The Devil's Masquerade: The Remedy

by Jennifer Loren

  Despite Amery’s hopeful tone and his reassurance that I can help everyone against Savage, I still feel a heavy weight holding me down. Nick clearly has no idea who I am or even who his brother is. That gut wrenching realization is almost too much for me to take once I calm and begin to go over what has happened. I want to cry. I want to scream, but I feel as if my whole body has been drained of tears, drained of emotion. Even as both Elijah and Ryan hold my hand, I feel nothing. I don’t feel anything except the beating of my heart and the vibrations it causes all the way down to my toes.

  The car pulls up to the door, and Elijah gets out, holding his hand out to me. I take it and allow him to guide me into the house and through my nightly routine before he helps me to my room. I close the door behind me and fall hard into the comfort of our bed. I close my eyes and dream of him, dream of his confident personality, his determination to build a strong business for his family, and his dogged efforts to make sure no one would ever harm any of us. Nick would not hesitate to stand between me and an oncoming bullet. Nick would take on a hurricane’s mighty winds with no fear to keep his family from ever being harmed. My husband holds his crying sons against his chest and reassures them with nothing more than his loving arm around them. They know as well as I that Nick was our strength, our protector, and our symbol of what a father and a husband should be. I lean back as a single tear slides down my cheek to my pillow. Tears were never allowed to reach my pillow when Nick laid down beside me. The last time I cried was the night before he left. I tried to hold back and be strong for him, but there was nothing I could do when I thought about him not being at my side while I slept.

  But Nick never showed any sign of worry. He simply smiled and kissed the tears from my eyes while whispering reassuring words, “Don’t cry, Princess. You know I will come back to you.” His strong hands took hold of me while his soft lips covered me with love. When I felt his erection between us, I smiled, relaxing as he slid it inside me. His hardened body against mine felt so good. He took my breath away when I opened my eyes and saw his loving eyes smiling back at me. It didn’t matter how little strength I had because he was there to hold me up. He was there to kiss my fears away. He was there to say, “I love you.” My dreams bring a smile to my face when I hear the door creak open and look over to see Nicky peeking in. “What is wrong Honey? Can you not sleep?” He comes running in and climbs into the bed with me.

  “I was worried,” Nicky says.

  “You were? Why?” I say, wrapping my arm around him as I kiss his head.

  “I don’t know why. I just was. I thought you said you were going to a party, but you didn’t put on a pretty dress for a party, and I dreamed that you went to see Daddy. In my dream he said he was angry with us and didn’t want to come home anymore. It was just a bad dream, right?” he asks, and I nod. His big innocent eyes break my heart. “Did you see Daddy? I heard someone say his name before you left. When is he coming home?”

  “You need to stop listening in on our conversations, Little Man. You are too young to be worried about such things.” He looks up at me, waiting to ask me again about his father. He knows we saw Nick, and I don’t have it in me to lie to him. “I did see Daddy, and he said to tell you that he misses you very much and he will be home as soon as he can.”

  “I miss him. I have so much I need to tell him,” Nicky says with a pitiful sigh.

  Chapter 11

  Nick

  I was jerked out of the hangar so fast I didn’t have a chance to comprehend what was happening. I had everything under control, so I don’t understand. Why? Grandfather sits next to me in the car while Galena faces us with a stressed silence. Neither of us were even allowed to leave in our own cars. Our guards were left behind with no word as to why. “I don’t understand Grandfather. Why did you force me to leave?” I ask, even though he seems as if he is ready to explode. He doesn’t speak. In fact, for the first time, he seems as if doesn’t know what to say to me. “Who are those people? That woman, especially, seems … fascinating.”

  “That woman is a nuisance! You stay away from her, Nicholas!” he yells with fire in his eyes.

