Devil’s Game (The Devil’s Demons #2)

2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Giana

T he crack of gunfire erupted outside, snapping me from the tender moment we’d just shared.

They’d come for me. And despite the secret they’d kept from me, we were a team and stronger now that all our cards were on the table.

We still had so much to relearn about each other—or, in Spade’s case, learn for the first time—but now wasn’t the time.

I glanced around the kitchen, looking for something, anything I could use.

“Here.” Merrick’s deep voice boomed, and he handed me a fully loaded Glock.

My hand trailed lightly across his palm as I gripped the gun, making his jaw tense and his fingers twitch. Pain creased his face, but I gave him a reassuring smile. “We got this.”

“I know, little devil.” He pulled his own gun, the movement fluid with practiced ease. “Now, let’s get you out of here.”

“I can’t wait to show you the carnage we left in our wake.” Spade sighed dreamily and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“I really hate when you say shit like that.” Kellan scrubbed his hand over his face in exasperation before giving me an apologetic smile.

Spade’s grin lit up his face with excitement. “My sugar doesn’t hate it at all, do you?”

Letting the thought sit for a second, I shook my head, immediately knowing I didn’t hate it one bit. “I can’t wait to see.” I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, and he turned at the last second, capturing my lips in a searing kiss.

“That’s enough, Spade,” Merrick growled, the deep reverberation of his voice sending desire swirling through me, making me want to hold on to Spade and mold my body against him.

To my dismay, Spade pulled away, a mischievous grin curling his lips as he winked at me. “Merrick always has to spoil our fun, but don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

“Let’s go,” Merrick demanded, his eyes narrowing on Spade, like he might drag him away at any second. Instead, he stomped over to the glass door and yanked it open, his gun at the ready as he made sure the coast was clear. “Move.”

Kellan took my free hand, tugging me away from Spade and toward the exit.

“Fine, you’re lucky I like killing. Otherwise, I’d be pissed.” Spade slipped his gun out of his holster, following closely behind us.

Merrick took the lead, his sharp gaze searching the distance, where the sun was cresting the horizon, before motioning for us to follow. The crack of gunfire ignited again near the front yard, but it wasn’t as booming as before. There should have only been a few guards remaining, if the guys had already taken out a slew of them while coming in. Sure enough, as Merrick led us to the gate, I spotted five guards battling against the twenty or so Demons.

Warmth flooded my chest at the sheer number of people they’d been able to bring with them. Hope soared as the Demons faced off with the Barones, the gang that had ruled the area for as long as any of us could remember.

Since the night of my forced engagement party, when the guys helped me escape, I’d known the Demons were able to stand against the Barones. But seeing it again sent a renewed surge of optimism through me.

Merrick took aim at the nearest one, sparing only a moment to signal for us to stay close before he fired. The bullet lodged itself directly into the guard’s head, and he crumpled to the ground, his lifeless form prone on the stone driveway.

“Stay close,” Kellan murmured, letting go of my hand, so he could aim his own weapon. He spared a glance my way, his sable eyes shining with concern, like he hadn’t just seen the gorilla of a man I’d stabbed in the chest inside.

“I’m fine,” I assured him..

He gave me a tight nod and took off after Merrick, leaving me and Spade to catch up with them.

“This is going to be fun.” Spade’s violet eyes glinted with delight. He gestured me forward, our guns aimed at the guards in the distance.

A shot peeled off ahead of us, and Kellan brought down a guard this time, helping to clear Merrick’s way as he gave a signal to the rest of their men. As one, the Demons fled to their cars, hopping into the front and back seats while Merrick and Kellan gave them cover.

I used the side of the house as a shield while they took cover behind the thick stone of a post. I took aim at one of the guards just as he turned our way. Before he could even lift his gun, my finger was pulling the trigger, sending a shot to his chest.

I was going to have to work on my aim, along with a refresh on my combat skills, but at least I brought him down.

“Nice.” Spade beamed at me before taking his own shot at the next guard. The bullet lodged itself into his head, and he fell backward, his body crumpled on the ground as blood pooled around him.

“Let’s move,” Merrick ordered, waving for us to follow. He and Kellan must have taken out the few remaining members of Tommaso’s security, since they lay lifeless on the ground. Blood and bodies covered the once pristine driveway, the sight bringing a smile to my face at the thought of the destruction Tommaso had brought on himself for thinking he could take me.

Not again. I would never let another person coerce me, capture me, or catch me off guard.

I was the Devil.

I was the taker of souls.

I was the villain.

And I’d never let myself be the victim again.

“See, I knew you’d love seeing the bodies.” Spade’s voice rang with excitement as we raced across the blood-coated stone. I couldn’t help but smile as I followed Kellan to the black armored van, making sure to stay vigilant for any guards we may have missed.

