Dealing with the Devil

by M. E. Clayton

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” she snapped quietly.

  On the verge of losing my shit, I simply said, “Let’s go.” And not another word was said until we both pulled up to her brother’s apartment building.

  Chapter 10

  Devi~

  The entire night was turning out to be a disaster I didn’t think possible.

  Knocking on Keith’s apartment door, Cassius stood behind me like a bulletproof sentinel, and I couldn’t deny my attraction was distracting me from the problem at hand. When his hand had reached up to cradle my face in his office earlier, I had wanted to just fall into his arms and let him make the entire world go away. But I had managed to come to my senses before I had done anything reckless.

  I still had no idea why he wanted to get involved in this mess, but I could demand answers later. Right now, I needed to talk to Keith and get the truth. All of it, this time. I also needed to get Kim her car back. After texting her that I still needed it, she had texted me back to keep it for as long as I needed it. As long as I was safe, that was all she cared about, and I silently thanked God for her again.

  The second the door swung open, Cassius was pushing his way past me and my brother, and entering his apartment without an invitation. But it wasn’t as if Keith could keep him out. Even if Keith hadn’t been beaten all to hell, he was no match for Cassius Sire. But then, who was?

  “Hey, what…what the hell?” Keith exclaimed, his head swiveling back and forth between me and Cassius.

  I followed suit, and once I was inside the apartment, I told Keith. “Shut the door, Keith. We need to talk.”

  He gestured towards Cassius. “Who the fuck is this?” he demanded but shut the door as I had asked.

  Ignoring his question, I told him about going to Alvin’s. “I went to Alvin Fischer’s to pay off your debt, Keith.”

  His eyes weren’t swollen shut anymore, so I could see them widen in shock. “What?” he screeched. “Are you fucking insane? Why would you go pay him without me? And where in the hell did you get thirty-thousand fucking dollars, Devi?”

  “I gave it to her,” Cassius said, finally speaking.

  Keith’s eyes shot his way. “And, again, who the fuck are you?”

  Cassius straighten, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Cassius Sire.”

  The words were like a physical blow because Keith stumble back a bit before looking back over at me. “Have you lost your mind, Devi?” he bit out. “You borrowed money from Cassius Sire?”

  Anger was quickly making an appearance at Keith’s nerve. “Since I couldn’t get financed anywhere else, yes, Keith, I borrowed money from Cassius Sire,” I fired back. “What the hell else did you expect me to do? Did you have a better plan?”

  “I told you I would handle it!” he yelled, and my heart broke a little bit more with his genuine denial.

  “And how were you going to do that, exactly?” Cassius asked. “The three nights at ten-grand each?”

  Keith blanched. “How-”

  “Alvin wouldn’t take the money, Keith,” I finally told him. “When I went to pay him, he refused to accept the payment. He said he told you what he wanted, and I had three weeks to warm up to the idea.” I willed the angry tears back. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He looked genuinely hurt, but I couldn’t let that distract me. We were in deep shit, and we needed to figure out a way out of it.

  “Are you serious?” he choked out, shocked. “Devi, I may be a fuck-up, but I’d let Alvin kill me before even voicing what he had suggested. You’re my fucking sister, Devi.” Keith shook his head. “You can’t…you can’t really believe I’d…”

  My heart felt like it was bleeding right down the middle with the genuine pain in his voice. While, no, I didn’t think Keith would ever do something like that to me, I’ve been inadvertently dragged into his mess, and all because the guy he owed money to had taken a fascination to me.

  “I don’t,” I told him, granting him mercy. “But we need to figure something out if he’s refusing the money, Keith.”

  Keith straightened as he looked at me. “I’ll handle it.”

  Cassius let out a cold laugh at that. “Like fuck you will,” he said darkly. “It’s obvious you can’t handle shit Westland, or else you and your sister wouldn’t be in this fucking mess to begin with.”

  Credit to my brother, he didn’t cower at Cassius’ truth. “Apart from being our financier, I don’t see how any of this is your business,” he told Cassius.