  I look up at Galena who trembles so terribly that I fear she will hurt herself. I begin to realize why when we reach the house and she steps back from Grandfather before he walks inside. He turns towards her and forces her even further backwards. “I suggest you don’t sleep anywhere near me tonight. I believe the stables have a free bed. Just make sure you don’t bother my prized horses.”

  “Grandfather, none of this was Galena’s fault. There is no reason to punish her. Those people set us both up. They planned …”

  “It was her job to watch over you. It was her job to make sure that woman never came anywhere near you. And she failed. From now on, Delin will accompany you Nicholas. You are not to leave this house without him. You can call that your punishment. Neither of you handled yourselves the way you should have. Never engage in a battle without my permission!” he steams. He doesn’t speak another word to either of us before he leaves to go to his room.

  Galena smiles a feeble smile at me, and says, “Honestly, I would prefer the stables. Animals are more pleasant company than what I am used to. Be careful, Nephew. Delin is brutal and boring as hell. Make sure you bring something to entertain you.” Galena calmly walks away.

  The next day, Grandfather awakes in a much brighter mood. Sleep seemed to help him but not enough to lift my punishment. Delin awaits me at the door before I leave for the day. He is stiff and silent and as big as an ox. I have no idea how he is going to fit into my car. He rarely speaks. He never shows emotion, and he never looks directly at me. Galena was right; he is an absolute bore to be around. After one long day with him, I am pretty sure I am going to ask him to kill me and put me out of my misery.

  I look him over, “Can you make yourself smaller somehow? I don’t want you putting a hole in my roof.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean. I cannot become smaller than I am. Unless you would like me to cut off my extremities, which may make me small enough to meet your requirements,” he suggests.

  “Yeah… it might. We will keep that in mind, but for now, just squeeze yourself in and try not to hold your head up to high,” I say, motioning for him to follow me. I don’t trust Delin not to tell Grandfather everything I do today, and the one thing I want to do is find that woman from last night. I know he would get angry if he knew, so I decide to try and hunt her down from a distance and keep Delin in the dark to my every move. The only thing I have to go on is a name, “Kayla.” Now, where to go to find this woman? I pace around my office at Sovereignty with the titanic following behind me. “Seriously, do you have to follow my every move?”

  “My orders are to go wherever you go,” Delin says.

  “I am not going anywhere. I am still in the same room. You don’t need to take your orders so literally. Just stay nearby, and I think we will be fine,” I say, forcing him to sit. I go back to pacing while I consider that woman and the people she had with her. Okay, so she must have a place she goes regularly. She is clearly of low standards, so she must spend her time with criminals, but considering the jewelry she had on, they are criminals with money. I just need to find a place where these people would gather and ask if any of them know of her. I dive into the internet, searching through every city function from the past year until I find an article talking about a charity function. Her name is not mentioned, but she is in one of the pictures at the party. I gather Delin and drive us to a restaurant across from the charity’s offices. It is not in the best part of the city which Delin, my dutiful guard, quickly points out. I reassure him and get him seated at a table with plenty of food to distract him. While he eats, I watch the place closely, waiting for her to show. My patience begins to run out and I decide it better to go and ask someone about her. I tell Delin I am going to the bathroom, and he stands as if he is going to come with me. “No, sit and eat. I don’t need you for this. I promise.” He nods and sits stiff
ly. I walk back towards the restrooms and slip out the back door into an alleyway. I walk to the edge of the building and wait for something to hide me from the window where Delin is sitting. I take two steps back, watching carefully when I feel a gun pushed into my back.

  “Okay Mister, I don’t want to hurt you, so just give me your money and that jewelry you have on, and we can both go on with our lives peacefully,” he says, poking me harder in the back.

  I turn to the man and fist my hand around his neck. “Oh no. Don’t kill me. I am nothing but a poor … Oh wait, hey Nick,” he chokes out between rugged breaths as I dangle him in the air.

  “You know who I am?” I ask.

  “Yeah. Don’t you remember me? I’m Kayla’s friend, Ro.”

