Devil’s Game (The Devil’s Demons #2)

4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Kellan

“ W e’ll continue with our regular patrols tonight, and either Merrick or I will send you a text for our meeting tomorrow.” With a terse nod, I dismissed the Devil’s Demons from the room, knowing they each needed sleep just as much as we did.

Gritting my teeth, I clenched my fists at my side, barely holding myself back from storming into that office, so it was my name Giana screamed loud enough to clearly be heard out in the bar. Men and women filed past us and out to their waiting cars, barely meeting our eyes as they passed.

“Are you sure I can’t go back there?” Spade asked as the last person left, the door squeaking as it knocked against the frame. Yup, Merrick definitely broke it. I’d have to find someone to repair it before tonight.

“Did we follow you to the mall yesterday?” I asked pointedly, cocking a knowing brow at Spade as he slumped back against the bar.

“No, but—”

“Exactly,” I cut him off, needing to make my point before he threw caution to the wind and stormed in there. I wasn’t sure what Merrick would do if our boundary-crossing friend barged in there. But I guaranteed, judging by the raw, possessive need that had glinted in his eyes before he practically dragged Giana away with him, he wouldn’t be in the mood to share our devil. “We made a deal years ago, and now that you’re—”

“In love,” Spade clarified for me, nodding along, completely unperturbed, like he hadn’t just dropped a huge bombshell.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and sighed in exasperation. This was too much for one day. “—in love with Giana, you’ll have to agree, too, or this will never work.”

My cock pulsed as Giana screamed Merrick’s name again, and my body went rigid. I knew exactly what Merrick needed. He needed Giana under him, her skin pressed against his, their bodies coming together, in order for his world to feel right again. I knew because I felt the same. The only problem was that Merrick was far more volatile than me, so if I’d been the one to sweep her off to the back, I knew he’d never have been able to keep his cool. There’d either be glass shattered everywhere or bodies lying across the heavily varnished wooden floor. Spade wouldn’t help matters, of course. He’d be there right alongside him, killing off the allies we desperately needed right now, whether he regretted it later or not.

“There’ll be times when one of us needs to be alone with Giana, and we have to respect that, even if we don’t like it,” I said, aware of Spade’s patience thinning as he glanced at the back hallway. “We promised that we’d never let her get caught in the middle of us or give her any hard choices to make.”

Spade pursed his lips, but he nodded. “I’m willing to do whatever’s best for my sugar . . . as long as we’ll be able to share her too.”

His violet eyes darkened, and a hint of mischief glinted in them.

A grin curved my lips, and I nodded as memories from Giana’s eighteenth birthday flooded my mind. Seeing her with Merrick, working as a team, our sole mission to bring her more pleasure than she ever could have imagined, had been hotter than I wanted to admit. “Oh, I plan on it.”

“Good, because when she was in the back seat with Merrick on the way here . . .” Spade trailed off, not needing to finish the thought.

My cock throbbed, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to grind against my hand, my body desperate for some sort of relief. “I nearly pulled the car over as soon as she started making those soft moans she thought we couldn’t hear.”

Spade hissed out a breath, and both of us groaned as she screamed again. “I’m glad the others left. Otherwise, I might’ve killed them for hearing her make those sounds.”

And that was exactly why I had to babysit the psycho.

“I don’t know how we’re supposed to concentrate on anything other than fucking our girl right now.” Spade’s jaw ticked, and I knew he was doing his best to resist the pull toward her.

I exhaled a long breath before retrieving my phone and going over the notes that had been sitting there for over a year. “I want to get Giana’s thoughts about our plan, but after we question everyone, we’ll split them into teams and go after the Barones’ henchmen one at a time.”

“And kill them?” Spade asked, eyes sparking with delight.

At least the thought of murder was enough to distract him temporarily. “I don’t think so. Not at first. We need them to get a message back to Tommaso and Angelo. If we start killing them without them reporting back what happened, they’ll just come after us.”

Spade sighed and glanced over his shoulder. His posture seemed relaxed, but I knew him. He was a lethal predator on the verge of striking.

“But we can kill some, just to keep them on their toes.”

Spade’s eyes lit up as his attention flashed back to me, a grin lighting up his face. “That would be perfect!”

“We’ll have to set up a meeting with the remaining members of the Demon Riders and tell them that they will either join us or disband,” I said idly, typing a note into my phone.

“And by disband, you mean . . .” Spade nearly bounced with excitement at the thought of bloodshed.

“They don’t know anything about our inner workings, so if they don’t join us, they can retire from their MC days,” I corrected, crossing my arms over my chest as I pinned him with a stern look.

“And if they don’t . . .”

He was like a fucking puppy, nipping at my heels with excitement, but instead of a treat, he was after murder. “Yes, Spade, if they back out on the deal they agreed to years ago, you can kill them.”

“Perfect.” His eyes glittered with anticipation.

My lips parted, about to tell him not to get ahead of himself, when the whoosh of a door opening cut me off. Spade spun on his heel, practically leaning over the bar as Giana walked out, her blood-stained clothes laying on her body haphazardly, seemingly torn in some places.

That fucking asshole.

Speaking of, Merrick’s lips twitched as he followed her out, some of the tension that had been rolling off him diminished now that he’d had our girl to himself. Spade and I both rushed to Giana’s side, my feet moving before I even knew it. Spade was faster, though, and he nearly tripped over himself to cut in front of me.

I cursed the selfish psycho under my breath as I closed the distance, and he swept her up into his arms. He swung her around, and she giggled before he settled her back down and clutched her hard to his chest. My fingers itched to drag him away from her, but I held myself back as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent deeply.

“You smell like blood, sex, and sugar. Three of my favorite things,” he declared before letting her go. He gave me a pointed look as he stepped to the side, silently showing me just how well he could stick to our agreement.

Good.

I didn’t waste another second as I wrapped my arms around her, tightly pressing her into my chest. I needed to feel her heartbeat next to mine like I needed to breathe. Now that she was safe, I needed to reassure myself that she was really here with us. Giana nestled her head into my chest, and I glanced at Merrick over her head, conveying to him just how close I was to breaking, and he nodded.

“Let’s get you home, little devil. You need to sleep, and I need to feel you next to me.” I pulled away slightly as she glanced up at me, her amber eyes flickering between mine, reading me just as easily as I’d always been able to discern whatever thoughts were going through her head.

“I would love that.” She smiled up at me, and the sight of her took my breath away. I memorized her face like this: the blood splatter on her cheek, her bare face cleared of any trace of her makeup from last night, and her radiant smile. I committed every detail to memory, vowing to sketch it later to immortalize her beauty for my next tattoo.

I sighed in contentment as I shifted my arm to the small of her back and led her out the front door, leaving all that had been pressing on my chest a few minutes ago in the bar. We could afford these few hours to sleep, to recharge, but after that, we would fight. Because I wasn’t ever letting another soul, other than my two closest friends, lay a finger on her.

Tonight, we would get reinforcements, and we would fight.