18. Diablos
Chapter eighteen
Diablos
Dagon’s arms were clasped tightly around me, holding me in place. Even if I tried to move, I wouldn’t be able to. He was stronger than he looked.
I replayed everything that happened in the creepy house. I remembered Joshua’s eyes lingering over Dagon’s body when he thought I wasn’t watching him. I shuddered at the memory.
There was something else in his calculating, creepy-as-fuck eyes. He was not on our side. He was trying to do something. I was sure of that, and I was scared out of my mind that he would hurt Dagon. The horror almost froze me when I saw that gleam in his angelic-fake human eyes as he watched us.
“We’re fine.” Dagon’s words broke through the haze and fear inside me.
Fuck. Until he said it, I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear those words. I needed to hear that he was okay. He kept repeating the words, and I held onto them. They were like a beacon of light in what felt like an endless abyss.
“Breathe for me, sweetheart, just like that. We’re safe. Both of us are safe.”
Whatever I'd been holding in cracked. The tears started before I could decide whether to let them.
What would I have done if Joshua had hurt Dagon?
Sobs rocked my body. I was shivering, but I kept holding onto Dagon – both to his words and his body. After who knew how long, my breathing finally steadied. My head throbbed like monkeys with drums competing against each other in the middle of a rock concert.
I tried to pull away, but Dagon grabbed my waist with one hand and cupped my face with the other.
“Di?”
“Yeah?” I croaked.
Dagon's breaths stalled for a second, then relaxed in the next. Pulling away slowly, he scanned my face. What I saw when I looked back at him punched me straight in the gut. His eyes were wild with concern. He was scanning me as if he'd lost me once and feared it could happen again.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t,” he whispered. “How are you?”
I exhaled loudly and rested my head against him, closing my eyes. “I’m afraid.”
Dagon moved, and I thought he would pull away, but he cupped my face with both hands and kissed my forehead.
“We are safe, Di. I promised you nothing would happen to us. There is a motel thirty minutes away from here. I checked the map before we arrived in the village. Let’s spend the night there. You up for that?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice yet, but Dagon repeated his question, so I answered, “Yes. Let’s go.”
I didn’t want him to pull away, but we had no choice. When he got us back on the road, I was about to turn to the window when his hand intertwined with mine.
“Don’t leave. Stay with me.”
His words almost broke something in me. My eyes watered again, but I tried damn hard not to let the tears fall. “I will.”
Dagon saw my hollow eyes. He understood I wasn’t mentally in the car with him moments ago, but rather trapped in my horror thoughts and emotions. He asked me to stay with him, so I did, even if it was more challenging than I imagined.
The motel’s parking lot was almost empty. There were two other cars besides ours. When we were about to enter, I grabbed Dagon’s hand. He turned to me right away and asked what was wrong.
“Uh, nothing. I-” how do I say this? “I wanted to ask if you’re okay using one room?” I hurriedly added, “With two beds. Separate beds.”
Dagon stared at me and nodded quickly before adding, “Of course we will.”
I didn’t want to be alone tonight. Not to mention, staying in an almost-empty motel wasn’t my top choice after meeting a demon who looked like a human.
Oh, yes, I was pretty confident that man was a demon.
I still needed to tell Dagon about it. I didn’t have proof, but I had a gut feeling.
Was my panic and fear fueling this gut feeling, or was it real?
Surprisingly, the room was clean. Honestly? I didn’t care much right now. I grabbed a shower first and then waited for Dagon to take one. We needed to talk.
While I waited for Dagon, I played with my ring.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Seven twists.
Repeat.
I did this over and over until the bathroom door opened, and my head shot up. Dagon's hair was darker after the shower, glistening with deep purple highlights – or maybe that was the light playing tricks.
He wore his usual black clothes, and I chuckled.
“Don’t you have other clothes?”
“Is there something wrong with my clothes?” Dagon looked down at himself and then brought his gaze back to me.
“Umm, what I meant was…” I was stalling here, “Umm, clothes that are a different color than black?”
He was dumbstruck for a second before laughing out loud. My lips twitched, and I found myself joining him.
“I prefer black clothes, but I wear other colors too, just not often. What color would look good on me?”
I examined his body. No, this wasn’t an excuse to check him out. Not at all. I took my sweet time because it was necessary for my answer. Yes, that was the actual reason.
“Blue, green, purple. These colors would look good on you.”
His eyes flashed with something, but he averted his gaze quickly. Nodding, he pointed to the tiny space next to me. “Mind if I join?”
“You have your own bed.”
“Yes, but yours looks more comfortable, and we need to talk.” Before I could answer, he was already sitting next to me. “I don’t trust this man, Di.”
“Neither do I. There was something seriously wrong.”
“I felt it, too.”
“I’m sure he wanted to do something to us.
” I shared with Dagon all the little things I noticed.
The calculating gaze, the knife in the foyer on the little table that was covered in red.
I purposefully tried not to think about what it might be.
The feeling of someone else watching us in the house.
I knew what that feeling usually is. I knew there was someone else or something.
I also shared my suspicion that Joshua was a demon.
When I was done, I realized Dagon hadn’t said anything.
“Is this why you had a panic attack?” he asked.
“Yes. For a second, I wasn't sure we'd make it out of that place at all.”
“And I’m sure I would've killed that motherfucker if he tried to hurt you.” Dagon’s words made me physically recoil and stare at him in shock.
Was he serious? The barely contained rage in his voice told me he did mean it.
“Dagon?”
“I promised you nothing would happen to you.”
He reached for my hand but, at the last moment, thought better of it. I wanted his hands on me. Sane people would be worried at the proximity of someone who just proclaimed they would kill someone. Me? For some reason, I didn’t care.
His body was still visibly shaking with anger, but I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to be there for him, just like he had been there for me earlier. If he could only let me, I would always be there. So, I did the only thing that felt right. I gently drew him into my embrace and held him tight.
Meeting a demon that looked like a human, knowing we may not have made it out alive… well, let’s say it all gives you a different perspective on life.
Sometimes, the fears were real, and other times, the fears didn’t matter.
Right now, I realized many of my fears didn’t matter - not when it came down to the man who meant so much to me.
For I would much rather be afraid and jump off the precipice rather than hover there and stare at Dagon from afar.
When we pulled apart, Dagon parted his lips, about to say something, but then his phone rang. He reached for it, and his face immediately hardened.
"Who is it?"
"King." He hung up on our father without another word. I opened my mouth to say something, but Dagon spoke first. "I'll call him later."
"No. Go ahead and call him now. I'm fine."
Dagon wasn't sure about that, but talking with him and holding him helped me. We'd figure things out.