I could actually feel the hate shooting from my eyes. “How do you propose you’ll accomplish that when you’ll be in so much pain?”
He slapped my face lightly, insultingly. “Because the pain will fade eventually, Devi,” he replied. “And when it does, there’ll be no saving you.”
I scoffed. “Because there’s a chance I’ll be saved now?”
Alvin’s face softened, and it was the scariest sight I’ve ever seen. The lovingly way he was looking at me showed what a true nutjob he really was. “I only have one chance with you, Devi,” he said. “I’m not leaving anything unexplored.”
He was serious.
Studying the crazy look in his eye, he was serious.
So, in what could be the dumbest move of my life, or the smartest, I stood up and dropped back with all my weight, toppling the chair. While my body jarred, I was able to hear the crack of the brittle wood and my feet were free, though they still had the feet of the chair tied to them.
“What the fuck!” Alvin roared, and I felt his hands on my shoulders as I twisted and turned with my hands tied behind my back. “Stop it!”
Yeah, right.
I started kicking and flaying about, slivers of wood scratching my back and arms. But with my hands useless, I knew I needed to use my body weight to fight this.
I needed to use anything.
Luckily, The Opera didn’t force us to wear feminine uniforms. We were issued uniform shirts, and everyone paired their top with jeans. The Opera wasn’t as fancy as The Symphony or The Orchestra and thank God for that. My jeans were saving me in more ways than one right now.
“Goddamn it!” Alvin yelled. “Stop it!”
We continued to struggle, and when I was able to get a broken piece of wood in my hands, I held on for dear life. I wasn’t sure how I could use it right now, but I felt better knowing I had a weapon of sorts in my hands.
Grabbing my shoulders, Alvin hauled me to my feet and the slap across my face rang inside my skull. I flew against the counter, and there was nothing stopping my momentum as I crashed to the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Alvin screamed, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was pacing, rage emitting from every inch of his body. But before I could say anything, the sound of a car’s revved up engine vibrated the flimsy windows.
Cassius was here. I just knew it. It had to be him.
Alvin raced to the kitchen window, and with Cassius’ arrival distracting him, I was able to stand up, and I took off running as best I could. I knew Alvin would catch up with me, but I didn’t care. I fucking ran, and it’d just be another fight if he caught me.
Thundering footsteps shook the weakened floor as Alvin chased me through the kitchen and into the living room. But as soon as I felt his hands grab a fistful of my hair, I let all my weight drop, hoping to force him to the floor with me.
But that wasn’t what happened.
As soon as I went to drop my weight, the sounds of the front door busting wide open and the deafening blast of a gun being fired shook my eardrums, and I was pulled down, moisture coating the side of my face.
“Devi!”
Cassius.
I felt his hands everywhere, and I laid there, spent, as Cassius untied my hands from behind my back and removed the ties from my legs.
“Fuck, baby,” he rasped out. “Fuck.” Then he pulled me into his arms, the fact that I was covered in Alvin’s blood irrelevant. “Goddamn it, Devi.”
Then I started laughing like a complete lunatic.
Cassius pulled back to look at my face, and through my laughs, I could see absolute worry in those hazel orbs of his. “Baby, are you-”
“You didn’t say anything,” I babbled like a loon. “You just shot him.”
His face looked incredulous. “Of course, I just fucking shot him.”
I could feel tears streaming down my face, and I was pretty sure this was what hysteria felt like because nothing was making sense. “In the movies, they talk. The hero gets the villain to disclose his motives.”
“Motherfucker,” Cassius swore under his breath. “You must have hit your head somewhere.” I knew I looked a mess. I was bruised and battered, and I could see the effect it was having on Cassius because his eyes would harden every time his gaze ran over my face.
“You just shot him,” I repeated.
“Fuck yeah, I just shot him.” Cassius’ hands framed my face. “Baby, I’m not the hero in this movie. I’m every bit the villain Fischer was. And I don’t give one fuck what his motives were, or what he was thinking. He touched you.”
“I…I thin…think I’m having a nervous breakdown, Cassius,” I confessed, and I was pretty sure I was. My body started to shake, and I refused to look behind me.
He gathered me back in his arms, and though his hold hurt with all the cuts and bruises marring my body, I didn’t complain. “I got you, baby.”
I sunk into his embrace, and this was where I wanted to stay.
Forever.
It wasn’t until I heard other footsteps entering the house that I pulled free from the warmth and security of Cassius’ hold. When I looked up, a guy who looked just like Cassius was walking towards us, and I knew he must be his brother, Atticus. And my only thought was this was one hell of a way to meet someone for the first time.
Chapter 17
Cassius~
I’ve seen a lot of shit in my life, but this? This was the one thing that was going to scar me forever.
Seeing Devi running for her life, her hands tied behind her back and struggling, was a sight that was going to haunt me forever. So much in fact, that I wish I could bring that motherfucker back to life, so I could kill him all over again.
Only, this time, I’d take my time.
This time, I’d torture the sonofabitch for days before finally sending him to Hell.
After Atticus had shown up, Xavier hadn’t been far behind. I’d been carrying Devi to my car when he had shown up, and Xavier hadn’t said a word as he headed towards the farmhouse to see what we were dealing with.