Merrick swung open the back door and swept the distance, giving us all cover as we got in. Kellan pushed me in first and guarded the other side, letting Spade get in next to cover Merrick and Kellan as they climbed in and shut the door behind them.

And like that, it was done. The tires screeched out of the driveway and onto the street, leaving the carnage of Tommaso’s manor in the rearview mirror.

Not long ago, I’d feared this place. I used to think of it as a prison. But my guys and their men had swept in and overtaken the guards, freeing me from the place that had nearly made me suffocate on my own.

Ready to slump back in my seat and shut my eyes, I hesitated as the flash of sunlight glinting off a black armored sedan through the window caught my attention. I straightened as they passed, straining my eyes to see as best as I could through the tinted glass. Tommaso’s father sat in the passenger seat, his eyes seemingly boring into the van, into me, as they passed.

My stomach churned at the thought of almost running into him. Had he come because of the attack, or was he already on his way? Did Tommaso tell him that I was there, tied up at the house, and he’d come to take his sick revenge on me himself?

I shook my head and leaned back in my seat, quickly buckling the seat belt as the van accelerated.

“Are you okay?” Kellan asked, drawing my gaze to him. He took the seat in front of me, his face creased with concern as he scrutinized me, searching for any sign of injury.

“I’m fine,” I breathed, giving him a soft smile. “That was Angelo Barone.”

“Let’s step on it and avoid any cops,” Merrick said, his commanding tone going through the car speaker above him. He released the button, and the driver sped up. His jaw tensed as he looked behind us for any sign that Angelo was following us. I knew he wouldn’t, though, not on his own, at least.

“We do have another problem.” I grimaced, anxiety thrumming through me as the adrenaline loosened its hold on me. “And it has to do with you leading Tommaso to New York.”

Tommaso had revealed that the guys laid a fake trail back to New York, and he had followed it to the city in the hopes of capturing me. It was a good idea, in theory, but I still had people I cared about, people who Tommaso would undoubtedly use to draw me out, especially when he learned it was all a trick.

His ego really wouldn’t suffer the humiliation gracefully.

A low, deep growl reverberated from Merrick’s chest at the mere mention of the second in line to the Barone empire and the ex-fiancé I’d escaped. Kellan gave me an assessing look before he winced, clearly already putting the pieces together.

“Well, of course, there’s a problem.” Spade chuckled, fingering a lock of my blood-speckled hair. “He knows that was a trap, and he’ll be on his way back here now.”

Kellan groaned, but I cut him off. “Yes, but now Tommaso will be out for revenge.”

Merrick stiffened. “We already knew he would be coming after us. It was a way to stall, to let us regroup.”

“I understand, but I’m not the only person at stake right now. My friend Sophia, who I was on the phone with before . . .” I trailed off, not needing to say the rest. Judging by their narrowed glares, none of us would be forgetting last night anytime soon. “He’s only kept his distance because her father is a senator. But with me escaping from his clutches a second time, and you bringing down his men in his own home, he might just be desperate enough to do something reckless.”

Merrick let loose a string of curses as he pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear, a plan clearly already in place.

“He’s calling a friend of ours who helped lead Tommaso back to New York,” Kellan filled in for me, giving me a soft smile I couldn’t help but return, despite my stomach twisting at the thought of Sophia in Tommaso’s clutches.

I pushed the thought aside, deciding to put my trust in the guys. It’d been so long since I felt I could trust someone. But relying on these men once more? That felt right.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, angel,” Spade whispered. He leaned close, tucking the sticky mess of hair he’d been examining behind my ear. “I love the way you look covered in the blood of our enemies.”

As his breath skated over the shell of my ear, heat rushed through my veins, chasing away the lingering frost of fear that had coated my skin. His timing might seem off to some, but it was like he knew exactly what I needed. Losing myself to fear and anxiety wouldn’t help anyone, and the thick note of lust in Spade’s tone brought me back to my center.

“I guess I’ll have to try the look out more often.” We shared a mischievous grin, a sign that we were both planning our next move. There was so much more blood to be spilled, and I knew Spade would be there with me each step of the way—after we made sure Sophia was safe, of course.

“Zane,” Merrick barked. “We have a problem.”

“I know,” Zane growled back. “I’ve been trying to call you. He left the penthouse about an hour ago. I’ve been following him, but—”

“Yeah, we know,” Merrick cut him off, his jaw ticking. “He took Giana. It’s a long story, but we got her back. Now, the problem is, he might try to use one of her friends as collateral to get her back.”

A wave of nervous energy came crashing down on me, chasing away any trace of the earlier warmth Spade had breathed back into my body. Like he could sense it, Kellan took my hands in his, cocooning them between his warm, slightly rough, palms, helping to keep the tendrils of dread at bay.