  “You know Kayla?” I ask, and he nods. “Can you tell me how to find her?”

  “I could call her if you want, but don’t you know her number? Did you two get into a fight or something?” he says, still fighting with my hand around his neck.

  “You could say that,” I say, looking him over and trying to recall where I might have seen this man.

  He fidgets in the air, trying to release my grasp, “You know I could help you more if I was on the ground.” I slowly place him back on the ground, and he instantly begins taking deep breathes as he adjusts his clothes with some annoyed huffs. “What’s wrong with you today? Your usual dark and mysteriously handsome personality is all growly and beasty like. What’cha need? A Snickers or somethin’? I think I got one here somewhere,” he says, searching his many pockets.

  “I need to know where Kayla is!” I demand.

  “Alright. Dammmmnnn. Somebody is all kinds of grouchy today. You know, if she is that mad, you might wanna just give her some space. If there is one thing I know about Kayla, you do not want to push her when she is angry.” I growl my impatience, and he holds up his hand as he takes out his phone and dials. “Calling. See? Calling. Hey girl, where you at? Oh, well that’s good. Naw, I am just here with Niii …” I grab the phone from him and crush it. “Hey! What the hell did you do that for?!”

  “She can’t know that you are talking to me. Where did she say she was?”

  “Home. Where else would she be? She got those two little ones. I’m sure she don’t get out too much,” Ro says to me.

  “Children? She has children.” He nods animatedly

  “What is wrong with you? Do you not even know your own wife?” He says oddly.

  I look at him, trying to understand why he would say something like that. “Apparently not. We … have gone our separate ways.”

  “Ah man, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. Don’t worry. Give it some time. I am sure you can work it out,” he says, patting my arm. I give him a strong glare, and he stops. “Clearly you don’t like to be touched. My bad.”

  “What is your name?” I ask.

  “Oh yeah, you probably are all kinds of crazy, and out of your mind right now with your wife leaving you and all. The name is Roland Roosevelt, but you can call me Ro-Ro or Ro, whatever. Just call me if you got a need, and I will find you,” he says, holding out his hand to me.

  I take it and begin to wonder. “How well you do you know her?”

  “Who? Kayla? We’ve known each other a long time. She used to live with me and my Momma. She’s like a sister to me. Momma still has a whole photo album just of Kayla and some of her things actually,” Ro says.

  “Can you tell me where this place is?” He shrugs. “I can pay you.”

  I take out a couple of hundreds, and he quickly snatches them from my hand, “For two hundred dollars, I will escort you personally. But you still owe me a new phone and none of those oriental knockoff. I don’t want no j-Phone again. I don’t care what that guy in the van said, J does not stand for Japanese iPhone. It stands for jacked up phone.” I nod, not understanding a word he is saying. I follow him up the street and to a depressing building where he has me follow him up several flights of stairs. “Sorry about the stairs, but the elevator broke. Maintenance has been working on it since it broke.”

  “When did it break?”

  “About ten years ago.”

  “I think you might want to hire some new maintenance,” I mumble.

  He leads me into a small apartment with average accommodations. “My Momma is in the other room watching her shows, which means she is taking her afternoon nap. So, you need to keep it down,” he says as a woman suddenly starts yelling from one of the back rooms. “Oh no, too late.”

  “Ro, what in the hell are you doing coming in here making all this ruckus during my shows? And who …” She looks me over and then puts on the glasses that were dangling from her neck. She looks me over once again with wide eyes. “Well hello. Who are you, tall dark and handsome?” she says with a blushing smile.

  I take her hand and kiss it, “Nicholas Savage, Ma’am.”

  “Oh my, oh, well what do I owe this magical visit to?” She giggles, smiling wildly.

  “He’s here to look after Kayla’s things. Now stop touching him. He is not yours,” Ro says, backing her away from me.

  “Oh the things I could do to him,” she growls towards me. “Do you need anything to eat Nicholas? Maybe somewhere nice to lie down and relax? I give amazing massages.” She laughs while I nervously look at Ro.

