Page 20 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)

She brightens, not even the slightest smear of bright red lipstick staining her perfect teeth.

“I’m visiting this new guy I’m dating. We met at the Sigma Chi party.

” Her gaze roams over me, uncomfortably pitying.

“Come on, let me buy you a tea. You need something to calm your nerves. You’re like a chihuahua. ”

“I’m good.” I’m not even shivering. That badly.

Monica rolls her eyes good-naturedly and nudges my arm toward the Night Owl, the single dining hall open until two in the morning. “Don’t be a hero. It’s just one drink.”

Reluctantly, I follow as she marches to the dining hall and let her buy me tea. A warm beverage does sound soothing, and I’m too shaken to resist. She watches me with a smile as I sip the drink.

There’s no way she’s being this nice to me without an ulterior motive. I just have no clue what it is.

Maybe she thinks I’ll report back to Knox, tell him how nice she is and how much she’s changed. Fuck that. Even if her personality miraculously did a one-eighty since they dated, she doesn’t deserve his forgiveness or a second chance.

I take another sip of the tea, and it warms all the way down my esophagus. I do feel better, but I won’t admit that to her. “This doesn’t make you a good person, you know.”

Shockingly, she smiles sweetly at me. “We’re all a little bit good and a little bit bad, aren’t we?”

Convenient for her to say as someone who is a lot more bad than good. Maybe I don’t know much about her from my own experience, but Knox has told me enough that I don’t want to get to know her any better. I already know exactly what kind of person she is. She and Jeremiah would be a perfect match.

“How is Knox doing?” she asks carefully.

I knew it. I’ve been waiting with bated breath for her to bring him up. If she was at the Sigma Chi party, she went there for Knox. She’s still hung up on him.

“He’s why you’re really here, isn’t he?” I set my tea down on the table between us with a clatter, liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. “He doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore. Not after everything you put him through.”

Monica crows a short laugh, shaking her head like what she did to him was nothing more than crazy teenage antics. “I don’t blame him. I was such a bitch in high school. Thank god those days are over.”

“That doesn’t change what happened.” Those days may be over, but she still left her mark on Knox. And she’s still inserting herself into his life now.

“You don’t have to be his guard dog, you know. We’ve both moved on, clearly.” She grins. “And my man is smoking hot.”

Before I can object, she pulls out her phone and swipes through photos of her wrapped up in the arms of a short guy in a soccer jersey with an admittedly incredible ass.

On a couch with their arms wrapped around each other, kissing in a booth while she sits in his lap, selfies grinning at the camera.

Initially, I assumed she was full of shit about moving on, but maybe she actually has. Knox will be relieved to hear the news.

“Besides, I knew Knox and I would never last.” She waves her hand dismissively. “He gets bored too quickly. He likes to hop from girl to girl, but I’m sure you already know all about that.”

My spine stiffens. I wish I could deny it, jump to his defense...but that was my exact fear that kept me from giving myself over to the Devils for so long. That still keeps my heart guarded.

I’m no better than any of the girls they’ve been with in the past. What’s to stop the Devils from getting bored with me and moving on to someone else?

“But I’m sure he’s different with you.” The words leave Monica’s mouth in a rush when she spots the look on my face.

In my pocket, my phone buzzes. Two percent battery. Knox’s name flashes on my screen. I flash Monica a sickly sweet smile. “Yeah, he is.”

The bait falls between us, and a few silent seconds tick by in which I brace for Monica to slap me or yell or yank my hair. But she keeps her hands to herself, pulls up her texts with someone saved in her phone as Baby with two heart emojis, and tells him she’s on her way.

“Well.” She stands, smiling down at me. “I’m glad I was there to help. I hope everything works out for you.”

I actually feel guilty for not thanking her as she strides out of the building. Plenty of people who are abusive to their partners are nice to everyone else, but even if she’s being genuinely kind to me, that still doesn’t make her a good person.

When Knox calls again, I finally swipe my thumb across the screen to answer.

“Rory!” He practically shouts my name, breathless. “Where are you? Are you okay? We’ve been calling; no one could get through to you.”

A wave of guilt washes over me even though it’s not my fault I was cornered by my ex and then essentially rescued by the last person on Earth I’d ever expect to give enough of a shit about me to help. “Sorry, my phone was on silent. Do you think you could come get me? I’m at the Night Owl.”

The Devils arrive less than ten minutes later, all of them red-faced like they ran on foot the whole way here. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Silent as a shadow, Finn glides between the tables until he’s in front of me. Gently, he tilts my chin up, the silent question written all over his face. Unexpected tears blur his features.

I nod and squeak out a watery, “I’m okay.”

Damien is on me next, grabbing my elbow surprisingly gently for someone who fucked me with his fingers hard enough to leave me raw and aching. “Something’s wrong.”

They can read me so easily. See the distress written all over my face.

I take a deep, steadying breath and tell them about Jeremiah showing up. Knox’s face gets cloudier and cloudier as I share all the details.

He cups my face in both hands. His brows are furrowed but eyes gentle. Though I love the softer, golden retriever side of Knox, this furious, protective side of him gets my heart racing faster. “Are you all right?”

I sniffle and manage a nod, turning to all three of them. “I’m a lot better now.”

Lately, everything seems better when the Devils are around.

Damien steps forward, hand landing on my elbow, like he’s afraid to touch me anywhere else. Afraid of scaring me the way Jeremiah did. “I’m sorry. For letting him touch you.”

I shake my head quickly. He can’t seriously be apologizing. He didn’t do anything wrong—none of them did. “It’s not your fault.”

Damien grimaces, a deep-seated regret obvious in his dark eyes. “That’s what we’re here for, though, isn’t it? How did you get away from him?”

“Um.” I glance at Knox. He’s really not going to like this next part. “Monica showed up, actually. She basically told him to get lost.”

“Monica?” Knox’s brows furrow. “Why the hell was she there?”

I shrug. “Apparently, she’s dating someone on campus. She showed me photos.”

This doesn’t seem to bring him any comfort. “Yeah, I met him at the Sigma Chi party. Poor guy.”

“Don’t worry. Saving my ass once doesn’t make someone my new best friend.”

“At least somebody was there when you needed them,” Damien says. “I’m just pissed it wasn’t us.”

“Don’t be. You can’t be with me at all times. You’ve already gone above and beyond for me.” They’ve all sacrificed their time and sanity for me. There are only three possible outcomes now: Jeremiah actually obeys the restraining order, or he gets imprisoned for violating it.

I don’t want to think about the third possible outcome.

Knox squeezes my hand. “We won’t let anything like that happen again.”

Finn crosses a finger over his heart in an X , his gaze on me intense.

The Devils can’t possibly be with me at all hours of the day. But I believe they’ll do everything in their power to keep me safe.

They all stare at me, concern etched between their brows. Would they be doing all of this to protect me if I hadn’t saved their lives? Maybe everything they’ve done for me has been because they feel indebted to me and nothing more.

But from the way they’re looking at me...I don’t believe that’s true anymore. No one has ever looked at me like the Devils do. Like I’m theirs.

I wrap my arms around my torso. This time, the chill skirting over my arms and down my spine doesn’t have anything to do with the cool night air. “Can you take me home?”

“Anything for you, angel,” Damien murmurs.

Finn grabs my hand, signing with the other as he leads me away. Anything .