Chapter 7
Damien
There’s a long silence, broken only by Vincent’s pained groans.
Logan is staring at Elias, a mirror of the shock I feel.
Elias is shaking, his eyes squeezed shut, probably wondering what’s about to happen to him now that he’s played his trump card.
Vincent’s wheezing is deafening, and in that moment, I’ve decided I’ve had enough.
I whirl my arm over to him, and aim my gun at his head. His wheezing turns to a terrified gasp and he cringes.
“What are you doing?” cries Logan. “Leave the kid alone.”
Annoyed, I relax my arm, though I still hold the gun firmly. I can’t help but very begrudgingly admire Logan. Underneath all the bullshit, he has a heart of gold.
“What do you mean, she’s alive?” I growl, facing Elias again. “You’d better not be lying to me…”
“I’m not,” he says.
“Where is she?” I ask, my hand still clenched around the gun, and he eyes it nervously.
“I told you. I’m waiting for the message…”
“I don’t care about a message,” I snarl. “Where is she? What did you do to her? Are you holding her somewhere?”
He looks up at me steadily, a little smile playing at the sides of his mouth. “We didn’t do anything. Well, Gabriel did kidnap her. But before anything could happen to her, Noel and I got her out and let her go. She’s alive and free.”
“Where is she? Why didn’t she come find me, if she’s free?”
His smirk deepens. “Guess she didn’t want to.”
I freeze.
“You have been holding her captive for nearly a year. Why would she come back to you? The minute we let her go, she ran as far away from you as possible.”
“I don’t believe you.” I take a deep breath, willing my voice to remain steady. “I may once have held her captive, but things changed. These past few months…”
I close my eyes briefly, allowing the painful memories to crowd back, just for an instant.
The little cocoon of happiness. The days and nights spent together, her body in my arms, drinking in her scent, every moment, touching her, holding her, aching for her.
Like an addiction, the more I had her, the more I needed her.
I’d gotten to know her in ways I’d never dreamed possible.
Though I hadn’t really gotten to know her all that well, I realize with a sinking feeling.
She was always a quiet one. She had opened up, speaking more often, even joking occasionally, but she was still far quieter than any girl I had ever met.
And I’d never asked her permission, not really.
She’d always seemed willing enough, even during her captivity.
And that made no sense. What girl would welcome sex from her abductor?
I’m like a jellyfish. I survive.
Her words ring out in my mind. Was that all she had been doing? Surviving? Would she have reacted in the same way if anyone else had touched her? If Gabriel had touched her?
My insides twist in a sick, cold feeling.
“Told you,” says Elias, still staring at me, as though he’s studying my reaction. “She doesn’t want you. Doesn’t mean I can’t get her back for you…”
Yes, I realize with a surge of determination. I don’t care what she wants. It’s never been about what she wants. She’s mine, whether she accepts it or not. If she really is alive, I’ll find her, and I’ll show her who she belongs to. I’ll make her wish she’d never been born.
A short vibration breaks into my thoughts. Elias sheepishly picks up his phone, and clicks on something.
“There we go. The message.”
He shows me the screen: it’s a photo of my pet. She’s unharmed, sitting in a small, ugly living room, leaning back on some sort of velvety couch. Her eyes are closed, as though she’s mid-blink. A peaceful expression is on her face.
“We helped her start anew,” he explains. “We got her an apartment and a job. We gave her what she wanted most—independence.”
“Why would you do that?” I ask, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Well, because we’re nice,” answers Elias, and Logan rolls his eyes. “It was a joke,” the Angel hastily adds. “It’s because we want your help, obviously. We gave her independence, but we can take it back just as easily. Bury the hatchet, hand over Vincent, and I’ll give you your girl’s address.”
He smirks at me, a look of victory on his face, and a new wave of anger surges in me. This time, it’s directed at him, at his stupid confidence. To think he believes he can fuck with me, and do it gleefully, too.
No one fucks with the Devil.
I lift my arm up again, and he just has time to register absolute shock before I pull the trigger.
“What. The. Fuck.,” breathes Logan, as Elias staggers backward, clutching the remnants of his face, before crumpling to the ground.
I stare at the lifeless body stretched out before me, my anger subsiding as the realization hits me that I just killed the one person who can direct me to my pet.
I nudge at the corpse, grimacing. “May have been a bit rash,” I comment drily.
Logan snorts. “You think?”