Page 196 of Dance With A Devil

He doesn’t care.

“Shut the fuck up,” he grunts, scooping me into his arms like some twisted fairytale villain. His grip is iron. His voice turnsgleeful.

“I’m gonna cuff your pretty little ass to the bed, take a good look at that leg, and when I’m done patching you up…” He smirks down at me. All teeth. Allhate. “…I’m gonna havefun.”

His meaning isn’t lost on me. Neither is the evil behind that grin.

I go still.

Silent.

But in my chest?

A heartbeat is roaring, and it’s not mine alone. Because somewhere out there, Karter’s coming. And when he finds this place?

It won’t be a rescue.

It’ll be a fuckingmassacre.

Epilogue

Karter

“Athens! Athens!” I scream her name like it might drag her back to me.

But nothing answers. Not her voice. Not even her breath.

Just a click.

Then that voice, low, guttural, dripping poison.

“Who do you think is going to save you, bitch?”

Then, silence.

“Fuck!” My phone hits the floor, shattering like my composure.

Dash’s head snaps toward me, brows drawn. “What happened?”

I stare at the wall, eyes wide but seeing nothing. My jaw aches from how hard I’m clenching it. “It’s Athens. Someone has her. I didn’t get the location in time. It was like the call was hijacked. Her signal, gone.”

Dash doesn’t waste a beat. “You want me to find her?”

“I want you to tear through every surveillance system in this fucking city. I want blood and coordinates. Think you can handle that?”

He nods, lips twitching into a grin that doesn’t reach his eyes. “You know I can.”

I slam my foot on the gas and shoot down the dark stretch toward Devil’s Lane, the tires screaming beneath us like they know the storm we’re driving into.

“Call the others,” I bark. “Wells. Onyx. Karter. Get themallto Devil’s Lane. Tell them it’s war.”

Because it is.

And this time?

It’spersonal.