Page 47 of The Demon in Him

“You’re kidding,” he spat the words out.

Earl smiled, a lopsided grin exposing sharp, yellowing teeth, more on one side of his mouth than the other. “Amusing, yes?”

“No,” Emrick said, and at my raised eyebrow, he explained. “Darkside was one of my clubs. It was burned down, and there’s nothing but a shell left.”

Earl clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek, clearly enjoying the exchange and intensity flowing through the air between the group. “I’d love to stick around for the fun, but this town has become messy. I have connections elsewhere, so I need to start making plans to move.”

“Where are you going to go?” Ilsa asked, her tone filled with suspicion instead of curiosity.

“Like I’d tellyou.”

“Come on,” I said, waving my hand before lowering it quickly as the black spots had begun to appear across my skin. The idea that Jacob was so close but in such danger was surging through my blood, and with every step I took, my demon screamed and clawed to get out and take control of the situation.

But I knew what that would look like—all blood, violence, and no thought—and I couldn’t risk Jacob getting caught in the crossfire.

Or seeing me for what I truly am.

As we turned to leave, Emrick asked Earl, “Why did you leave my product when you took the girl? Why try to frame me? I can’t imagine what you have to gain from that.”

Earl shrugged, his lips curling again into an unsettling smile. “It was funny, no?”

Emrick snarled at him. “Get the fuck out of my city.” And we left with the sound of Earl’s dark chuckling following us out the door.

TATE

A literal cage, they appeared to be designed to house some sort of large animal but were instead for the dancers who used to occupy this bar. Once upon a time, it was a simple pub, but there’s more money to be made when there are half-naked women dancing, so Emrick had the cages installed, lockable, to keep the dancers safe from the drunken shenanigans of the patrons. It was amusing as hell to see Nikki, my dear sister, in there, gripping the bars and staring at me with an expression crossed between anger, disbelief, and fear.

It was the last part that was my favorite, and I looked forward to making it worse.

Her white-blonde hair, the same shade as mine, fell over her shoulders, and despair crept into her mind the longer she was there. She would occasionally open her mouth like she was going to say something, then close it, and simply continue to watch me.

Slumping down against the wall opposite the cage, I watched her, balancing the knife’s handle on my knee and turning it, ignoring the small drop of blood that formed against my fingertip as it spun.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

Nikki watched me for a beat longer. “Why are you doing this?”

“Everything that was meant to be mine, Dad took away because of you, and I’ve spent the better part of a decade fighting to get it ready to take back.”

“I didn’t have any say in what Dad did. I didn’t even know who he really was until after he died.”

Standing abruptly, I dropped the blade, snickering at how Nikki backed against the other side of the cage as I approached. I lifted my gun out of the back of my pants, twirling it around so it caught the light against the few parts that weren’t covered in grime. “Do you recognize this?” Nikki shook her head, and I tutted. “It’s the only thing Dad ever gave to me. How sweet it would be to use it to kill the daughter he loved as much as he hated me.”

“Why? Why now?”

“Two of my worlds have collided, and the opportunity to make the most of it and bring you both together was too delicious to pass up.”

Nikki cast a sideways glance at the man in the cage next to her, his thick blond hair covered his face, his cheek pressed against the cement. Unconscious. “Who is he?”

“He’s my ex’s new squeeze.”

“Thomas,please.”She cautiously approached the cage wall closest to me as though she were advancing on a wild animal.

“Don’t call me by that name,” I snarled out. Thomas was gone. Thomas was the man who thought he would inherit his father’s business, the man who thought his father was strong enough not to get taken by the charms of an Aryan beauty, the woman who brought Nikki into our lives.

“Please,” she whispered, her hands once again wrapping around the bars, delicate fingers against the cold steel that kept her captive. “Don’t do this. I never hated you.”

“ButIhatedyou.I hated everything about you. I wanted tosellyou. You and your pretty white-blonde hair would fetch a high price with Dad’s clients.”

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