Page 70 of Her Devil

To say I had concerns over Jacob heading out with him alone is an understatement. I get being pissed about the situation, I really do, but right now he’s a loose cannon, and that’s not safe for anyone.

“You guys done?” Leo asks as he and Emmerson join us at the doorway.

“Yeah, just coming to find the rest of you guys,” I agree, noting the markings through his mask.

It’s taken a little while to work out which mask is which person, and it’s more than a little irritating to note that Leo was the one who helped me with the drunk guy last minute during the clear-up. I can’t tell whether that pisses me off more because he’s been helpful this entire time, or because I didn’t realise it was him.

The four of us walk quickly to the building in question, keeping the conversation, and therefore noise, to a minimum so we don’t disturb anyone. The buildings are easy to get into, the codes written down by Wyatt after less than three minutes in the system. And we could have had access to all the apartments, and probably a shit load more, had we needed them, but it seemed like a much higher risk of someone being up and about if we were inside the apartments; not worth the risk.

But for this guy, it’s worth it.

Oliver rubs his hands together excitedly as the door lock changes from red to green, the handle giving way easily.

Wyatt takes one bedroom door, looking for the man in question but shaking his head as he waits there. I take the second one, still not finding the guy we’re looking for as Jacob and Oliver pass, heading to the only place he could be.

Leo waits on the apartment door, keeping a lookout, as Emmerson waits downstairs for Taylor and Jasper to finally arrive. Time seems to slow as the two of them slip into the remaining bedroom, leaving the door open.

The commotion kicks off just seconds later, disturbing the rest of the guys in the apartment. One tries to burst past Wyatt, but he takes care of it, the same way the other two attempt to get past me, briefly.

The adrenaline kick is like nothing in this world as we go from the sacred silence of the middle of the night to all out war. I almost want one of these guys to kick off just so I can remind them who the fuck we are, but they already know.

Clearly not as mouthy as their housemates are, the two of them sit on the edge of their beds, anxiously looking past me and trying to work out what the hell is going on and why. The seconds tick on, the shouting dying down, and just when I think it must be over, Jacob’s panicked voice calls out, “Bro.”

A quick glance at Leo shows he’s already moving towards me, ready to take my place as I move swiftly to Jacob. It turns out, commotion isn’t quite the right word, chaos is probably closer. Jacob has the roommate pinned to the bed and going nowhere, despite his attempts, but it’s the lack of movement in the guy below Oliver’s rhythmic punches that is the concern as I follow Jacob’s gaze.

“Woah, there,” I call, wrapping my arms around his chest and hauling Olly off the guy. “I think he got the message, bro.”

“You ever so much as fucking look at her again,” he screeches. “And you’ll be dead. Gone. Your parents won’t even recognise you when I’m finished.”I’m not sure they would now.

“Can you check him out?” I gesture to Leo with my head to the room I’ve just dragged Oliver out of while he’s still kicking and screaming, raring to go back and finish the guy off. “Just tell me he’s still fucking breathing,” I say quieter as he passes.

The two guys come from the room as Leo moves away, taking one look at Oliver covered in blood and practically foaming at the mouth before they think better of it and head back inside. They don’t know who it is, who any of us are, the masks doing their job and concealing our identities, but they know enough to stay the hell out of our way.

One of the guys from the other room peeks around Wyatt’s shoulder before scurrying away quickly, the door closing behind him as I release Oliver and his pacing begins.

“I should…” he says, taking a step towards the room I’ve just pulled him from.

“They’ve got it,” I placate, attempting to calm the raging beast as I block the way. “He understands.”

“Yeah, sure.” He nods, massaging the backs of his hands.

Leo stalks out, grabbing a hand towel from the side of the kitchen and throwing it at Oliver. “We need to move.” Jacob follows him from the room, but he’s not the only one as the roommate comes hurtling out after.

It’s like slow motion as Leo grips Jacob, pulling him behind him and getting right in the guy’s face, Wyatt’s phone ringing. And as I stand in front of Oliver, attempting to keep him out of any further arguments, we come to a stand-off.

“If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll give you one, but you never sneak up on someone from behind,” Leo growls.

“But it’s okay to attack someone sleeping?” the guy snaps, getting up in Leo’s face.

“That’s our queue to leave, the boys are out.” Wyatt intervenes quickly, the tension in the room amping up.

“He was more than awake,” Oliver starts, ready to throw down again as he attempts to barge past me. “He knows exactly what the hell this is about.”

Jacob nods, stepping out from behind Leo. “You were there just like I was, and you know damn well he was awake and with it. We’re not sneaking up on anyone in their sleep or praying on women who are trapped and alone.”

The sound of sirens nears, and we’re all more than aware that’s our queue to get the fuck out of here, but the roommate doesn’t seem inclined to break Leo’s stare or let this go. I pull Oliver back, pushing him towards the open doorway as Jacob takes another step around Leo, hitting the guy squarely under the jaw and snapping his head back.

He does down like a sack of shit as we all move towards the exit, quickly and quietly. Leo calls out, “Get some towels and get pressure on his nose,” as we leave.

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