Chapter Twelve – Laina
The next morning, Kieran came to me while I was on the treadmill, power-walking. My hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and I wore a set of ugly, plain workout clothes—still, that didn’t stop him from eyeing me up like a piece of meat as he approached. Honestly, I was surprised he didn’t come to my room last night, but maybe he was trying to give me some time to reckon with the revelation that he was my Devil.
“Tessa just left to go to the gym, but your father’s still hanging about.” He leaned on the small weight machine nearby, looking thoughtful. “Is there anywhere we can go to talk? Where we won’t be overheard?”
I pressed the stop button on the treadmill and moved my feet to the outer plastic so I could stop walking immediately. “We could go to Fang’s place.” Fang’s was the first idea that popped into my head; I supposed we could go to Lola’s house, too, but I’d rather go to Fang’s.
The way he stared at me for a few moments after I suggested Fang’s told me he was unsurprised and at the same time not all too pleased, but the displeasure faded—probably because he remembered Fang had helped Mike save me when he couldn’t. He couldn’t hate on them too much, now.
“Fine. Fang’s it is. I’ll get Mike.”
While Kieran went to Mike, I changed into normal clothes and went to let my dad know I’d be out of the house for a while—but I was taking both Kieran and Mike with me, so I’d be fine. My dad was in his home office, doing something on a tablet; I could tell he wanted to ask me questions about where I was going.
“I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” I actually didn’t know how long we’d be gone, but a few hours seemed like a good guess. “I promise, I’m not going anywhere stupid. I’ll be safe.” And then, just to really make him speechless, I added, “I love you.”
My dad’s brows twitched, almost like he thought he didn’t hear me right. “I love you, too.” I hadn’t been the warmest, most loving child since my escape, mostly because I thought he had something to do with it.
Imagine my shock learning it was Tessa and not him.
Mike took me, while Kieran drove separately. I messaged Fang to let him know we were on our way over, that we needed a safe place to talk.
And there was a lot to discuss. Kieran should know that Lola and I tortured some information out of one of the kidnappers, and since they were all now dead, Tessa had to know something had happened, that we were on to her. We had to figure out something. We couldn’t just sit around and wait for her to make another move.
On the way, I glanced at Mike. He hadn’t said a word to me this morning, so it was good to know he was still his ever-talkative self now that we’d been together. I guessed I couldn’t fault him too much for it; it’s who he was. He didn’t talk just to talk, unlike Kieran. He only spoke when he had something to say.
“Be nice to Fang and Kieran,” I told him. My command earned me a glimpse and a frown. “I wanted Fang to bite me, and Kieran…” Everything he’d told me was true: if he hadn’t done something two years ago, Tessa would’ve hired someone else, and they wouldn’t have hesitated to get rid of me. My fate could’ve easily been much, much worse.
“It doesn’t matter that you asked. He still did it,” he huffed. “And Kieran is an ass. He always has been. He kept you chained to a goddamned bed for two years. I don’t know what kind of man you think I am, but I’m not someone who can overlook something like that. It’s unforgivable.”
“I gave him permission,” I said. “If you need to be mad at someone about the bite, be mad at me. He wouldn’t have done it if I wouldn’t have asked. Fang’s not like that. And Kieran saved my life. Maybe he went about it a little wrong, but I wouldn’t be here today if he wouldn’t have taken me and kept me hidden. If he didn’t chain me down, if he showed me who he was immediately… I wouldn’t have stayed. I would’ve done everything I could’ve to escape. I didn’t trust him yet. It took nearly two years for me to see the truth, and it’s a truth I had to see for myself.”
Only now I realized it wasn’t the truth about my dad, but rather about Tessa.
Mike grunted. “I should tell that prick I was with you last night, see what he does. Tell him about the bite mark on your thigh, too—”
“Mike,” I hissed out his name. “Stop it.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just get worked up when it’s you.”
It was something I could understand. I might not appreciate the jealousy and the resentment between them, but I could understand it. Hopefully, in time, those negative feelings would fade, and—and what? We’d be one big, happy family, like Lola and her boyfriends? Was that what I wanted?
Yeah, I think it was.
My eyes fell to my lap, to my hands—specifically the metal prosthetic fingers and wrist bracelet Fang had crafted for me. Made with such love and care, it made me look whole again, similar to how these men helped me feel whole, too.
It was right then I decided, yes, these men are mine. We might butt heads every now and then, we might not see eye-to-eye on everything, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they belonged to me and I belonged to them.
