Dealing with the Devil

by M. E. Clayton

  I took out three stacks of ten, locked the safe, replaced the painting, and then headed back to my desk. I pulled out a nondescript envelope and placed the money inside before setting it on top of my desk. And when Devi was done filling out the form, she placed it on the desk, and just sat, waiting.

  “Ready to finalize your deal with the devil?” I asked, and she shook her head.

  Honesty came flying out of her mouth when she answered, “I was never ready for any of this, Mr. Sire.”

  “Call me Cassius or Cass,” I told her. “After all, I think we’re going to become really close after this, Devi.”

  She let out dark laugh. “I hope I never have to see you again after this.”

  And that was just too bad because I had more permanent plans in mind for her.

  Chapter 8

  Devi~

  While I had refused to let Kim drive me to meet with Alvin Fischer, I had taken her up on the use of her car. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck on the bad side of town, at the mercy of someone who had no qualms about beating my brother as badly as he had.

  After Cassius had given me the cash, I had practically run out of his office and The Tenor. Never mind the anxiousness of having thirty-thousand dollars in my possession, but insanity had me desperate to distance myself from Cassius Sire as fast as possible.

  Holy shit.

  While I never got to ask if that was his real name or his street name, it suited the hell out of the man. I was thirty-years-old, and I was positive I’ve never seen such a stunning human being in all my life. He was so damn gorgeous, it was hard to imagine he’d been born of normal human people.

  Well over six-foot, that tailored suit he’d had on had done nothing to disguise the muscular build underneath his clothes. Broad shoulders that topped a wide chest blended into a trimmed waist and hips. And I could tell his legs were just as impressive as the fabric of his slacks had stretched over his thighs when he had leaned up against the desk.

  But as Greek-God-like as that body was, it had nothing on his face. His dark brown hair was styled to be short on the sides, but long enough on top to give him that smoldering bedroom look. His matching brows sat above a pair of startling hazel eyes that were framed with dark, long lashes. His nose was straight down the center and it was nestled between two sharp cheekbones. His lips were full, and his chin was strong. He looked like he could take a punch and not flinch.

  When I had first walked in, all thoughts of my brother and our troubles had vanished for a quick second as my eyes registered the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. And when he had stepped forward to shake my hand, I had images of a black panther stalking its prey in the wilderness. A beautiful, feral, dangerous sight that not many people got to see in real life.

  But my common sense laughed at the attraction I had been experiencing because the last thing Cassius Sire would be interested in was a waitress who had to borrow money from him to bailout her brother who was an addict.

  However, if there were ever a moment in my life where I could just not care for one goddamn day, and do something for myself, I’d be doing Cassius Sire.

  Pushing that unrealistic fantasy aside, I turned off the ignition and took a deep breath. I stared at the front of the electronic store where Keith had told me Alvin conducted his business. It had been mentioned when he had confessed all the trouble he was in, and I was lucky I remembered it. Keith didn’t know I had secured the money, and I hadn’t wanted to tell him until the debt was paid off. As sad as it was to admit, I didn’t trust my brother. He had weaknesses and they were strong ones. I couldn’t trust that the temptation might be too strong. I even considered waiting until the three weeks were up to tell Keith the truth.

  Glancing at the time on the dashboard, it was a little past eight, and it would be getting dark soon. I needed to hurry up and get this over with, and then get the hell out of this neighborhood.

  Getting out of the car, I made sure it was locked up good before heading into the store. Once inside, I approached the counter.

  As soon as the salesgirl saw me, she smiled. “May I help you?”

  I smiled back, best I could under the circumstances. “I’m here to see Alvin,” I said as confidently as I could. “Could you please let him know that Devi Westland is here to speak with him?”

  She gave me an understanding smile. “Sure thing, sweetheart.” The blonde beauty couldn’t be over twenty-five, but her voice held a note of an old soul. One who’s seen too much.

  Holding onto my purse like it was my lifeline, I waited patiently as she went to the back of the store. Only a couple of minutes later, she was back. “Go on back,” she told me. “It’s the second door on your left.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  I gave her another quick smile and headed towards the back of the store. Looking around, it reminded me of an unkempt corner store. There were boxes lining the hallway and paint was peeling off the walls. There were also water stains on the ceiling, and I knew there was no way I wanted to be caught here after dark.

  When I stopped at the second door on the left, I raised my hand and knocked. The sound was loud, and for some reason, the door being metal raised the hairs on the back of my neck. However, the door opened before I could change my mind and run back out the same way I’d come in.

  I had no idea what Alvin Fischer looked like, but the guy who answered the door was surprisingly good-looking. Not model material, but good-looking all the same. At around six-foot, he had really light blonde hair and a pair of ice-blue eyes that seems to look right through you. It was like they were hypnotic enough to compel you to never lie to him.

  “Devi Westland?” I nodded, and he opened the door wide enough to let me through. “I’m Alvin Fischer,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”

  I turned to face him as the sound of the shutting door felt like a slug to my chest. “Officially?”

