Devil You Know (The Diavolo Crime Family 2)

All the gentle, non-sexual intimacy we’ve built over the last month or so will be tainted by her father’s death. Marred by it, and I don’t know if I can allow it.

Either way, I lose. If I kill him myself, she will cut me out of her heart. If she kills him, then she’ll regret it for the rest of her life.

24

Celia

I’ve taken to listening to the hand radio that Nic gave me before his first meeting. Sort of the way hobbyists listen to police scanners. The security team chatters on the radios all day, and I get some good gossip. It’s how I learned which of the security guards has a crush on Sarah. And exactly how I will convince her to make me a cheesecake later.

I’m smiling into my book as I devise my plan. The library is quiet, and no one usually bothers me here except Nic. It’s getting late in the day, and I’m surprised he hasn’t hunted me down yet.

Things have been a little strained lately, between us stressing about each other’s safety and the eventuality of what comes next.

Voices cut through the radio, and I try to focus as they talk over each other. It’s a jumbled mess until one of the senior guards orders everyone to shut up and listen.

I can make out his gruff voice despite the static. “All men in position. Team one after Lucas, be advised, he’s likely already lost to the enemy. Soo and Nic are hunting him now. Fucking idiot waltzed into a trap.”

No. Maybe this is a training exercise? I sit upright from where I have been lying on the couch and race out of the room.

Nic isn’t in his office or the bedroom. And I don’t need to look further because, in my heart, I know neither he nor Soo are in the house.

Anger flashes through me. I throw open the closet door, find a pair of jeans, boots, and a jacket. Even as I curse him, I’m thinking about how upset Nic will be when he arrives home and doesn’t find me here.

Yeah, almost exactly how I’m feeling right now. Why wouldn’t he tell me he was leaving? No. I know the answer to this—because of what I’m about to do. And what I’ll do next to stop my father from killing the last of the family I have left.

If my father took Lucas, there is only one place they will go, and there’s no way Nic or Soo will know about it.

I sit on the edge of the bed and listen hard to the radio, trying to make out any more details. The voices sound mostly the same through the static, but I don’t hear Nic’s voice at all amongst the chaos.

Betrayal is a strange beast. If he finds my father, he’ll surely kill him. Even though he promised me I could be the one to end my father’s miserable life. I can’t fault him for wanting to save his brother, my brother, but I also hate the thought that he can disregard a promise made to me so easily. Not that I believed for one second he meant to keep his word when the time comes. I’ve just always had hope that I can convince him in the moment.

So far, they aren’t having any luck at my family’s mansion; the guards think it’s been mostly deserted—only a few staff members and my mother remain. Once they finish looking through the house and the garage, where will they turn? And how much time does Lucas have before my father gets bored with waiting on Nic to show up to save him? My father is a smart man, and no doubt, took Lucas to lure Nic into making a move before he’s ready.

This is the exact reason Nic should have let me come along. He should have said something to me. I know how my father’s fucked up mind works, and I know that no matter where my father goes, it will include a trap for those who come looking for him.

I can’t sit around and wait any longer for my father to kill Lucas, or worse, Nic, when he walks into a trap.

Nic’s office door is still open when I enter. It only takes a few seconds to hunt down some paper and a pen. Then I scribble out a note to Nic. It’s not enough, not nearly enough, to explain how I feel about him—both my love and my hate. I hover the pen over the note and pause, unsure if I should reveal everything. What if I don’t come back from this? It hurts me to think he wouldn’t know.

I add a P.S. and wince as I write it, thinking about how angry he will be when he discovers it. Luckily, I’ll be gone before that happens, and if I survive, he can punish me for it later.