Mammon (Devilry #2)

29. Beelzebub

TWENTY-NINE

BEELZEBUB

He hasn’t let go.

Even now, as he’s pacing, he’s dragging Gore and I along with him, moving us back and forth across his office until I grow dizzy. On Mammon’s insistence, Gore was given all the painkillers when the conduit came by and put on his pink cast, so I don’t think he notices that we’re basically being used as human ping-pong balls right now.

Everyone’s in here waiting for something to happen, trying to see what Mammon will do next, but he hasn’t spoken a word. I’ve tried to get him to say something but have been ignored. Where I would’ve been pissed before, I understand now. He’s not staying silent just to spite me. He’s thinking through a plan, trying to organize his thoughts, and I need to take a step back and let that happen.

Well, not a literal step back, apparently.

Asi’s the one who finally breaks the silence, clearing his throat as he pushes off the wall. “Well, care to share what you’re thinking?”

“Give me a fucking second,” he growls. “Let me think.”

“You’ve been thinking for a while now, brother,” Levi says with a scoff as he holds Luc by the back of his neck. “What’s the plan?”

Mammon freezes and gulps, eyeing Gore and me. “The plan is?—”

But he’s cut off by the ringing of his phone. We all look at it, most of us puzzled, because when the fuck do we ever use our phones? With us in tow, Mammon walks to his desk and reaches for his phone. I wrinkle my nose at what I see. “A video call? From who?”

The number is blocked, only saying Unknown , and a sickening feeling creeps in that this isn’t good. Mammon hesitates for a second, probably considering whether this is just a coincidence, but he’s considering what I am too. There’s no such thing as coincidences in times like these. He slides to answer it and the video loads for a second. It cuts off, giving nothing but white noise before the image pops up, and I gasp at what I see.

It’s a person wearing one of those Halloween wolf masks. The background is all black, unrecognizable, but he’s clear as day. The wolf tips his head, studying us, and I can almost sense the eyes underneath the mask staring straight at me. Mammon must think so too, because he growls, moving the phone away so only he’s visible.

“Hello, Mammon,” the wolf says, his voice distorted and robotic, like he’s using one of those voice modulators. “It’s good to finally meet face-to-face.”

Mammon clenches his jaw, his fingers white with his grip on the phone. “And who are you?”

The wolf chuckles, his head bobbing as he clicks his tongue. “Justice.”

“Corny as fuck,” Asi mumbles. Stalking toward Mammon, he stands just beside him so he’s visible as well. “We’re to assume you’re behind what happened tonight?”

“Tonight and everything else,” the wolf explains, cracking his knuckles just off-screen. “The dead woman, the poisoning, the shootings. How do you like our presents?”

Mammon raises an eyebrow, the angry vein in his forehead throbbing. “Our?”

“You think it’s just me?” The wolf snorts and shakes his head. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

“He is!” Gore yells, hopping in to defend our man quickly, the painkillers making him brave. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Settle,” Mammon snaps at him, but I know the tone isn’t meant to hurt Gore, more out of frustration. He turns back to the phone. “You’re with the resistance. The leader.”

“Guilty. And you’re a leader too, right? Or you like to play one, at least.”

“What’s the point of this?” Mammon questions, narrowing his eyes. “Why call to introduce yourself? What do you want?”

“For you and your family ”—he says with disgust—“to get off this island. It doesn’t belong to you.”

“ Everything belongs to me,” Mammon states, his voice strong and unwavering. “Your attempts to sabotage that are all but ridiculous. If you’d like to live, I suggest you put an end to this foolish mission of yours.”

I want to snort because there’s no way Mammon is letting this go, not after what happened to Luc and certainly not after what could have happened to Gore and me. He’ll hunt this man to the ends of the Earth to get his revenge. And it’s so fucking hot.

Shaking his head slowly, the wolf chuckles. “You think you’re the only clever one, huh? Trust me, the worst is yet to come. Consider this a warning. Leave or face the consequences.”

Before Mammon has a chance to say anything, the wolf hangs up. He curses, shoving the phone in Asi’s hands. “Fucking find a way to figure out where that call came from.”

