Page 49 of The Diávolos: Part One
“The girl,” I croak.
Right at that moment, I see Angelica burst out of the stairwell door, panting like she was running for her life. She looks around the room, her eyes wide, and her face goes stark white with shock when we lock eyes.
“Trust is like blood pressure. It’s silent, vital to good health, and if abused it can be deadly.”
–Frank Sonnenberg
When Evan asked me to wait in the basement while he dealt with whoever was downstairs, I pictured the worst. My father used to send me to my room when he had unexpected guests and it always ended in a bloodbath.
Dion and Xander escort me into the elevator, and I can’t bring myself to say a word.
The tension is so thick, it feels like there’s a fourth person in the small space.
Dion looks legitimately worried, his body rocking from side to side. Xander stands behind me, still as a statue. He was the other man seated with Evan when I first came to the club that night, but I hadn’t properly met him until now. I wish it were in different circumstances.
We arrive at the bottom floor and the doors open. It’s dark and humid, and I hesitate before I step out. I feel the light touch of a hand on my back, and I turn to Dion.
“It’ll be okay,” he says, gently. I walk out of the lift and the door closes behind me.
The radio silence in the basement is eerie. It’s oddly clean down here. It smells like bleach and laundry detergent. I walk around the space with my arms crossed over my chest, feeling a chill down my spine. There’s nothing here except a table and chair. The ceiling is riddled with pipes, and I notice chains and a rope hanging from one of the larger ones in the middle of the room. I walk up to the chains, and I wonder what kind of activities happen down here that require shackles. After walking in circles a few times, I take a seat at the table and wait.
* * *
I don’t knowhow long it’s been, having left my phone in the office upstairs, but I’m startled out of my confused state by the sound of commotion coming from upstairs. I hear a loud bang, but the sound is muffled, and within a couple seconds, multiple gunshots go off, and I immediately go into panic mode.
Evan is up there, and he could be hurt.
The gunshots cease and silence invades the space again. He specifically asked me to stay down here until someone comes back. But what if he’s injured? What if he’sdead?
Oh, hell.
I run to the elevator we used to come down here and push the call button frantically, but nothing happens. The light goes red, but I hear no hint of it moving. That’s when I notice it’s controlled by a keypad.Damn it, I don’t have the code.
I turn around, looking for another exit, and see a door tucked in the corner of the room. I rush to it and desperately pull on the handle, pleading to God to let me out of this dungeon. On the fourth pull, the door cracks open and I jerk it with all my power.
I sprint up the stairs and burst out of the door on the main floor.
I’m in total paralysis as I drink in the sight before me. I watch the scene unfold as though it’s happening in slow-motion.
There is blood everywhere.
Sebastian and Gregory are walking around, checking the main area with their guns out, ready to fire at any given moment if a threat appears. Tables are flipped upside down and chairs are scattered on the floor. Trails of blood lead from one of the booths to the entrance. Leon is at the bar making a phone call.
There is no sight of Evan or Xander.
Dion is hunched over something on the floor, but I can’t see who or what is lying there, until he moves to look back at me and I see Evan on the floor, surrounded by blood, his face pale.
I gasp as my hand flies to my chest. My heart feels like it’s about to stop and my world feels like it’s crumbling.No, no, no, no.
This can’t be happening. He cannot die. I didn’t even have the chance to get to know him, enjoy him, be a part of his life. To fully get angry at him for what he did. I’m still hurt and distraught by the news of him pretending to be two different people, for having barged into my life so selfishly. He acted on his own accord and didn’t care how it would affect me. As much as I enjoyed the attention from him as my stalker, it doesn’t excuse his behavior. He still deceived me. So, yes, I’m mad. But do I want him to die? No. I’m not ready for whatever this is between us to end.
And if anyone were to kill him, it should be me. I deserve it.
An explosion of adrenaline bursts within me and I run toward him, despite the warnings for me to stay away. I ignore them all and I sink to my knees in front of Evan.
“Oh my god.” I scan his body to see where he has been injured and see a large bullet wound in his chest near his left shoulder. “No.” My hands tremble as I savagely tear off the top part of my dress and place it over the wound, pressing down hard to stop the bleeding.
“Somebody call an ambulance!” I scream.
