“Shut up, Liam,” says Dane again, louder.
My hand is shaking so hard around my beer bottle I have to squeeze it to keep from dropping it.
“What?” says Liam. “I didn’t say anything. Did I, Quill? If you’re running short on ideas, I could help you out. I’d just love to bully Piper Day. Bet she’d look good with a cock in her mouth—”
The beer bottle explodes in my fist, and all three of us stare down at the bloody shards for a beat. Then I stand up so abruptly my chair falls back, and I walk outside.
I don’t know how I managed it. How I managed not to throw a punch.
Probably because I realized that if I threw one, I’d throw another. And another. I’d never stop.
It’s not that I care about killing Liam, because for all the happiness I thought I derived from feeling like he was my friend, my brother even, the minute the insect’s name was on his tongue, he was dead to me. And so was Dane, for being in the same vicinity at that moment.
Still,actuallykilling either of them would be a huge inconvenience. There would probably be legal ramifications and maybe I’d even go to jail. Dad would beat the fucking shit out of me, that’s for sure. I’d lose my place in Devil Army, and that would suck, because where else would I be able to kill people without getting in trouble over it?
But Devil only allows you to kill the people they’ve selected. If you go on your own killing rampage, you’re on your own.
I walk toward my bike, taking deep breaths. I’m a bit calmer, but I don’t trust myself to go back in there yet, and I have a feeling the boys will come out looking for me soon. I can’t have that either. It’s going to take me all of tonight to get over this. If I do get over it. Maybe I won’t entirely, but at least, I’ll get myself under control.
I rev up the bike and soon I’m speeding home. When I arrive, I see a few text messages on my phone.
Liam: Sorry, man. Didn’t realize I crossed the line. Hands off.
Dane: He gets it now. No problem, mate. She’s yours.
That’s fucking right she is. I go inside, still shaking with barely repressed anger, and head to my room. I delete the fucking messages and fall down on my bed.
It’s only then that the situation suddenly strikes me as weird.
Liam’s supposed to be my friend, but the only thing that kept me from killing him was the consequences. Going to prison, getting beat up by Dad, losing my place in Devil Army.
I always figured I hated the insect, but the one thing that keeps me from killing her is… well, that I really don’t want to.
What kind of a weird fucked-up psychopath am I?
15
Quill
Present Day
Destroy. Obey. Kill.
I barely repress an eye roll as I open the dramatic-looking envelope and read the inscription inside it.
I wonder what it says about me that I find Devil Army, the biggest and most bloodthirsty secret society on the East Coast, to be cringe?
“Better be a juicy contract,” says Liam, lounging on the couch beside me. “Still haven’t forgiven them for giving their best contract this year to Angel.”
“I’m sure they’re desperate to get back in your good graces,” scoffs Dane, and Liam chucks a cushion at him.
I clench my jaw to keep from snapping at the both of them. I’m aware that this joking little tiff between them is how friends are supposed to act, but I can’t help but find it grating.
Still, I also know that having friends has kept me from falling off the deep end. Sometimes it scares me to think what I might be doing with my time if I weren’t spending it with them.
They really saved me after what happened with the insect, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that.
“Well? Who is it?” questions Dane, taking a swig of his beer and nodding at the card inside the envelope.
