by Ellie Fox
And Then The Devil Cried
"THE BOY AND THE BEAST”
Ellie Fox
Copyright © 2018 by Ellie Fox
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
ELLIE FOX FICTION
www.elliefoxfiction.com
Ordering Information:
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Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact AMAZON PUBLISHING
Printed in the United States of America
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
FOX, ELLIE.
AND THEN THE DEVIL CRIED: AN AND THEN THE DEVIL CRIED SERIES BOOK / Ellie Fox
ISBN: 9781549828225
1. The main category of the book —Romantic Suspense —Other category. New Adult 2. Contemporary Romance. 3. Crime Fiction. 4. Romance. 5. Mystery
First Edition
I am indebted to the friends who took a chance on an unknown author and allowed me to express myself through my words. To the people who reviewed and the ones who helped spread the word, this could not have happened without your help.
I sincerely hope I can keep writing to make you all proud, so everything is worth it. Jackie Thorogood, Truus Vermeer-de Jong, Annery Marte-McNulty I love you guys for your constant support!
Love,
Ellie
PRAISE for AND THEN THE DEVIL CRIED
Boy Meets Boy Reviews rated five stars!
Ho-ly shitballs. Read this. Read it. Read it. Read it. But follow the review link below first!
Combined teaser review for And Then the Devil Cried, Episodes #1 and #2here on Goodreads.
Full review 12/12/17 on Boy Meets Boy Reviews (complete a few days later on GR)!
Captivating, Dark, wonderfully written
By Truuson November 4, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Woowww that was one awesome read. It was dark and hurtful and amazing captivating.
A mob environment.... noir, under control, depressed, restrained, explosive but in a slow pace...
Wonderful written down...it gets darker and grimmer and anguish the further this story goes.
Adam a beautiful soul, deeply hurt by his surrounders, is at a crossroad and after making his decision he's grabbed by his arms.
His savior Rho... Rho is dark and grumpy and dangerous but when he looks into Adams' eyes some unknown protective feelings are bubbling up. They develop a deep friendship/love for each other. Until they are ripped apart by some dirty action of Rho his boss Marcus...
Marcus severe merciless Marcus has his evil eye on Adam
Very good captivating pace almost a movie... the clarification is slow but beneath this, you can feel the train come and crash...hard...
It's heartbreaking and devastating and my heart was screaming out to Rho and Adam.
Really wonderful written down!!
Esther Alayeto rated it was amazing!
Love this first episode of the story of Rho and Adam. It is a bit dark and twisted but incredibly intriguing and addicting, I could not put it down. Rho rescues Adam and their attraction is undeniable and intense. But then Adam is taken away from Rho by Marcus. You have to read this to see what happens, I don't want to give away too much. I can't wait for the next installment!
Great Dark Story
By Esther Aon November 7, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Love this first episode of the story of Rho and Adam. It is a bit dark and twisted but incredibly intriguing and addicting, I could not put it down. Rho rescues Adam and their attraction is undeniable and intense. But then Adam is taken away from Rho by Marcus. You have to read this to see what happens, I don't want to give away too much. I can't wait for the next installment!
Laid- Back Book Bitches rated it was amazing
Holy crap I loved this book. I can’t wait for episode 2. I can’t wait to find out the rest of their story. This book grabbed my attention from the very first page. I couldn't put it down, I needed to know what was gonna happen. I had this book read in one sitting. This book is very well written, loved the details that Ellie went in to of the characters. I was in love with Rho and Marcus from the very first meeting. It is an instant connection between these 2. THIS IS A MUST READ!!!!
IAN
ADAM
ADAM
ADAM
RHO
BRANDON
ADAM
RHO
ADAM
RHO
ADAM
BRANDON
ADAM
RHO
ADAM
RHO
“What I possess, seems far away to me, and what is gone becomes reality.”
IAN
PRESENT DAY
The outside of Marcus’s house looked foreboding. It was odd knowing Marcus didn’t occupy that place, but it didn’t quite feel devoid of his presence. Almost as though the owner might still be lurking somewhere. But that was absurd. Ghosts are not real.
Marcus was gone but I could still feel him, and sometimes when I woke up, I was still living in Marcus’s life. It’s jarring. Sometimes, by the time my brain remembers that he isn’t even alive, I’m already in my gear standing in front of my weapon’s cache. I was certain Adam was not better off himself.
I parked my car outside and noticed that the guards who always were on duty, twenty-four hours were no longer present. I didn’t understand. Adam needed more protection, not less, so why was he calling off the security people? I was about to enter when I saw there was a strange car parked in the driveway already. I knew who it belonged to.
