The Devil's Revenge (The Devil's Eyes) (2 page)
“What are you asking, better yet, what are you wanting?” I meet his eyes with determination.
“Nick had great skills, no doubt, but you have some skills of your own. Nick came to me because I have skills that he needed and I believe those same skills can still be valuable to the Jayzon business. Likewise, I believe I can use your skills for my business.” Estrella’s movements and emotions are sincere, which again shocks me but doesn’t make me a believer.
“You want to work together again? Well that is unexpected but I will surprise you and say I will consider an offer and I will meet you with an open mind but I will not make any guarantees. I will contact you in a few days to …” Estrella touches my arm with a shake of his head.
“No - I will contact you. It is best for both of us that way, trust me.” Nodding he responds to me with a forced, charming smile, “I will contact you soon then.” An exciting feeling passes through me, but I am unsure of what the new information means.
I have been after Estrella because I was sure he was responsible for killing Nick, but now I wonder if I have been after the puppet rather than the puppeteer. Estrella casually walks through the crowd of people, flirting with beautiful women and shaking hands with man after man. Nothing unusual, except he doesn’t seem to be enjoying it. The man that always enjoyed the parties and the attention is forcing a smile and notoriously flirtatious nature. Gazing across the room I begin to search for the missing piece to this puzzle. There has to be a reason Estrella feels he needs to put on such a show. My eyes scan the room as I greet and smile at people, searching and searching until I find him. Searching low, then high up on the open floor above, I come eye to eye with Senator Spencer Welch, the former district attorney that was so determined to put Nick in jail. The man stares at me boldly and with a ruthless determination that makes my muscles tighten. I glance back at Estrella and watch his eyes dance around until they catch sight of Welch. Estrella’s sigh echoes loudly, leaving me no doubts.
“Lionel, don’t pull up too close. I want to watch without her knowing I am here.” I say, studying Lena’s house closely.
“He isn’t exactly going to just walk out the front door you know?” Lionel says, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
I hum in agreement. I am right but I am unsure how to get to the truth. Nick is alive, and if anyone knows how to find him,
she
does. There is no mistaking the devil’s eyes on that woman. I saw them the moment she was angered, the darkness swirling to the forefront instantly trying to control me. She mistakenly thought she could intimidate me. “Alright, Lionel, let’s go home.” As soon as we start to leave, I feel a strange sensation come over me. “Wait!” I yell stopping him. I jump out of the car and run up to the door, determined to barge through any barrier.
When the door swings open, I look up and see Brady. “Kayla?” He said obviously surprised by my presence.
“Hi. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here.” I said, pushing my way in and searching the room for any signs of Nick.
“Come in.” He said, sarcastically. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to her, and I am not leaving until I do.” I demand, with a hardened posture.
“Oh – kay? Honey, there is someone here to see you.” Brady said, passing Lena as she enters the room already huffing.
“Kayla, I would appreciate it if you would stop coming over here unannounced. I don’t know what …” She stops midsentence as I walk up to her fearlessly.
Steaming, but controlled, I glare into her eyes. “I know who you are. And I know you know where he is.” I pause, trying to keep control of the rage inside me. Despite the darkness forming in her eyes I stand strong, using the skills I learned to stand up to Nick. With these skills I am able to stand up even taller against her. “You tell him … you tell him I know and I am not going to stop looking for him.”
“Kayla, you really need to seek help!” Lena yells at me.
“I want my husband back!” I yell, glancing at Brady as I walk out of the house. I can’t feel anything but sorrow and pain as I ride home. Every day it’s like he died again. I fear never seeing him again, but most of all I fear I am crazy and trying to hold onto a ghost.
After putting Nicky to bed, I wait … and I watch and I wait some more. Every day I work as usual, burying myself in it so I don’t think about him. But, at the end of each day, I am always waiting … for him. Even tonight, staring out the window, I watch for him, expecting him to feel my pain and come running – like he always did. He loves me, he has always loved me, and would never let me hurt like this. Nick has been my hero more than once, even risked his own life to save mine. How could he possibly leave me here alone, lost and in pain …
if he was alive
.
Ryan walks up behind me, waiting for me to turn. With a deep sigh and a shake of his head, I know what he is thinking without him saying a word. “You have to get over him.” He says, taking hold of my arms.
“I need him.” I say, trying to leave his grasp but he pulls me to his chest and holds me so tight that I exhale from the comfort.
“Baby, I wish I could bring him back for you but I can’t. No one can. You have to find a way to move on, for Nicky if nothing else.” I look up at him and he leans down kissing me gently on the lips. “You irritate the hell out of me, but I love you and I would do anything for you.” I see Ryan, but I struggle not to see Nick in his eyes. My loneliness begins to control me. Feeling the need creep up from my toes to my hands, I begin tracing the lines of his bare chest. Ryan kisses me harder, fondling me and tugging at my shirt. I pull my shirt off over my head and Ryan goes wild. His hands take hold of me and position me on the sofa to please his rising desire. His muscles flex as he makes himself more comfortable on top of me.