  He didn’t quite grin, but it was something. “Well, I know your brother quite well,” he said. “Also, The Opera is one of my favorite places to dine. I’ve seen you there a few times.”

  A cold chill danced down my spine, and it was hard to ignore my instincts screaming at me to get out of here. “Oh…well, I…hadn’t realized…”

  This time, Alvin did grin. “It’s quite alright. I don’t expect you to remember every person who walks into The Opera.” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing. “So, Devi, what can I do for you?” Then he quickly remembered his manners. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Would you like to sit?”

  I shook my head. “No. No, thank you. I’m…I’m just here to pay off my brother’s debt.”

  There was no masking his surprise. “You are?”

  “Yes.” I reached into my purse and pulled out the envelope Cassius had given me. Handing it out to him, I said, “Thirty-thousand, correct?”

  He looked at me disbelievingly. “You were able to get thirty-thousand dollars to pay off Keith’s debt?”

  I nodded. “Yes.” Cold shivers teased my nerve endings as he started laughing. “Wh…what’s so funny?”

  Getting himself under control, he shook his head at me in the way a veteran patronizes a rookie. “Oh, Devi, honey, I think your brother may have misled you a bit.”

  Oh, God. Did he owe more money? “What do you mean? Does he owe more than thirty-thousand?”

  Alvin slid his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “Oh, no, he owes the thirty. But I was pretty adamant about my preferred method of repayment.”

  “Meaning?” I asked.

  Then those ice-blue eyes traveled down my body and back up, and there was no mistaking where he was going with this. “Three nights at ten-thousand dollar each.”

  I knew what he meant, but I asked anyway. “Three nights of what?”

  “You.” The word echoed around the room like the slamming gates of a prison cell.

  “No.” There was no other answer. “Take your money, and…we’ll just-
”

  “I don’t want the money, Devi,” he said, and the way he said my name was with a familiarity he wasn’t entitled to. “I have all the money I need. What I want is you.”

  I shook my head. “No,” I repeated. “No.”

  Stepping forward, he grabbed the envelope out of my hand and stuffed it back in my purse. “I’m not taking the money, Devi,” he said again. “So, take this back to whoever lent it to you, so you’re not owing two people money you can’t afford to pay back, and I’ll give you the entire three weeks I gave your brother to warm up to the idea.”

  “N-”

  “Or I could kill him now?” he threatened, his voice low and dark.

  I stood there, my entire body shaking. I refused to believe Keith agreed to this, but he also should have told me. When I had asked for the truth, I had asked for all of it.

  I went to reach for the money again, but his hand grabbed mine, stopping me. “Three weeks, Devi,” he said. “And then I’m coming for you.”

  Snatching my hand back, I ran for the door. I had every intention of fighting this, but I wasn’t stupid enough to do it alone in the back of his store. So, racing to Kim’s car, I got the hell out of there and headed straight for The Tenor. I needed to give Cassius his money back because Alvin was right. If he wasn’t going to take the money, there was no sense in having it, owing it.

  I only prayed Cassius was willing to lend it to me again when Keith and I figure this shit out.

  Chapter 9

  Cassius~

  The background checks on Devi and Keith Westland came back faster than normal. Of course, there was the fact that I had asked Atticus to put a rush on it, and Atticus wasn’t one to dick around.

  It also hadn’t escaped my notice that Xavier had been with him at Pryce’s again. For all of Xavier’s pro-single declarations, he’d been ‘double dating’ with Atty and Pryce a lot lately. Pryce had a friend named Rochelle who ticked off all of Xavier’s boxes.

  There was nothing in the reports that had been a shocker, other than their parents dying while they had both still been in high school. They’d gone to live with an uncle, but there was no need to dig into all that right now. If things went my way, Devi and I were going to have plenty of time to learn about one another. No. I was more interested in the more recent stuff, and it was just as she said. Keith Westland had self-discipline problems, and it looks like Devi’s been helping him out of his scrapes a long time.

  Like now, for instance.

  Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was a little past nine, and while I loved The Tenor’s energy on the weekends, tonight I just wanted to go home and think about Ms. Devi Westland. There was a lot to unpack there, but I wasn’t intimidated in the least. The desire to stare into those different-colored eyes of hers, as she rode my cock, was too strong to deny.

  Ready to head on home and rub one out like a twelve-year-old boy with his first hard-on, I stood up to leave. But the ringing of my desk phone had me sitting back down, hoping the call was something simple. The bar extension was lit up, so it was most likely Tenor business.

  I grabbed the receiver. “Yeah?”

  “Hey, Boss,” Connor said. “That chick with the eyes is back, and she’s asking to see you.”

  “Send her back,” I immediately replied. Foreboding tickled the bottom of my spine. There could only be a handful of reasons Devi would be back so soon, and none of them were good. My bet was that her brother owed more than he’d confessed to.

  And because my dick wanted her badly, I already had the door open, waiting for her. When I saw Sergio heading down the hall with her again, I met them halfway and escorted Devi the rest of the way to my office. Sergio must have shown up just a few minutes before she had since I had sent him to follow her after she left my office to go pay Fischer. Once we were inside, I shut and locked the door.