I had followed Adam to the house because I sensed danger. I knew something was off, and I also knew Adam wasn’t going to tell me himself, so I had no choice. Now, seeing Wade’s car in the driveway confirmed my doubts. I fumbled in my pocket for the keys to the front entrance, hoping he hadn’t changed the locks. It worked. I crossed the foyer, and the house looked empty. So, I ran up the staircase to the second floor and started walking to Marcus’s room.
Before I could see them, I heard their voices. The door was open. Wade hadn’t thought to close it.
“Did you sleep with Ian?” Wade was asking.
“I just went there to talk—” Adam’s anxious response wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Answer my question.”
“It just happened. I didn’t plan it.”
“You know what that makes you, right? A whore.”
“Please, sir...”
“I don’t blame Ian,” Wade said. “Who could resist that ass? Marcus really knew what he was doing when he invested in you.”
I had to peek to see what was going on, and when I saw Wade’s hand on Adam’s throat, my hand clenched into a fist. I had to do something, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to help Adam or make things worse.
I could hear Wade’s voice. “You’re the best piece of ass I’ve ever had!”
He let go of Adam then. I was afraid of being seen, so I stayed hidden, but it wasn’t easy. And anyway, I didn’t need visual information to know what happened next. I was fighting the jealousy inside me, fighting to keep my composure. Several times, I almost intervened.
<
br /> “You know, don’t you,” Wade said. “That I can’t stay away from you. I know every spot on your body that drives you fucking wild. I know how to turn you into a whore.”
Wade was mad at him because of me, that much was obvious. I was responsible for this. It was the only reason I waited before making another reckless move.
“Wade, please!” I heard the fear in Adam’s voice and then Wade went, “Stop talking!” There were a few grunts and groans, “Lie still, or I will hurt you.”
And even though Adam wasn’t screaming, I knew he was in pain because I knew Wade. A year ago, Adam’s screams would have gone right through the roof but now, like me, he was a pain veteran. All this was happening while I stood there, but it wouldn’t be the first time.
After the heavy grunting and groaning came a lengthy silence. Then the shuffling of feet around the room. Finally, Wade spoke again. “I don’t want you to take my threats lightly,” he said. “Next time you decide to not answer the phone I’m going to take it to the next level. You’re mine now. You do as I say. Don’t question my authority and I will let you live.”
When I realized Wade was about to leave, I hid well. Adam’s phone was ringing but he didn’t pick it up. I wondered if it was Rho. If he too had gotten a bad feeling or if it was just the time for him to call. Did Adam still wait for him? More irrational jealousy struck me.
Only when I heard the car move out of the driveway, did I finally enter the room. Adam was standing next to a coffee table and drinking straight from an almost full bottle.
“Adam?”
He was caught unawares but after the initial surprise, he didn’t look too bothered. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.”
He laughed. “Did you at least get off on watching?”
“Did you get off on being fucked by the old man?” I said. “I get that you have daddy issues, but do you have to be such a fucking cliché?”
“Are you stalking me now?” he looked angry. I knew I couldn’t blame him, deep down, but I had no control over my own rage.
“I came here because I knew you were hiding something from me!”
“Well, congratulations Ian, you figured it out, you’re a true prodigy! Now get the fuck out of my house.”
I felt like a real piece of shit then. “I’m sorry. I guess... I got a little carried away.”
“Why didn’t you intervene?” He was asking me, and I didn’t know if he wanted me to or if he was genuinely curious.
“Would you have wanted that?”
“Just answer the question!”
I paused. “I didn’t want to make it worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard Wade being angry at you because you told him about us. I didn’t want to make it worse for you.”
“Or you just didn’t have the balls,” he scoffed.
Everything was so screwed up. Maybe Adam was right. Maybe people like us aren’t fated to find happiness. Maybe the happy people have managed to somehow hog up all the joy and peace for themselves and left us to live in eternal misery.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” I said, hoping to apologize. “I shouldn’t have been so careless. Coming to your office, threatening you, it was reckless and childish. And I just ended up making things worse.”
He sighed. “What difference does it make? If you hadn’t Wade would have found another reason.”
“What does he have over you anyway?”
“You think I’m ever going to trust you with that kind of information?”
It hurt when he said that. “You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t trust your judgment. I don’t know when you’re going to come and take care of me, and when you’ll be blabbing my most painful memories in front of everyone!”
He was right. I had harmed him with my reckless behavior. And then, coming here like this, to spy on him, that doesn’t exactly help my cause.
“Adam, I’m sorry about the things I’ve done,” I tried to explain. “But it was my stupidity, not ill will. I’m not going to spy on you, I won’t do anything stupid, I will try not to be so reckless. I will do everything because I love you. And you know that. I will do it for us.”
It wasn’t like him to keep being mad at me. But that night, he was still angry. I could sense it.