  “Momma! Nick and I have business to take care of.” He pushes her back to the room she came from before returning with a box of miscellaneous things. “Here is the stuff Kayla left here. It isn’t much and nothing I think she really cares about, but we saved it anyhow. Just in case.” I open the box and go through it, but I don’t find anything that helps me find her.

  “I need to know where she is. This doesn’t help me,” I say.

  “What do you want me to do? You broke my phone … from which I can … call her. It was the only connection I had. I don’t even remember her number. I am going to have to wait until she calls me now; well once I get a new phone.”

  “I will buy you a new phone. When do you think she will call you?” I ask him.

  “How should I know? She had talked about helping me get a job, but I told her I am doing well with the job I have,” he says.

  “You have a job? Doing what exactly?”

  “Yes, I am an entrepreneur. I gather new and old things and resell them for a higher value than what I errr… umm… secured them for.”

  “You mean you rob and steal from people and then sell their things. You’re a criminal,” I sigh.

  “I take offense to that. I don’t deny it, but I take offense to it,” he says.

  I roll my eyes, trying to decide what to do. I don’t want to follow this guy around while he steals until Kayla calls him again. “How about I give you a job? You can be my assistant; my Grandfather has been after me to find one of my own anyway. You can’t speak around him, and certainly don’t ever … EVER … mention Kayla to him.”

  “Exactly how much does this job pay?” he asks, sitting down next to me with wide eyes. I don’t want to take him with me, but then I think about Delin and his boring ass. At least Ro talks. He talks too much, but I could leave him in the car when I am tired of him. The advantage he can potentially give me with Kayla may make the trouble worth it.

  “It pays a few thousand a week plus room and board.”

  “You better take that job Roland!” his mother yells from her room.

  “Shut up, old woman! Ain’t no one talking to you!” Ro yells back. A loud banging begins before his mother comes running out with a large belt. Ro quickly pushes me out the door. “No reason to stick around here any longer.” Once we seem to be safely away, he stands up straight in front of me and happily agrees to my terms. “Now, as far as Kayla is concerned, what exactly has you in such a mess right now? What bothers you the most about her?” he asks.

  “She inflicts her will on me, and she won’t let me control her,” I say to his scrunched expression.

  “And you didn’t know that about her before you married her? That is not exactly s
omething new about her, Nick.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t know her at all,” I snap at him.

  “Hmmm …” He nods. He begins to hum as if he is trying to decide how he can help me. “I don’t need your relationship advice. Trust me,” I huff, taking hold of Roland’s arm and moving him back towards my car. “Come with me,” I say as he shakes his head at me.

  “You should just give up trying to control that woman. She is too much for you.”

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion. I handle her just fine, her strong will just caught me off guard is all.”

  “Uh-huh, her strong will is that what did it? I don’t care what you say, I can tell you still care for her. If nothing else, I bet you miss having sex with her.” I stop dead in my tracks.

  “I have no interest in fucking that woman!”

  He laughs, “Okay, if you say so.” He starts making weird noises and dancing suddenly. “Well, I think you’re crazy. I think you’re crazy … Crazy,” he sings. Glaring in his direction, he shuts up instantly. Ro walks up to my car in awe. “Are you kidding me?! This is your car? No way. Is this your car?” he asks as three men approach, eyeing my car as Ro does, “Uh Nick, I think maybe you should just throw your keys down and let’s run. I know these guys. They are not to be messed with, and they clearly want this car.”

  Ro grabs my arm and tries to pull me away, but I continue on and eye each man directly as they stand boldly around my car to keep me from going anywhere. “Move,” I say clearly to them. They all run without any further trouble.

  Ro looks surprised … for a second. “I guess it would have to be one suicidal motherfucker to steal your car.” He looks me over, shaking his head. “Dark and handsome and crazy as fuck.”