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Stacked along one wall were a wide variety of illegal items, banks of shelving units packed with boxes with foreign symbols stamped on them in the far corner. She paid little attention as Jackson helped her get Rey to a metal slab.
Rey wasn’t happy with the proceedings, but he let Devin fuss over him. He glowered at Jackson until the Beta mumbled a weak excuse and fled the basement, leaving them alone. Waiting until Devin’s adrenaline subsided, her hands shaking too much to do more than clutch at the side of the long metal table, Rey sat up. Waving away her squeaking protests, he dragged Devin up over his legs with his good arm until she perched on his thighs.
“Listen to me now, Devin,” he said in a measured tone that set her on edge, cupping her cheek and wiping his thumb over the trails of blood and tears. “Don’t you ever do something like that again. You do noteverput yourself between two Alphas, hear me?”
“He didn’t hurt me,” she whispered, though the delayed reaction to far too much fear coursed through her veins. Shock turned her skin icy, ragged breaths searing her throat. She found herself leaning into the solid strength of him, even in this weakened state. Some instinct knowing he’d keep her safe and warm while she fell apart.
“He could have done a lot more than that, sweetheart,” Rey rasped at her ear, voice tight and thick as he tugged Devin even closer. Wrapping both arms around her despite the odd angle of his left arm, Rey crushed her against his warmth and the low rumble of his voice.
“Maybe,” she admitted on a weary sigh.
“Why?”
“Why what? I put myself in the way of his next strike, of course he could have done worse than hit me.”
“No, sweetheart. Why’d you do it?” Rey cradled her chin, tipping Devin’s head back to meet her gaze. “That was a very brave, albeit foolish, thing to do for someone you claim to care nothing about.”
The elevator rumbling open saved Devin from answering. A harassed looking older man, Beau, and Jackson appeared. Disengaging from Rey’s hold, she stood off to the side and out of everyone’s way, feeling small and unimportant though Rey’s eyes never left her. Bracketed by crates of heavy artillery, she crossed her arms over her chest and refused to acknowledge his attention.
She could lie to him, but not to herself. There was no denying the strange pull she had towards him, the way he made her entire body light up, even outside of the sex. She refused to consider it mating, nothing as sweet as making love, but even in the throes of passion he made her feel incredible. In those quiet moments, even without the purr, she could relax against him. The disconcerting feeling of safety and warmth never far behind the strength of his embraces.
It changed nothing.
She could never forgive him for allowing what Beau had done to her. If he felt even a fraction of what he claimed, then how could he stand by and watch that? He had to have known the twisted cruelty of the man. They shared far more than a friendship. There was no way Beau could hide such violence for that long.
Sighing as the older man finished stitching Rey up and setting his arm, she stepped forward when Rey crooked a finger at her. They both pretended it didn’t hurt him to wrap his arm around her, that she didn’t hear his faint hiss of pain as the elevator lurched into motion. Devin remained stoic, unwilling to give his secret away. More than fear of what another Alpha would do sensing any weakness, she felt the ridiculous urge to soothe Rey’s pride.
An Alpha had caught him off guard and beaten him senseless in front of all his people before he’d gotten the upper hand. Wicked was Rey’s domain. To be brought low within its walls must have been humiliating.
Devin couldn’t understand why she cared so much, but she still twisted her upper body into his as the doors opened on the main floor. Curling around his torso, she acted the docile pet as Rey waded through the piles of rubble, his commanding orders sending his people into a flurry of motion. The illusion of an Alpha untouched by the violence wreaked within the four walls. She kept the act up as he led her outside to his car, waiting until they were pulling out onto the street before she leaned over to latch his seatbelt for him. A thinning of her lips her only concession to his thanks.
Back in his apartment, she dropped the farce.
“You need to lie down,” Devin grumbled as she veered around his bulk to block his path to the low couch.
“I’m fine.”
“You are not! And you’re bleeding again. Did you tear your stitches already?”
“Calm down,” Rey growled as he tried to go around her. He sighed when she quick stepped to block him again. “Kahler’s going to want answers. I have calls to make, people to contact, sweetheart. Get out of my way.”
“Let Beau earn his keep for once,” Devin snarled, placing her palms flat against his chest. Careful of the wounds she could see and the memory of those she couldn’t, she gave a gentle push.
“Enough,” Rey shouted, shoving Devin into the nearby chair. “I have work to do, and you cannot interfere like this, hear me? Either sit down and be quiet or I’ll make other arrangements for you while I get this shit figured out.”
Snarling when the stupid male wouldn’t listen to reason, Devin latched onto the careless statement with greedy claws. Swinging around to face him as she jumped up from the chair, it was easy to let the lie slip free.
“What do you mean by other arrangements?” Letting a watery tremble invade her words, she looked up at him with shimmering eyes that showed too much white. It wasn’t a difficult stretch. The thought of Rey unloading her onto to some unsuspecting male, even if it was just Jackson, was enough to have the acrid bite of fear swamping the expansive room.
The icing on the cake was skittering away from his outstretched hand. Clutching her chest as if her trembling palm was the only thing that could keep her heart from hammering its way free.
“No, sweetheart.” Rey began to purr, but thought better of it as Devin’s low whine spiraled to a shrill pitch. “Come here. Everything is okay.”
“N-no it’s not! Where are you taking me?”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Devin didn’t know when the lie became truth, but her panic was a real and tangible thing now. Slimy tendrils wrapping around her body, dragging her down into the murky haze of terror. Her heart slammed against her palm, pounding its way through her ribs and threatening to split her open.
