Page 53 of Ruined By a Devil

“It gets better,” Levi adds, cutting off a piece of bread and tossing it onto his plate. He looks over at Jade with a lazy smirk. “I swung by his place to drop off the shipment files and saw him in the kitchen personally making sure to prepare coffee for Jade the way she likes it. He looked like he’s solving a puzzle.”

“I was making coffee for myself, too,” I say, setting my knife down a little harder than necessary against the china.

But Jade seems entertained by all of this and she leans her forearm on the edge of the table next to me. I can feel her eyes on the side of my face, filled with amusement. She’s enjoying this. She loves watching me lose my grip on control over something completely harmless.

I pick up my glass, taking a sip from my drink just to keep from telling my brothers to shut their mouths. I hate being the center of attention in this room and I hate them picking the tight handle I keep on my life apart.

Beside me, Jade lets out a small, quiet laugh. The sound is soft, and I feel her hand lightly touch my knee under the table. Her fingers press firmly into the fabric of my pants, a subtle, teasing warmth that makes my heart skip a beat, even though I would never admit it to anyone.

“Let him live, guys,” Riley says, smiling at Jade. “He's just trying to be a good host. You should learn from him.”

“He's never been a good host to anyone,” Zeke says, his gaze moving from me to Jade. “In fact, Mal here has never brought a woman into our family space before. Not to his house, not to the penthouse, not anywhere.”

I freeze, my hand tightening slightly around the stem of my glass. The table goes quiet for a fraction of a second and for the first time in my life, I’m tempted to tell my older brother to fuck off.

I don't need to look at Jade to feel the sudden change in her posture beside me. Her hand on my knee goes entirely still and that’s the only reaction I get from her. She is a Moretti, raised to hide every flicker of emotion behind a smooth, flawless mask, but I can still feel the shift. The news hits her no matter how hard she’s trying to hide it.

A part of me feels offended at the realization that she had such a low opinion of me. She probably thought she was just another name on my list, another woman in my bed. She didn't realize that bringing her here, putting her at this table with my blood, was something I have never done for anyone else.

She slowly pulls her hand back from my leg, taking her wine glass and resting her elbows on the table. Her face is completely composed, but her shoulders are tight.

“Well,” Jade says, her voice steady as she looks around the table at my brothers. “I suppose I should feel honored to be the first.”

“You should,” Elijah says, his grin softening just a little. “He usually keeps his private life locked in a vault.”

“So private that we were starting to worry he was all work and no fun,” Levi laughs.

I ignore them and glance sideways at Jade. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, acting like Zeke's words didn't just strip away a layer of protection between us. She knows now that she isn't just a business deal to me and no matter how hard I try to pretend otherwise, I can't take it back.

“What was that package you received last night, Malachi?” Zeke suddenly changes the topic and I don’t know if I prefer to have them tease me for how I treat Riley, or talking about the little gift Nolan left me.

“It was nothing important,” I reply, my hand tightening around my glass, hoping he’ll drop the subject.

“Josh didn’t seem to think so,” my brother continues.

“Remind me to fire him when I get back to the office,” I don’t lift my head from the plate in front of me, as if avoiding eye contact with Zeke will somehow help me keep this under control.

“You don’t have to fire him,” Zeke responds. “He didn’t tell me anything, but he looked terrified when I questioned him.”

“As he should.”

“Malachi,” Zeke places his glass on the table with a loud thud. “What was in the box?”

“A rusted iron link,” I say flatly. “Snapped off a heavy chain.”

Beside me, I feel Jade’s breath hitch, but she stays silent.

It doesn’t take Ezekiel long to connect the dots. I raise my head to look at him and his eyes meet me with nothing short of a wild rage. He slams his hand down on the table, causing the plates to jump, glass to ring, and silver utensils to rattle against the china.

“That bastard,” Zeke growls, as he stands up from his chair. His chair legs scrape loudly against the floor. “He's taunting us. He's throwing it in our faces.”

“Zeke,” Riley speaks softly as she reaches up and places her small hand over his forearm, her fingers pressing into his tense muscle.

Zeke turns his head toward her, following the sound of her voice. His breathing is heavy and his face dark with bloodlust.

“Look at me,” Riley continues, her voice steady and calm, cutting right through his storm. “It’s okay.”

Zeke stares at her for two long seconds before letting out a harsh breath. He slowly lowers himself back into his seat, but his eyes never lose that edge full of danger. Riley keeps her hand on his arm, stroking his skin gently with her thumb.