When we pulled into the alley, we found Fang waiting near the door, keeping it propped open with a piece of wood. As much as he’d looked handsome in those dress clothes last night, I did prefer him in his normal black, his dark pants and his black shirts, with a little bit of ash or grease on his face.
You know, a little dirty. There was something sexy about a man with a bit of dirt on him.
I was the first out of the car, and I practically ran over to Fang and threw myself at him, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around me and bending his top half down to give me a kiss. A hard kiss, so firm it pulled the air from my lungs and made me a little dizzy.
He let me go and turned his head to watch Mike get out of the car, and behind him, Kieran had parked on the sidewalk and was walking up. “Fancy seeing you three here,” he mused with a silver-toothed smirk.
Mike only grunted, and Kieran simply gave him a tight-lipped smile.
Fang led us up, though he did close the alleyway door and lock it, first. He brought us upstairs and immediately offered us something to drink, the good host he was. Mike and I declined, but Kieran asked, “You got any Dr. Pepper Cherry ? Or is it cherry Dr. Pepper ? Whatever. Either way, I find that extra bit of cherry really makes the drink stand out against its namesake.”
Mike looked like he wanted to strangle him, while Fang appeared only thoughtful as he said, “No, afraid not. I do have orange juice, though.”
A beat passed before Kieran muttered, “How is that similar at all?”
“An orange is a fruit, just like a cherry.”
It was clear he hadn’t thought of it like that. “You know what? You’re right. My bad. I can totally see why you went straight from Dr. Pepper Cherry to orange juice, but no thanks on the OJ.”
I sat on the couch, and Fang was slow to sit beside me. Mike leaned on the opposite wall, folding his arms over his chest, looking dour, while Kieran went to sit on the couch’s arm, on my other side, even though there was plenty of room for him to sit next to me on the other cushion.
“So,” I started, glancing at Kieran, “first thing is first. You should know we found out you were the target at the press conference because Mike managed to keep one of the kidnappers alive. Lola and I tortured the information out of him. He didn’t know who hired him, only that it was a woman, and that she wanted them to kill you, and when they couldn’t kill you, they were told to watch me and take me, instead. He didn’t say what the endgame was.”
With a shrug, Kieran said, “She probably wrote them off as a loss after they couldn’t even kill me right. Odds are, though, she would’ve had them kill you, so it’s a damn good thing I woke up when I did—wait. You tortured someone? With Lola?”
Fang flashed his sharp canines in a wide grin. “She did, and it was beautiful.”
On the wall, the third man groaned and rolled his eyes.
“How did you find me at the party?” I asked. It was something I’d wondered ever since discovering Kieran was my Devil. I’d visited him at the hospital damn near every day I could; he must’ve literally woken up and come straight for me somehow.
“I installed some spyware on your phone. I could track you.” Kieran ran a hand through his hair. “Speaking of which, you should set your phone down in the house and leave it alone for a while, so I can do the same with that one. You know, just in case I need to find you again.”
I chose to ignore that comment and ask, “So you woke up and your first thought was to check on me?”
“Of course it was, just like it was my first thought to get you out of harm’s way at the press conference. Didn’t know I was the target back then, but, you know, life can surprise you.” He sighed. “I woke up. It was dark. I told the doctor I wanted to leave, that they couldn’t keep me there. A nurse let me use her charger to juice up my phone, and when I saw you were on the move, I had to act fast. Got an Uber , came home, saw Mike’s car still sitting there and figured you were doing something stupid.”
He wasn’t wrong, but still, I shot a frown his way.
“I turned off the cameras on the house, got in my car, and went after you. The rest, as they say, is history. Literally. We all know what happened after that.”
Mike harrumphed, “Yeah, we know what happened after that.” He didn’t go into detail, but his tone made it clear: he knew everything. He knew that Kieran had come to me and fucked me, and then ran away before I could do anything.
Kieran glanced between Mike and me. “Ah. She told you. Right. Of course she told you about everything that happened at the party. Why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like it was a private moment or anything, something that had been years in the making—”
I could sense an argument boiling beneath the surface, so I decided to plow right on before any of the guys could continue down that path: “Now that we’re all on the same page, we need to talk about Tessa. She’s been quiet since the second kidnapping, but I don’t trust that she’s finally done with trying to get me out of the picture.”
With a shake of his head, Mike mumbled, “I still don’t get why it matters now. Vance is mayor. He’s still got loads of support.”
