Devil She Became (Devil's Angels Book 1)

by Autumn Raynne

  Looking more closely, she noticed the huge, wooden door was ajar slightly. That’s very strange, Reese thought. Maybe he left, forgot something and ran back inside. Tentatively, Reese pushed the heavy door open. “Darrell?” she called out. Her voice rang out through the huge reception hall. “Darrell!” She continued to call out as she moved slowly about the home. Suddenly, a huge calico cat jumped out at her.

  “Oh, God!” she screamed in fright. “You scared me!” she scolded the cat. The cat rubbed itself on her long legs, meowing. A deep chill shivered up her spine. Something was wrong. Walking into the kitchen, she saw dirty dishes were piled in the sink that looked as if they had been there for days.

  Seeing Darrell’s home in such a state of disarray, Reese became more and more concerned. Maybe I should leave, she thought. This is too weird.

  Reese started to leave as something in the study caught her eye. Smoldering embers in the fireplace cast a low glow to the dark room. So he must have been here fairly recently, Reese thought. Then she heard water running upstairs. That’s it! He must be in the shower.

  “Darrell?” Reese walked up the stairs. She came to the double doors of the master suite. She knocked. “Darrell? It’s Reese. I have to talk to you.” She pushed the door and found that it swung open with ease.

  Clothes were scattered everywhere, the bed was unmade and the sheets rumpled. She discovered the carpet was soaking wet as her heels sank into the deep pile. Water was running out of the master bathroom into the bedroom. Suddenly, she became very frightened. Maybe he fell in the shower and hit his head, she thought.

  Peering around the corner, Reese’s heartbeat thudded hard in her chest. A scream caught in her throat.

  Darrell was lying there facedown and naked in a pool of congealed red blood. Water and blood converged at the doorway to the bathroom making a deep pink stain in the carpet. Reese screamed over and over again.

  “Darrell, oh, my God!” She immediately realized he was dead. Multiple deep puncture wounds peppered his back. His hands seemed to be reaching up to the shower door as if to lift himself up when had he collapsed. A blood-stained towel lay nearby. Horrified with the knowledge that he was not only dead, but had obviously been murdered, Reese ran from the house screaming. Shaking so hard she could hardly stand, Reese fell into her car.

  “Harrison!” She screamed as he answered.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Harrison was alarmed by her hysterical voice.

  “Darrell!” She gasped. “D-Darrell,” she stammered.

  “Darrell what?”

  “He’s dead… he’s dead, Harrison.” She sobbed.

  “How do you know?” he demanded.

  “I saw him!” She cried.

  Harrison was extremely alarmed. “Where are you, Reese? What’s happened?”

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m here… at Darrell’s… I wanted to see if he knew where Ava was… for you.” Reese broke down in sobs.

  “Hang on; I will be right there. Can you text me the address?” Harrison became frantic.

  “Don’t touch anything. Stay in your car. I will be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “Okay,” Reese was still sobbing. She closed her eyes and crawled into her backseat to lie down and wait for him.

  A tapping at her window made Reese jump up screaming from the backseat.

  “It’s me, baby,” Harrison opened the door and grabbed her. Embracing him, she cried in his arms.

  “Now tell me what happened. You’re ok. I’m here now.”

  Reese struggled to calm herself and speak coherently. “I… I… I knocked on the door.”

  “How did you get in?”

  “It was ajar. I pushed it open and went inside.”

  “Why did you go in if he didn’t answer?”

  “I was concerned because it was open.”

  “But I told you not to come here in the first place.”

  “What the fuck is this? An interrogation? I told you why! I wanted to find Ava. I thought he might know something.” Reese became angry, pushing him away.

  “Calm down, Reese. Just tell me what happened.” Harrison tried to remain calm.

  Taking a deep breath, Reese tried to describe what she saw. “I went in the house and called his name. I didn’t hear anything, so I stopped.”

  Harrison nodded for her to continue.