  When Cassius pulled his hands out of his pocket and started making his way towards my brother, I jumped in front of him, my hands on his chest. “Don’t,” I blurted. “Calm down.”

  Oblivious to the fact that Cassius was desperate to get his hand on him, Keith said, “Give me the money, and I’ll go pay him. He’ll take it from me.”

  I whirled around to face my brother. “I’m not giving you the money, Keith,” I told him. “And even if I did trust you with it, why would he take it from you and not me?”

  “I never agreed to his deal, Devi,” he replied. “I’d never do that. Alvin was just trying to manipulate you into agreeing with his sick idea.”

  “You think so?” I felt Cassius’ warm hands rest on my shoulders, and Keith’s eye widened again when Cassius stepped closer, his heat coating my entire back, as it looked like we were a couple. I knew that’s what the familiarity looked like, and I couldn’t deny how nice the idea seemed.

  I didn’t know this man, and he was dangerous, for sure, but I was attracted to him, and his hands felt good on my body. And I might be in a very vulnerable state of mind right now to be thinking about getting involved with someone like Cassius Sire, but I still liked the idea of letting this man make all my troubles go away. Because I was fucking tired. It’s been a long life, handling Keith’s addictions.

  Keith’s focus returned to the subject at hand. “Ye…yeah, I think so.” Could it really be that simple? “He can’t play me like he tried you, Devi.” He shrugged. “Besides, Alvin might be a right bastard, but he’s not stupid. He knows if it gets around that he’s not accepting money as legitimate repayment, people will stop borrowing from him. No one is going to risk borrowing from a man who might as for his wife, sister, daughter, or whoever as repayment. He was just trying to play you, Devi.”

  “He might be right,” Cassius remarked behind me, his hands giving my shoulders a quick squeeze.

  My head turned to look up at him. “Really?”

  Those hazel eyes of his studied my face, and for a brief second, I thought he might kiss me when his eyes landed on my lips. But instead, he just said, “It’s possible.”

  “So, give me the money and-”

  Cassius looked over at Keith. “I’ll be paying back the loan in person,” he announced. “Not you, and definitely, not your sister.”

  “But-”

  “Let’s get something straight here,” Cassius said as he made his way around me and was now standing in front of my brother. “Alvin Fischer isn’t the biggest threat to your peace of mind if anything happens to your sister because of the shit you’ve dragged her into.”

  Keith’s eyes narrowed. “And what interest do you have in my sister, besides her ability to pay back the loan?” Cassius had Keith by the front of his shirt before I could wrestle my way in between them.

  “Stop it,” I yelled, breaking them apart. “That’s enough.”

  Cassius pointed at Keith over my shoulder. “Count yourself lucky that I give a fuck what your sister wants, Westland.”

  “Like I already asked, why do you care what happens to my sister?” Keith asked, ignoring common sense versus provoking a man like Cassius Sire.

  Cassius didn’t answer him. “I’m getting your sister home, paying back Fischer, and then you and I are going to have a long talk, asshole.”

  Keith didn’t comment, but after a long stretch of silence, he said, “At least let me go with you to pay Alvin back. I still think he’ll be forced to accept payment
if I’m the one paying him.”

  I could feel Cassius’ arrogance and anger permeate the entire apartment. “You think I give a shit about Alvin Fischer? You think I’m scared of that piece of shit?”

  Keith didn’t back down. “You know I’m right.”

  “Cassius?” He looked down at me. “I just want this to go away,” I told him, hoping he really did care about what I wanted. I had no idea what was happening between us, but if he was going to get involved, well, then, he was getting my opinion on all this.

  His hazel gaze ran over my face before letting out a steady breath. He looked back at Keith. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes to pick you up. Be ready.”

  Leaving Keith’s, Cassius followed me as I drove Kim’s car back to her place. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to leave until I filled her in, I let Cassius know I was staying, and after telling me he’d be back by to pick me up later, he left to go pick up Keith and pay Alvin.

  Standing on Kim’s doorstep, I watched him taking off, leaving me a confused goddamn mess.