It was Kieran who said, “It’s not about the support you have now. It’s about tomorrow’s support. Cementing it in. Haven’t you ever seen American Idol ? You could have the best voice, but you won’t make it far if you don’t have a sob story. Sob stories are what make people connect with you. It’s no different with politics, and from what I hear, Vance wants to set his sights higher: congressman. Senator. Maybe even a run for president in the future.”
“How can he not be aware of Tessa’s schemes?” Fang asked.
I replied, “Not everyone has a radar for darkness like you. Hell, I didn’t even suspect Tessa. I never really liked her, but that’s beside the point.”
Kieran went on, “It could be my sister, pushing Vance to reach for more. She’s always been hungry for power and money. She doesn’t like getting her own hands dirty, but she definitely doesn’t care about sending others to do her dirty work.”
“What if your father knows?” Mike asked a question that had been looming in the back of my head ever since the truth about my new stepmother had come to light.
All of the guys stared at me, waiting for me to answer, and I wrestled with that answer for a minute or two. I spent so long hating my dad, wanting to tear him and his political career down. I couldn’t say for sure whether or not he was involved at all—but if he was, the truth would come out sooner or later.
In the end, I said, “If he is, we’ll deal with it when the time comes. Right now, I’m more focused on Tessa.”
“Yes,” Fang agreed. “She seems to be the more immediate danger.”
“There’s always one way to get rid of someone like that: a long walk off a short pier,” Mike suggested.
With a sly smile, Kieran deadpanned, “Are you suggesting we let my sister sleep with the fishes? That’s such a mafia thing to say.” His sarcasm died down. “I’m not opposed to it, if that’s the only option we have. She’s proven she doesn’t care about my life, so why should I give a shit about hers? Still, there might be a smarter way to go about this. Not everything needs to end in death.” With that, he glanced at me.
As much as I’d enjoyed my little torture session with Lola, Kieran was right. It might’ve been what Tessa deserved, yes, but there were other ways we could go about this. If my dad was indeed involved somehow, a dead wife would only help his image of a vengeful politician who wants to change the system and stop the criminals from getting away with things—even if said politician had criminals backing him up.
Politics. A messy thing, and it didn’t always make sense.
But to be the better person? To forgive and forget? Oh, no. We had to do something. Death would be too good for Tessa. No, what would hurt her most would be to lose it all, to watch as her ambitions and her goals were taken from her and placed just out of reach.
The same thing I used to want to do to my dad, basically.
“We’ll give her a chance to keep her life,” I whispered darkly, “but if she keeps it up, I wouldn’t be opposed to using my claws on her.” At that, I glanced at Fang, finding he was watching me with a grin on his face.
To my right, Kieran lifted a finger. “Uh, excuse me? Claws ? What, uh, what are these claws you’re talking about?”
Fang reached for my left hand, lightly running his fingers along the metal fingers. “This was not the only set I made,” he said. “I made another set for our princess, sharper and stronger. She’s beautiful when she’s using them, so gorgeous I could eat her up—”
That got Mike to groan and bring a hand to his face and Kieran to gag and mimic throwing up, but I only smiled and beamed beneath the praise.
Moving the conversation away from the claws, I glanced at the others. “I don’t want to kill her. It’d be too quick, too easy. No, I want to destroy her. I want to take everything she loves, everything she strives for, and rip it out of her grasp.”
Kieran said, “Chills. Did anyone else just get the chills? I did.” He raised his hand, like he was a student in a classroom. “Damn. When did you get this diabolical?”
“Sometime in the last two years” was my answer. “We all know what Tessa wants more than anything: money and the power that comes with it. She got them both by marrying my dad.” I quieted, lost in thought.
If we didn’t kill Tessa, if we simply wanted to take everything away from her, there was only one way we could.
“I have an idea,” I said. “It’ll destroy Tessa and test my dad at the same time, but we’re going to need some help pulling it off.”
Fang leaned a bit closer to me and whispered, “You have at least three bodies here, ready and willing to do whatever you want. Tell us your idea, Princess, and we will do everything we can to make it come true.”
“First, we need a location. Give me a second.” Pulling out my phone, I excused myself from the couch and paced around the island in the kitchen as I called Lola. She hadn’t been feeling well enough to come to the dinner last night, so I doubted she’d be up to coming over now.
On the third ring, she answered, “Hey there, sweetie pie, what’s going on?” I heard her sniff, and her voice did sound a tad more congested than usual. “Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday, but I heard it was a success.”
