Devil You Know Read online

  “When did you have that done?”

  He looked confused for a second and then something dark swept his face. “After I enlisted.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  I had the sense it wasn’t intended to be beautiful and the idea that he marked himself with something that was like a brand, a reminder of something ugly, upset me.

  But he turned my thoughts from that when he said, “We might as well shower first.” He didn’t wait for my reply when he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.

  For two days we stayed in bed…the best two days ever. Damian had even blown off a few things, and knowing his need for me was stronger than his incredible discipline was very heady. I had invited him to join the girls and I for dinner, but responsibility reared its ugly head and he went off to do all the things he had let slide.

  I had been devastated when Damian had left at eighteen, but he wouldn’t be the man he was now if he hadn’t gone. And I could say in all honesty that though I had loved the boy he had been, I was crazy out of my head for the man he was now. Everything happened for a reason.

  The ladies were on the way. I had cooked dinner, chicken potpie and a big salad loaded with so much extra stuff it wasn’t at all healthy. I was just uncorking the bottle of wine when my house phone rang.

  “Miss Ahern?”

  “Yes.”

  “You are listed as Ryder Chase’s emergency contact.”

  My legs nearly crumbled out from under me. “What’s happened?”

  “Time is critical. Can you get to Mount Sinai immediately and please bring identification.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  I hung up then checked the caller ID and it was in fact from Mount Sinai. Fear whipped through me as I grabbed my purse and flew out of my apartment. I was in so much of a hurry, I had only the sense to turn off the stove and lock the door. I reached for my phone when I stepped outside and called Kimber.

  “Hey woman.”

  “Something has happened to Ryder. Meet me at Mount Sinai.”

  “Are you pulling my leg? Ryder is right here.”

  My hand had been up hailing for a cab, it dropped. “What?”

  “We’re on our way to you now.”

  Something sharp dug into my back. “Hang up.”

  “Who is that?” Kimber asked, but my mind was going numb with fear.

  “Now,” he hissed.

  He took my phone and hurled it across the street. My first thought was it was a mugging until he called someone and said, “I have her.”

  Those three words resonated down to my bones.

  Fear had my body feeling all funny. We had just reached the alley next to my building when fight or flight took over. I had to get away from him because this wasn’t a mugging. Thank God for the self-defense classes Cam and Dad had forced on me. I lifted my elbow right up into his nose causing him to stumble and lose his hold on me. I ran down the alley to the fire escape. If I could only get back inside, but I didn’t get far when he grabbed me by the hair and yanked me back to him. He jerked me around just as his fist connected with my jaw, my vision going black from the pain before I was jarred back into consciousness when my head slammed into the wall behind me. Lights flashed in my vision as my stomach pitched violently and my legs gave out as I crumbled to my knees. This man looked ready to carve me up as he held the knife so tightly in his hands his knuckles were turning white. At least the bastard was bleeding. I had made him bleed.

  I was literally paralyzed with terror, but not my vocal chords as I screamed, loud and long hoping someone would hear. That earned me a kick in the gut. And as I doubled over in pain, coming to grips with the very real possibility that I was about to die, Damian appeared. I didn’t know how he was there or if I was wishing so hard for him to be there I was seeing things. But the sight of him, looking like an archangel, or maybe even the devil he had depicted on his back, had tears filling my eyes. He hauled my attacker off me and threw him against the wall. Damian’s eyes connected with me for an instant, making sure I was still breathing, before he moved soundlessly like a predator. The deadly energy coming off him was as mesmerizing as it was terrifying. The punch was so vicious that my attacker’s head jerked back hard from the blow and while he was disoriented Damian grabbed his head, and with a quick jerk he snapped the bone. The man dropped to the ground in a boneless heap. He didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. He was dead. Instead of fear of the situation, I feared for Damian because he had just killed someone.

  Damian’s back was to me as he stood over the dead man. He reached for his cell and made a call. I started to shake, the reality of the situation settling over me, not because of the attack, but of losing Damian again while he spent twenty-five to life upstate all because he had saved me. And I hurt, oh God did I hurt everywhere.

