Page 54 of The Devil After Dark

fifty-three

CASSIO

I punched the button to roll down my window as Zac nearly skidded the tires of the car to a stop on the two lane wooded road next to a black SUV.

The owner of the SUV stepped away from leaning against the hood and approached.

He tossed a key card through the window at me and gave a single nod.

I had not expected the message I received from Silas Sinclair containing nothing but location coordinate numbers.

I certainly had not expected to find him parked on the side of the road.

Silas cleaned money for many of the magic wielders in my province.

Silas himself, as the patriarch of the family, was a kind man in the day to day, but his family also had a reputation of brutality.

No one messed with the Sinclair family if they wanted to live.

Before I could say anything, Silas hopped back into his SUV and sped off the direction we had just come from.

I looked back at Zac and a moment later we were speeding down the road again towards the coordinates Silas had sent.

His secretary must have alerted him that Thea was looking for him.

Thea had gotten the location of a nearby bed and breakfast from the woman and that set us in the right direction.

Unfortunately, there were a few potential locations within a reasonable radius and we would have had to search them all had Silas not reached out.

Did he know Liana? It was a small office, maybe he had recognized her at the Claiming and thought twice about the situation.

It didn’t matter, he had given us his key card to enter the private event—if he had given us the right location.

It was just as likely he was sending us into a trap.

We turned down a gravel drive and soon the six story stone building came into view.

Of the buildings used for the games, most belonged to the old ruling families and had been passed down over the centuries.

There were many and their use was rotated at random so those who did not purchase a ticket would not know where the event was being held.

Disclosing a location was punishable by death and each of the most probable venues would be staged to appear like an event was taking place to avoid the true location being found.

The Devil After Dark had been one of those buildings when the games were still held in my territory.

I put an end to them when I took over ten years ago.

The building’s guards stepped forward from their posts as Zac stopped the car in front of the grand stairs that led to the entrance.

The games would have started and no one would be allowed in or out at this hour.

“You missed the entrance hour,” one of the guards called to us as we exited the car and strode towards the steps.

I took the stairs two at a time, both Zac and Jason on my heels, and two of the guards moved towards us to stop us.

They were nothing but bloody mist a moment later and what was left of them rained down on the steps around me as I rushed to the door.

Shouts cut into the cool night air, followed by the sound of rain.

Blood rain. My magic broke bodies. Zac’s magic turned them to liquid.

I slammed the key card Silas had given us onto the card reader next to the door.

The light flashed green. I could only pray that Silas had been telling the truth and this was the right location.

I heard the click of the lock and felt the ripple of the wards that guarded the building retract as the doors opened in front of us.

LIANA

Oran lunged towards me and Finnick moved towards Oran.

I yanked on the chain link and propelled myself to the right, out of Oran’s path.

A deep growl of a scream cut the air behind me and I spun to keep my eyes on the two men.

Finnick had sunk the spike into Oran’s shoulder.

The smallest glimmer of hope filled me. Finnick might win.

Oran was forced against the metal cage wall with a gust of wind as Finnick lept at him again.

But Oran was faster this time. He spun and sent a kick right into Finnick’s chest.

The crushing blow to Finnick’s chest sent him flying across the octagon and into the cage wall.

My knees buckled and I clung to the wire, trying to keep myself upright.

Finnick was done. There was no way a man could survive a hit like that.

His body slumped to the floor and blood trickled from his mouth as his chest heaved with each labored breath.

I gasped for air and realized I had been screaming.

I was still screaming. I took a staggering step forward, like I was going to do something to help him, but Oran moved too quickly.

In a heartbeat he had lifted Finnick from the floor by his neck.

Then he brought Finnick’s body down over his knee.

Finnick’s back bent at an angle it shouldn’t and Oran tossed his limp body to the mats like it was a doll.

A strangled cry left my throat and Oran turned to look at me.

The look on Oran’s face was pure primal instincts.

Metal bit into my back as I pressed myself against the cage wall.

There was nowhere for me to go. I wasn’t even hearing the screaming of the crowd any longer.