  “So when I went into the kitchen, it looked like no one had been in there for a few days. Dishes everywhere. It looked very messy. I started to feel like something was very wrong. His car was parked in the driveway, the gate was open and the front door was ajar, but it looked like he wasn’t home.”

  “So what led you to go on? Where did you find him?”

  Tears began to spill down Reese’s face as she recounted the story. “Well, I saw he’d had a fire that was dying in the study, so I thought he must be here somewhere. Then I heard water running upstairs, and I assumed he was in the shower… so I went upstairs.”

  Reese broke down sobbing again remembering the horrific sight.

  “So he was upstairs then?” Harrison filled in.

  Reese nodded. “In the master bathroom. There was water seeping into the carpet from the shower. He was… he was in there…”

  Reese fell against him, sobbing.

  “Did you see anything else? Was it suicide?” Harrison, ever the lawyer, continued to interrogate her.

  She shook her head. “No, not suicide. He had several… it looked like stab wounds to his back.”

  Harrison bit his lip. “I see.”

  Gripping her by her shoulders, he looked at her very seriously. “Now, tell me. Did you touch anything? Anything at all?”

  Reese looked up at him teary eyed. “I don’t know.”

  Harrison paled and nodded. “Okay. We need to go in and wipe down everything you touched.”

  “What? We aren’t going to call the police?” Reese looked shocked.

  “Of course not. We can’t be mixed up with this. There would be questions. No way, absolutely not.”

  “I can’t go back in there, Harrison. I can’t.” Reese pulled away from him.

  “Reese, you have to. Please. I will be there with you.” Harrison pleaded with her, pulling her by her hand.

  “Who do you think may have done this?” Harrison asked Reese.

  Reese shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea… I mean, I didn’t know him that well.”

  Harrison grabbed a towel from Reese’s trunk, took her by the hand and led her into the house.

  Taking care not to touch anything, Harrison wiped down any surface Reese may have touched. Then he led her upstairs.

  When they reached the master suite doorway, Reese’s knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor. “I can’t go in there,” she gasped, feeling her gorge rising in her throat.

  Harrison swallowed the lump in his throat. Placing the towel over his face, he allowed her to remain where she was.

  “I need to see this, Reese. Just sit there for a second and don’t touch a thing.”

  She nodded, sobbing quietly.

  Entering the bedroom, or what was now a crime scene, Harrison moved very carefully. His shoes sank into the wet carpet as he made his way over to the bathroom. The iron-rich smell of blood hit him hard in the face, and he fought to overcome the urge to vomit. Covering his nose and mouth with the towel, he walked as close to the body as he could.

  Harrison observed Darrell lying nude and facedown with stab wounds covering his back as Reese had described. There appeared to be several dozen or more of them. Dried blood covered his back. Congealed blood pooled all around him. Obviously, he had bled to death. The water continued to pour out of the shower. Judging by the purplish cast of his skin and the apparent stiffness of his hands, Harrison estimated he had been dead less than forty-eight hours. It was a barbaric scene. Who could do this? Could it have been Ava? He shuddered at the thought. A sinking realization set in as he faced the knowledge that he had fallen in league with the devil herself by mak
ing a deal with Ava.

  Suddenly, something moved under Darrell’s body. Leaning down for a closer look, Harrison saw several spiders scurry out from beneath the corpse. Where did all those spiders come from? Harrison shuddered. He felt surrounded by the smell of death and decay, and an overwhelming desire to vomit came over him. He had to get out of there now. Taking care not to touch anything, he backed out of the room. Grabbing Reese’s hand, they fled the house.

  “Leave everything as you found it. Get in your car and follow me to your house.” He instructed her.

  Pulling away from Darrell’s house, Reese began crying hysterically again. He was such a nice guy. Who could have done this to him? Ava? Why would she kill him? Maybe he hadn’t paid her. Reese shivered, realizing as Harrison had, what a horrific monster they were dealing with in Ava. Her beauty masked her brutality, her ability to ruthlessly kill whoever crossed her. Sickened, she fought a strong desire to vomit.

