Page 64 of Cruel Devotion

“Yes.” I nodded. “Youhave done enough.”

Chen tilted forward and grabbed Duck’s attention. “You were there. Did I touch any of Rowe Street Mob?”

Duck shook his head. “You did not.”

Chen gestured to Hu. “Did I not try to stop Lei from breaking Silent Sal’s legs?”

Hu cleared his throat. “I actually will not be involved in this very complicated situation.”

I scowled at Chen. “You should not have allowed Rowe Street Mob to come up and you should have never let Monique think that she could wear white in the first place—”

“I told you that I pleaded with her to rethink this. However, she believed—for some insane reason—that she could talk to you in a rational manner.”

Duck chuckled.

I glared at him.

He stopped and turned back to the tent.

Tension gathered in my shoulders.

Growing even more impatient to be next to her, I stared at the tent’s entrance as if I could,willher to come out.

Chen shook his head. “With the way Flashy Freddie screamed. . .So loud, I thought Marcelo might have heard him all the way in Paradise.”

Duck snorted.

“At least, Lei perfectly executed an Azure Dragon’s Spiral.” Hu shrugged. “And the Golden Phoenix on top of Piggy’s back was damn good. I thought the poor man’s spine cracked in the center.”

“It probably did.” Chen groaned. “We won’t know until Piggy regains consciousness. Master Wu is keeping me updated with all their injuries.”

I gritted my teeth.

For the first time that evening, Duck frowned at me. “And you know what you did, right?”

I remained silent.

“You walked right into Banks’s plan as if you were his puppet and he held the strings.” Disappointment covered Duck’s face. “Banks knew you would kick their asses. That’s why he brought them. He just wanted Monique to see how crazy and violent you are.”

Chen checked his watch again. “While I don’t usually agree with my brother, I must agree this time.”

I tensed.

Chen continued, “Banks gave you a clear test. First, he probably wanted to know how bad you had it for his cousin. Second, he needed to assess how insane you would be about her.”

I tapped my side. “He’s not going to know what I did.”

Duck snorted.

Hu returned to fumbling with the stupid sword.

Meanwhile, Chen stepped in front of me. “Let us hope that my team updating Banks will be able to mimic his men. If not, it will be war.”

“Then, so fucking be it.” I sneered. “Right now, Monique is my anchor in this goddamn storm of a life, and no one will dictate anything that happens between us.”

“Yes, Lei, but we do not need to push that factthisweek of all weeks.”

Duck shook his head. “And. . .Banks is a mastermind with cocky manipulation. I bet he gave them a special code or something to start with, when they update him.”

---