It hadn’t been until Keith showed up that I had felt comfortable leaving Devi to clean up the mess I made. Knowing Keith wasn’t going to leave his sister, I had left them to go back into the house, Keith comforting her in the back seat of my car. And that was another thing I was going to have to take control of.
If Keith Westland thought he was going to get out of this unscathed, he was wrong. If I had to ship the asshole to a rehab in Vermont to get his shit together, then that’s what I was going to do. And if this wasn’t a wakeup call for him, he’d no longer have a sister. Keith could fuck right off if he thought I’d ever let something like this touch Devi ever again. I had no qualms about my illegal shit because I took care of what was mine, but his bullshit? Yeah, nah.
We were all standing over Alvin Fischer’s lifeless body, the hole in his head making an ugly mess. Xavier’s toe tapped Alvin’s foot. “We could always just torch the place,” he suggested.
“Why don’t we see who owns the property first,” Atticus replied.
“We need to get rid of the body,” I said. “We can torch the place, but we can’t leave his body here.”
“Do we bury it or chop it up?”
If Devi weren’t involved in all this, I’d feel confident burying the body would be enough. But because I didn’t want any of this coming back to her, there needed to be no evidence of what happened here today. Burning the farmhouse wasn’t a problem. With the obvious vandalism, the police would probably think it was squatters lighting a fire that got out of hand. And as long as the insurance paid out, I imagine the owner wouldn’t care, but I had to be sure.
I glanced at my brother. “Pull up who owns this property before we torch it.” Atticus immediately pulled out his phone to do what I asked.
“Baker.” We all turned to see Keith walking into the house. He looked tired and pale, but it served him right if he had trouble sleeping after this.
I knew I would.<
br />
“What?”
“Devi was telling me what happened, and the guy who knocked Kim out, she said Alvin called him Baker.”
“He has to be talking about Baker Landers,” Xavier said. “He’s part of Alvin’s crew and the asshole is known to put his hands on women. I can see him knocking Kimberly Alba out.”
“Herbert Milton owns this piece of shit,” Atticus announced, putting his phone back in his pocket. “But now we got other issues.”
“I know.”
With Devi’s purse at the scene, and not knowing what Kim’s told the police, Alvin going missing was a case the police would look into if Kim told them he took Devi. Devi’s purse at the scene was more troublesome than anything Kim might say, though. We could always poke holes in Kim’s story by pointing out that she’d been hit in the head hard enough to knock her out. It was harder to explain Devi’s purse scattered around with Devi nowhere in sight.
“We need Devi to call Kim and find out what she told the police.” I looked at my brother. “You know I’m right, Cass.”
As much as I hated pressuring Devi more, Atticus was right. “Let me go talk to her.”
“Hurry, man,” Xavier added. “We can’t keep this body warm for long.” I nodded because he was also right. This shit wasn’t like the movies, as Devi had pointed out. You didn’t have time for conversation and decision making when a kill wasn’t planned.
Devi was still sitting in the backseat when I approached the car. Opening the door, she slid over to give me room, but I just crouched outside the door. She looked wary, tried, beaten up, and it fucking broke my heart.
“Baby, I need you to call Kim and find out what she told the cops.”
She gave me a tentative nod, but said, “Okay, but…knowing Kim, she hasn’t said anything.” Devi gave me a tired, sad look. “She’s more street smart than I am.”
“Devi…”
“I feel like a fool,” she went on. “Like…I thought I knew a thing or two, but I really don’t.”
“You do realize that not knowing anything about stuff like this is a good thing, right?”
“Even if we’re going to be together?”
The question felt like a slug to the chest because she had a point, and it made me wonder if this entire experience was going to make her walk away and never look back. And could I blame her?
“Nothing like this will ever happen again, Devi,” I told her, swearing it on my soul. “I could have handled this shitshow better, but I’ll never make that mistake again.”
“This isn’t your fault, Cassius,” she automatically replied. “This is Keith’s.”
“Let’s agree to disagree right now,” I said. “I need you to call Kim. Do you know her number by heart?”
Devi nodded. “Yes. It’s one of those crazy things Kim had insisted on when we had become friends.” A small smile appeared at the memory. “She said you never know when we’ll have to call each other collect.”
“Smart woman.” I pulled my phone out, unlocked it, and handed it over. “Call her.”
It was only a few seconds before Devi grabbed onto the phone with both hands. “Kim?” I listened as patiently as I could while they talked. “Are you okay? Yeah…no…I am. I promise. Where are you? Yeah. No, I…what? Okay. No. Okay.” My chest thumped when quiet tears started forming in Devi’s eye. “No. That’s perfect, I think…yeah. When are you going home? I…I’m not sure what I’m doing…”
I grabbed the phone from Devi. “Kim?”
“Cassius?”
“Devi can’t show up to the hospital because she’s got some bump and bruises that might cause some suspicion,” I told her. “But if you can let me know when you’re being released, I can send my brother to pick you up and take you home.”
“I’m stuck here for another two hours, at least,” she said. “They want to make sure I don’t have a concussion.”
