Page 56 of Dangerous Deviance

When she roused from unconsciousness, she was hanging limply from the cuffs. She sneered at me and straightened.

“You killed her,” she barked.

“I didn’t kill Julie,” I said. “Why would I kill her?” The irritation leaked through my voice. “And why would I try to hide it? And when would I ever run into her? You lived in Pebble Garden. That’s hours away from here.”

She studied me, her composure strong, but then she gave out, and her lips trembled. “I know,” she whispered. “I know. Please. Hold me.”

“Are you going to try to kill me?”

She shook her head. “I’m chained to the wall, right?”

I stepped forward, expecting her to pull against the restraints, to try to attack me, but she stayed still. Her skin was pale, and her shoulders had gone rigid. I rubbed the back of my fingers along her cheek, her soft skin, smooth compared to the rest of her body. Blood dropped down from my hand, hitting the floor. The adrenaline had made me forget I was cut.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Please,” she whispered. “Help me.”

I tried to think of how to help her in a way where it could be just me alone, but I knew that I had to ask my brothers. I lowered my eyes. A trickle of blood ran down my neck. I had to take care of that first, then figure out what the hell was going on.

“I’m going to leave you here,” I said. “Try to stay safe.”

“What do you think I’m going to do? I’m chained to the wall!”

I gave a small smile, then shrugged. At least she was up to questioning me.

“I don’t know. But I can see now that you’re capable.”

I wrapped my hand in gauze and pressed a small towel to my cheek. I dialed my brothers, telling them to meet me at the Adler House.

Gerard and Clara, our parents, were out, so we took the study. A fireplace roared in the corner constantly, and I cursed my family. Always with the fireplaces. Ever since Ellie had tried to attack me—hell, that wasn’t an attempt, shehadattacked me—I had been sweating. I released the towel from my cheek; it had finally stopped bleeding.

Derek immediately saw my wounds. Axe raised a brow.

“The fuck happened to you?” Derek asked.

I raised my hand, showing him the bandage. “Ellie,” I said. “She attacked me.”

“You kill her?” Axe asked.

“No, I didn’t kill her. Are you serious?”Axe stared at me. I was shocked, but I shouldn’t have been. If someone attacked you, then you killed them, especially in our line of work. “There’s something wrong with her. She didn’t mean to attack me.”

Derek pointed at my palm. “That’s a disarming technique. Making it so you can’t fight.”

I scowled. “I figured that out. Thanks.” I rubbed my forehead. “This was different. It’s like another being took over her body, forcing her to fight.”

“A demon? Possession?”

“Something like that.” I wasn’t sure what the hell it was, but I was at a place where a demon couldn’t be ruled out. Not with the way she had looked at me, her eyes flickering with disgust, loss, and pure hatred, then those emotions disappearing in an instant, as if she was scared and helpless.

“What happened?” Derek asked.

I thought about it for a moment. What had happened? This morning had seemed fine. Ellie was her usual self, and so was I. But then she snapped.

“We were at breakfast, but she got a headache,” I said, “Started screaming out of nowhere. Then she tried to seduce me.”

“Tried?” Derek asked.

“It worked,” I shrugged. I couldn’t deny that. “But then we were fucking, and she grabbed the knife.”