Page 49 of Ruined By a Devil

Malachi nods, grabbing a grey towel off the bench, wiping the sweat from his neck and chest before tossing it aside. “Good.”

“Are you going to interrogate him tonight?” Josh asks.

“Yes,” Malachi replies as he looks down at me, his gaze completely composed. “Go back upstairs and get some sleep, Jade. Milo will be in charge of security while I’m away, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Can I come with you to Eden?” I get up to my feet, ready to put on any piece of clothing and storm out of that door with Malachi.

“That’s not a place for you to be tonight.” He turns to face me and for a moment I can see that warmth from earlier in his eyes. “You’re the safest when you’re here, and I want you to be safe.”

“Okay,” I nod, even though the idea of only being safe behind locked doors is becoming more and more uncomfortable every day.

Malachi

“The club is empty,” Josh informs me as I cut the ignition of my Mercedes and we both step out into the cold night air behind Eden.

“That’s good.” An empty club means I don’t have to hold myself back during the interrogation.

I didn't bother changing before I left the house so I’m still in my black sweatpants, sneakers, and a grey hoodie pulled up over my head I smell faintly of sweat and the floral perfume Jade was wearing on the mats.

My hands rest heavy in the front pocket of the hoodie. The memory of her sitting between my legs, her hands buried in my wet hair, still lingers like a phantom burn against my skin.

She didn't pity me.

She didn't look at me like I was broken, and she didn't try to use the moment to push her way inside my head. I’m not used to people not trying to get something from me. But Jade? She just held me and for the first time in two years, the noise in my head stopped. The smell of rust, salt, and stale blood that usually fills my throat whenever I think about the time I spent being held captive. disappeared. It all vanished for that brief moment while she held me.

And the realization makes my chest feel tight in a way that I don’t understand.

Before I lose myself trying to understand what is going on with my heart, I push the door to the interrogation room open and step inside. Josh immediately joins Lucas, who is standing near the wall, his arms crossed over his chests.

In the center of the room, illuminated by a single overhead bulb, a kid in a black leather jacket is duct-taped securely to a heavy wooden chair. He’s young, maybe twenty-one, and his helmet is tossed onto the floor beside him. I notice how much he’s sweating, his eyes wide and bloodshot, as he is shaking while he’s looking around the room.

I walk up slowly, stopping three feet in front of him before I speak. “Who gave you the box?”

“I don't know, man! I swear to God, I don't know!” The kid stammers, his voice cracking. “I just do dead-drops for a courier app! I got a ping to pick up a sealed parcel from a locker at the bus station and drop it at your gate! That's it! I swear!”

I step closer, the cold concrete under my sneakers giving off no sound. The realization that Nolan Devlin sent an anonymous kid, knowing I would trace it, makes me sick to my stomach. He’s a lot more twisted than I gave him credit for.

I study the face of the courier, observing how every cell in his body reeks of genuine fear. The urge to break this kid’s jaw just to bleed off the residual rage spikes hot in my blood, but it’s useless.

“Look at this photo,” I say, pulling the phone from my pocket and holding up a picture of Nolan Devlin. “Did you ever see this man?”

“No!” The kid squints through his tears, shaking his head frantically. “I never saw nobody! The cash was taped to the inside of the locker! Five hundred bucks to make the drop and turn my phone off!”

“You’re going to give my friend here the exact location that happened,” I step into his space, leaning down until my face is inches from his. “And they’re going to check the security cameras to see if you’re telling the truth.”

“I’m telling the truth, I swear!”

“Then you won’t have problems doing what I just said,” I continue.

“I’ll do anything, just please, man,” He snorts. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

It’s obvious that he’s telling the truth. He’s just a random clueless idiot caught in the middle of a war he doesn't understand.

“If I ever see your face on my street again,” I whisper, “I'll pull your teeth out one by one and mail them to your mother. Do you understand me?”

The kid nods violently. “Yes! Yes, sir! I swear!”

“Once you confirm his story, cut him loose,” I tell Lucas, turning my back on the biker. “Throw him in the alley. If he tells anyone about any of this, track him down and throw him in the river.”