Page 45 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)

Aurora

The Devils aren’t blackout drunk, but by the time we stumble through the door at one in the morning, they’re well past buzzed.

Damien’s even louder than usual and basically a destructive, giant teddy bear as he bangs his shoulder against the locked front door.

Even calm, controlled Finn stumbles into a lamppost and chuckles at every word out of Knox’s mouth.

And Knox is actually giggling. I’ve never heard a grown man giggle before, especially not one his size, but it might be the most adorable sound I’ve ever been blessed to hear in my life.

Right behind us, Luke slumps against Sienna’s shoulders, poking her in the nose and tickling her while she laughs and playfully tries to push him away.

Her laughter has been constant since before we left the party.

Trey’s eyes have nearly fallen shut as he zombie-shuffles along the sidewalk, his shirt discarded and lost at some point in the night.

Despite being just as drunk as he is, Juliet guides her shirtless boyfriend home.

..by a collar wrapped around his neck.

I’m not asking because I definitely don’t want to know.

“Move out of the way.” Even drunk and slurring her words, Juliet pushes past the Devils and manages to unlock the front door to let us all inside.

The Devils’ happiness is contagious. Even though they’ve had plenty of wins this season, none of them has made Damien, Knox, or Finn this happy.

One of the best nights of our lives . The words Knox murmured as we danced together. Because of you.

I pushed at his chest, grinning even though I knew he was full of shit. You didn’t win because of me.

We’re here because of you. Alive because of you. So yeah, we won because of you. Everything is because of you.

Those are the words that ring in my ears now. As a chorus of groans fills the room when someone flicks on the light over our heads. And a deadly silence falls over us.

Everything is because of you.

While we were gone, a tornado ripped through the Devils’ house. Plates and glasses smashed on the kitchen floor, couch cushions tossed onto the floor, coffee table tipped over, clothes ripped from our rooms and discarded at our feet, curtains yanked from the windows.

A tornado called Jeremiah.

Sienna covers her mouth, murmuring, “Oh my god.”

We all sober at the destruction in front of us. My heart stops in my chest, and I’m not sure it will ever start beating again. Because the Devils won’t want anything to do with me after this. Their friends won’t want me staying here another day. Not after I welcomed this into their home.

What would Jeremiah have done if any of them had been here when he broke in?

They’re not safe anymore either. Because of me.

“What the fuck ?” Juliet’s face is a storm cloud. I’ve never seen her this livid before. If I didn’t know her, I’d be afraid to be on the receiving end of that wrath.

“Motherfucker,” Damien curses under his breath before charging into the house. He rips through the place like he expects Jeremiah to be waiting somewhere for us, nearly yanking doors off their hinges.

Knox, Trey, and Luke follow suit, Finn the only Devil lingering behind to keep his hand on my hip, to squeeze me close. My safe harbor in the nightmare.

Because he can’t wake me out of this one.

I’m putting the Devils, my friends, in danger. I should’ve handled Jeremiah alone and not involved them. I should’ve waited until I escaped him permanently before letting them into my life. I could’ve done more to avoid them after the accident. To protect them.

“Aurora!” Damien’s shout nearly brings the house down around us.

I race toward his voice in Knox’s room, the others close behind.

In the bedroom, the light overhead nearly painful as I squint against it, Knox sits on the edge of his bed, facing the empty corner of his room with his head bowed.

An empty corner that we’d designated for the few belongings I brought with me from my apartment. But only one that really, truly mattered.

My violin.

The violin my parents gave me. The last piece of them I had left.

Gone.

He took it. He knew how much it meant to me. A way to punish me one last time. He took the only thing that mattered to me. When my parents died, a piece of my heart, my soul, embedded itself in that violin.

And he stole it.

Wherever he took my violin, it’s probably in pieces now.

Tears sting my eyes and suffocate me. My knees wobble, ready to give out. Jeremiah could take my clothes, rip apart my books, smash my laptop, destroy my phone, but my violin?

Even worse, what he did to the only people I love left in this world. What he’s doing to them.

Sienna flings her arms around me before any of the Devils can. “I’m so sorry, Aurora.”

She doesn’t make any empty promises about how we’ll get my stuff back or buy me new belongings. She knows. They all do.

The Devils study me, and I can read the fury etched into their faces for what it is: regret.

Regret from letting me into their lives. For creating this mess.

Any other girl could’ve been the one who witnessed their accident that night. A girl with a lot less baggage and drama to deal with. A girl who would make a much better angel than the broken and battered one they found.

“He won’t get away with this.” Damien’s glare could burn down a city.

Within seconds, he and the Devils are already plotting their next move, but I tune them out. None of it matters anymore.

He won’t let me go. I’ve known this from the beginning, long before I ever left. I knew I shouldn’t get the Devils roped into this mess, but I did it anyway. Selfish.

My only thoughts were of myself—my safety, my desires, my lust for three unlucky men who decided to make me their angel. But I’m far from an angel. I’m the one who brought chaos and destruction into their lives. The reason they now have to walk around campus with their heads on a swivel.

Because Jeremiah is waiting in the dark. For all of us. It’s not just me he’s going after anymore. I did this to them. To my friends. To the three men I care about most in the world.

I couldn’t stay away. And now that I’ve fallen for them, leaving will be that much harder.

My heart squeezes painfully with the impossibility of it.

But I have to. For them.