It wasn’t distant. It just wasn’t there.

I was only hearing my pounding heart and panicked breathing.

Time stilled. Oran’s stalk towards me was slow and predatory.

“Please,” I gasped out. Please what? Please don’t do this?

Please don’t hurt me? I had no idea if he would be tender and loving or if I was doomed to be a tortured slave to him. Or maybe he would just kill me here.

I pressed myself harder against the chain link.

“Please,” I begged again as his arm reached out for me.

Then it bent. There was a snap and his body jerked.

Another snap and his head twisted. His body crumbled and fell as snaps and pops filled my ears.

I sobbed as the giant of a man was reduced to a pile of broken and bleeding body parts on the mats in front of me.

I could not tear my eyes away from him. Every limb jutted out at an odd angle with blood leaking from bone torn skin, and his eyes were still open, glazed and unseeing.

Leather gloved hands slid along my cheeks and cradled my face.

“Look at me, Angel,” Cassio’s gentle voice urged.

“Look at me. That’s it, baby, look at me. ”

My eyes raised to see Cassio in front of me, holding my face to his mask covered one.

But it was him. In a quick movement he tore the mask from his head, his hand returning to cradle my face.

Cassio was here. My entire body shook as relieved sobs raked through me.

Cassio had come for me. My legs gave out and his hands slipped around me, pulling me close to his body.

His smell and his warmth enveloped me and I pressed my face against his chest, trying to soak in every bit of him as I cried.

“I know, baby. I know. Let’s get you out of here,” Cassio whispered against my hair. “Don’t look around, baby. I need you to keep your eyes closed, okay? Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” I choked out, my response broken and weak. I didn’t want to open my eyes anyway.

Cassio scooped me up and cradled me against his chest, one hand pressing my face into him. “Don’t look. Eyes closed, Angel.” I only turned into him further like I could be swallowed by his body if I tried hard enough.

There was only the sound of something dripping and the faint noise of a bottle rolling across the ground. Was I smelling smoke? Where were all the people? Why was no one talking or yelling? Cassio carried me swiftly and steadily.

“Cass! This way, come on,” I heard Jason call out. Jason was here. I could hear Cassio’s heart beating and feel the heavy rise and fall of his chest.

“She’s going into shock,” Cassio said. I could hear the panic in his voice.

There was the sound of car doors opening. “Shit, Cassio! Put her here. Easy now. We need to get out of here.” Was that Zac’s voice?

Hands passed me off and I was suddenly sitting. I just kept my eyes closed. I was cold. Very very cold. My head dipped uncontrollably forward as I felt the world spin around me. A moment later Cassio’s arms were around me again. “Stay with me, baby. You’re safe. You’re safe.”

CASSIO

I slid into the car next to Liana and gathered her against me.

I had gotten her out. She was alive. Liana’s body went limp as I stroked her hair and slid my hand over her body, searching for any injuries.

Her hands were cut and bleeding along with a few scrapes to her forearms. There was blood dripping down her right shin, but I couldn’t find any substantial injuries and she was still breathing.

The panic and stress from the last two days exited my body as I let my head fall back against the headrest in the car.

Zac was hauling ass and I didn’t care. Jason was even saying something, but I wasn’t listening to see if he was talking to me or Zac.

Liana was safe. She was currently unconscious, but I had her.

We had been just in time. Not a soul was left living in the building.

I hadn’t cared who was there, they were all dead.

I prayed that Liana hadn’t opened her eyes on the way out.

If she had, she would have seen bodies in crumpled piles and blood soaking the floors of the place as fire consumed the walls.

The exhaustion of depleting my magic so thoroughly started to set in as my adrenaline wore off.

I felt the car slow to a normal speed and let my eyes fall open to watch the dark countryside roll by outside the window.

In a few hours we would be back in my territory.

I wouldn’t know how bad Liana was until she woke up, but until then I wasn’t leaving her side.

Until Liana could tell me, I had no way of knowing what Merrick did to her while he had her, but I did know he would never hurt her or any other woman ever again.