“Merrick . . .” Zane’s warning vibrated across the line, and I sucked in a sharp breath, the demand to go to New York ourselves on the tip of my tongue. I swallowed them back, though, as Merrick’s gaze flashed to mine, softening in a silent plea.

“I know, Zane. I wouldn’t ask if we had any other choice, but after tonight . . .”

“Yeah, I know.” Zane sighed. “Fine, text me the address and I’ll bring her back with me.”

Merrick’s rigid posture eased some at the assurance. “Thanks, man.”

“You owe me, Ford. Meet us at the club later tonight. I’ll need to make sure we don’t have a tail before leaving the city.”

I chewed on my bottom lip as Merrick disconnected. “Who was that? Can we trust him? And you owe him? What does that mean?”

The questions slipped from my lips one after the other, a blend of panic and confusion mixing in my gut.

Before Merrick could get out a word, Kellan cut him off. “We’ll answer all your questions, little devil, but first, we need Sophia’s address.”

“Right.” I nodded and took a deep breath, my cheeks heating as I rattled off the address for him. Merrick’s thumbs tapped at the screen, light enveloping his face in the dark interior of the blacked-out van.

“That was Zane,” Spade offered, casually wrapping his arm around my shoulders, like this was a normal Tuesday for him. Which, hell, it very well could be.

“Zane works for Sebastian at the fight club,” Kellan said, as though he could see my need for real answers tearing a hole in my insides. “We’ve gotten closer to them over the years. He helped us get a foothold in the beginning with all his connections.”

“So, you trust them?” I asked, hesitantly pulling my hands from Kellan’s so I could think past the comforting haze of his touch.

“Yes,” Merrick answered for him before passing me his phone. “Call Sophia and let her know what’s going on before Zane barges in there and she thinks he’s the one trying to abduct her.”

I typed in her phone number and tapped the speaker icon, giving the guys the same snippet into my life that they’d given me.

I’d been so wrapped up in what had happened to me—escaping Tommaso, reuniting with Merrick and Kellan, and falling for Spade—that I hadn’t realized just how much I didn’t know, both about their plans and their world now.

“Hello?” Sophia’s drowsy voice echoed through the van after the third ring, and I could almost picture her blinking her eyes and scowling at her phone. “This better not be a scam, otherwise I’ll—”

“It’s Giana,” I said, cutting her off, grateful that she was safe—for now, at least. Some of the weight eased off my chest at the sound of her voice and how normal her life must be . . . well, until now, that was. Because, despite everything I’d done to keep her out of this life, she was about to get dragged right into it, whether either of us liked it or not.

“Fuck, Gi,” she groaned, her sheets ruffling in the background. “Do you know what time it is? Wait, you’re not a morning person. What’s wrong?”

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you.” I grimaced, furtively meeting the gazes of my guys, since the statement applied to Merrick and Kellan too. “I kept the truth from you to keep you safe, but it seems like that might not be an option anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Any trace of grogginess had ebbed from her voice and was now replaced with concern.

“I’ll explain everything when I see you, but you aren’t safe. We have someone coming to get you and bring you to East Haven,” I rushed out, wincing at her gasp.

“Giana Bardot, you tell me this—AH!” Her demand was cut off mid-sentence by a crash in the background that sounded a lot like wood splintering.

“Sophia, what’s happening?” I shouted over the chime of glass breaking and frantic footsteps.

“Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?” she shrieked, the high-pitched note of her voice followed by another volley of glass shattering.

“Sophia!” My gaze frantically slid between my guys, panic seizing around my throat like a noose. Kellan already had his phone up to his ear, and I could only assume he was calling Zane.

“Zane!” Merrick shouted, irritation clear in his tone.

“Merrick,” Zane grunted, his voice echoing from Merrick’s phone in my hand just before another cascade of something undoubtedly sharp smashed against a wall. “Tell her to stop throwing shit at me.”

“Sophia,” I shouted again, hoping Zane and Merrick’s exchange would help calm her enough for me to explain. “Zane is there to keep you safe.”

“Could have fooled me,” she snapped back. “Who just breaks into someone’s apartment? You should’ve knocked like a normal fucking person.”

“Yeah, throw something else at him.” Spade whooped from beside me, leaning in. This was entertaining for him? Wait. This was Spade we were talking about. Of course, it was.

“Who was that?” Sophia squeaked.

I let loose a sigh of frustration and nudged Spade back into his seat. “That was Spade.” I gave him a warning look, to which he shrugged, his violet eyes glittering with mischief. “Merrick and Kellan are here too.”

“See, I told you she was talking about us last night,” Spade said, grinning conspiratorially at Merrick and Kellan, who both pointedly ignored him.

These men.

“Can you just tell me what is going on?” Sophia huffed in irritation, yet Spade’s interruption seemed to ease some of her panic.