  He moved soundlessly, hunching down to look me over. He took several deep breaths through his nose and still the rage coming from him was palpable.

  “How did you know?”

  “Kimber called, but I was already on my way.”

  How did Kimber know his number? “You were?”

  “Your mom was right. You cook almost as well as you draw.”

  Only Damian could make me smile with the circumstances being what they were. And even with his teasing, he was furious and yet very gentle when his hands roamed over me feeling for breaks. He lifted me into his arms.

  “He’s dead?”

  “Yeah.”

  I started to cry and even though it hurt like hell, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face on his shoulder, holding him as tightly as I could so no one could take him away from me.

  “Thea?”

  “They’re going to take you away from me.”

  “No they won’t.”

  “But you just killed a man.”

  “No body, no crime.”

  My head jerked up at that and even knowing it was wrong, hope stirred. Yes, he had killed someone but the man had it coming. “That was Anton you called?”

  “He’ll take care of it.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Cleaner is two minutes out.”

  My lower lip started to tremble. “You are ex-military, Mr. Discipline, a follower of law and order and I’ve made you a criminal.”

  “If you think wartime is law and order, you are very mistaken and that fuck would have killed you. My conscience is clean.”

  He had killed for me. I was sure it wasn’t the first person he had killed, but I hated that because of me he had another ghost. “Mount Sinai called, said Ryder had been brought in. I checked the caller ID, it really seemed to have come from them. I’m so sorry.”

  Every muscle in his body went hard as stone and yet he said nothing as he started for the front of my apartment. And even being gentle, I still had to bite my lip to keep from moaning in pain. “He got your head and your jaw…” He said that through clenched teeth. “Where else?”

  “He kicked me in the stomach.”

  “Motherfucker.” He stopped walking, like he was contemplating killing the man again. Love burned through me as I curled deeper into his big, strong body. We reached the front of the building as Kimber and Ryder came jumping out of a cab.

  “Oh my God,” Ryder said through tears.

  “Where is the fucker?” Kimber looked ready to kill someone.

  “Inside,” was all Damian said and they followed.

  Damian lowered me to the sofa then hunched down in front of me. “We have to call the cops.”

  “I know.”

  His hand was actually shaking when he brushed the hair from my cheek. And there was something brewing behind his eyes, but before I could ask about it he said, “After, we’re leaving.”

  “Leaving?”

  He didn’t answer, I didn’t press. After that ordeal, getting away for a while sounded really nice.

  “I need to make a call. Are you okay?”

  “I am now.”

  He looked over at Ryder. “Tell t
he cops what you know.”

  “Okay.”

  He walked from the room as Kimber and Ryder hurried around the sofa to sit on either side of me.

  “Is he dead?” Kimber asked.

  I nodded, but my attention was on Ryder. “What does he mean tell the cops what you know?”

  “A man came in a few times asking about you. I didn’t like his interest so I told Damian.”

  “How did you have his number?”

  “He gave it to us a while ago. Told us to call if we saw anything unusual. Anyway, he had someone tracking the guy. He hurt you.” Ryder looked ready to kill someone too.

  Damian had recruited my friends with keeping me and all of us safe. Love for him burned through me. “It could have been so much worse.”

  “I’m glad he’s dead. Asshole.”

  “Me too,” Kimber chimed in.

  “I won’t be mentioning that to the police though,” Ryder added. Yep, these were my girls. I loved them.

  I walked from the room, so I didn’t upset Thea, and almost punched the fucking wall as I struggled to pull in my rage. The sight of Thea in that alley had my blood boiling. I curled my fingers into fists, my nails biting into my palms. I wanted to kill that fucker again, more slowly. It wasn’t just rage, but also anguish at the thought of a world without her in it. She could have died. That was on me. I was supposed to have her back and I failed. I wouldn’t again. No fucking way.

  Taking her away for a while was smart because the game had just changed. And I knew just where we could lay low.