“It was definitely a success.” On more counts than one.
“You talk to Kieran, yet? Tell him the shooter was after him and not you?”
“Yeah. That’s actually why I’m calling.” I glanced over at the guys, mainly at Kieran, before I said, “It’s a long story, but I know who the woman is.” Lola might’ve asked who, but I was too lost in thinking about my plan and how we’d pull it off that I didn’t really hear her. “It’s Tessa.”
“Tessa? Ain’t that… your stepmom?”
“It is.”
Lola asked, “And you’re sure whoever told you this information is reliable? You sure it isn’t a lie to point you in the wrong direction?”
I didn’t want to get into everything Kieran had told me—telling Lola he was my Devil was something that was, perhaps, better off said in person, so I could gauge her reaction and make sure she didn’t try to go after him, thinking he knew where her other missing person was. So, I settled for saying, “I’m sure.”
“She wanted her own brother killed? Damn, that’s cold. Then again, I come from a family who never gave a shit about me, so I can definitely see it. What are you going to do about it? Or, since you’re calling me, I guess I should be asking, what are we going to do about it?”
“I need a location,” I told her. “Somewhere we can control all the exits. Somewhere we won’t be overheard or watched.”
“Could do the same warehouse—”
“No, I was thinking something a little more… comfortable.”
Lola thought on it. “Comfortable, huh? I could do comfortable. I might have a guy. Let me give him a call and see if he’s willing to lend us his club. It’s only open in the evenings, but I’m sure I can get him to clear it out one night.”
“I don’t need it at night. I need it during the day.”
“Ooh, sounds like little miss has been scheming already. Sexy. I don’t normally enjoy taking down women, but there are a certain few who deserve nothing less than what I give the terrible men of this world. Tessa has joined the ranks of the few, unluckily for her. Give me some time to get in touch with my guy, and I’ll call you back.”
“Sounds good.” I ended the call and returned to my men, who hadn’t moved a muscle, though their eyes had followed me and watched as I spoke with Lola. I sat down on the couch next to Fang and told them of my idea.
They listened intently, asking no questions. It was a pretty straightforward plan. We were fortunate that Tessa had a routine. During the week, while my dad was at work, would be the perfect time to strike. Kieran knew what gym she went to. It’d be easy enough to have Mike follow her, and when she was walking out, tell her there’d been a terrible accident involving my dad. Mike’s car would already be there, so he’d tell her to hop in and he’d get her to the hospital as quickly as he could.
Only he wouldn’t go to the hospital.
Truly, the hardest part would be for Mike to be convincing; I had faith in him, however. I knew he wouldn’t let me down.
Fang finally asked, “And Lola is finding a place?”
“She said she knew a guy who owns some club that’s only open at night.”
“Why can’t we just do this at home?” Kieran questioned. “Why does it have to be at somewhere else?”
I said, “To throw her off. A third-party location where she doesn’t feel at ease, somewhere we, and maybe a few of Lola’s men, can control every square inch of it. To someone who’s always in control, it’ll annoy her. Hopefully I can piss her off enough.”
“Piss her off?” Kieran smirked, dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Is that all you plan on doing?”
“Oh, no. We’re going to have a conversation. A long one, probably. I want to hear her admit to it all.” I looked from Kieran to Fang to Mike. “She won’t leave that club until she confesses all of her sins to me.”
Mike’s brow creased. “And why would she confess anything to you?”
“She will.” Her hatred of me, her annoyance and fury at being brought to a new location… I knew what she desired most, and I’d play on it. We’d have only one shot at doing it right, so I’d be damned if I let Tessa leave that club before she confessed.
“If this is your plan, then it’ll be done,” Fang said.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Kieran got off the couch arm and waved his hands in the air. “This is a little silly, isn’t it? You want to take my sister down by having a conversation with her? When has having a conversation ever done shit? She needs to be put in her place. If you won’t do it, I will.”
I could appreciate his lust for violence against his sister, the woman who had wronged us both. As much as his willingness to harm her made me all warm and fuzzy inside, killing her wasn’t going to be our first attempt.
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “You’ll be there—and you will have a very important role.”
Oh, this was devious. So devious I felt a little giddy when I told him and the others about the second part of the plan. Getting her there, egging her on to confess… those were only steps one and two. There was a step three, and this step was the most crucial.
A confession meant so much more when it was caught on video.