  Chapter 11

  Cassius~

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this furious. Keith Westland’s only saving grace had been that I believed him about not being willing to trade his sister for his mistakes. However, it didn’t mean I liked the guy.

  He had tried grilling me about Devi on the ride to the electronics store, where Alvin did his business, but I had quickly shut that shit down. There was no way I was telling this asshole my intentions when I haven’t even spoken to Devi about them. Besides, we had more pressing business than my feelings for his sister, because, fuck, did I have feelings for her. I haven’t had time to dissect what the fuck this was all about yet, but I planned on rolling with it and making her mine.

  When we pulled up to the storefront, I looked over at Keith. “I’ll let you pay the man, and I’ll let you act like you have a say in all this. But when it comes to any questions about Devi, those are mine to answer, got it?”

  I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that we were at Alvin’s store, or what, that had Keith Westland settling into the reality of his situation, because he quickly agreed, rather than question me about his sister again. “Okay.”

  Turning off the ignition, we got out of the car at the same time and made our way into the store. It was almost ten at night, but the store’s interior was lit up like it was noon. A pretty blonde greeted us as soon as we approached the sales counter, but the second her brown eyes recognized it was Keith underneath all the bruising, her smile dropped.

  Keith didn’t waste any time dicking around with her. “Is Alvin in?”

  She nodded. “I’ll…I’ll go get him.”

  As she went to the back to get Fischer, I took a curious glance around the store. It looked like any other electronic store you saw in the neighborhood, but I knew there were bloodstains on the office floors in the back of the building.

  It wasn’t even a full minute later, and the blonde was back, saying, “He said to go on back. You…You know where it is.”

  Keith gave her a thankful nod. “Thanks, Erin.” I didn’t acknowledge her at all as I followed Keith behind the counter and through the store’s back hallway.

  When we came upon the second door on the left, Keith murmured quietly, “This is it.” I didn’t comment as he knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” came a voice from behind the door.

  Keith put his hand on the knob and pushed the door open. Even though I was following behind him, I was taller than Keith by a couple of inches, so I was immediately greeted with the sight of Alvin Fischer leaning back in his desk chair, his feet kicked up on the desk. However, the second Alvin Fischer noticed me, he was quick to stand.

  Sparing me only a quick glance, he faced Keith. “What’s this?”

  Keith walked over to Alvin’s desk, pulled the envelope of money from his back pocket, and set it on top of some scattered papers that were covering the surface. “This is the thirty-thousand I owe you, Alvin.” Keith took a step back from the desk, while I stayed where I was, halfway between the desk and office door. “All of it.”

  And because Alvin Fischer hadn’t made a name for himself by being stupid, he lifted his chin and looked over at me. “What’s your role in all this? His bank?”

  I wanted to kill him.

  I really did.

  And for all the shit I’ve done in my life, I didn’t kill indiscriminately. I didn’t have a thirst for blood the way Atticus did. I’ve only killed when I’ve had no other choice. Whether to set a precedent or in self-defense, my kills have always come with a solidified reason.

  Until now.

  Now, I wanted to kill Alvin Fischer simply because he set his sights on Devi. And when I thought of how she’d been in this very room, alone, with him, I wanted to kick my own ass for allowing it to happen. Sure, Sergio had been parked outside, timing the transaction, but anything could have happened to her before he could have had the chance to get to her.

  And that was my error.

  One that won’t ever happen again.

  “I’m here to make sure this little transaction goes off like it’s supposed to,” I informed him, my voice hard and sure. “I’m also here as a courtesy.”

  “Oh, really?” he replied, trying to sound tougher than he was.

  “It’s not public knowledge, so I understand how someone might overstep without realizing it, but I’m here to tell you to stay the fuck away from Devi Westland, Fischer.” I made sure I stared into those cold-blue eyes of his as I staked my claim. “She’s mine.”

  His eyes shot over towards Keith, then back my way. He was probably trying to gauge if I was lying or not. “Since when?” He shrugged a shoulder as if his plan hadn’t just been dealt a hard blow. “I mean, everyone with their ear to the streets knows you don’t date, Sire.”