  I reached for my phone and called Cam. “We have a problem. There’s another player.”

  The paramedics insisted I go to the hospital, but luckily I escaped the harrowing experience with only a mild concussion and lots of bruises. After being checked by a doctor, and happily numbed with pain meds, the cops escorted me to their precinct where I was questioned.

  “Did you know him?” Detective Baker seemed like a nice man, someone closing in on retirement. He had a friendly face and an easy disposition. His partner, detective Locke, was a bit more uptight and suspicious.

  “No. I’ve never seen him before.”

  “So work it for me one more time.”

  “I received a call from Mount Sinai saying my girlfriend had been brought in and since I was her emergency contact they asked me to come. I stepped outside and called my other girlfriend and she informed me Ryder was with her. That was when the man put the knife to my back.”

  “And you’ve never seen him before.”

  “No.”

  “How does Damian Tate fit into this again?”

  How did I answer that and not implicate Damian? I wasn’t a great liar. “He was coming for dinner. He heard me scream. The man didn’t want an audience I guess because he ran, but then I think anyone would have. Damian is rather intimidating.”

  “Are you involved with Mr. Tate?”

  “We’re friends, have been so since we were kids.” I wasn’t sure they were buying my story. I had seen in countless movies how the interrogated went on the defensive to throw the cops off their game. I decided to give that a try. “I don’t understand why you’re grilling me when whoever did this is still out there.” He wasn’t still out there. He was dead and buried wherever cleaners buried bodies. Or maybe they didn’t bury them. Maybe they put them in acid or something and got rid of them completely. It was a disgusting thought and yet a fitting end for that bastard in the alley. Fucker.

  It looked as if Detective Baker wanted me to go through it all again when the door opened and a man entered with Anton just behind him. “Enough. She’s answered all your questions. She needs rest.” The man was probably Anton’s lawyer and from the look of him, a very expensive one.

  Anton helped me to my feet then wrapped me protectively in his arms.

  “Mr. Scalene.” Detective Baker was salivating over the idea of grilling Anton.

  “I’m taking her home.”

  “Leave a number where we can reach you.”

  Anton didn’t acknowledge him as he led me from the room.

  Damian was waiting at the door. Anton walked me right to him and did the hand off as Damian gently pulled me close, right up against his body…exactly where I wanted to be.

  “Where are Kimber and Ryder?”

  “One of my men drove them to your mom’s,” Damian offered.

  Once we were in the car, Anton said, “We’re taking you home to pack. You won’t be going back there for a while.”

  “Kimber and Ryder, my mom?”

  “We’ll stop at your mom’s so you can see them before you go.” Anton said.

  “I’m sorry about all of this.”

  Both looked pissed. It was Anton who replied, “Don’t. This isn’t your fault.”

  “Feels a bit like my fault. I was so gullible. I didn’t even question the call.”

  Anton gently took my face in his hand. “Anyone would have done the same.”

  “You wouldn’t have, Damian wouldn’t have. And what about Cam? Damian killed someone and you helped him cover it up. His two best friends and he’s a cop.”

  “We saved him the trouble.”

  Damian wasn’t wrong. I suppose that was the silver lining. Cam was a cop, but he would have hunted that man down and he wouldn’t have been as methodical because he didn’t have the training Damian had. And a cop killing someone would have been front-page news.

  Anton ended the conversation when he said, “None of this is your fault, Thea. Let’s get you safe and then we’re ending this shit.”

  “Be safe. Listen to Damian. Do exactly what he says.” Ryder said as she gently hugged me being mindful of my bruises.

  “What she said. And try not to worry.” Kimber drew me in and held me close. “We’ll keep an eye on your apartment, get your mail.”

  Mrs. Cooke didn’t know what was going on, at least not to the extent of the others, but one look at my battered face said it all. She looked older as worry creased the area between her eyes. “Please be careful, Thea, and stay close to your young man.”

  “I will. And make sure Mom doesn’t have too many wild parties.”