  Devi didn’t bother with sitting down. She turned towards me, and I watched as she pulled the envelope I’d given her earlier, out of her purse, and tried handing it back to me. “Here you go,” she said. “It’s all there.” When I didn’t reach for the envelope fast enough, she waved it in my face. “Take it,” she cried, her voice full of edginess.

  I took the envelope, and tossed it across the room, it landing perfectly on my desk. “What happened, Devi?”

  She didn’t say anything for a really long time. So long, that I walked over to the sidebar and poured her a drink. When I brought it to her, she took it and peer inside the glass. “What is it?”

  “Courage,” I remarked dryly. “Now drink it.” The look she shot me told me she didn’t appreciate my answer, but she took a drink anyway.

  She started sputtering. “Oh…oh, god…wh…what…uh, mmm, what is that?”

  “Whiskey.” I took the glass from her hand and set the glass on the desk. “Now, tell me what is going on?"

  Her deep, tired sigh filled the room. “He wouldn’t take it.”

  “What?” That didn’t make any sense. “Does your brother owe more?”

  She shook her head, and when those dazzling eyes of hers landed on mine, I could almost see her surrendering to the weight that was her brother’s troubles. “No. It’s the right amount.”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  “He…he said he didn’t want the money,” she replied. “He said he talked with Keith and had told Keith he wanted…a different form of repayment.” My spine snapped so sharply, it was a miracle I hadn’t cracked something. “He wants…”

  I couldn’t help it. I grabbed her shoulders and almost shook the shit out of her. “He wants what, Devi?”

  “Three nights, at ten-thousand dollars each, wipes out the debt,” she said. “Three…he wants three night with me as repayment for the money.”

  Rage swirled at the base of my spine and spread like a deadly virus all throughout my body. Even if I wasn’t already claiming Devi as mine, I despised rapists. And there was no doubt that what he was doing was rape. A carefully orchestrated rape.

  I wanted to take her in my arms, but we weren’t there yet. So, instead, I ushered her towards the sidebar, sat her down on one of the stools, and poured her another drink. And, this time, she drank it without any argument.

  “What did you tell him?”

  Devi set the glass on the bar top before looking up at me. I was so much taller than her, that even with her sitting on the stool, I still towered over her. “I told him no, of course.”

  “And what did he say to that?” Fury was making it hard to steady my voice, but I didn’t want to scare her. If Devi had any idea what was going on in my head, she’d run scared.

  “He said he wasn’t taking the money and there was no sense in owing two people money I can’t afford to owe. So he put the envelope back in my purse, and told me I had three weeks to warm up to the idea because that was the only form of payment he was going to accept.”

  “Sonofabitch,” I growled because there was no holding it in.

  “I…I don’t know how this works. If…do…if I still owe you interst-”

  “Forget the fucking money, Devi,” I snapped, causing her to wince. “I don’t care about the goddamn money.”

  “Well, excuse the hell out of me,” she fired back, her nerves done as she jumped down off the bar stool. “How the hell am I supposed to know what the fuck happens now?”

  I speared her with a look. “Careful, Devi.”

  At that, she let out an incredulous laugh. “Careful? Are you serious? I’m always careful,” she declared. “And look at where that’s gotten me, Cassius.”

  My name falling off her lips, even with the heat of angry, frustrated fire, sounded so fucking sweet. And as much as I wanted to just kidnap the woman, I had to prioritize. “And what did your brother have to say about all this?”

  “I haven’t talked to him yet,” she said, her voice calming down. “I came straight here to return the money. The last thing I need is to accidently lose it.”

  All on its own, my hand slid around h
er neck, cradling her face, and the way she leaned into my touch didn’t go unnoticed. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I told her. “We’re going to go to your brother’s, find out what the fuck is going on, then I’ll handle the rest.” Her head reared back, but my hold on her neck tightened.

  She wasn’t getting away.

  Her eyes searched mine. “I don’t understand,” she said. “What do you mean, you’ll handle the rest? Why…why are you involving yourself in my problems?”

  What a question. But I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth just yet. “Are you telling me you don’t need my help?”

  At that, she let out a bitter laugh as she took a step back, dislodging my hand. “I know you probably think I’m some poor, unsophisticated idiot, coming in here and begging for money, but I’m not,” she bit out. "Why would someone like you help someone like me?”

  My chin went up. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because people aren’t generally selfless, Cassius,” she shot back. “No one would get involved in something like this unless they wanted something in return.”

  “Maybe I just don’t like the way Alvin Fischer does business,” I remarked.

  “I’m not buying it,” she replied. “What’s in it for you?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Hell yeah, it matters.” Devi took a deep, steady breath. “I’d rather deal with the devil I know than get obliterated by the one I don’t.”

  Cold fury was a real thing because I was feeling it now.

  “Let’s go talk with your brother,” I said, holding onto every shred of self-control I had. “And after talking with him, if you’d still rather spread your legs for the devil you know than trust the devil you don’t know, then have at it.”