The Devil: Cards of Love

by Jade, Ashley

  Detective Trejo steeples his hands and places them on the table. He went to high school with my dad and they stayed friends throughout the years, so I know the loss is hitting him hard. Unfortunately for me, it means he’s personally invested in the case.

  “Son,” he says slowly, like I’m a goddamn idiot. “When people perish in a fire, there are certain things you expect to find in regards to the body. Your father, for instance, had soot in his throat and lungs. He was also found crouched on the floor of his bedroom facing the door, which indicates he was trying to escape when he passed.”

  My expression changes to one of anguish. “Why didn’t he jump out the window?” I rub my forehead, forcing myself to breathe. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…it’s just…”

  He holds up a hand. “It’s all right. Anger is part of grieving. And to answer your question, it’s most likely because the house was already engulfed in flames by the time he woke up, making it impossible to see a path to safety.” He frowns. “The autopsy report showed traces of an over the counter sleeping pill. Not enough to cause damage, but more than the standard amount recommended. That combined with the fire would result in him being highly disoriented.”

  Blowing out a breath, I look up at the ceiling. “He mentioned he was stressed with work and having trouble sleeping during dinner that night. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but if I did maybe he’d still be here.”

  He holds up a hand. “Your father wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. There’s no way you could have known what was going to happen.”

  Gripping the back of my neck, I look down at the table. “Right.” My brows furrow. “Sorry, you were trying to tell me something important about my brother before. What was it?”

  “Ah, yes.” He folds his hands on the table again. “The autopsy determined your father was killed during the fire. Caleb’s death, however, is a different story.”

  I blink. “How so?”

  “There were no traces of soot in his throat or lungs, and his carbon dioxide levels were inconsistent with those who die in fires. Also, the position he was found in was…abnormal given the nature of the situation.”

  My palms begin to sweat again. “Abnormal how?”

  “He was found lying in a supine position on his bed. Granted, your brother’s room was farthest from where the fire started in the kitchen, but he still suffered some exterior burns.” He gives me a solemn look. “Cain, what I’m about to tell you is serious.”

  My heart is pounding so fast I’m surprised he can’t hear it from where he’s sitting. “I’m listening.”

  He puts down his pen. “Given the unusual findings, the medical examiner is confident your brother did not die in the fire…but before it. There were signs—for instance, his bloodshot eyes—that give him reason to believe Caleb was intentionally suffocated and the fire was staged as a coverup.”

  “Wait, you’re saying someone killed my brother?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this is if you’re completely honest with me. Understand?”

  I nod.

  He places his notepad in front of him. “Does Caleb have any enemies? Someone he doesn’t get along with?”

  My mouth goes dry. “No, none that I can think of. Everyone loved him. He was awesome.”

  “Cain.”

  “Yes?”

  “I know it’s hard, but I really need you to think.”

  “I’m telling you the truth, Detective. Caleb didn’t have any enemies.”

  He runs his finger over his lips. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “He’s your identical twin. Perhaps someone holding a grudge against you thought he was you.”

  “I thought you said he was in his bedroom? We have separate bedrooms. Why would someone think he was me?”

  He shrugs. “Maybe someone broke in without knowing the layout of the house.”

  “Wouldn’t that be risky?” I take a shallow breath. “Not to be disrespectful, but if someone is going to commit such a heinous act, you would assume they’d take the proper measures to ensure they wouldn’t get caught.”

  His eyes narrow. “I’ve been working homicide for over fifteen years, Cain. Trust me when I tell you…every murderer leaves a clue behind. And it’s up to people like me to find it.” He sits up straight. “Can you think of anyone who might want to harm you?”

  “No. I don’t have any enemies either. I mean, my ex-girlfriend isn’t too fond of me right now, but she’d never harm me. Plus, she knows exactly where my bedroom is, so she’d never mistake me—” My eyes widen. “Shit.”

  The detective practically hops over the table. “What?”

  “Nothing.” I close my eyes. “It’s nothing.”

  “Cain, if you know something—”

  “I made a promise to my brother and I’m not breaking it.”

  “Your silence does him no good if it could solve his murder.”

  “But I promised him I wouldn’t tell a soul.” I trace an invisible pattern on the table with my finger. “If something like this got out it could ruin people’s lives.”

  “People’s lives are already ruined. Your silence only ensures it will ruin more.”

  I look around the room. “Can I have some water?”

  Walking over to the small desk in the corner, he picks up a pitcher and a paper cup, then places them in front of me.

  I take my time filling it. I want him on the edge of his seat, waiting for me to drop this nugget on his lap.

  “Before I tell you, can you assure me it will stay between us? It’s just…Caleb had a good reputation in the community. I don’t want to destroy it.”

  “I understand. I assure you whatever you tell me won’t be made public knowledge. Unless it leads to an arrest, in which case I can’t guarantee certain details won’t get out.”

  “I don’t think that will be the case. But you said if I knew something to tell you, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Caleb was involved with a teacher at our school.”

  “Involved in what manner?”

  I give him a look. “The inappropriate kind.”

  He presses his pen to the pad. “What’s her name?”

