Page 56 of The Villain

Despite Rhys’s anger, he reached out to steady me, his hands settling on my shoulders. “Hey, you need to sit down.” The anger faded from his voice. “You’re gonna pass out, Cian. Come on.”

He helped me sink back down onto the edge of the bed. My head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Jace still hadn’t moved from the doorway, and the betrayal on his face pierced me to my core. I remembered hearing his broken voice during the few moments when I’d been lucid.

“Jace,” I whispered, and I lifted a hand to motion him closer.

He shook his head, and my gut twisted. Then, without a word, he turned and left. I felt his absence like a slap. A raging, angry Jace was easy to deal with. A betrayed, silent Jace was something else entirely.

This whole situation was so fucked up.

I glanced up at Rhys, who continued to glare at me with a mix of pity and disgust. I’d explain Devlin later. Right now, I had to think about the crew. And I knew Rhys would put his anger aside for them.

“Tell Hack to check the warehouse security cameras. Someone shot me as soon as I opened the door, then broke in through the windows. They tried to find me, but Devlin hid us in the crawl space.” My head was pounding now, and I rubbed my temples. “We’ll have a meeting with the officers later.”

Rhys nodded tightly, like I knew he would. There was a lot more to say, but that would come later. I still had to tell him Devlin didn’t kill Patrick and explain why no one could touch him. Not ever again. Otherwise, I might burn down my own house and everyone in it.

I turned to find Devlin still watching me, his bloodied fingers fisting the sheet. He had to be in agony.

You’re not alone. I’m right here.

If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his slim fingers laced with mine. My devil hadn’t left me alone in the dark. Evenafter everything I’d done to him. He’d stayed loyal to me. He’dcomfortedme.

Did he really think I’d just leave him without a fight? I wouldn’t die that easily. Devlin had no idea what he’d done. I’d sunk my claws into him now, and I wasn’t letting go for fucking anything.

Another figure stepped into the doorway and drew my attention. Familiar gray hair pulled into a tight bun. Scrubs and a T-shirt that read “I’m Everyone’s Type” in different fonts. Dr. Bev took in the scene with her usual aplomb, brown eyes surveying Devlin’s bloody body and my weak-ass self. Rhys remained standing near the bed, all puffed up like an angry grizzly.

Dr. Bev placed a hand on his shoulder—a reach for someone her size. “Looks like I’ll be here until after dinner. Could you get me some birria tacos from that one place in town? And an extra-large Diet Coke. Thanks.” She stepped farther into the room and snapped on a pair of blue latex gloves.

“Okay, who needs to be seen first?”

SIXTEEN

Devlin

When Cian found me in that room, it was the first time he’d called me by my name. His voice had cut through the fog of pain and self-pity like claws through flesh. I’d never forget the way he sounded. Like his heart was breaking.

Dr. Bev, as Cian called her, worked with military precision and had access to equipment I knew cost a fortune. I scratched at the cast on my left arm—some purple lattice thing she’d claimed was a new waterproof design. The injury was only a fracture, not a complete break, so luckily I wouldn’t need surgery.

She’d also given me IV fluids, restoring some much-needed hydration. I’d been locked in that room for what felt like days, and I hadn’t touched the protein bars or water bottles they’d thrown at me.

I hadn’t been fully in control of my mind during my time in that room. I’d been nearly delirious with pain, my head throbbing in time with the echo of Cian’s fading heartbeats. I’d heard his broken confession and mourned that his final moments were spent trapped in what he hated most.The dark.

Cian. My lion king. A man who never backed down, who could beat people—and life itself—into submission. He was scared of the dark, because his father had been a monster. And not being able to give him light in those final moments haunted me.

The door to his apartment finally clicked shut, leaving Cian and me alone for the first time since our night in the warehouse. I sat propped up by a few pillows in Cian’s massive bed, watching as he leaned his forehead against the door and heaved a heavy sigh. Finally, he turned around. Our eyes met and held. I wasn’t sure what to say to fill the silence. I didn’t even know where we stood. That night had changed both of us, but I didn’t know how. I needed Cian to take charge and tell me what came next, but the uncertainty in his eyes made my hands shake.

“You should lie down,” I suggested.

His expression changed immediately, hardening into a look I knew well. Cian only grunted before stalking into the kitchen and grabbing a tray I hadn’t noticed on the counter. He carried it into the bedroom and placed it on the nightstand beside me. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed, close to my hip. He held up a mason jar filled with what looked like muddy creek water and pressed a straw to my lips.

I turned my head away like a child being forced to take medicine. “Eww. What the fuck is that?”

“Bone broth,” he said. “Drink it.”

“I don’t?—”

“Shut. Up. Devlin.” His jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. “I swear to God. Just shut the fuck up and eat. That’s the only thing I want your mouth doing right now.”

Shut up and eat.