“I was given a drink last night while I was on the phone with you,” I explained, my shoulders slumping. I knew that I’d had no way of knowing, yet I couldn’t help the way my stomach sank at the memory. “It turned out to be laced with something strong enough to disorient me and knock me out.”

“Giana,” Sophia gasped, her voice muffled slightly, as though her hand was covering her mouth.

Murderous rage flashed in each of my guys’ stares, and I knew they would’ve taken their time with Mike if I hadn’t killed him already.

“It was one of Tommaso’s men. He took me back to Tommaso’s house, but luckily, he wasn’t there yet.” I gave each of them a reassuring smile because, although Sophia was brought into this, them luring Tommaso out of the state was probably what had saved me. “He’s in New York, though, looking for me there, and with me clearly not at his house anymore . . .”

“You think he’ll come after me?”

“Yeah, I do, Soph. I’m so sorry for bringing you into this. This is the last thing I ever wanted for you.” I wished I could read her expression.

“This isn’t your fault,” she assured me, chasing away the tendrils of doubt clawing at the edges of my mind. “You did your best to keep me out every time I tried to follow you or unknowingly inserted myself into danger.”

“So, you’ll come with Zane?” I asked, hope flickering in my chest. I hadn’t let myself feel it before, but I missed my best friend. And even though I wanted to keep her safe, I couldn’t help the selfish desire to have her close again.

“I guess so.” She sighed. “Or I could just come on my own.”

“No,” I said at the same time a growl sounded through the speaker.

“I said I’d keep you safe, so there’s no way you’re getting out of the apartment without me glued to your side,” Zane grumbled.

I cocked a brow at the insistence in his clipped tone but decided not to say anything.

“Fine, but you’re paying me back for that door.” She huffed in indignation.

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Zane’s voice called over the line, not bothering to dignify Sophia’s demand with a response. “I’m going to try to track down the tail he has on her and lose them before we make our way back to town. Sebastian will have my head if I bring the Barones straight to the club.”

“I’ll see you soon,” I said, not letting any of the guys interject again. “I’m so sorry for all of this.”

“You know I can work remotely, Gi. There’s nothing holding me back from seeing my best friend and figuring out this mess by her side.”

I sighed a breath of relief at the sureness in her tone, and some of the anxiety loosened its stranglehold on my heart. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do.” She sighed. “I’ll see you soon. I have to go before this lunatic goes waving his gun around at my neighbors.”

Resting Merrick’s phone in my lap, I let the events of the morning sink in. Sophia was really coming to East Haven. My two worlds were about to collide. I was just getting back to the person I was always meant to be, but would she accept me still, black heart and all?

“Zane will take care of her, little devil,” Kellan assured me, his voice jolting me from my thoughts.

A blush crept across my cheeks at his assumption, but I didn’t bother to correct him and, instead, focused back on the topic of their mysterious friend.

“You didn’t answer what his price will be?” My gaze sharpened on Merrick.

“Does it matter?” He shrugged, his jaw working as he shoved his phone into his pocket and directed the full weight of his hazel gaze on me. “I’d give him anything he wants to keep you and whoever matters to you safe.”

“Of course, it matters.” I frowned back at him, searching his face. He had to know, right? “You’re part of that, too, and sometimes, the cost is too high. We can go—”

“No cost is too high for you, little devil.” We exchanged dark looks, both desperately trying to make the other see just how much we cared about them. “This is the safest option, especially with Tommaso on his way back.”

“You have a plan?” I swallowed, prying my gaze away from Merrick before I continued the argument that wouldn’t do either of us any good right now. Electricity thrummed between us, something dark and sensual that needed to be sated.

“Yeah, we do,” Merrick assured, his fists clenching in his lap, like he was fighting the urge to pull me across the van and onto his lap. “But we can go over that when we get back to Inferno. We need to have a talk with the whole crew because last night changed everything.”

Pushing down the urge to blurt out the questions buzzing around in my mind, I stared out the window, letting the car settle into a comfortable silence.

A deep pink light glowed in the sky above, the early morning sun rising just above the horizon and lighting up the distance with warm hues. The sight reminded me of the day I tried to leave Tommaso, the day that put this whole series of events in motion. I compared the socialites in the Hamptons, indulging in their parties and rosé to wearing rose-colored glasses, ones I, too, had tried to don for a time, resigned in my agreement with Tommaso, with my promise to be his for the safety of my friends.

Friends . That word seemed to pale in comparison to what they’d been then, and what they’d come to mean to me now.

A memory niggled at the back of my mind, of a saying I’d long forgotten about sailors and the pink light of morning. Did it mean a storm was coming or clear skies were ahead? Honestly, it didn’t matter, because, with these men by my side, we could weather the most brutal of storms and make it to the other side.