Page 52 of The Devil

Heat creeps up my neck, and I look away as I blush something fierce because that line is something straight out of my K-dramas.

“Look at me.” I lift my head to meet his eyes, then he says, “I didn’t want to unpack everything tonight, but I can see you want answers, so you need to brace yourself because I’m going to tell you things you’re not going to like.”

Why?

He reaches out to me and brushes his knuckles over the swell of my cheek. “Do you understand,Meu anjinho?”

I nod, and before I can stop myself, I lean my head to the side to get closer to his hand when he starts to pull away. His eyes take mine prisoner as he places his palm against my cheek.

“Deus,” he says, his tone filled with worry, “I really hope you can accept me for who I am.”

Suddenly, he moves off the couch and down to his knees, and I’m hauled into a very tight hug in one swift move. Startled, I gasp, and when his arms form steel bands around me, panic trickles into my chest.

His voice is deep near my ear as he says, “The robbers weren’t the first men I killed, and they haven’t been the last.”

‘Tell anyone and I’ll slit your neck and fuck your throat as you bleed out,’ JJ growls in my ear.

As I’m triggered, Enzo drops the biggest bomb ever on me by saying, “I’m an assassin and the leader of a criminal organization in Portugal. I’m the worst of the worst, and even though you probably want to run right now, you need to know I’ll never let you go.” He pulls back enough to lock eyes with me as his wordsrain hellfire down inside of me. “You’re mine. The choice isn’t yours. It's the only thing I can’t give you. You’ll never belong to anyone else. You’re mine forever.”

Hysteria builds up in me as I start to shake my head and push against his chest, but it only makes him tighten his hold even more.

I struggle to link the kind man I met in the gas station to this one, who’s telling me…God, I’m his captive?

Panic and fear pour hot and fast through me while the fantasy I dared to weave around Enzo shatters into a million pieces.

I was stupid.

I didn’t do the right thing. Instead, I walked right into this trap, and now I’m stuck with a killer.

A killer.

Oh my God.

My breaths come faster, and as my anxiety spirals into a very bad panic attack, I’m incapable of stopping Enzo when he presses me to his chest. His hand wraps around the back of my neck while his other arm keeps me locked to him.

“It’s going to be okay. Breathe,meu anjinho.You’re safe with me. I’ll give you the world.”

Even though he sounds sane, his words are absolutely crazy.

He’ll give me the world? Who says that to a person they hardly know?

Crap. Crap. Crap.

“Shh…” He moves back to the couch, pulling me along, and I have no choice when he positions me on his lap, because his arm is locked so tight around me it’s starting to hurt.

Enzo grips hold of my jaw and forces me to look at him again, and now that he’s told me who he is, I see the darkness in his eyes.

It’s different from the evil I saw in my rapists’ eyes. Enzo’s are ruthless, whereas theirs were perverted.

He gives me a pleading look. “I’m going to let go of you, but if you try to run, I will lock you in your bedroom.”

I nod just so he’ll let go of me, and the instant he loosens his hold, I yank back and make a run for the front door. I pull it open as fast as I can, and as I dart out onto the porch, Oscar moves into my way, blocking my escape.

No! The guards work for Enzo.

Just as I change direction, an arm comes around my front, and I’m hauled off my feet. A shriek bursts over my lips, and when Enzo carries me back into the house, no one does anything to stop him.

As he shuts the door, he lets go of me again, and I dart toward the stairs.