He looked up at me. I thought he was going to say something, but instead, he picked up his phone. He called someone, while he was still looking at me, then started talking to the person on the phone. “Hi, Trav, I’m sorry to call this late… but I have a bit of an intruder problem. Might need to change the locks. Can you please come now? It’s kind of urgent…” and then he said some general niceties and hung up.
“Its common sense to be afraid of the man who turns the outside of his house into a fort, and keeps guards visible,” he pressed a tiny button on the nightstand that I didn’t even know it was there. Guess I didn’t notice a lot of things. There was some noise in the hall, and then two armed men came in and I saw their reflection in the decorative mirror behind Adam. “But you should be terrified of the man who doesn’t need to flaunt his army.”
Adam walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. He lowered his voice. “You’re nothing but an illusion Marcus created,” he said. “You’re not real. You thought I was in trouble, with Wade and instead of intervening, you stood back to watch. You shouldn’t even call yourself a man.” He paused and lifted his hand and stared at me. “And for the last time, Ian, there is no us. There never was! I was just trying to get you on my side. You think I could ever truly love a pathetic creature like you? Ian, you’re a bystander, not a hero.”
I wished I could have stopped the tears from falling. I wished I could have done something, to change the way he felt about me. I was torn between knowing that he was right and defending myself. Was it all really a lie? Did he never feel anything?
“If you’re so powerful, why didn’t you stop Wade?” I made a final attempt at making some sense of this situation.
He grinned. I wasn’t expecting that. I expected him to be angry or hurt but not grinning. “Who says I wanted to stop him?” he said. “Maybe the only reason he’s here is that I have a use for him, not the other way around. Maybe, just maybe, after being trained with a man like Marcus, I know how to fucking take care of myself!”
I don’t know if there was ever a time when I’ve been more in love with him. Or more in awe. I wanted to just kiss him then, show him what we had wasn’t an illusion but for the first time, I didn’t feel any anger. Just a great feeling of loss. And shame. He couldn’t help what Marcus turned him into any more than I could. But there was another feeling mixed with all these emotions and it was that I didn’t deserve him.
I remembered the time I saw him under the moonlight when we stood outside next to the vacant poolside. That night we showed each other our scars. Our deepest, darkest desires. I knew that wasn’t an illusion. I know it was real. He knows it too, that’s why I hurt him today.
I made a promise to protect him and to take him out of this mess and I failed.
The things he said that night would stay with me for as long as I lived.
ADAM
The new security guy Travis, watched me as I poured us both a drink. “Whatever is on your mind, Trav, just spit it out,” I said, setting down the drink as I went to sit next to him on the couch.
“You’re being harsh on Ian. I’ve known him since we were young. He’s not a bad person. He just isn’t all that smart.”
“Do you trust me?”
Travis looked up at me. “Yes.”
“Then you need to trust my instinct. I know what I’m doing. And as far as Ian is concerned, this is for his own good.”
“So, you don’t really hate him then?”
I couldn’t stop thinking about all the things Ian did for me in all that time. “Ian… was there for me. I can forget a slight, but I will never forget a good deed. So, no, I don’t hate him. Like I sa
id. It’s for his own good.”
“But changing the locks…”
“Today, he kept his emotions in check. He wasn’t high, it was probably easy to do. Tomorrow, he might not have control. Do you have any idea what Wade would have done if he caught Ian today? This whole… thing… this plan… it will come crashing down. Wade doesn’t give a shit about Ian, or Rho, or anyone else for that matter! Right now, I’m essential to him. But Ian isn’t! He could take him out anytime if he got pissed enough.”
Travis slowly drank. I could tell I was getting through to him. “You’re right. We should focus on the goal.”
“When we get justice,” I said. “A lot of other people will get justice too.”
“So, what’s next?”
I swallowed the drink. “First, we take our first crack at the real villain.”
“The real villain?”
“Yeah, you know, every story has this one big bad. The ultimate boss that you fight to win the war.”
“Would that be Wade by any chance?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Wade’s just a level two villain, nothing more. He’s the one we used to bring Marcus down, and he’s the one we’ll use to bring the main villain down.”
“Do I know him?”
“Everyone knows him.”
“You got to tell me his name at least?”
I hoped Travis didn’t notice the tremor in my hand holding the drink. It was strange. Despite all the drinking, it still took me a good few minutes to get the name out. “Sergei Krakowski.”
ADAM
ONE YEAR AGO
I started buttoning up my shirt and realized one was torn up. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” Rho was looking at me from the other side of the motel room bed still wearing nothing. It was a little distracting. Okay, it was incredibly distracting.
“How the fuck am I going to explain a ripped button to Marcus the evil overlord?”