But even I know, based on my limited television time, that it’s nearly impossible to do that. I don’t point that out, however. Instead, I curl into his side so he can get even an ounce of comfort from me.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Asi asks, impatient and frustrated as he runs a hand through his hair. “Mammon?”

Mammon grunts and tugs Gore and me closer as he stops. “Get out.”

Luc shakes his head. “Mammon?—”

“I said out !” Mammon bellows, finally letting go of us to point at the door. Everyone is still for a moment before they file out, one by one. Gore and I make a move, but Mammon snaps at us. “Not you two. You’re staying here.”

Gore and I share a worried look as Mammon leads us to the couch in the corner of the room. He sits down and brings us with him, tucking us in his sides yet again. It’d be cute were it not for the current circumstances.

Okay, fuck that, it’s adorable.

“Do you want to talk now?” Gore asks gently—a little groggily—as he rests his cast on Mammon’s chest. “I’m all nose.”

“Ears, baby,” I correct, leaning over Mammon to grab Gore’s good hand.

Gore wrinkles his nose cutely. “Oh, right.”

“I…” Mammon begins but trails off, jaw tight as he thinks through his words. “I could have lost you two.”

“But we’re fine,” I insist. “Who we’re really worried about is you.”

He shakes his head. “I’m okay.”

“Are you?” I press, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you really, Mammon? We talked about this. You don’t have to pretend to be anything anymore, not in front of us.”

I can speak for Gore when I say we’ll never see him as weak or frail. His faults and his defeats don’t impact the way we perceive him. He’s a god to us, the king of kings, and that’ll never change.

“All we want is for you to let us in,” Gore pleads softly, coherent enough to follow my lead. “Tell us what you’re thinking.”

Mammon clenches his jaw as his fingers tighten on my hip. He breathes through his nose, nostrils flaring. Opening and closing his mouth, he fights with himself before he sighs. “Okay.”

It’s inappropriate, but I get excited. Mammon never lets us in, but it seems that this chain of events has changed his mind. I don’t push and neither does Gore. We just wait for him to confide in us, like he always should have.

“I’m thinking about Master.”

This catches me by surprise. My eyes widen as I stutter. “W-What?”

“Why?” Gore asks, equally perplexed, and a little worried too.

“Because he wanted us to live a certain way. Always in the shadows. Always hiding.” He sits deeper in the couch, dragging us until we’re practically lying down on top of him. “I always knew it wasn’t right. We shouldn’t be ashamed of who we are. All those average fucking people live their dull lives, but I know the truth. We’re simply better than them.”

I nod. Seems about right. My family is the fucking best and I’d dare anybody to tell me otherwise, but I’m not understanding how this relates to our current situation. “Okay?”

He lets out a deep breath, pressing a kiss to the top of both our heads before continuing. “My vision for Juniper Ridge was supposed to be a place where we could come out of the shadows. A place you two could be yourselves without fear and without shame. A place to be free.”

Something pleasant flutters in my gut. Gore leans up and locks eyes with me, his big brown gaze amazed because he just heard the same thing I did.

“Mammon…” Jaw dropped, I crawl over him. “Did you take over an entire island for us?”

Mammon actually fucking blushes. “No.”

“But that’s what you said,” Gore coos, smiling brightly, a bit hazy too. “Mammon, you did this for us?”

He shakes his head, but he can’t take back the truth. And the truth is that he’s the most romantic fucker on the planet and tried to give Gore and I the best gift on the planet. If I ever questioned his love, I don’t now. All this time, it’s always been us guiding his actions and I’m going to be smug as shit about it.

“Mammon—”

“Okay, I guess— Fuck, yes,” he finally relents, dropping his head with a groan. “I fucking did it for you two. Is that what you want to hear?”

I don’t think I’ve ever loved him more. This man who can sometimes be so aloof, so controlling, who only does what he wants…he tried to give us the world.

This is why he deserves our undying devotion. This is why we’ll listen to anything he says. This is why we’ll do whatever he asks.

Because, whether he wants to admit it, the only thing he’s ever needed is us.