Page 115 of The Devil's Wrath

With effort, I met Theo’s tortured gaze. Beneath the rage, I saw the apology, the guilt, the love. I didn’t blame him.

Igor pressed the gun under my chin, forcing my head up at a painful angle. “Beg him to save you,” he taunted. When I remained silent, he dug the barrel in harder. “Beg!”

“Never!” I spat, putting every ounce of defiance into a single word. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

In a blur of motion, he pistol-whipped me across the face. Painexploded in my head as I collapsed to the ground. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Theo roar in fury, followed by the sickening thud of flesh striking flesh as he fought his captors. He had broken free of his bonds, launching himself at Igor in a rage.

The two men grappled for control of the gun, their bodies slamming into walls and furniture as they fought. The sound of gunfire being exchanged filled the room as Archer, Kai, and other men filed in, opening fire on Igor’s men. Bullets whizzed through the air, embedding into walls and ricocheting off metal as more of Igor’s men flooded in.

Theo landed a solid punch to Igor’s jaw, sending him staggering back. But Igor quickly retaliated, driving his knee into Theo’s gut and doubling him over. I struggled to push myself up, my limbs leaden and uncooperative. Blood dripped into my eyes from the gash on my forehead, blurring my sight. I blinked it away just in time to see Igor level the gun at Theo’s chest.

“No!” The scream tore from my ravaged throat. Adrenaline surged through my veins, propelling me forward. I threw myself at Igor, knocking his arm aside just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet went wide, lodging into the wall behind us. We crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, the gun clattering away.

Theo tried to reach me, but one of Igor’s men tackled him. Igor’s hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing with brutal force. Black spots swam in my vision as I clawed at his fingers, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. I spotted a piece of metal shrapnel on the ground, and I groped blindly for it, my fingers closing around its sharp edge. With desperate energy, I swung my arm up, driving the metal into Igor’s side. He howled in pain, his grip on my throat easing when he fell forward, exposing his neck to me as he clutched at his side. I bit into his neck with all the strength I had left, my teeth piercing his flesh. The coppery taste of blood flooded my mouth as he bellowed. He tried to pull away, but I clung on like a rabid animal, tearing at his throat. With a sickening rip, I felt his skin and sinew give way.

With a roar, he managed to fling me off. I hit the ground hard, gasping for air, his blood dripping down my chin. He staggered to his feet, clutching his mangled throat, eyes wide with shock and fury. Helunged for me, but Theo intercepted him, tackling him to the ground. I watched as my Devil, driven by primal rage, dug his fingers into Igor’s eye sockets, a roar erupting from Theo’s chest. Igor screamed in anguish, clawing at Theo’s hands. But Theo’s wrath was unyielding, fueled by vengeance. With a sickening squelch, he tore his eyes from their sockets, tossing the bloody orbs aside.

“You’ll never lay eyes on her again, you sick fuck!” he snarled, his voice barely human.

Igor writhed on the ground, howling like a wounded animal as blood poured from his empty sockets. Theo straddled him, raining down punches mercilessly, turning Igor’s once smug face into a pulpy, unrecognizable mess. Each sickening crunch of bone was punctuated by Theo’s enraged grunts, his knuckles splitting open from the impact.

I watched in morbid fascination, too weak to move, as the man I loved unleashed the full extent of his wrath. He was no longer, in that moment, my gentle, protective Theo. No, he was something more profound. He was the devil incarnate, exacting years of vengeance with ruthless brutality.

He didn’t stop.

He couldn’t stop.

Years of torment, years of being haunted by this monster poured out of him in a cathartic release of savagery. Igor’s body had long since gone limp, twitching in a macabre death rattle. Yet Theo continued to rain blows upon him, his knuckles raw and slick with blood and brain matter.

I crawled toward him, my broken body screaming in protest. With trembling fingers, I touched his arm. “Theo, it’s over. He’s dead.”

He froze at my touch, his chest heaving with exertion and raw emotion. Slowly, he turned to look at me, his eyes wild and haunted. He seemed to stare right through me, lost in the throes of his rage. But then recognition flickered in his gaze, and the fury drained from his face, replaced by anguish and desperate relief.

“Wren,” he breathed, my name a broken prayer on his lips. He gathered me into his arms, crushing me against his chest as if he could absorb me into himself. I clung to him, my fingers digging into his blood-soaked shirt, anchoring myself to his solid warmth. Sobswracked my battered frame as the adrenaline faded, leaving me raw and shattered.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he murmured into my hair, his tears mingling with mine. “You’re safe now. I’m here. It’s over. It’s fucking over.”

He rocked me gently, one hand cradling my head and the other stroking soothing circles on my back. I wanted to burrow into him, to crawl inside his skin and never come out. In his arms, I felt a flicker of safety, of home amidst the nightmare that had now become my reality.

Around us, the chaos settled as the last of Igor’s men were subdued or killed. Archer and Kai moved through the room efficiently, checking the bodies and securing the area. But their presence barely registered as I clung to Theo, my lifeline.

He pressed desperate kisses to my hair, my forehead, and my tear-stained cheeks as if reassuring himself that I was real—that I was alive.

Atlas, Archer’s older brother, stepped into the room, his face covered in blood. He surveyed the room, his eyes lingering on Igor’s mutilated corpse before settling on Theo and me. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face. “Well, it looks like you had yourself quite the party. Can’t say I’m sad to see that bastard go.”

Theo barely acknowledged Atlas’s presence, his focus entirely on me. He gently brushed my matted hair from my face, his fingers ghosting over the bruises and cuts that marred my skin. “I need to get her to the hospital,” he said, his voice thick with worry.

Atlas nodded, his demeanor now serious. “Of course. I’ll have my men secure a route.” He turned to Kai and said, “Kai, I found someone I think you’ll be interested in.”

Kai’s head snapped up at Atlas’s words, his eyes narrowing. “Who?” he demanded.

Atlas stepped aside, and his men brought in a battered and beaten older man. His face was swollen and bruised, his clothes torn and bloodied. He lifted his head weakly, his eyes meeting Kai’s.

“We found him trying to slither out the back with a stash of girls,” Atlas scoffed. “We’ve secured the girls, but I figured you had some unfinished business with the perv who moonlighted as your girl’s father.”

“Thank you, Atlas,” Kai said.

In an instant, Kai was across the room, his gun raised at the man’s head.

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