  Mom didn’t laugh at my attempt at humor. She stood with Cam, but it was the expression on her face as she took in my appearance that broke my heart.

  “Look what they did to my baby girl. They won’t get away with it, but I’m glad Damian is taking you away from here. You’ll be safe with him.” A tear slipped down her cheek before she gingerly wrapped me in her arms. “Please be safe.”

  We were both thinking the same thing. Yes, I looked terrible but if this was related to Dad, it could have been so much worse.

  Mom had no sooner released me that I found myself pressed against Cam. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “Not your fault.”

  “Anton and Damian will share what we know. I promise you I will find out who was behind your attack. Fucker is going down.”

  “I know you will.”

  Anton approached. “We’ve got to go, Thea.”

  “What about the cops?” Mom asked.

  “That’s where I’m going now. I’ll take care of it,” Cam said.

  I hugged everyone one last time then walked to Damian who stood by the door. He led me out, but I looked back, saw my peeps and hoped like hell it wasn’t the last time I did.

  The safe house was tucked in a neighborhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Once we arrived, Damian checked the place top to bottom making sure windows were locked, doors barred. He pulled all the curtains before moving to the kitchen, one that was stocked with food. He grabbed a frozen bag of peas and handed it to me.

  “For your jaw.”

  I settled at the kitchen table, Anton joined me. Damian leaned against the counter across the kitchen from us.

  “They wanted me. He called someone and said he had me.”

  “Fucking hell,” Damian hissed.

  Anton’s expression was nearly as scary when he said, “The cleaner checked
the phone. It was a burner. We’ve been tracking Dobbs, Federico and the man that approached Ryder. We’re missing a piece.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s not adding up, there’s another player that we don’t know about. And since these fucks have made a move on you, until we figure out what we don’t know you need to disappear for a while. I don’t even want to know where you are.” Anton looked a bit rattled and that really freaked me out.

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

  Damian sounded really scary. “Look in the mirror.”

  I didn’t need to look in the mirror because I ached everywhere.

  “I was attacked, I get it, but to go on the lam…” I couldn’t believe I could actually say that statement and it was true.

  “The lam?” There was humor in Anton’s expression. Damian looked ready to skin something.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “They came at you so there’s no reason to believe they won’t again.”

  “But shouldn’t Damian be there to help you find the bad guys. It is what he does.”

  “I’m with you.” Damian’s tone left no room for argument.

  “I’m sorry, this all is just so unbelievable. Dad’s gone, Cam’s hunting dirty cops and has people shooting at him, and someone wants something from me and is willing to hurt me to get it. I’m just a graphic designer with an addiction to coffee and sugar. I feel like I’ve stepped into someone else’s nightmare.”

  “We’re going to deal with it and while we do, you’ll be somewhere safe. I suppose we should mention that you and Damian will be posing as a married couple. You’ll draw less suspicion.”

  The situation was suddenly looking up. Away from danger with the man I loved pretending we were married. Yes, things were definitely looking up.

  I was beginning to think death wasn’t so terrible a fate. If I had to listen to the deafening silence for much longer I might off myself and save whoever wanted me dead the trouble. I had my suspicions as to the cause, but Damian had done a complete one eighty. We had been in the car for almost nine hours and he had said exactly five words to me. When we left, I got a let’s go. Twice in our journey he said gas meaning we were running low and in need of some and I had been gifted with food because his tank was running low. I appreciated the gravity of the situation, the constant knot in my stomach was proof of that, and I even liked that Damian was taking the matter seriously, but the silent treatment was getting old and fast. I would have better conversations with my shoe and had been tempted to hold a few to stave off boredom. Silver lining, he was breathtakingly sexy. I had studied him while we were confined to the small space of the car. He wasn’t using them now, but he had magnificent lips. His lower lip slightly fuller than the upper, lips that begged to be bitten then licked then sucked on. And yes, I thought about that and the two days of sexual bliss we had shared before he turned into a cyborg again because otherwise I would have gone mad from the silence.