Page 35 of Demons & Damnation

Sirens and blue lights lit up the town like Christmas as ambulance, police, and fire crew attended the chaotic scene.

“Sam...,” Kyla said, looking around her frantically. “Where is she?”

“I’m here, don’t panic,” Sam said, putting her hands on Kyla’s shoulders from behind. “I called Dylan, he’s coming to get us.”

Kyla stared at the car park outside the club, where she’d parked her car. “But my car...”

“I think most of the cars in that car park have been destroyed, sadly,” Adam said, stepping in front of her. “Sorry.”

Kyla looked up at him, something inside her jolting when their eyes locked, unfurling a sense of unease combined with a heady mix of excitement. “Why are you saying sorry? Did you damage my car?”

Adam took a step back and grinned. “No, I most certainly did not.”

“I don’t remember anything,” Kyla said, trying her hardest to remember what happened.

She remembered the sickening lurch in her chest when she’d locked eyes with Adam in the club, then Sam going to him. Then Ben had taken her to the bar for a drink and they’d sat down, chatting.

“I remember you banging a shot glass down on the table,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Adam. “Then nothing. What happened?” She turned around to face Sam and said, “Where were you?”

“I went to the loo. The queue was huge. I’d literally just sat on the toilet when the earthquake hit.”

Kyla’s jaw dropped. “Earthquake?” She turned back to the club and gasped. “Is that what did that?”

Adam nodded. “It most certainly is.”

Kyla shook her head, confused. “Why don’t I remember anything after you putting the shot glass on the table?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “Everything went pretty mental. Trauma, shock.”

Kyla frowned at him. “How does running out of a building cause trauma?”

“I don’t know,” he said, snapping at her. “Do I look like a doctor?”

Kyla raised her eyebrow at his short tone. “With that attitude, you certainly wouldn’t have many patients.”

Ben chuckled. Sam giggled. Adam folded his muscled arms over his chest and stared down at Kyla, his green eyes hard and impassive.

With all the lights from the emergency services in the area, the darkness of the night had been illuminated into all but daylight, allowing Kyla to study the men’s features for the first time without shadows hiding them.

Dylan worked out religiously. He pushed his body to the limits, he had to for his job, and he had not an ounce of fat on him. Chiselled, ripped, whatever you wanted to call it, Dylan was poster worthy. But these guys, these guys were a whole other level. The way their clothes clung to them, highlighting every ripple and bulge, it was as if someone had photoshopped them in real life and carved them out with a paintbrush.

The way they elicited feelings with a single look only spoke of the energy surrounding them and the ease of confidence they lived with. Ben seemed rather laid back, thoughtful, and from what Kyla remembered of their conversation, he seemed sensitive and emotional.

Adam, on the other hand, seemed antagonistic and arrogant. The tilt to his chin as he glared at Kyla for challenging him spoke only of disapproval.

The roar of Dylan’s car cut through the buzz of chatter from the crowd of people converging near the river. Swinging into the road full throttle, Dylan flicked the car round, sending it sideways across the street as he came to a stop next to the pavement. He jumped out of the car and ran to Sam, his eyes never leaving Kyla.

Silence surrounded everyone, only interrupted by the sound of the fan kicking in to cool his engine down, which he’d left running.

“Are you ok?” he asked Sam, finally looking down at her.

Sam nodded. “I’m fine. We’re both fine. We got out, thanks to these two.”

Dylan glanced up at Ben, casting his eyes down to his hand wrapped around Kyla’s. When he diverted his eyes to Adam, he met a mischievous smirk and glinting green eyes.

Dylan narrowed his eyes at him for the briefest of seconds before faking a smile, giving him a single nod, and saying, “Thanks. Both of you.”

“No problem at all,” Ben said. “It’s a shame our evening was cut short. We were having a good time, right, Kyla?”

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