  “Mrs. Miller. I don’t know her first name, but she teaches—”

  “Science over at the high school.”

  “Yeah, and her husband is an assistant football coach.”

  “I know. He does some electrical work—” He clears his throat and I can practically see the wheels in his head turning. “Sorry, go on.”

  “Mrs. Miller and Caleb were involved for a little while. Things between them were getting…intense. To be frank, he was in over his head. And she…” My sentence trails off and I look away.

  “She what?”

  My jaw tics. “She kept dangling the carrot in front of his face. She’d end things one week…only to lead him on the next. It was making him a little mental, to be honest. Especially when Caleb found out he wasn’t the only student she was screwing.”

  Detective Trejo nearly spits out his coffee. “Oh?”

  I nod. “Yeah. My father warned us about getting caught up with women like that, but Caleb didn’t listen.” I shrug. “Can’t really blame him, she is beautiful.”

  “Beauty doesn’t absolve someone of their offenses. Please continue.”

  “The other student she was messing with…he’s my friend. That’s how I found out.”

  “What’s your friend’s name?”

  “Damien King.”

  He makes a noise in the back of his throat as he writes down his name on the pad. “How did your brother react when he found out?”

  I wince. “He was pissed. Not at Damien, because they were friends too, but Mrs. Miller. He told me her sleeping with another student was the equivalent of her cheating on him.”

  He raises a brow. “But she’s married.”

  I slap the table. “I know. That�
�s exactly what I said.” I sigh heavily. “This is the part I’m scared to tell you about…it doesn’t paint him in a positive light.”

  “No matter what your brother did, he is still the victim in this situation. However, I can’t help him if you don’t tell me everything.”

  “You’re right.” I drum my nails on the desk. “He didn’t take the news well. He threatened to tell her husband about her affairs if she didn’t divorce him by the time Caleb graduated.” I roll my eyes. “I tried to talk some sense into him, but he was convinced everything would be perfect if she left her husband. He was so obsessed with her, he didn’t realize she was only using him.” My stomach clenches. “I think she liked all the attention he gave her, probably made her feel special.”

  “I see.” He puts his pen back down. “Do you know when your brother first became involved with her?”

  I shake my head. “No, not exactly. I only found out about them last month during his—our—eighteenth birthday. She came over in the middle of the night and I ended up walking in on them while they were…you know…in his bedroom.” I screw up my face, pretending to think. “If I had to take a guess, I’d say about three months or so. That’s when he started acting a little weird. Like he was hiding something.”

  “So your brother was a minor?”

  “Look, Detective. I know what you’re getting at, but I’m not looking to get her in trouble. I don’t like that she led my brother on, but he was a very willing participant.” I hitch a shoulder up. “She’s actually kind of cool. She was the fortune teller at the spring fling two weeks ago and did a reading on me and my date, Julia. Julia loved it and—”

  A knock on the door cuts me off mid-sentence. “Sorry to interrupt,” a voice behind me says. “This is important.”

  Detective Trejo rises from his seat. “Excuse me, Cain. I’ll be back shortly.”

  With that, he walks out.

  Placing my head in my hands, I exhale heavily, blinking back tears. I’m not stupid, this might not be an official interrogation, but I know every move I make is being watched and scrutinized whether a detective is in here with me or not. And right now? I’m supposed to be grieving my losses.

  About fifteen minutes later Detective Trejo walks back in. I’m not sure what to make of the look on his face.

  “I’m going to need to keep you here a little while longer.” He sits down on the seat across from me. “There’s been a crack in the case.”

  My blood pressure rises, but I force myself to remain calm. “What happened?”

  I can see him mulling something over in his head before he speaks. “You mentioned Mrs. Miller was a fortune teller at your high school dance, correct?”

  “Yeah, like I said, she gave me and my date a reading.” I raise a brow. “Why?”

  He rubs his chin. “Did she use tarot cards by any chance?”

  “She did actually. She said they belonged to her grandmother who used to do it for a living.” I make a face. “But I don’t understand what any of that has to do with the fire and Caleb’s death.”

  “The investigators found something unusual—or rather—two unusual things under Caleb’s pillow.”

  “Like what?”

  “From what they can tell it’s a pair of women’s underwear…and what appears to be a tarot card.”

  Chapter 28

  Damien

  Past…

  A hand cupping my balls makes me wake with a jolt. When I open my eyes, Cain’s looking down at me, smiling. “Hey, buddy. Long time no see.”

  Pushing his hand away, I swing my legs over the bed and sit up. “Where have you been?”

  It’s been forty-eight hours since I last saw or heard from him …and today, Mrs. Miller was arrested at school.

  At first, I thought it was because of her fondness for fucking students, but whispers started circulating that she’s been charged with Caleb’s murder.

  Which doesn’t make any fucking sense. At all.

  Cain starts walking around the room, idly touching my things. “Sorry, I’ve been a little busy talking to investigators and planning a double funeral.” He gives me a lopsided smile. “Looks like your stalker skills are getting rusty.” He saunters toward the bed. “I think you liked me better when you couldn’t have me.”

  I reach for my cigarettes and light one. “I liked you better when you were honest with me.”

