Page 24 of Devil's Game

Kellan rewound the footage, finding the clearest image of the man.

Goose bumps ran over my skin as I pictured his sneering face, glee gleaming in his eyes as he tossed me from the safety of the airport and into the hallway I knew I wouldn’t be leaving alone. He’d delighted in seeing my last flicker of hope float away, and I’d promised myself then that I’d make them suffer.

I already got to beat the first one’s head in with a baseball bat, and now it seemed the second one was anxious to seal his fate.

“I recognize that one,” I murmured, my gaze finding Spade’s in a silent plea. He nodded, a sly grin tilting his lips.

This one is mine.

“I got this,” he assured, swiping his thumb over my bottom lip before slanting his mouth over mine.

The kiss wasn’t soft and comforting—no, it was rough and unhinged, scorching a line of need straight to my core. It was a claim and a silent, lethal promise that he’d find these men, andI’d be able to unleash the pent-up violence threatening to burst from my skin.

“So fucking sweet,” Spade murmured against my lips before pulling away. My breath came in a shuddered gasp as he sucked his thumb into his mouth, savoring every last taste of my lips.

My heart thundered as heat raced along my skin, threatening to burn me whole if I didn’t have more.

“Spade,” I breathed, reaching for his jacket, but he danced out of my reach, his eyes crinkling as he gave me a wry grin.

“I want to get you a present first.” He winked and practically skipped out of the shop. He whistled an eerie tune as the door closed behind him, the shop now dark with all the windows boarded up.

Kellan chuckled softly, his arms wrapping around me from behind as he softly nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck.

“Sorry.” I sighed, relaxing back into his embrace. “Was that weird?”

“No, Gi. That was hot.” Kellan’s lips brushed against my neck, sending a jolt of lust surging through my body. He kissed a line up to my earlobe before gently nipping the soft flesh.

A needy whimper slipped from my lips, and I could feel the curl of his lips on my skin in response.

“It’s different,” he breathed, his breath curling around me in a soft caress. “I only thought I was ever going to share you with Merrick, so it feels the same yet different since Spade has become like a brother to me. But, most importantly, I’ve learned that I love seeing you come apart, watching you so filled with pleasure that those barriers drop, and I get to see my little devil claiming what she needs.”

“Kellan.” I moaned as he sucked on the sensitive part of my throat, an intoxicating pleasure wrapping around my body and threatening to pull me under.

His hands tensed on my waist, as though he wanted to move, to explore my curves, but he was holding himself back.

“I want to take you right here, Giana, to learn every inch of your body the way I should’ve been worshipping it for the last six years.”

My breaths came in ragged pants as he dipped his fingers under the waistband of my jeans, skimming my stomach in a teasing caress that only had me craving more.

“But I don’t want what happened today to cloud the memory.”

He eased his hand away, his lips leaving my skin at the reminder of what had lain on the floor mere feet from us a few hours ago.

“At least one of us is thinking straight.” I sighed, leaning my head back against his chest, willing the frantic beat of my heart to ease.

“Barely,” he huffed in amusement, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “We should get home.”

My chest warmed at the reminder that, despite Tommaso trying to dig his clutches into me again, I had a home, I had a family, and I had three men who would stand with me to the bitter end.

I’d stayed away to keep them safe, but we were different people now—able and willing to fight together to keep the town safe and put a stop to the horrors the Barones had put this town through for decades. I was worthy of safety, I was worthy of my revenge, and I was worthy of these men, and it was about time I started acting like it.

Ileaned back intothe leather seat, my head rolling to the side to look out the window. My world was so completelydifferent than it had been only a few weeks ago, when Tommaso brought me back to East Haven. The dread that had darkened my heart had transformed into a glimmering light of hope, chasing away the fear that had clung to me like a storm cloud.

We rolled to a stop at a red light, my attention drawn to the Greg’s Diner sign, barely illuminated by the flickering ancient bulbs barely holding on to their last life. The windows were coated in a thick dust, dotted with white splatter that you couldn’t pay me enough to examine up close.

“The last time I really looked at this place was when I came to town.” My voice was quiet as I voiced the thoughts I normally kept locked inside—my only key to survival had been to bury anything Tommaso could use against me. “He threatened to go in, even after he’d nearly put bullets in their heads after Pam hit me.”

Kellan placed a comforting hand on my thigh, drawing my gaze to him. He didn’t look back at me with pity, only kindness and the reminder that I never had to endure that again.

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