Page 54 of Devil's Game

“Are we sure—”

“Don’t finish that question.” I cut him off, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. “You know I can do this.”

“I never doubted you.” Merrick sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’m just worried.”

“We have her back.” Kellan clapped his friend on the shoulder. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Agreed.” Spade looped his finger through my hair, playing with a few loose strands that had fallen out of my braid.

Merrick nodded stiffly, his hazel eyes hardening in resolve. “Let’s do this, then.”

I gently pulled my hair from Spade and pinned the braid to my head, making sure not a strand of my real locks could be seen as I covered it with a long platinum blonde wig.

“I miss your hair already.” Spade pouted.

“I thought you would’ve liked the fact that we’re matching.” I chuckled, ruffling the fake hair to make it look as real as possible.

He eyed me skeptically before shaking his head. “Nope, I love my sugar just as she is.”

I couldn’t help but give him a beaming smile, softly grasping his hand in a show of appreciation before I readied my weapons, sliding my dagger into the harness on my thigh, doing my best to cover it with the short, skintight, red dress I’d picked out for tonight. My Glock was safely hidden in the crossbody bag I flung over my shoulder, the chain strap thick enough to restrain or strangle someone if needed.

“Be careful,” Merrick warned. Before I could get a word out, his arms were wrapped around my waist, tugging me across the divide and onto his lap. “Your safety is the most important thing to me, little devil.” He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering there, as though he couldn’t bear the thought of letting go.

“I will be,” I assured him, caressing his cheek before I pulled away. I knew he wouldn’t hold me back, wouldn’t stop me, wouldn’t hide me away like his instincts screamed to do.

“Then, give them hell.” Merrick slapped my ass as I stood, a devious grin spreading on his lips as he holstered his gun to his hip.

“Oh, I will.”

The cool evening airwhipped around me, and I tugged the hem of my skirt lower, my heels wobbling on the sidewalk as I attempted to keep my balance.

“Hey, sweetheart,” a man drawled, his smarmy tone making my skin crawl.

I jumped, pretending I hadn’t noticed them there, and gave him a little wave with a half-hearted smile. Pretending I wanted to flee from the group of men standing a few feet under the overhang of a local pub, I increased my pace.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I passed them, pasting a friendly smile on my lips while keeping my head ducked low, like I was hiding from their attention.

It didn’t work, just like I knew it wouldn’t. The group of men whistled as I walked past, the leering eyes sticking to my skin like a bucket of slime had just been dropped over my head.

At least the disguise worked. A different hair color might not have been enough to disguise me from most of the Barones’ men, but I’d had a little makeover from Eve earlier this afternoon, and honestly, I’d barely recognized myself when I looked in the mirror after that. She’d lined my eyes with thick black eyeliner, along with giving me a dark smoky eye and dark red lipstick.

The look wasn’t something I’d normally wear, but for tonight, it was working.

Just like I had hoped, the men didn’t stop me in front of the bar—of course not, why would they want witnesses for what they wanted to do to the clearly unwilling woman striding past them?

As I’d suspected, one set of footsteps echoed behind me—the one who had catcalled me already had undoubtedly decided to give chase.

Heady anticipation flooded my veins, and I suppressed the urge to grin, needing to keep playing the part just long enough to get him—

The echo of shoes on pavement pounded behind me, his pace quickening as I rounded the corner.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing all the way out here so late?” His hand wrapped around my bicep, urging me to a stop abruptly as soon as we were out of eyesight.

“I-I’m just trying to get home.” My lip quivered as I looked up at him, a fly caught in his web. Or so he assumed.

“Dressed like that?” His lecherous eyes scanned my body, his mouth practically salivating as he took in my curves as though I was his for the taking.

“P-please.” The word tasted vile rolling off my lips. I wanted to cut his eyes out of their sockets for looking at me like that, but I had to play the part a little longer. “I was just out with friends.”

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