by J. L. Beck
Just when I was about to tell the man in front of me to kill me, I heard two men talking and then the door I had been brought in through reopened. My eyes landed on them briefly before transcending down to the body they were pulling into the room. In each hand was an arm that was connected to the man I loved.
“Devon,” I cried out before muffling my voice with my hand. I had never seen him just barely clinging to the light. His body wasn’t moving, and I wasn’t even sure he was still alive.
“He can’t hear you, Princess. I made sure of that,” the heavier, snaggle-toothed man said as they threw Devon’s body onto the floor. He was the same one who had repeatedly kicked Devon. Remembering the pain that jerked through his body with each impact had me speaking up.
“Leave him alone,” I growled, which was the wrong thing to say at that time. In a bat of an eyelash, he was in my face, gripping my chin so painfully, I could feel tears forming.
“I will do whatever the fuck I want to do.” He sneered in my face like a slithering snake. His breath was repulsive and it took every bit of my will not to puke in his face. His hand slid over my thigh, caressing my warm flesh as bile continued to rise. His hands on me pushed me past my comfort zone, and I quickly released my grip from the edge of the chair. Grabbing his hand as I purposefully dug my nails into his skin, I pushed his hand away, which only caused him to grip my chin harder.
“Let her go, Davis. Boss will fuck you up if you hurt her.” What a load of crock? He had just slammed me onto that desk and pulled a knife on me. He was one to talk. What this guy was doing was lollipops and rainbows compared to what he had just done.
Davis, the fucking creep, stared at me before releasing me with a shove. My chest heaved as anxiety filled my belly. What if we never got out of here? What if something was really wrong with Devon? What if he was really... I couldn’t even think it.
Silence filled the room allowing me to hear footsteps coming down the same hallway that I had been forced to take. With each step, the heaviness of this person’s shoes clicked louder and louder. I breathed deeply and readied myself for whoever was going to enter this room.
I watched as Davis walked to the door, opening it for the person on the other side. My jaw clenched and my eyes bulged out of my head when I caught a glimpse of who it was.
Dark hair, dark eyes. A three piece suit tailored just for him.
Tony?
I couldn’t even form a word. My throat was dry and rage consumed me as I got out of my chair and crossed the room. Raising my hand to him, I released a hard slap across his face without even thinking. All I saw was blind rage. I had trusted him. I had confided in him and here he was in the middle of it all.
The smack sounded through the room and time stood still. His eyes turned to steel before me as he gripped me by the throat. I could feel the oxygen being cut off, as his grip grew tighter and tighter.
“That is no way to greet the man who has loved you this whole time. The man who has protected you from the evilness of this town.” I could hardly hear his words because I was gasping for air. He must’ve seen the faraway look in my eyes because he released me shoving me back a couple steps.
As soon as I was free, I scrambled away from him, gulping in precious oxygen. “I see the liar is still knocked out cold.” He kicked at Devon as if to see if he would actually move. A groan sounded from him as he stirred slowly.
“The only person who is a liar is you,” I hissed. I felt like a cornered cat, and you had better believe your ass that I would claw someone’s eyes out before I allowed them to do something to either of us.
Tony turned his attention back to me, a sneer on his face that caused a sick shiver to run down my spine. The man who had helped me, given me a job, and made sure I had a place to stay was the same man who had been hunting me down. What a fucking contradiction he was.
Every conversation I had ever had with Tony replayed in my mind. All those moments he comforted me when Jamie first left. I was questioning everything, and it only made me wonder if Jamie actually left, or if Tony made him disappear.
“Get him on his knees, remove the bag, and keep her seated,” Tony ordered his men as he made his way to what I now know to be his desk.
Immediately, hands gripped my shoulders firmly, placing me back into the chair I had previously occupied. I wanted to react, act out, do anything, but be forced to remain in this seat.
As I caught a glimpse of Devon, I gasped as all the air in my chest left me. Dry blood was matted into his hair as fresh blood trickled down the side of his face. One of his cheeks was swollen, and his eye was barely open. All I wanted to do was to run to him and make sure he was okay, hold him in my arms and reassure him I was right there with him.
“Welcome back,” Tony mocked, greeting him while sitting on the edge of his desk. My insides churned, burning me like acid. These people were sick human beings, and for them to have put Devon and me through all of this for no reason was a cruel fucking joke.
“I would say it’s a pleasure, but it’s really not,” Devon said as he tried to smile. Even in his rawest moments, he still managed to keep his morale up. Tony looked between us, a sinister smile forming on his face. He was dressed to the nine. His face was clean shaven, his eyes were dark and shaded, almost as if he didn’t want me to peer into them for fear I would see the real person he was.
“How sad. I was really looking forward to seeing you both in the same room. One would be struggling for their life while the other screamed to save them.”
I clenched my teeth together and rolled my shoulders causing the man to grip me harder as I tried to shrug his hands off me. Devon’s gaze swung around the room, his eyes growing big as they landed on me.
“You look slightly shocked that I have her,” Tony spoke his words slow. My mind was a slurring mess. I couldn’t see the man behind me. All I could see was Devon’s face growing paler.
