Page 38

Garett

Devil by SHINEDOWN

T he buzzing sound of my doorbell rings through my home again. The noise is annoying and grits against my nerves. My bare feet feel cool against the sleek bamboo flooring as I move toward the front of the house. The buzzer sounds again.

“Fucking coming!” I growl at the door despite the fact I know they can’t hear me through the thick frame.

Throwing up the door with a huff, I’m immediately met by a figure in my doorway. I’d buzzed Luke in through the gate a moment ago but the petite and curvy figure in front of me is definitely not Luke. Black clothes cling to her like a second skin, making her almost blend into the darkness of the night behind her. Her raven hair falls loosely around her glowing face. A mask covers her features. Glowing X’s cover the mouth and eye holes of the mask. Slung over her shoulder is an aluminum bat. We stand in stark silence for a moment before she cocks her head to the side in a way that comes across as completely sinister.

“Hello, Angel,” I coo right before she swings the bat.

The metal meets my diaphragm with such force that it completely takes the air out of my lungs. I double over in pain, my insides struggling to regain the ability to breathe. A second sure swing has the aluminum crushing my jaw. I stumble backwards, leaving a trail of blood droplets on the floor.

“I’m not your Angel, asshole,” Celeste seethes.

My eyes flit up to appraise her just as she raises the bat to swing again. My hand comes up to meet her blow this time. It was cute at first, but now I’m fucking annoyed. I wrap my fingers around the bat, holding it firmly in my grip. She tries to pull it back to regain control, but she should know by now—she’s never the one in control when I’m around.

She was a pawn to be used and abused, and the fact that Luke stole her for his own pleasure still grates at my nerves. I let him keep her and play with her because, truth be told, I did feel a slight bit of guilt about the idea of killing her, and he did seem happy for the first time in a very long time. It seemed like a win-win. But bringing her to my house to hit me upside the head with a baseball bat was not part of the deal.

Using my grip on the bat to control her, I move her backwards until her body hits the wall behind her. I am desperate to see the fear in her eyes and hear the small little gasps of surprises leaving her lips, but the damn mask is hiding her from me. At one point of time, I would have licked that fear from her skin, savoring in her pain. But things are different now. I’m different now. With a firm grip, I pin her tightly. From my periphery, I catch Luke’s tall frame lazily waltzing into the room making no attempt to get involved in the chaos that’s ensuing.

“Did you miss me, Angel?” I ask her as I lean in, invading her space.

Luke flinches slightly, but doesn’t move from the spot on the wall where he’s currently leaning. Interesting .

And then agonizing pain rips through my core as Celeste’s knee connects with my testicles. I double over in pain as blackness fills my vision. I stumble backwards, coughing and sputtering.

“I am not your fucking Angel, you sick fuck.” Pain sears my head as she hits me again with the bat. “You stalked me, kidnapped me, and tried to kill me!”

With my ass on the floor, I chance a glance up. Luke has a snide smirk on his face as he watches the show in front of him. Fucker .

“You gonna’ help?” I ask him as I finally manage to catch my breath. I can feel warm blood dripping down my face.

“Seems like she’s doing just fine all on her own,” he quips while flashing Celeste a wide white smile.

Okay, I’m officially done with this shit now.

Rising to my feet, I grab the bat swiftly. Celeste whines in surprise and pain as I twist the metal in her hand, forcing her arm to spin at an uncomfortable angle.

“Garett,” Luke warns in a low tone, pushing from the wall.

“Why the fuck are you two here?” I ask as I pull the weapon from her and toss it across the room.

The metal hitting the floor sends a loud crack echoing off the walls of my home. I don’t give a shit what I hit. I’m over this. I have more important things to deal with tonight. With a few swift steps I’m in her face again, ripping the mask from her so I can watch her cower beneath me. Her fear is the sweetest sin. Only when I meet her eyes now, they’re full of fiery determination. She’s not the same scared girl I hunted months ago it would seem.

“They took Liv.” Her voice threatens to break as she whispers the words.