  Arriving at Reese’s home, they went inside. Reese poured them stiff drinks as they tried to process what they had just seen.

  “So what do we do?” Reese asked after several shots of whiskey.

  Harrison stood in front of the huge, picture window in Reese’s apartment. He swirled the ice in his drink. “I don’t know, baby. I know that a man was savagely murdered in his own home. Several dozen or more stab wounds to the back. Do you know what that means, Reese?”

  Reese shook her head.

  Harrison turned to face her. “It means that he knew whoever killed him. It was personal. It takes a lot of rage to stab someone that many times. It was overkill. It doesn’t take stabbing someone twenty times to kill them. This person was furious, no, beyond furious with him.”

  Reese swallowed hard. “So who do you think… Ava?”

  Harrison shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure. Obviously, she is capable of doing such a thing, which sickens me to think I have given this woman, no, this creature–”

  “–A spider… a vicious, cruel spider–,” Reese filled in, shivering.

  “–Money to murder my wife.” Harrison choked, the taste of vomit in his throat.

  Bending over, clutching his abdomen, he rushed to the bathroom. After washing up, he emerged pale and shaky.

  “Are you okay, baby?” Reese asked, rubbing his back.

  He nodded taking a deep breath. “I don’t know how we will find her, Reese. Time is running out.”

  Reese looked down and shook her head. “I’m scared, Harrison. What if she comes after us? We don’t know why she killed Darrell. Maybe he didn’t pay her, or she was angry with him for some reason.”

  Harrison shook his head vigorously. “We don’t know she killed him, Reese. It could be someone else that was upset with him. Didn’t you say he was an investor?”

  “Yes. He worked with a hedge fund management firm.”

  “That makes sense. Perhaps he ripped off a bunch of clients.”

  Reese walked over to pour them another shot of whiskey.

  “I don’t think so, Harrison. He just didn’t seem like he would do that. I don’t know though. I still think it’s Ava.”

  Taking the glass from her, he swallowed the contents in one gulp. “I guess we will see.”

  “But our initial problem… how do we find Ava? What do we do, Harrison?”

  He threw his hands in the air with futility. “I don’t know. I guess we could go to different nightclubs looking in little dark corners.” Harrison raised his voice nearly shouting at her.

  Reese looked hurt. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “I don’t either, baby.” Harrison went to put his arms around her.

  “Do you think we could try that email address again?” She asked.

  “Might as well. It’s our only chance. It’s Day sixty. Time is running out.”

  Chapter 22

  A sleek black car pulled off onto a rough, gravel road that backed up to the lake. A thin, shapely figure in black emerged from the car. Opening the trunk, she pulled out a bag. Placing the bag on the ground next to her, she removed a phone from her jacket. Checking her email one more time, she stopped short, stunned by what she saw.

  To: ava@gmail.com

  From: blondegirl25623@yahoo.com

  Re: STOP

  11:00 p.m. tomorrow night. 623 N. Fairbanks.

  What the fuck was this? Ava knew exactly who this was. No fucking way, she thought. She told them NEVER to contact her again. God, for a Harvard grad this guy was an unbelievable moron. Her blood began to boil. So this little bastard wanted to break the rules, huh? He wasn’t the first one to try. She curled her fingers, feeling her sharp fingernails digging into her palms. She smiled. She knew how to deal with this kind of disobedience. Smashing the phone, she threw it into the bag. Carefully, she inched her way down the embankment to the water where she tossed the heavy bag into it. Standing there, she watched it slowly sink into the abyss.

  She smiled broadly. Day sixty. Spider watches the fly get further and further entangled in her web just waiting for the right moment to pounce.

  ********

  “A thirty-six-year-old man was found dead today in a wealthy North Shore neighborhood. Police say he was stabbed multiple times. He was found dead last night in his home. He has been identified as Darrell Wyndham of Glencoe, Illinois. Sources tell us that Mr. Wyndham was employed as an investment manager by Goldberg Brothers Investments of Chicago. Authorities request that anyone with any information regarding this crime please contact your local police department.”

