Page 56 of Cruel Devotion

Then a sudden and sharp gunshot pierced the silence.

I froze.

Okay. That was definitely a gun.

Every muscle in my body tensed. My hands clung to the shower wall for support. My mind raced with possibilities, attempting to put together the jigsaw pieces of sound and context.

Was someone in trouble, or was it a mere accident related to the feast’s preparations?

Panicking, I turned off the water.

My nerves perked up on high alert.

Something is definitely happening, and I won’t be butt naked and, in a shower, while it goes down.

I spun around and screamed. “Ah!”

To my utter shock, Lei stood behind me. Less than two feet away, right in the damn shower.

“Oh my God!” I stepped back fast, my feet nearly slipping on the wet floor. “H-how long have you been there?”

His towering presence took up the entrance, eyes darkened with an intensity I had never seen before.

Every ounce of his being radiated sheer fury.

Scared to say anything else, I studied him, trying to get some clues.

Rips marred his blue athletic pants. Dirt caked his sneakers.

He wore no shirt.

What had once probably been a pristine white bandage on his right arm was now a dirty, reddened mess, dangling off his elbow.

But what truly shook me to my core was the blood. Splatters of it painted his face and dripped onto his chiseled chest.

So. . .that really was screaming I heard earlier.

My heart boomed in my ears.

But. . .was he the one who made the person scream? And where did all that blood come from?

Chapter nine

Shades of Blue

Monique

Steam rose around him.

The air between us was charged with tension.

My throat tightened.

His piercing gaze held mine, trapping me in its furious intensity.

I struggled to find words, my voice a mere whisper against the overwhelming silence.

“Lei...?” I managed to stammer.

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