Savage Devotion (Horsemen of Ruin #3)

1. Enzo

ENZO

“What the fuck is going on?” Cole pounded on the heavy metal door as we sat in a stark white room deep within the new underground. As far as torture rooms went, this one wasn’t terrible. It was simply a white room with nothing in it.

“Open the fucking door, you pricks!” Cole shouted. “Let me the fuck out of here!” He continued to pound on the door, shouting, his voice eventually cracking until he slid to his ass and rocked.

E crawled over to him and dragged him back to the wall we’d been sitting against and held him.

“It’s OK,” E murmured. “We’re going to be OK.”

E was taking this entire ordeal well, which surprised me. Of course, this place looked nothing like where we’d dragged him from five years ago.

“Did Ann know to send Riot to your parents?” I asked softly. I didn’t figure we were coming out of this anytime soon, if at all, and I wanted to make sure E had Ann looped in.

“She knows,” E whispered, his voice shaking the smallest amount.

I didn’t want him to fucking lose it. I reached out and tugged him into my arms, bringing Cole with him.

“I’m sorry,” I choked out. “For all this shit.”

“It’s my fault. Not yours,” E replied.

“It’s mine, man. I wanted to be at the fucking top. Fox told me no. He said to stop. I didn’t fucking listen. I was too cocky. Too fucking arrogant.”

Cole pulled away from us and went back to the door, pounding on it again.

“Please! Let me out! Rosalie! ROSALIE! FUCK! LET ME OUT! I NEED TO GET TO MY FAMILY!” He pounded harder.

“He’s going to hurt himself,” E said thickly.

I got up and went to Cole, but he shoved me hard when I tried to pull him away.

“Fuck you! FUCK YOU, ENZO!” he bellowed.

“I had her! I fucking had my family! This entire fucking time it was mine, and you… motherfucker… YOU! I stuck with you! I listened to your fucking promises! Your lies! I fucking believed you! I always believed you! FUCK YOU!” He shoved me again and again until he had me against the wall.

Then he punched me.

I didn’t even try to duck his hit. I took it, letting the blood trickle from my nose.

“I hate you,” he choked out. “I fucking hate you.”

“I know,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

His bottom lip wobbled, tears on his cheeks, before he backed away from me and went to sit in a corner by himself, his head buried in his hands as he cried softly.

I slid down the wall, noting E looked torn between which of us to go to. I gave a slight shake of my head at him, and he stayed where he was.

He let his head fall back as he closed his eyes.

We were so fucked.

I woke with a groan as the ghosts of the underground entered the room. It had to have been at least a day of this shit.

“Get up,” Sin said, toeing me with his boot.

I looked past him to see the other guys, aside from him and Asylum, were gathering Cole and E.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

“It’s playtime,” Asylum said, smirking down at me. “We like it when you fight, so please, make my day.”

I staggered to my feet. I wasn’t going to fight. I’d been waiting forever for a bigger fish to kill my ass. Looked like my wish had finally been granted.

I stumbled out of the room. Cole wouldn’t even look at me before he was dragged out, giving them the fight they wanted, but he had Malachi on him, and I knew that guy got off on fighting.

E went willingly, his head held high.

“I love you,” I whispered to him.

“I love you,” he replied, his voice stronger than I expected it to be.

And that was it.

They took E one direction outside the room, and me the other. I said nothing as I was led down the hall to an elevator where they pushed me in and followed.

“How far down?” I asked.

“Bowels of hell,” Asylum said. “Where no one can hear you scream and everything fucking smells. It’s a joy. It’s a laugh. The entire place is painted red. You’ll claw at your face and wish you were dead.”

“Enough,” Sin muttered to Asylum. “Your rhymes suck.”

“I’m high.” Asylum shrugged and whistled, twirling his fork.

I shook my head, my jaw tight. I hated these fuckers.

The elevator dinged a moment later, and I was hauled out and taken to a room just down the hall.

I’d heard rumors that Church had fixed up the underground.

It seemed as if he had. This version was much more comfortable, but if he was anything like his father, he liked the psychological torture first.

“Enjoy your stay.” Asylum smirked at me as Sin shoved me into my new quarters.

“Fuck you,” I snarled at him.

“Maybe.” His blue eyes sparkled. “We’ll see.”

“Use this time wisely,” Sin said.

“How?” I demanded, looking around my small cell, which consisted of a bed, a toilet, a sink, and a desk. Overall, it could have been worse. The bed looked nice, with a blanket, a pillow, and some sheets, and there was toilet paper. So I suppose I couldn’t bitch. Much.

“I don’t know, Lorenzo. Maybe sit down and think about how badly you fucked with Church’s sister,” Sin said. “Start there.”

I stared at him for a moment before I spoke.

“Is she OK?” I asked softly.

“She’s resilient,” Sin answered. “You should know that.”

“Did she… Is she… gone?”

“Like a little birdie. Off she flew.” Asylum moved his hand in the air and made plane noises.

She’d left. She was fucking done with our asses.

I couldn’t lie. It fucking hurt, but not because of my own broken heart. It was because of Cole’s. This was going to kill him. And E. He was back down here.

“Don’t… Don’t hurt my brothers. I’ll take both their punishments,” I said, drawing in a deep breath. “Please. Tell Church I want to take the punishments. I will die for them. If he wants a life, he can have mine.”

Sin stared me down with his cold, gray eyes.

“I’ll let him know.” He backed out of the room, taking Asylum with him. Asylum winked at me before the door closed.

And that was it. I was alone. I could hear soft sobs in the distance right before the door closed.

Fuck it.

I joined them.