“Liv?” I ask as I rack my brain. “The pink-haired bimbo?”

“Call her that again and see what the fuck happens,” my little Angel snarls in front of me.

I can’t help but smirk at her fire, her fight. “I like this new Celeste,” I snicker at Luke who’s moved to stand close in case he needs to separate us.

“I’ve always loved her.” He flashes her a warm smile that makes me roll my eyes. Luke’s sappy shit makes me want to hurl.

“Then you shouldn’t have let me fuck her in the ass and pussy,” I quip, popping the happy little fantasy bubble they seem to be stuck in. They’re forgetting how this all began. But I’m happy to remind them.

I step back before Luke’s fist is able to collide with my jaw. I sneer at his heaving form.

“Did I hit a nerve there, brother? Did she not let you knock at the back door yet?”

Before he can fall for my goating and swing again, a soft sweet voice calls hesitantly from the hallway behind us.

“Garett?” my Beauty asks and my veins turn to ice. She was supposed to stay hidden. I want her far away from this shit-show.

I turn to grab her and hurry her away, but it’s too late. Her gaze lands on the woman in my front room and recognition flits across her face.

“Celeste?” Ali asks as she slowly slips from the shadows of the hallway. “But I thought…”

She trails off, her teary eyes fall to me. I know she deserves the truth but I wasn’t prepared to tell her all of it yet. She shakes her head at me as disappointment fills her face. I intended to tell her everything, just when she was ready to hear it. Things are still so delicate between us. But she won’t run again, she learned her lesson. She knows she won’t ever be free from me. She’s mine for this eternity and every eternity that follows.

“You can fill me in later,” Ali informs me in a cool, cold tone before turning to Celeste. “You need our help? Who’s Liv?”

Her sweet and helpful nature is one of the reasons I love her but right now I want—no, I need—her focus on me. Moving across the room, I close the distance separating us. My princess doesn’t even flinch, she lets me curl myself around her like a snake constricting its prey tightly.

“I promise I will explain everything,” I whisper in her ear before laying a trail of short kisses down her neck. She nods silently in acknowledgment.

Celeste launches into a long story detailing what our buddy Will has been up to recently. He’s a real fucking piece of shit. I mean, I already knew that fact, but the shit that he and this Erika girl have been up to lately, it’s pretty fucking gross. Celeste has to stop every so often to explain details and answer questions for Ali so she can get caught up. I know there’s no love lost between these two women but they seem to be getting along okay. When things seem the darkest is when we need each other the most, I guess.

When Celeste details the most recent part about Liv going to work and never coming home, she starts to break. Luke takes out his phone and shows us the video that was sent to him. Rage like I haven’t felt in a very long time courses through my veins as I watch. I may not care much for pink hair but no one, and I mean no one , deserves that. I watched my sister’s face empty of emotion, turning into the same broken nothingness in the video of her that led to her death. I was too late for my sister. I won’t be too late to help another female broken by the same selfish destruction.

When the video ends we all sit in stunned silence for a moment. “We have to help her,” Ali pleads as she turns to face me. Tears trail down her perfect cheeks. “Please.”

“Of course,” I confirm as I lay a soft kiss on her brow. Her scent floods my system, calming me instantly. I hold her tightly, letting her presence in my arms ground me.

“We have no fucking clue where they’re holding her and how much Will knows from hacking our system,” Luke growls as he puts his arm around Celeste’s shoulder and pulls her into him. She immediately melts into his touch.

“I think I have an idea,” Ali states. From the expression on her face I think her idea has even surprised herself. “I think we can solve both our recent problems.”

Luke’s dark eyes fly to me. I haven’t had a chance to tell him about the most recent developments with everything going on.

“It’ll be messy though.” Ali looks at each of us, gauging our reactions.

“If it means we get our girl back…” Celeste steps forward, pushing her shoulders back and interlacing her fingers with Luke’s. The fire in her eyes is enthralling. “Then let’s fuck some shit up.”