“And the cops?”
“Like I told Devi,” she said, but her voice was now a whisper, “I was hit from behind.”
“And Devi’s purse?”
“I told them she had left it at work, and I was taking it to her,” she answered. “They’re assuming my assailant must have flung it aside when he discovered no money in it.”
“You’re a doll, Kimberly Alba.”
She snorted. “No, I’m not. I’m just not stupid. Besides, I knew it could be Alvin, and I knew you’d go after him if it was. I wasn’t saying shit.” And those were the kind of friends everyone needed. One good, loyal, smart friend.
“Thanks.”
“I’m not doing this for you, cookie,” she replied. “I’m in this all for Devi. She’s a good girl.”
I took the underlining threat in stride. “All the same.” Handing the phone back to Devi, I let her say her goodbyes.
Once they were off the phone, Devi handed me back my phone, and asked, “What now?”
“Do you really want to know?”
And because the woman was nothing if not honest, she said, “I’m not sure.”
I took her face in my hands and kissed her forehead before telling her, “I will always do my best to keep you separate from what you need to be separated from, Devi. I promise.”
“Bu then…that doesn’t give me all of you, does it?” she said, surprising me. “If you do that, then all I get are the safe pieces of you.”
She was right. “So, what do you want me to do, Devi? Tell me, and I’ll do it.”
Devi took a deep, steady breath. “What happens next?”
And so, I told her.
Chapter 18
Devi~
After Cassius had told me the plan, he’d had Keith drive me home, ordering him to stay with me until he showed up, and I was okay with that. I think we both were. Keith’s guilt had him readily agreeing, and I think it was my brother’s way of trying to prove my safety was important, contrary to the situation he had put us in.
So, while Keith had driven me home, Xavier had taken care of the farmhouse, Atticus had gone to the hospital to sit with Kim and get a feel from the doctors and cops, and Cassius had gone looking for Baker, the guy who had knocked Kim out.
I, in turn, had taken a hot bath, eaten a late dinner with my brother, and had passed out. I’d been positive that I wouldn’t be able to sleep until Cassius came back, but adrenaline crashes were no joke. Bathed, fed, and tired as hell, I had fallen asleep the second I had gotten comfortable on the couch.
And now, I felt a warm hand rubbing up and down my arm. “Baby?”
My eyes fluttering open, it took a second, but Cassius’ face finally came into focus. “Cassius?”
He gave me a tender smile. “It’s me, baby.”
I jackknifed into a sitting position, almost smashing his face with my skull. “Oh, God…what…are you okay?”
He was crouched down in front of the couch. “I’m good.”
More alert, I looked around. “Where’s my brother?”
“When I got here, I told him he could head out.”
“Kim?”
“She’s home,” he said. “Atticus took her home a couple of hours ago.”
I ran my hands down my face. “Jesus,” I mumbled. “What time is it?”
“It’s late. I was just waking you up because you asked me to, or else I would have just carried you to bed.”
My eyes filling with worry, I asked, “Is…is everything…take…taken care of?”
“You don’t need the details, but, yes, Devi, everything is taken care of,” he promised. “I still need to have a talk with your brother, but everything is okay.”
“And Kim is going to be fine?”
Cassius grimaced a bit. “She has a mild concussion. However, Atticus and his girlfriend, Pryce, are going to stay with her tonight, just to keep an eye on her.”
That surprised me. “Why would your brother’s girlfriend do that?”
“Because she accepts everything that comes with dating Atticus,” he explained simply. “Pryce is a good g
irl.”
I started gnawing on my lower lip because I didn’t know how to word what I was thinking without insulting Cassius to his face, but I still had a lot of feelings I needed to work through. “I know you said everything is okay, but…”
Cassius took a seat on the couch next to me, grabbed me by my hips, straddled me over his lap, then took my face in his hands. “But you’re finding a hard time believing it is,” he finished for me. “You can’t believe it’s that simple. Right?”
I nodded. “Right.”
“That’s because it’s not, Devi,” he said honestly. “Alvin Fischer is going to be reported missing at some point, and so is Baker Landers.” I tried not to blanch at the newfound information. “People may talk, they may not, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you we’re completely in the clear, because we’re not. Things are going to be uncomfortable for a while, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. That, I promise you.”
“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” I confessed like it was a sin or something. Like it was wrong to be confused, when it really wasn’t.
Cassius let go of my face, grabbed my hand, and placed it over his chest. “Do you feel that?” I nodded. “Does your heart beat the same way for me that mine does for you, Devi?”
My breaths were shuttered emotion between us. “I…I think it does,” I whispered.
“Then that’s all you need to feel, baby,” he said. “You don’t need to feel anything else around you because I have everything else around you covered. You just need to feel me, Devi. Only me.”
Seeing the truth written all over his face, I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in and kissed him with everything fear and hope I had experienced today. And I wanted him to kiss me back until I was convinced nothing would come back to haunt us.
When his hands slid upward into my hair, pulling the strands, I welcomed the pain. It didn’t matter that my body was sore, and I’d be regretting the extra physical activity in the morning, I needed Cassius.
That’s it.
Dealing with the Devil Page 9