Chapter 18
Elise
Iwas positioned on some pillows on my couch as Amaya handed me a glass of sweet tea and my pills.
The pain wasn’t too bad once I got moving, but I knew I had a few rough days ahead.
I missed my sons and seeing their toys scattered in their play area off the side of the living room made me miss them so much.
Chuck had come and sat with me while James was getting me discharged and he suggested I call the boys tonight but should give it a few days before seeing them.
My bruises were extensive, and I didn’t want to scare them.
Knowing he and Blaire were watching over them, keeping them safe from Kendra and Bradon’s insanity was the only reason I agreed.
That and they were surrounded by Death Hounds, one of which was his aunt, so I knew nothing would hurt them.
James had gone down to the conference room to speak with Regan about something, and Amaya volunteered to sit with me.
“How are you holding up?” she asked me after I swallowed the pills and pushed against the pillows.
Shrugging, I admitted, “I’m pissed, I’m confused, and I want to kill somebody.”
“I can understand that,” she replied and glanced to the side. “They didn’t . . .”
Her question was left unasked, but I knew was she was inquiring about.
I shook my head, she visibly relaxed. The question of assault was one I answered when I was taken to the hospital.
Everyone feared I’d been hurt, but I wasn’t touched like that.
The beating wasn’t fun, but I was grateful Bradon didn’t touch me like that.
“Do you need anything?” she inquired.
“Just Devlin,” I remarked and less than three seconds later, the elevator dinged before the doors opened.
“Speak of the Devlin,” Amaya remarked with a chuckle and stood from her spot beside me. She leaned over and kissed my cheek, resting her head against mine as she whispered, “I’m glad you’re home and safe.”
She and I had grown closer than sisters over the last four or five years and I could see her glassy eyes as she turned and walked to the elevator doors.
Devlin was standing in the entrance, his eyes locked on mine and his stance guarded.
She whispered something to him, and he glanced at her with a nod before she got into the elevator.
I saw her give me a subtle wink just as the door were closing. Pushing myself up straighter, I winced, and Devlin practically flew across the room to tend to me. Carefully, he placed his hands onto my shoulders, unsure of what he could do to help.
“I’m okay, Devlin,” I began. “Just a little sore.”
Taking a seat next to me, he reached out and took my hand as he spoke. “I’m so sorry, baby. I never meant for any of this to happen.” He looked down at our connected hands and lifted his pain-filled blue eyes to mine as he asked, “Can you ever forgive me?”
I offered him a smile as I answered. “There’s nothing to forgive. That bitch is crazy, and he does all her bidding. This wasn’t your fault.”
He shook his head and explained. “If I hadn’t strung her along all those years ago, she wouldn’t be giving us problems now.”
“I need for you to explain the relationship you two had, and why she’s out of her fucking mind where you’re concerned.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stood from his seat.
Looking at my drink, he lifted one finger and I nodded before he walked into the kitchen.
I heard the fridge and a drawer open and close before he returned.
His gun was still strapped to his thigh as he carried a bottle of water in one hand and my wooden box in the other.
Placing it beside me, he raised his eyebrows as took his gun and placed it on the coffee table in front of us. Normally, all weapons are kept locked away from the boys, but the kids weren’t here, and Devlin seemed on edge, like Kendra and Bradon were going to jump out at any moment.
I took a joint out of the box and handed it and a lighter to him as he took a seat beside me. The stress was wearing on him and I reached out, placing a hand onto his shoulder. Devlin snapped his head to me and I asked, “Where did they shoot you?”
Tears filled my eyes remembering him lying on the ground, bleeding onto the dirt as I was drugged and carried away.
He pulled the collar of his black shirt to the side, showing a bandage taped to his chest. Pulling it off, I saw the jagged wound looking raw and painful.
Carefully, I reached out and touched it lightly the tip of my finger.
“I thought you were . . .” I allowed the tears to fall, and he dropped the bandage before leaning over and wrapping his arms around me.
His words of love, safety, and forever filled my ears as his warmth surrounded me, driving away the painful memories. When the crying subsided, he released his arms from around me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“I couldn’t survive without you,” he whispered.
All I could do was nod, feeling his love and devotion to me. Devlin sat back and took a sip of water and turned to look at me.
“I think James needs to help explain some of this, to but everything into context. Then, as much as I don’t want to, we need to ask you some questions,” he explained.
“James went to see Regan and said he’d be back in a bit,” I returned, and Devlin pulled his phone out and sent a message.
His phone chimed and he read the response before say, “Ten minutes.”
My position wasn’t comfortable, so I shifted and made a noise that had Devlin looking at me with pain in his eyes. I know he hated to see me hurting, but this wasn’t going away overnight. He picked up the joint from the floor where he’d dropped it with the bandage and lit the tip.
