole. She looks so damn small on this bed. Her hair is a tangled mess, her cheeks streaked from dried tears. Seeing her so fragile like this when I’m so used to her witty comebacks fucking ruins me.
Gently pulling the blanket up, I tuck it under her arms, letting my hands linger just a little too long. “You’re safe here, phoenix. No one can touch you while you’re here. Not with all the cameras around the property. This is the safest place you could be.”
“Cameras?” she questions. Why is she looking at me as if I just admitted to being a serial killer? I mean, that’s nottechnicallywhat I am, but it’s pretty fucking close.
“Why the hell do you need so many? Normal people just get a Ring doorbell, you know.”
The corner of my mouth twitches but I bite back the smile. “Because the world is a fucked up place, phoenix. Kage and I learned that early in life.”
Her brows knit together, curiosity written all over her face. “What do you mean?”
I sigh, dragging a hand through my hair. There’s no easy way to explain the full story. Shit, some of the story isn’t even mine to tell. But she deserves some kind of truth. We’re already lying to her enough as it is about who we really are. The least I could do is give her small pieces of our history.
“It was always just me and my dad when I was growing up. He’s a doctor, really strict, but a good man. He did his best to raise me on his own after my mom died.”
Her lips part, leaning in closer like she wasn’t expecting me to share something so personal.
“When I was fourteen, he met Kage’s mom. She brought Kage into the emergency room one night after her boyfriend at the time…put him there. He was twelve. Severe head trauma, broken ribs. It was bad, Wren. Really fucking bad. He was in a coma for several weeks. At least that’s what he told me. I didn’t know about any of this until I was nineteen.”
Wren gasps softly, her hand flying up to her mouth.
“My dad made sure Kage pulled through, and I guess after that he couldn’t just let them walk away. He helped her get out of that situation and fell in love with her along the way. They got married a couple months later and adopted Kage. Suddenly it wasn’t just him and I anymore. It was us. A family. For years I thought my dad just met Grace, fell in love and Kage was part of the package deal. When I met him, I thought he was just an asshole. I didn’t know he had been through so much.”
Wren’s eyes glisten as she holds back tears. “That’s actually really beautiful,” she whispers.
I give her a low chuckle. “Beautiful. Yeah, sometimes.Most of the time it’s fucking chaos. But he’s my brother and I’d bleed for him without question.”
Her expression softens, but she still looks confused. “And the cameras?” she giggles, gently pressing for more information. I hesitate before giving her the part of me I never like to talk about.
“My dad’s side of the family is…complicated. My grandfather was in deep with the Irish mafia back in the day. He was practically the king, and when my dad grew up, he wanted him to take over. ‘Run the family business’,” I throw up airquotes with my fingers. “But my dad wanted nothing to do with it. He walked away, built a clean life for us, and never looked back. But men like my grandfather don’t forgive and they definitely don’t forget.”
“So the cameras?—”
“The cameras are there because we don’t take chances. And I’m not saying that anyone is coming for us now, but I know better than to underestimate blood ties. Family like that has a way of clawing its way back into your life when you least expect it.”
There’s a pregnant pause before Wren finally sighs and murmurs, “That’s a lot, Lennox.”
“Yeah,” I give a sarcastic chuckle and shake my head. “And that’s just the PG version. Trust me, phoenix, you don’t want to hear the rest.”
Confusion flickers across her face as she looks up at me. “You keep calling me that. Why?”
“Phoenix?”
She hums in agreement, and I drop my eyes to my hands, taking a second to answer her because I’m not really sure how to. Truthfully, I started calling her phoenix because it felt right. The more time I spent around her, the more I knew it fit.
“Because you remind me of one,” I answer quietly, lifting my gaze to hers. “A phoenix burns, Wren. It burns to nothing but ash, destroyed completely. And then, it rises from it, stronger than before.” I bring my hand to cup her cheek, my thumb brushing across her bottom lip. She lets out a small breath, the soft sensation dancing across my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “That’s you. Even when life tries to break you, you don’t stay down. You fight. You rise.”
Her breathing hitches, her eyes glossing over like she might cry again, but it’s not from the pain this time. It’s because someone finally sees the strength she wields.
“Nox…” My nickname rolls off her tongue, her teeth slowly biting her bottom lip. My eyes zero in on it, and that’s when I know I’m a goner. Completely and hopelessly, gone.
Before I can stop myself, I’m leaning forward, tilting her chin up until my lips are a whisper from hers.