“You could say that. Then again, you could say I’ve seen more surprising shit or maybe less surprising.” Tony looked bewildered, his gaze flicking between the two of us.
“You’re talking in circles, and it’s starting to piss me off. You don’t want to do that, trust me. So shut your mouth and listen up. I brought you both in here because I have a need that needs to be fulfilled. Tegan has always been mine, even when she was with that low life Jamie. Which, by the way, sweetheart…” He turned his attention to me, his white teeth glistening as he smiled. “I killed him.”
I could picture Jamie’s lifeless body on the ground, covered in blood, and even though I didn’t love him like I did Devon, he was once such a big part of my life.
“You’re a monster,” I spat at him on the verge of tears.
“Are you kidding me? He dragged you into this mess, granted, I had a lot to do with it.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“But could you blame me? I needed to find a way to get rid of him. He had a drug problem, and he would eventually bring you down. So, when he found himself in a pickle with the casino, I loaned him some money… Funny thing is…” He laughed humor evident in his voice. He found this funny. It amused him, which only caused my blood to boil more. “I own the casino. I own the diner, and I own everyone in this fucking town. Including you two. You see, my parents kept borrowing money to keep the diner afloat. They ended up owing the man who runs the next town over a lot of fucking money. They got in too deep, and I had to pull them out. I did some jobs for the big guy and got really good at it. He taught me a lot of things, showed me a lot of ways to get the job done, and in return, he wiped my parent’s debt. I kept doing jobs for him, even after they had a clean slate because, let’s be honest...the feeling you get when your hands are covered in someone else’s blood is fucking exhilarating. I made so much money doing something that made me feel complete. That’s how I became the Boss here in this shitty town. Money fucking talks and I had plenty of that, so it was too easy to get people doing whatever the fuck I wanted them to do. Of course, I
couldn’t let people know who I really was, so I kept working at the diner, acting as if my parents owned it, and no one ever suspected a thing. This town would be nothing without me and my people. I saved this fucking slump and now, well, now it’s time for Tegan to take her place beside me.” He was spewing so much bullshit, I felt like I was drowning.
“You’re way beyond therapy, man. You’re fucking delusional,” Devon grunted out through clenched teeth.
“The only person who will need therapy is Tegan after she watches me slit your fucking throat right here. How’s that for delusional?” The feral look in his eyes said he would do it.
“Any last words?” he asked Devon as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Devon smiled devilishly before saying, “If you are expecting me to beg someone like you for my life, you’ll be waiting all day. Let’s not waste any more time. Slit my fucking throat, Tony, and get it over with already.” The words he said sliced my heart in two. How could I live if they took my reason for breathing away? If they stopped his beating heart right in front of me? All I felt was pain as my eyes filled with tears.
“NO!” I heard my voice scream out, but I couldn’t feel anything. It was as if time had slowed down and forced me to see everything in slow motion.
A knife landed in his hands, and as Tony was about to place it against Devon’s neck, the tables fucking turned.
The man who had made me a prisoner to my chair released me, shoving me to the floor while pulling his gun out. Devon was pushed to the side, and the doors to the office were thrown open. Guns were pulled out, drawn at every angle as I found myself scurrying underneath the mahogany desk.
“Drop your weapons, put your hands where we can see them and get the fuck down, NOW!” one of the men who entered the room yelled, his voice holding an authoritative tone.
“You have to be fucking kidding me,” I heard Tony muttered under his breath as Tony’s men dropped their guns, raised their hands, and sank to the floor. Adrenaline flowed through my limbs causing my hands to tremble as my eyes sought Devon’s and in them, I found comfort.
“Nope, sorry, not kidding. Tony Marseille, you’re under arrest for kidnapping, money laundering, drug trafficking, drug distribution… Shall I go on?” an older man said sarcastically. He had blue eyes, and when you looked into them, it was like you were looking through them. They held no life as if he had been through hell and back, simply existing in this world, no longer living.
“Drop your knife or you’ll make us do something you’ll regret,” he said as he kept his weapon trained on Tony’s head. I watched Tony turn his hand over, dropping the knife as he raised his hands above his head and lowered himself to his knees.
“Johnson. Read him and cuff him,” blue eyes said, but even then, he still kept his gun on Tony, and I would have, too. Tony was a delusional, crazy asshole who had everyone fooled. If you turned your back on him even for a second, you would regret it.
One of the younger looking men who had entered the room when the doors were thrown open stepped forward. He circled Tony before stopping behind him and putting his weapon back in its holster. He reached behind his back and when his hand returned, he had a pair of cuffs. The metal shined as he grabbed one of Tony’s arms and twisted it behind his back, snapping a cuff around it before doing the same to the other arm.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish—”
I was so focused on listening to Johnson read Tony his Miranda Rights, I hadn’t noticed a hand reaching for me. Turning my attention to the hand that was in front of my face, I realized it was the same lethal hand that had slammed me on the desk. Why isn’t he on the ground? Doesn’t he work for Tony, too?
