Page 29 of Sin Like the Devil

It takes all of my self-control to summon a pretty fucking smile and plaster it in place. If I’m removed by management and subjected to God knows what, Lennox and Xander won’t hesitate to take my place.

It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve grabbed power. They saw what Holly was, the control she had. She didn’t stand a chance against them once they decided to take it from her. To become the stooges themselves.

“Get out of my sight.” Davis dismisses me with a terse nod. “And heed my warning, Miss Bennet.”

Keeping my lips sealed, I stand then scuttle from the room. He has to think that he’s subjugated me. That the threat of punishment is far greater than my desire for revenge. Little does he know, I’d sacrifice it all to taste blood.

The lives I’ve traded for my own mean nothing while those monsters continue to breathe air. I thought they were gone. Lost in the system. Broken by whatever the fuck Priory Lane’s special wing decided to do with them once I arranged their induction.

Yet they live.

But not for long.

I’ll have to do it myself. Tear them apart, chunk by blood slick chunk, until they beg to return to the purgatory they crawled out of. It will look like paradise in comparison to what I spent my night in solitary planning for them.

Leading me back out to the reception, Elon pauses to unlock my handcuffs. The handful of patients floating around avert their eyes when I glower at them.

“See something that interests you?”

The onlookers quickly dissipate.

Elon snickers at the fear that fills their expressions as they scurry away. Rubbing my sore wrists, I spare him a nod then leave before he can change his mind.

The stairs leading up towards the residential floors feel endless. My legs are two concrete-filled pillars attached to my body after a sleepless night. Halfway up to the second floor, I hear their voices descending.

Familiarity is another sharp and unwelcome slap in the face. After a year spent trying to erase the memories that haunt me, hearing them so close feels like living a nightmare.

“The dickhead started it.” Lennox’s voice is a low grumble. “Who takes five minutes to decide which damn cereal to eat?”

“You can’t just go around punching people, Nox.”

“Says who?”

“Erm, the fucking law?” I recognise the raspy tenor of Raine responding. “Are you looking for trouble?”

“He doesn’t even have to look for it,” a voice responds.

The third voice causes a chill to break out across my skin. As if a snowstorm has swept over the staircase, the air is laced with frigid anticipation of his arrival. I knew he was here. But hearing him takes me right back to that night.

It was before my entire world changed. His cool, clinical touch brought me to life. A lash of pain. Soft, wet swipes of his tongue soothing the sting. Limbs pinned and spreadeagled. Powerless. At his utter, irrevocable mercy.

Fuck!

I turn and bolt back down the stairs before they can spot me. I’m no coward, but I have to play this smart. Facing off against Xander fucking Beck in this state will win me no awards. Plotting how to take down the king of cold calculation already took me several hours of pondering.

Ducking behind a tall potted plant at the bottom of the staircase, I hold my breath and wait. It doesn’t take long for them to descend. Xander walks at the head of the group. Lennox stomps behind, a hand grasping the cute violinist’s elbow.

“You know,” Raine begins. “If she?—”

“Not here,” Xander clips out.

Lennox steers his friend towards the south wing where the daily classes are located. They trade conspiratorial whispers that I can’t make out, and I keep my breath held until they disappear.

Shit.

I’ll never get close enough to inflict any amount of damage when they’re all together. Lennox has already had his hands around my throat. And I have no doubt Xander would happily give him another chance to choke me to death. As long as he could watch.

Breaking outside into the quad, it’s a bright but freezing cold January day. Those not in therapy or classes mill about, wrapped in wool scarves and bobble hats. Guards bounce on their feet, red hands cupped over their mouths in attempts to warm up.

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