Page 64 of The Devil's Playground

“He touched you. Where?”

Nicolette uses her pointer finger to gesture below.

No.

He’s dead. Simple as that. Miles Haines is dead.

Nicolette must see the answer in my face because she tries to explain. About how he cornered her where there were no cameras and no witnesses, how he accused me of cheating, how she tried to get away before he grabbed her, basically choked her, then raped her with his finger.

“I’m going to kill him.” I already was, but now? I promise her, “He’s dead. ”

“Royce?”

I shake my head. If I repeat myself, she might ask me to spare him, but even for Nicolette, I can’t be that merciful.

And then she says, “I wish I had killed him,” and that settles it even as she says, “but my only thought was to get away.”

That’s okay, baby. I’ll fix this.

“I understand that. And, don’t worry, it’s going to be okay. I just… why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Honestly? For a minute there, it was like I was back with Kieran. That’s when he did it. I couldn’t stop him, but then I kneed him and he went down… and I had to run.” Her eyes flicker up, meeting mine. “But you came after me.”

I take a step toward her, bracing myself in case she flinches. I won’t blame her if she does… but it does a little to thaw me out when she doesn’t. Instead, throwing herself at my chest, clinging to me as she shakes, I vow to her, “I will always come for you, Nicolette.”

Just like I’ll do anything to protect her.

TWENTY-THREE

HUNTER REED

ROYCE

Now, my first instinct is to grab my Beretta, find Miles Haines, and eliminate him. He’s not a Dragonfly; that wouldn’t be going against our truce. But then I remember that it actually might. Haines is a patron at the Playground, but also East End properties. A big spender who made a big mistake, I can see how taking out Haines might complicate matters in these trying times.

Good thing this isn’t the first time when, as the fixer, I needed someone taken care of without implicating any other Sinner.

Alfieri is too high up for an accident like I have in mind for Haines. Especially once his former relationship with Nicolette came out, if anything happened to Alfieri, it didn’t matter who eliminated him. It would fall back on us.

But Haines… if no one knows that I have a reason to take him out… well. Look at that.

I wait until she stops shaking before I drop a kiss to the top of her damp hair. Then, pulling away from her just enough so she can see the look on my face, I clear my throat.

She gazes up at me.

“The Sinners protect our own.” I take Nic’s hands in mine, squeezing them. “But you’re mine. And I’m going to protect you. I just want to make one thing clear about what happened. You said he cornered you in the corridor, you got him in the balls, then left. No one saw it happen?”

She shakes her head. “We were alone.”

That’s what I thought. Good. I’d have bigger problems on my hand if someone at the Playground knew Nic had been assaulted and kept it from me. What probably happened is that Haines hobbled out as soon as he recovered, never telling he passed that the blondie waitress got him good.

Of course, if he didn’t try to use his money against her—trying to get the Playground to side with a wallet over a waitress—it’s probably because he plans on getting revenge on Nic some other time.

Good luck, asshole.

Still holding tightly onto Nicolette, I lead her over to the couch. Once she’s seated, I take out my phone. It isn’t often that I need Nicholas Reed’s services, but over the last few years, I’ve had enough reason to that I keep the shadowy businessman in my contacts.

I stumbled upon the true nature of the Reed twins by accident. We had this waitress a couple years back. She obviously used a fake name, running from something, but just like I did with Nicolette, I gave her a chance. It wasn’t long that I realized she was running because she was a witness to a murder.

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