“See if this helps,” he encouraged as he handed it to me.
This was smoother than most weed, but it still irritated my throat, resulting in a small cough.
That was painful on my ribs, but I hit it four or five times and handed it to him.
The numbing effect was building and when the discomfort ebbed to a manageable level, he smiled at me and took my hand into his.
“What are we going to do about the boys?” he asked.
“Chuck and Blaire are going to keep them at Gunner and Sadie’s until those two are caught, and some of my bruises fade.”
“Are you okay with that?” he questioned.
“They are safe with the Death Hounds, and Chuck won’t let anything hurt them. Let them stay until you kill those two fuckers,” I reasoned, feeling a level of spite and hatred that scared me a little.
The elevator chimed and Devlin picked up his gun and turned to face the opening doors. James stepped out and saw the gun in his hand before he shook his head. “Lucian and Regan will be down in a minute. Do you think you can manage not to shoot anyone?”
Devlin placed the gun back onto the table and remarked, “I didn’t shoot you, did I?”
James rolled his eyes and walked up to the back of the couch before asking, “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve had my meds and smoked a little, so better,” I reasoned, and he offered a smile.
“I think we should get started before Lucian and Regan get here,” Devlin spoke, and James’s face turned serious before he walked around and took a seat in one of the chairs facing the couch.
“Why is Regan coming?” I questioned.
James explained, “She’s been looking into a phone we got from someone associated with the siblings.” I gave him a confused look, so he backed up and started again. “Kendra and Bradon hired someone to bring something from Nashville, and we acquired his phone in the search for you.”
“Acquired?” I asked, not needing to ask how or why.
They both offered a nod, and it would have been almost comical, if the situation hadn’t been so serious. I looked between them and demanded, “Start from the beginning.”
Devlin sighed. He explained how after Marco’s death, they appeared out of nowhere. James filled in how they became an integral part of their enterprise in the Flats, and that when she became too attached, they had to cast them out.
“But we still don’t know where they came from and who they really are,” Devlin remarked. “Even with some of the data we discovered while looking for you, I can’t be sure.”
“His name isn’t Bradon. At least it wasn’t the first time I met him,” I said, and they stared at me, so I explained. “My first semester of college, he was this guy in class. He sat beside me a few times. He said his name was Michael.”
Devlin and James looked at each other then James stood from his seat and walked down the hallway toward Devlin’s office. He returned a minute later with a laptop, opened it, and began typing.
Spinning his computer to face me, he asked, “Is this him?”
I saw a picture of the man who fed me and then beat me during my captivity but looking like I remembered him from college. I nodded as I spoke. “He and I had a soda one day, and that was the last time I saw him.”
“Do you remember when that was?” James asked as he turned the computer back to face him.
I had to think about how long into the semester that was, and strangely, the events of the following day stuck out in my head, giving me a timeframe. “It was the day before our rival football game.”
James began working on the computer but looked up at Devlin. “Bradon was gone for seven weeks from September to mid-October. He came back and it was the following weekend when you sent them away.”
“So, he spent those weeks away stalking Elise?” Devlin asked with cracks of anger starting to show.
“He didn’t stalk me. If anything, he seemed afraid of me,” I interjected.
“Why go all the way to Elise’s campus just to run back to the Flats?” Devlin asked.
It was James who offered an answer. “I think he was trying to get close to Elise so she wasn’t available to you anymore. I bet Kendra thought Bradon could win Elise over then she could finally have you.”
“That would make sense from her crazy perspective,” Devlin added, and I started to question some things.
“Who is she?” I questioned. “I mean, why is she still so hung up on you, all these years later?”
“She was always a little bit off,” James remarked. “She seemed to think that Devlin was some kind of divine choice, and she got way too attached too quickly.”
“She mentioned something about you being her first,” I remarked, and James and Devlin shared a look. I added, “She said it was the night you pushed my mother off the roof for what she did to me.”
“That can’t be right,” James replied and began to work on the computer, almost determined to find something he was searching for.
Devlin explained, “There was at least five or six years between the time I dealt with your mother and the night I tangled with Marco. I think she’s creating events in her head, and if I’m right, she’s truly crazy and none of us will be safe until she’s caught.” He shook his head.
Hearing Devlin’s words gave me chills. He didn’t back down from many people, but she seemed to have gotten into his mind and was playing games with him. He wasn’t afraid, but he was questioning everything.
And who could blame him?
Bradon or Michael?
Kendra or whoever she was?
Where were they from, and where did they go?
Hopefully, Lucian and Regan could shed some light on the situation before they tried to hurt us again. Or drove us crazy in the process.