Still, at Devil Tower, everyone, whether they grew up in Astley or not, clearly knows Piper Day is about to die at Damien Wells’ hands.
“I heard your name in passing,” she hesitates. “Damien mentioned you.” She stares at me in sudden suspicion. “How do you know him?”
“I don’t.” The whole situation feels absurd. I lie my throbbing head down on my hands. “He wants me dead, and I have no idea why.”
She’s still in the room moments later when I look back up. Even in the fog, I can tell she looks upset.
“Who’s Damien to you?” I ask. “Who are you, anyway?”
She hesitates again, weighing her words as if she’s not used to talking much. “Seraphina,” she says at last. “And Damien… well…” she swallows, then concludes in a low voice, “I love him.”
I can’t help but snort. “So you’re in love with a killer.”
So am I, I think the next second, but the words are already out.
But she doesn’t seem upset.
“I guess so,” she sighs. “But I didn’t think he would… kill someone like you.”
“Someone like me,” I echo. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Someone… like us,” she murmurs, closing the distance between us, and I suddenly understand.
A young woman who never did a thing. A helpless girl whose only crime was being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
“Who hurt you?” she asks, eyeing my bruises.
“No one. I don’t know. Can’t you help me?”
I choke out the words as she kneels in front of me, adding in a broken voice, “Please, Seraphina.”
She looks like she really wants to, but still, she’s hesitating. I try to telegraph to her all my desperation, but her eyes are no longer on mine. She stares down at the cuffs chained to the desk, deep in thought.
But before she can do a thing, the door opens again, and Damien walks back in, followed by Igor.
When he sees her, he looks annoyed.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you.”
“Well, here I am.” He brings his hands up to her cheeks, and in that moment, I know it’s useless.
I recognize the look of adoration in her eyes as he plants a soft kiss on her, because it’s the same look I used to give Quill.
The look that says,I will go anywhere with you. I will do anything for you. And I will look the other way for you.
I close my eyes, tired of this constant roller coaster of emotions. Then one last pinprick of hope enters my mind.
“Goodbye, Seraphina,” I call after her, as Damien leads her away. “Tell Logan I said goodbye!”
Damien closes the door, and I breathe easier, seeing Igor hasn’t come in with him. Then the Devil CEO faces me, staring at me in a mix of confusion and anger. “What the fuck was that?You know my girl’s name?”
Not such a gentleman after all, I tell myself, as he walks toward me, clearly seething. “Why the fuck did you just have my girl’s name in your mouth?”
His hand wraps itself around my neck, but he doesn’t squeeze. He just stands before me, letting me feel the full height and breadth of him.
He definitely gives Quill a run for his money in the muscle department.
