Page 31 of Devil's Game

I shifted my jacket, showing him the gun holstered beneath it, and he sighed in relief.

“Good.” He nodded, and my chest warmed at the confidence he had in me. Merrick stooped to capture my lips with his in a searing kiss that sent heat all the way down to my toes. “I’d burn the word down to get you back, and next time, I don’t think I’d be able to hold back from hunting that bastard down and putting a bullet between his eyes.”

A shiver of delight ran up my spine at the violence sparking in his eyes, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my lips.

Eve cleared her throat as her footsteps scuffed back. “I’ll be at the bar.”

“You won’t need to, because next time I see him, I’ll do it myself.”

Afew hours passedas I sorted through the paperwork and entered the invoices into the system, one by one. It was tedious work, but it allowed me to slip in my earbuds and listen to some of my favorite songs I hadn’t allowed myself to play in years, since they reminded me too much of the guys. I lost myself in the heart-wrenching lyrics, giving my mind a much-needed vacation from everything that was closing in around us. But, despite the momentary reprieve, Spade kept slipping into my thoughts with a sharp panic I had to calm myself from.

I’d gotten about halfway through when I decided to take a break, needing to get up and stretch my legs for a few minutesbefore slipping back into the hyper-fixation that was keeping my mind at ease.

“Need a drink?” Eve asked as I stepped out into the nearly empty bar. There were a few familiar men in the corner, but other than that, most of the Devil’s Demons must’ve been with Merrick. “I don’t know how you handle staring at that screen for so long.”

“I’m used to it, I guess.” I chuckled, sliding onto one of the barstools in front of her. “Just water, please.”

Understanding flickered in her gaze as she filled a clean glass and slid it over to me.

I took a sip of the cool liquid, allowing it to roll over my tongue and soothe my dry throat, reminding myself I’d seen Eve pour it herself from the drink gun.

I grimaced as I placed the now-empty glass on the bar, the peeling fake leather of the stool pricking against the back of my thighs as I shifted. It seemed like it was barely holding on. “I really have to redecorate.”

“I honestly never thought I’d see the day when he’d bring a new piece of furniture in here that couldn’t be fixed with a good piece of duct tape.” Eve rolled her eyes as she refilled my glass with the soda gun. “But I swear you could tell that man to burn the place down, and he’d rush out to buy the lighter and gasoline.”

“I don’t know about that.” I chuckled, already imagining what pieces I could bring in to match the grungy biker bar vibe without all the dilapidation . . .

“He’s complained about his back in that office chair more times than I can count, yet he refused to buy another one—” She cut off abruptly, her eyes widening in realization.

I swallowed thickly, not wanting to explain the little voice in the back of my mind that had revolted at the thought of sittingon that chair again, of feeling the rough, worn threads scratching against my thighs.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” I waved off her concern, forcing another sip of water down my parched throat.

“I should’ve brought the drink to you myself. I should’ve remembered that most men are trash.”

“Hey!” one of the men in the corner piped up, his hand stroking his grizzled grey beard as he narrowed a glare at Eve.

“Simmer down, Ben. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t kill that fucker if she hadn’t already.”

“You’re right.” He sighed, and I could’ve sworn there was a glimmer of respect in his eyes as he tipped his head to me.

I smiled, some of the clouds from that night lifting. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, though.”

The truth of that settled in my chest. I’d avoided talking about that night, past rehashing details for the guys, and then Sophia, but I needed this. Not a heart-to-heart or to spill my feelings, but to know that, despite the reservations that lingered, it hadn’t broken me—it only strengthened my resolve. I’d make the men who had made my life hell pay with theirs, and then I’d do the same to anyone else who thought they could prey on someone they saw as weak.

“True.” I nodded. “It’s not fine. I shouldn’t have to watch my drink, just like you shouldn’t have to make sure a man who works here doesn’t touch a woman’s drink. But what happens to us doesn’t define us. I’s what we do after it, our perseverance—and I, for one, plan on making them pay.”

“I like the sound of that.” Eve grinned, raising her own glass of water before taking a large gulp, as though she was downing liquor.

I mirrored the gesture and nearly sputtered on the sip as the front door slammed open. The worn wood crashed against thewall, and just as I bolted from my seat, my hand automatically reaching for my gun, the click of pistols echoed behind me, all of us focused on the figure still shrouded in darkness as he strode into the dim bar.

“Sugar,” a familiar voice drawled, immediately dropping my defenses.

“Don’t do that.” I sighed as I placed the gun back into its holster, barely getting it in place before Spade was wrapping me up in a tight embrace.

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