Chapter 7 #3
I ordered the men back to Frank. They all strolled off with zero urgency, still stealing glances over their shoulders at the man at my side.
He was standing too passively for my liking.
I didn’t like this tame version of Devlin, and I didn’t trust it.
The only time I trusted his compliance was after one or both of us had gotten off.
Jace finally rolled his eyes and huffed. “Whatever. I’m going inside now that we’ve rescued the princess from her tower.” He stomped toward the house like a kid throwing a tantrum.
I looked over at Rhys, who was watching Jace with a thoughtful expression. Then his gaze swung to me, over to Devlin, then back to me. “We’ll have company in there.”
Most of the crew was probably awake now.
Even the ones who didn’t live in Frank had been hanging around more lately hoping for a glance of Devlin.
Some had even passed out on the couches or the floor.
They might not have helped put out the fire, but I was sure they were all awake, waiting for the fallout.
All at once, I was so exhausted I could’ve dropped where I stood. “Let’s go.” I wrapped the end of Devlin’s chain around my fist and tugged. He walked behind me in silence, bare feet cutting through the dewy grass. He wasn’t wheezing anymore, but he smelled like smoke.
I opened the back door to Frank to find most of my crew lingering in small groups around the first floor.
Every head immediately turned toward us, and I had to lock my jaw to keep from hollering at them.
Only a few had seen Devlin—the ones who’d initially taken him, along with Mads and Hack.
For everyone else, this was their first glimpse, and it felt like some sort of fucked-up parade.
I’d made it clear from the beginning: Devlin was mine. Every decision concerning him was mine to make because he’d killed my father. They didn’t get a say. And most of my crew was fine with that. But some still believed they were owed a piece of Devlin for their decades of loyalty to my father.
I cursed under my breath when I spotted Rank. I’d hoped he wouldn’t be here, that he’d already gone home, and I didn’t like the glint in his eye now. I should’ve known things were about to go south the moment he stepped forward to block Devlin’s path.
“Good to see you in chains, devil. Being led like the filthy dog you are,” he sneered. Then he made a phlegmy sound in the back of his throat and spat right on Devlin’s chest.
I whirled around a second too late, and Devlin reacted with the speed of a rattlesnake strike.
He looped his chained wrists around Rank’s neck and leapt onto his back.
Rank stood no chance. He toppled under Devlin’s weight, and they both hit the ground with a thud as Rank let out a scream that sent a chill down my spine.
Devlin’s face was tucked against the side of Rank’s head, and there was a low growl coming from his throat.
Several crew members rushed in, but Devlin, like the parasite he was, clamped his teeth down on Rank’s ear.
He screeched and writhed on the floor as blood trickled down his neck.
Fists and boots rained down on Devlin. I could hear him grunting, but he wouldn’t let go of Rank’s ear.
“Everyone back!” I roared, shoving into the melee with Devlin’s chain dangling uselessly from my hand. I grabbed Devlin by the scruff of his neck, and he went still, eyes snapping to mine. Rank just whimpered. I bared my teeth at Devlin. “Let go of him right now, you fucking heathen.”
Devlin narrowed his eyes and flared his nostrils, but he eventually unlocked his jaw. In the next moment, he was slung over my shoulder as I charged away from Rank’s whining amid shouts and questions from the rest of the crew.
Devlin, dangling upside down, shouted back at the men like an absolute idiot. “Fuck you! And fuck you! And fuck you!”
I took the stairs two at a time, stalked down the hallway, and raced up the next flight to my room. As soon as the door shut behind me, I dropped Devlin to the ground and shoved him back against it so hard the hinges rattled.
“What the fuck was that?” I seethed.
Blood stained his lips and teeth, streaking across his chin. He looked like a vampire straight out of Irish folklore as his green eyes sparked and sizzled with anger. “That crypt keeper disrespected me. A filthy dog? I hope he chokes on his own tongue.”
“You almost bit his fucking ear off.”
“Good.” His grin was manic.
I pressed my forearm against his throat and pinned him to the door while he squirmed and fought for air. “I thought I made it clear. You have no power here. You’re nothing but a little bitch.”
“He doesn’t get to call me that.” Devlin wasn’t backing down. “Only you.”
My chest tightened. “What?”
He lifted his bloody chin in defiance. “You’re my lion king. And I’m your little bitch.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my cock hardened to steel. I hated him. Hated how much I wanted him. Out of the ashes of the fire, the beast inside me felt reborn, uncaged. My blood roared with the need to claim.
And it was just my luck that the object of my obsession was the fucking devil himself. I flashed him a feral grin. “Then get on your knees and show me.”