The Devil I Crave (Devil's Knights 2)

“This is a tough situation,” he confessed. “Marcello has to wake up on his own.”

“Do you think he will?”

“I’m optimistic.” He held me at an arms’ length. “But you need to prepare yourself for the possibility of him never waking up.”

“Pops,” I groaned. “I can’t do this if he doesn’t… Not after everything I’ve gone through with Aiden. This place… It’s too much.”

He released a breath.

Before Pops could respond, I heard a familiar voice whisper my name, and my pulse raced.

Luca

The world stopped at the sound of his voice. Alex’s head snapped toward Marcello. Chairs scraped across the tiled floor, and the Knights stepped forward in unison. They stood in a straight line several feet from Marcello’s bed. That was how we moved, how we operated. We were a team, a unit, and nothing could break our bond.

When I was younger, I fought to make friends with them. Even when my mother had insisted, I wasn’t fond of the idea of friendship. I didn’t like needing people. My father had instilled the importance of trusting myself, relying on myself. And so I’d distanced myself from everyone but my family.

After my initiation into The Devil’s Knights, I realized I needed them as much as they needed me. The shit we had endured together bonded us in ways that exceeded the bonds of friendship. We were closer than blood, like brothers in every way. Sure, we still had our disagreements, but we would kill for each other, die for each other.

And we all agreed on one thing.

We had to protect our queen at all costs.

My father blew past them and stood beside Marcello’s bed with his hands shoved into his pockets. His usual vacant stare scrolled across his tired face, though I could tell he was pleased. My father rarely showed emotion, and by watching him, I’d learned how to conceal my own. So did my brothers.

Carl Wellington snapped his fingers to gain the nurse’s attention and then moved toward the side of the bed with the monitors.

“Alex,” Marcello whispered, his eyes still closed. His voice was raw and even scratchier when he repeated her name.

Of all the names, it had to be hers.

Go fucking figure.

She rushed over to him.

For ten years, Alex was all mine. My perfect, beautiful angel who made even the darkest days seem like heaven. But as I watched her with Marcello, my heart sank to my stomach. A foreign feeling stirred in my belly, the same one I’d felt earlier.

Jealousy.

After the nurses checked his vitals, Carl waved Alex forward. She held Marcello’s hand against the mattress. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught The Knights staring at me. They were all waiting for my reaction. Well, fuck them. I wasn’t giving them shit, not after my little outburst that started a fight between Drake and me.

I could never allow them to see me weakened, especially not by a sassy, crazy girl who made me lose control. She was the cure for my madness and the constant thorn in my side. My queen would probably be the death of the Knights and me. But fuck, she was worth every bit of trouble.

Alex leaned over the side of Marcello’s bed and held his hand against the mattress. My brother stared up at her like she ruled his world—because she did. She was the center of our universe, the cure for our family’s curse.

“I thought I lost you.” Alex brushed her thumb over his cheek, a big smile on her beautiful face. “You scared me to death.” She blew out a deep breath and licked her lips. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got shot,” he muttered.

He attempted a smile, but he looked like he was in a shit ton of pain. Marcello winced, then turned his head away from Alex. My brother was like me. He didn’t want us to see him at his weakest point. Alex thought of him as indestructible, her hero.

She sat beside him, and he moved his hand to her thigh like they were lovers. How often did they sit like this? They looked so fucking comfortable with each other. She smiled and whispered something I couldn’t make out from this distance.

Anger swirled inside me like a volcano about to erupt. Teeth gritted, I shoved my hands into my pockets. I wanted to grab her by the hair and pull her off my brother’s bed, but I shoved down the rage, tried to contain it.

My dad moved to my side, his jacket sleeve brushing my arm. “What’s going on with Marcello and Alexandrea?”

“Nothing,” I lied.

He shook his head in disapproval. “You’re losing your grip on her. Need I remind you of the importance of this union?”

“No. She’s mine,” I said, though my words lacked confidence.

Was she still mine?

I felt her slowly slipping away from me. Alex had grown closer to my brother over the past few weeks because they were always together. He had protected her when I couldn’t be there to save her. I’d watched the video of them in her bedroom at least a dozen times. She had the sweetest look on her face as she begged him to touch her.