  He takes the cigarette from my lips and takes a drag. “What makes you think I’m not being honest with you?”

  I snatch it back from him. “Mrs. Miller was arrested today.” He goes for the string on my sweatpants, but I swat his hand away. “Did you hear what I said?”

  He drops to his knees before me. “Does that upset you?”

  “It doesn’t make me happy. People are saying she was arrested for your brother’s murder.”

  He plants a line of open-mouth kisses down my abs. “I know.” My dick stirs as he ventures lower. “Such a shame.” There’s a twinkle in his eye as he looks up at me. “I had no idea she was fucking my brother, too. That would have made for some real kinky shit. Talk about a missed opportunity.”

  I bite my lip when he nips my thigh through my sweatpants. “We both know she wasn’t fucking him. And she definitely didn’t kill him.”

  My cock twitches when his mouth slides along the outline of my hardening dick. “Are you sure? Because according to Detective Trejo, the DNA on the pair of panties found under his pillow matched hers…and the tarot card came from her deck.” He unties the string to my sweatpants. “They think she crawled into his bed, seduced him, and then when he least expected it…suffocated him with a pillow.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “And then mysteriously caused a short circuit that led to a fire?”

  He pulls on the elastic and my cock springs out, oblivious to the severity of the conversation.

  “I mean, she is a science teacher after all. Not to mention, her husband’s an electrician. I’m sure he taught her a few things.” He kisses my tip and edges back slightly. My balls twitch when I see the string of pre-cum connecting us before he licks it away. “Kind of like how you taught me a few things.”

  “Cain.” I wait for him to look at me. “Lie to everyone else, but don’t lie to me.”

  He closes his eyes and sighs. “Look, I panicked, okay? The only way to save you was to throw her under the bus in the interrogation room.”

  I’m about to point out that he planted her panties and the card underneath Caleb’s pillow before he was ever interrogated, but I’m too caught off guard by his statement.

  “Save me? They thought I did it?”

  Cain gives me a languid stroke. “I don’t know, but when I mentioned I stayed at your house the night of the fire and you were my alibi, the detective kept grilling me about you.” He plants a line of kisses up and down my shaft. “I know you don’t have a great history with the local police department, and I wanted to protect you…as well as myself. However, the only way to do that was to divert their attention to someone else.”

  “Why Mrs. Miller?”

  He shrugs. “The police are more likely to think someone’s guilty if they have a track record of doing shady things. Hence why they were looking at you. However, a teacher cheating on her husband with multiple students is way shadier than a teenager with drugs. Don’t you think?”

  “There are plenty of corrupt people in this town,” I remind him. “I don’t see why you had to pin it on an innocent woman who gets beat on by her husband.”

  Cain scowls. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were in love with her and you’d rather her stay out of jail than me.”

  He starts to get up, but I haul him back down. “You know I’m on your side no matter what. I’m just trying to wrap my head around what’s happening.”

  Smirking, his eyes drop to my dick. “Me too.” He laps the vein on the underside of my shaft. “I’m sorry about Mrs. Miller, but it was the only way.” He shoves me so I’m lying down. “Let me make it up to you.”<
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  My hand goes to his hair, gripping the short strands as he works me slowly, drawing out my pleasure.

  Cain might be wrong for what he did, but I get it. We’re two sides of the same coin after all. That’s part of the draw between us. No one in the world will get me like he does and vice versa.

  Cain throwing Mrs. Miller to the wolves was nothing personal. He needed a fall guy, and unfortunately for her, she was it. Had he told me he was going to murder his abusive father and brother, I’d have steered him toward a different target to pin it on—but that’s not how it played out.

  The only thing I can do now is protect the both of us.

  “They’re probably gonna want to talk to me at some point,” I say as I watch his head bob up and down. “Mind filling me in on what you said so our stories match?”

  He releases me with a wet pop. “I told Detective Trejo, Mrs. Miller was sleeping with Caleb and he became obsessed with her.” He tongues my cockhead. “And when he found out she was sleeping with another student, he lost it and threatened to tell her husband.” He winks. “Thus, giving her motive.”

  I look down the length of my body at him. “Did you mention the student’s name?”

  “No.” His mouth drops to my balls and I suppress a groan. “But they’re probably going through her phone records as we speak, so prepare yourself to get called in.” His teeth graze my length and I hiss. “Don’t worry, though. I told the detective you and Caleb were friends and he wasn’t mad at you. He was mad at her for being a stupid whore.”

  “She’s not a stupid whore. She’s just a person who doesn’t always make the right choices. She’s human.”

  So is Cain.

  And deep down, no matter how good we think we are…we’re all a little evil inside.

  The devil was once an angel. Not the other way around.

  “Look, I know you liked her, but Mrs. Miller isn’t the only woman in the world to take your mommy issues out on. There are plenty of other Mrs. Miller’s we can fuck,” he says between long sucks. “But even if there weren’t, you’ll always have me. I’ll take good care of you, Damien.” I roll my hips when the tip of his tongue finds the sensitive spot between my sac and ass. “I’ll stay perched on my pedestal looking down on you. I’ll never ignore you like she did.”