  Harrison and Reese sat together watching the 5:00 p.m. news the following day.

  Reese switched the TV channel. “I wonder who found him. They aren’t telling us shit about what happened.” She threw the remote down in disgust.

  “They aren’t going to tell you much on TV. They don’t want to hinder the investigation.”

  Reese pursed her lips. “I know. It’s just so scary and frustrating.”

  Harrison took her into his arms. “It’s okay, baby. We had nothing to do with his death. It’s a shame he’s gone. Very tragic.”

  Reese nodded her head. “I’m just still so upset about what happened. Every time I close my eyes, I see him lying there brutally stabbed and left to bleed to death. It’s just sickening.” She shivered at the very recent memory.

  “It was the worst thing I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot, Reese. If Ava did that, there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do.”

  “I’m terrified, Harrison. She may be extremely angry we contacted her.”

  “If she gets it. We don’t know. She may not even show up. I pray she does and I can call this whole thing off.”

  Reese slid her arms around him. “Harrison, I don’t want this to drive us apart. I’m afraid it will. We know that Darrell has been murdered, and we have to keep that secret. We have contracted for Ava to kill your wife. I don’t know what we were thinking.”

  Harrison held her tight. “No, Reese, you are wrong. These events actually bring us closer as we are bound by secrecy to stay together. We live or die… together. Remember that. I love you. It took me a long time to realize that, and I know it sounds counterfeit coming from a guy like me.”

  “A guy like you?”

  “Yes… arrogant, narcissistic, capable of conspiring to commit murder. I still have the capacity to feel though. I don’t want her dead. I never did. I just wanted to be with you without losing everything else. Then Darrell gave us this card, we met Ava and I didn’t think it through. I didn’t realize how awful this would be.” Harrison buried his face in her hair. “All I know is I don’t want her butchered like Darrell. I keep seeing him too, lying there viciously slaughtered. I can’t stand thinking about Lisa that way.” Tears began to spill down his face and fall onto Reese’s hair.

  Reese pressed her breasts to his chest. “Harrison, I am so sorry. I can’t express how sorry I am. I never meant for it to come to this. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. I thought we would have fun together
and then we’d be over. I didn’t think we would ever have a chance to be together.” She ran her hands up his strong, well-toned arms.

  “I didn’t think we would either,” Harrison admitted. “You were… are beautiful, and I thought we could have a good time together and I would stay with my family, but I fell for you, Reese, hard. I can’t be without you. I love my kids, but I want to be with you. If only I could’ve found a different way to do it.” Harrison walked away from her running his hands through his hair.

  Chapter 23

  Donning a shoulder-length dark-brown wig, Ava applied her makeup. Zipping up a leather bustier, she shimmied into a micro miniskirt. Ava then slid into a pair of new six-inch Louboutin heels. Picking up a red card, she decided she could simply make her delivery to her client in person as she slipped it into her cleavage.

  Meanwhile, Reese and Harrison sat huddled together at a back booth waiting for Ava.

  “Do you think she’ll come?” Reese whispered, fiddling with the clasp on her bracelet.

  Harrison looked around. “I don’t know. She said never to contact her again, so I don’t know what to expect, but I have to try.”

  Nervously, Reese smoothed her long blonde hair. She pulled at her sleeveless cleavage-baring dress.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Harrison asked, sliding his hand up her thigh.

  “I’m scared of her,” Reese admitted.

  “After seeing Darrell like that yesterday, I am too,” Harrison replied with unease.

  As they sipped their drinks, they noticed the crowd begin to part slightly.

  Like Moses walking through the parted Red Sea, a tall, beautiful woman strode over to them.

  Through clenched teeth, she hissed at them. “What the fuck do you think you two are doing?”

  Initially, they were puzzled. This woman was beautiful, but they didn’t recognize her at first glance as Ava.