“Nice to meet you, Tegan. I’m FBI Agent Alzerro King. It’s safe to come out now.” He gave me a dazzling smile that met his eyes as he continued to hold his hand out for me.
“You’re kidding, right?” I choked out, my voice full of emotion.
“No, afraid not, love,” Alzerro stated calmly as he waited for me to take his hand.
Glancing around the room before I took his hand, I noticed they were cuffing all the men in the room, and Devon was still lying on the floor where he had been pushed with his hands still tied behind his back.
“Please, help him. He’s beat up really bad and he needs help.” The words slipped from my mouth as I stared into Alzerro’s eyes.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s strong,” he said with ease as he stood in front of me and we waited for them to clear the room out.
“You won’t get away with this. You don’t even have proof,” Tony yelled as Johnson yanked him up by his cuffs. Before he could get another word out, the man with the blue eyes headed toward him. He gripped the back of his neck and slammed him against the desk face first as he peered down at him.
“Should’ve done your research better. That’s the problem with you new wannabe gangsters. You think you know everything when, in reality, you don’t know any fucking thing. You knew we were after you, yet you didn’t take the precautions you should have. You’re an idiot, a two-timing dumb fuck who hired one of my men right off the street. Alzerro King is an FBI agent, and he was wired the entire time he was working for you. So, we will get away with this, and we have more than enough proof.”
“That can’t be possible. You’re lying,” Tony protested as he attempted to resist the hold blue eyes had on him.
“Oh, it is more than possible. Take him out of here, boys.” Blue eyes yanked Tony up from the desk and shoved him toward Johnson. When his eyes landed on me, he eyed me curiously.
Again, for the third time in this room, time stood still as we looked into each other’s eyes. I don’t know what it was about that man, but he seemed familiar.
Devon’s grunting broke the trance I had fallen into as I watched two men carefully pick him up. They spoke in hush tones, but I could make out one of them telling him to stop dragging ass, they had been through worse shit than that while Devon smiled through his pain. This was his crew or team. The people he worked with. Whatever you wanted to call it.
Somehow, we had been caught in the middle of a sting operation.
“Tegan Anderson,” Blue eyes said as I turned my head toward him. My name on his lips sounded foreign to me yet, somewhere, I had heard his voice before.
“That’s me.” My voice was quiet and distraught as my mind fought my body not to run over to where Devon was. I didn’t want to make any moves without being told to do so.
“You need to come with me. We have some questions to ask you, and then you can be on your way,” he said firmly, and I nodded in agreement.
Alzerro moved out of the way, allowing me to walk in front of him. As I passed Devon on my way out, our eyes locked, and my heart started to beat again when he gave me a soft smile. I finally felt like I could breathe again.
“Take her to the car and shut this place down. I want everyone out,” Blue eyes ordered. The tone of his voice left no room for argument as I was pushed out the door.
I didn’t take my eyes off Devon, afraid he would disappear if I did. When I couldn’t see him anymore, I closed my eyes and remembered every confession of love he ever spoke to me.
Chapter Twenty
Devon
“I should punch you straight in the fucking face right now,” Frank yelled, the veins in his forehead bulging as he clenched his fists together. After they had cleared out the casino, I was checked by a medic who they had on standby in case shit went to hell. They re-stitched my gash and confirmed what I already knew. I had a concussion and my abdomen, along with my sides, was severely bruised. Breathing was a bitch. Hell, even moving hurt. Every piece of flesh, muscle, and bone ached, and it was only going to get worse. The healing always hurt more than the actua
l beating.
I rubbed at my wrists and poked at the wound on my head. My side was burning and my abdominal area on fire as I breathed in slowly in an attempt to reduce the pain. For some pussy motherfuckers, they sure could deliver an ass whooping.
Frank was livid with me. I was pretty sure he wanted to kick my ass right out of this place. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. I had fucked up. I lied to my boss and went against everything I was taught. I deliberately ignored protocol and disobeyed a direct order from him.
Not only had they had the entire place scoped out and under surveillance, but they also knew where I was and what I had been doing the entire time. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me to see Zerro there, but it was. It wasn’t that he was undercover that shocked me. It was the fact I had become a part of his assignment without even knowing it. There was a slight sting to my trust, but I had done no better than he had.
“I could punch myself in the face right now,” I mumbled. My head throbbed as if someone had beaten it against a brick wall for hours, which wasn’t that farfetched. I had been knocked upside my head too many times to remember and kicked the shit out of even more.
“You could’ve cost us a lot of lives. You could’ve… I don’t even need to tell you what the outcome of all of this could’ve been. You know already.” Frank sounded disappointed, and he had every reason to be. He could’ve been hurt, better yet, we all could’ve been and for what? My stupid fucking mistake?
Zerro stood in the corner of the office where they had transported us. They wouldn’t allow me to see Tegan until questioning was done, not that I wanted to see her right now. She probably couldn’t bear to look at me. I was a lying asshole who royally screwed up. Anyone could look at me and see the shame clearly written all over my face.
“You should’ve told us. We would’ve helped. You act like none of us knew there was something going on.” Zerro sounded irritated with me, and when I looked over at him, he was lounging against the wall with a scowl on his face.