  “I didn’t,” I admitted. “That changed with Devi. So, I’m here to tell you, the only reason I’m going to walk out of this room, leaving you alive, is because I understand you didn’t know. Even if I don’t like it, I understand it.”

  Alvin’s back went up at that. “Can’t say I take kindly to being threatened, Cassius.”

  I reached behind my back and pulled out the gun from my waistband. In three strides, I was standing by his desk, my gun in his face.

  Keith immediately back away. “Whoa…”

  “Then you prefer I kill you now?” I asked. “Because what I don’t take kindly to is someone fucking with what’s mine. And, whether you were aware of it or not, Devi Westland is mine.”

  I watched pride war with self-preservation in those cold eyes of his. He wanted to call my bluff. He wanted me to flinch long enough to give him time to pull out his gun. He wanted to save face in front of Keith, a customer he’s been able to intimidate for years.

  After what seemed like forever, Alvin’s common sense finally prevailed. “Why don’t we just call it an unfortunate misunderstanding, and part amicably?” He gestured towards the envelope on his desk. “The debts paid, and that’s all that really matters, right?”

  I lowered my gun and tucked it back into my waistband. I wasn’t worried about him shooting me because, if he knew that I didn’t date, then he knew about Atticus and Xavier. They would torture him, until his soul left his body, if he tried to kill me.

  Leaning in a bit, I made sure to make my position clear before we left. “Go near her again, and I will be back, Fischer. We clear?” There was a tick in his jaw, but he didn’t say anything. He just gave me a tight nod. Without another word, I turned to walk out, and I could hear Keith’s footsteps following.

  Once in the car, I took Keith straight home and dropped him off at his apartment. However, I didn’t let him out of the car right away.

  The car idling in front of his apartment building, I turned to my future brother-in-law, and said, “You ever pull Devi into your shit ever again, I’ll kill you my-fucking-self, got it?”

  “Hey, I told her-”

  “Shut the
fuck up,” I snapped, and he smartly complied. “I did a background check on the both of you after I gave her the money, you jackass. And reading through the reports, it’s obvious to anyone who can read, that Devi’s been cleaning up your messes for years, and it stops fucking now.”

  The addict in him came out. “My relationship with my sister is none of your business.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” I shot back. “You’ve been bugging me about my intentions towards your sister since I showed up at your apartment, and guess what? My intentions are to keep her for the long haul, and I protect what’s mine, Keith. And that includes protecting Devi from her own brother if I have to.”

  “I would never hurt Devi,” he lied, like a true addict.

  “You hurt her every time you lose your job, place a bet, or snort some coke, you fucking punk,” I returned with no mercy. “You hurt her every time she’s forced to take care of her older brother because he can’t get his shit together.”

  “You don’t have to be an asshole about it,” he bit out, knowing I was only speaking the truth.

  “Get out of my car,” I told him before I beat him worse than he already was.

  After he slammed the car door behind him, I pulled out my phone and called Atticus and filled him in on everything. And that included how I lost my mind the first time I saw Devi Westland. After baring my soul, I told him to call Xavier and fill him in because I had shit to do. I needed to get to Devi’s and make my intentions clear.

  I also needed to tell her to stay the fuck away from Alvin Fischer.

  Chapter 12

  Devi~

  Kim had dropped me off about half an hour ago, and I was kind of going crazy with not having heard from Keith or Cassius.

  And Kim? Christ, she was my best friend, but the woman was different in that crazy, fun, wild, what-would-I-do-without-her kind of way.

  After telling her all the details of insanity I was involved in, her main focus had been on whether I was going to jump Cassius’ bones or not. Never mind Keith’s gambling problem, Alvin Fischer’s attempts at extorting sex from me, the thirty-thousand dollars I had to pay back, or the fact that I had to deal with two different loan sharks all in one day. No. She wanted to know if I was going to get down and dirty with that hot piece of sex on a stick-her words, not mine.