“Ryan?” I question, with doubt swirling around me.
“Just let it happen.” He says, kissing my breasts, squeezing them against his face and moaning in satisfaction against my nipples. Pushing my pants down and stripping me completely, he feels up my legs roughly to pull them to either side of him. His pants are pushed down quickly and his throbbing erection protrudes to lie on my bare stomach, twitching with expectation.
“Ryan I don’t think this is a good idea,” I gasp.
“It’s okay, I love you … we belong together. Nick would have wanted us together … right?” He exhales, smiling at me confidently. Ryan caresses my face back to his and takes in my lips as he massages my breast and presses his erection against me. It feels so wrong, but I do love him, and if I can’t have Nick, then Ryan … I kiss him back and Ryan smiles happily.
SHRILACK!
The loud, abrupt sound causes us both to jump up in shock. Ryan runs to seek out the cause of the noise while I cover myself up and wipe the regret from my face. “A picture frame fell off the table in the hall.” He says, looking away from me, already redressing himself. “Now, don’t freak out please, but it was your wedding picture.” We both look at each other with knowing expressions. “What are we doing? I love you Kayla, and as much as I think I could make you happy, I don’t think you will ever see
me
. You will only ever see him and that’s not fair to either of us. We are both lonely right now, and I think that’s clouding our judgment more than anything.” Sinking his head and laughing he continues, “My judgment. I know I have been pursuing you. You’re a beautiful, sexy woman Kayla. It’s hard to ignore, but I do love my brother and even though he is gone I beat myself up every time I kiss you or look at you or dream about fucking you.” Ryan glances up at me as he starts to leave, “I am going to go on a date tomorrow night. I need … I need to remind myself there are other women besides you.” Ryan kisses me on the head and leaves me alone …
alone again
.
What the hell was I thinking?
I shake my head all the way into my room, relieved we were interrupted before it was too late.
I wanted her … damn I wanted her but not for the right reasons.
Before I start thinking about her sexy body and soft hair touching my skin again, I head for a cold shower and try to wash my yearning for her out of my head. Feeling better, I leave the bathroom sensing a disturbance in my room. I instantly notice my cell has been moved from my table to the bed. Slowly, I look down at the flashing cell as a message comes in …
Did the shower help?
I grab my gun and turn, bracing to meet the shadow coming at me. My gun flies across the floor as I take a blow to the jaw but am able to land a solid hit of my own. Fearing for Kayla and Nicky, I rush to get to them and sound an alarm for the guards.
“Ryan.” A rough voice calls out to me. I turn towards the shadow as he halts our fight with a stance I know well. Suddenly I begin to question my guilt and my sanity.
I watch Kayla closely as she sits down. She forces a warm smile in my direction and I return the favor, allowing her to get back to business as usual. She is obviously distracted, thinking too much about Nick and not enough about the mission at hand. She was doing so well but now she worries me. I can understand her obsession, Nick haunted me most of last night. But now we both have to get our heads on straight. We are under attack and on the verge of a huge win, but we can’t do it without Kayla. Since she took over, she has been nothing but brilliant. She has made several profitable business moves, many of which I would have never done. But she saw something, and it ended up paying off big.
Since Dawson and his buddy floated to the shore, Estrella’s confidence has taken a major hit. The police have been all over us since the bodies were discovered. They have no evidence to prove anything, and Estrella certainly isn’t going to tell them what his men were doing. All we have to do now is drive a stake into his heart and kill the beast for good.
“Estrella wants to talk.” Kayla announces. The news is not a surprise to me, but Kayla’s expression is. She is considering it. “I want to talk to him and see what he has to say. I think there is something he wants to tell me, something we have been missing until now.” Distracted and worn down by grief, she is obviously not deciding based on what she
knows
to be true but what she
wants
to be true. She is forcing my hand, and I know she will hate me for it, but I have no choice. As much I hate it, I have to work behind her back and do what Nick would do. Kayla excuses herself and goes to see to other business while I decide that I need to meet my new, silent partner. Calling him on the sly, I make plans to work out our business at a meeting place we use to frequent years ago.
He emerges from the shadows wearing a dark coat, gloves and a raised hood. As he approaches me, his tenacious eyes become clear. Lamont Cranston is the name he texted me.
The shadow? – Real funny asshole
. A slight nod and we immediately dive into business. “She’s distracted. I think she needs to know.” I say, watching him closely.
“No! She is followed wherever she goes. It’s best she continues like she has been, with everyone watching her. Then, no one will see me coming.” Cranston breathes with authority.
“Let’s get one thing straight, right now. This is a partnership. We both have to agree to everything, especially when it comes to Kayla and Nicky.” Before his powerful stance crosses to me, I lean in to him. “I don’t care what you have to say about this matter because nothing you can say will change my mind. They are my responsibility now and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that they stay safe.”