Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (5 page)

“
You okay
?
”

She inhaled his scen
t,
a comforting masculine spice
.“
Yeah. I just didn’t expect to see him here tonight
.”

He scanned the room over her head. At six foot five inche
s,
it wasn’t difficult
.“
Where’s Laurent? He should’ve said something if that dumb fuck brother of mine was coming
.
”

“
I doubt Laurent knew. He wouldn’t have asked me here if he did. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I don’t think he meant to literally test my emotional stability
.
”

Xavier snorte
d,
with a condescending smirk on his face
.“
Please tell me you’re not one of them touchy-feely females. I was told you were better than that. I had enough of that shit from Jacque growing up
.
”

Bell straightened her shoulders and gave him a defiant look.

“
No. I know how to check my goddamned emotions. Been taught how all my lif
e,
like every good demon
.”

Then why am I having such a hard time doing it lately
? She wanted to unleash the anger and vengeance par
t,
but everything
e
l
s
e
s
e
e
m
e
d
t
o
b
e
s
li
p
p
i
ng
o
u
t
w
i
t
h
i
t
.

She walked to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila. Xavier slid onto the stool beside her
.“
S
o,
whatcha want to do now
?
”

She downed the shot and lifted her glass to the bartender. He swiftly refilled it. The intense liquid burned in her throat
.“
I don’t know
.
”

“
I say we get the fuck out or take them down now
.
”

Holding out her glass out for another sho
t,
she replie
d,
“
No. We can’t take them down. Laurent’s here. And there’re too many witnesses. When we do thi
s,
we can’t let anyone know it was us. Laurent would never forgive me. I’ll suffer any punishment Luc dishes out before I lose my brother
.
”

Xavier gripped her upper arm. The pressure of his thick fingers imprinted into her fles
h,
creating a mixture of pain and excitement
.“
Brother or no
t,
if we want to liv
e,
we have to turn in Angel and Jacque. I have a brother to
o,
but you don’t see me bitching
.
”

“
You don’t give two shits about your brother. I actually care
a
b
o
ut
mi
n
e
,
”
s
h
e
r
e
p
li
e
d.

“
Look. If I didn’t give a shit about Jacqu
e,
he’d be dead. This deal with Lucifer is busines
s,
not personal. It’s survival of the fittest. I made the mistake of letting him live once. It won’t happen again. Keep it up and you’re going on my list
.
”

She raised a brow in question
.“
What list?

“
My people-to-kill list
.”
He pulled out a white sheet of paper and handed it to her.

She threw back her head in the most unfeminine snort. He really had a list
.“
Okay. Let’s go over so I can tell Laurent bye and get the hell out of here
.
”

Xavier snatched his list from her hands
.“
Let’s do this
.
”

After she downed her remaining two shot
s,
she had worked up the courage to head over to the VIP area and confront her fears. To face the realization she lost the one man she loved and would forever be alone.

CHAPTER FOUR

Tremors
r
ac
k
e
d Bell’s body. Her unexpected vulnerability anchored in the pit of her stomach. She shook off her discomfor
t,
tucking in closer to Xavier for stability. A lifetime of suppressing her emotions provided no frame of reference on how to handle her current situation. This wasn’t the behavior of the col
d,
callous woman who invoked fear in most of the males of the Underworld. She left hearts in her wak
e,
only to return every now and then to stomp on them agai
n,
if he performed well enough in bed. The only demon able to keep her attention for any great length was Jacqu
e,
and even that was fleeting.

Laurent stood. His eyes reflected his anguish and her pain. From the regret glaring in the contours of his fac
e,
her brother had no idea the rest of the crew was coming tonight
.“
He
y,
Bell. You can take my sea
t
,
”
her brother offered.

She tensed as they walked p
a
s
t Jacque and Angel. Angel’s tight-lipped grin showed she wasn’t expecting this scenario either. The tension in the air was suffocating. Xavier nodded an acknowledgement to the others as he shuffled Bell to the back of the VIP section. He leaned on the ba
r,
eyeing the group cautiousl
y,
almost protectively.

Bell tugged at her brother’s sleeve
.“
Look. We’re gonna get out of here. It’s a little crowded for my taste
.
”

Laurent squeezed her to his side
.“
Sorry. I didn’t know they were coming
.
”

“
I know. But you know I can’t stay
.
”

Laurent’s eyes dulled with sorrow
.“
You can’t keep running away. We’re your family. Eventuall
y,
you have to deal with this
.
”

She placed a hand over her brother’s beating heart
.“
There’s where you’re wrong. You’re my family. I owe nothing to the rest of those assholes
.
”

Laurent tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Bell shook her head at him. He always acted like the olde
r,
more responsible siblin
g,
cleaning up the destruction she left in her wake
.“
He still cares about you. You two just weren’t meant to be together. He’s happy now. And you can b
e,
too
.
”

“
What makes you think I’m not happy? I have a replacement already. See
.”
She turned back to Xavie
r,
and smiled when he gave her a playful wink.

Laurent’s expression showed he wasn’t convinced
.“
Come d
a
n
c
e
w
i
t
h
m
e
b
e
f
o
r
e
y
o
u
l
e
a
v
e
.
”

“
Look. I just want to go. This isn’t cool. And if that bitch and her girls keep eyeing m
e,
I’m gonna snatch the hair out of their pretty little heads
.
”

“
Come on. Can’t we all just get along
?”
her brother aske
d,
plastering a toothy grin on his face. She poked him hard in the side and laughed. He knew how to cheer her up on her most fucked up day.

Bell took her brother’s hand and drug him
toward
the dance floor
.“
Behave yourself while I’m gon
e
,
”
she shouted to Xavier
.“
And don’t none of y’all little humans try to push up on my man. I don’t want to have to stab one of you witches
.”
Laurent jerked her away from the dark-haired girl she directed her threat to.

“
You have to learn to be more social. Mother should’ve sent you to those etiquette classe
s,
like she threatened
.
”

She batted her lashes and tilted her head to the side in question
.“
What did I do
?
”

The slo
w,
rhythmic beat of the music flowed through he
r,
like the blood humming in her veins. The lyrical sounds soothed her temperament. Her hips swayed to
the
smooth voice of Johnny Gill. Laurent held her close. He kept time with the song by tapping lightly on the small of her back. Dancing was never his strong suit. Bel
l,
on the other han
d,
lived to dance.
I
t
ca
m
e
s
ec
o
n
d
o
nly
t
o
s
e
x
.
B
o
t
h sex and dancing had sensual energies which
s
t
r
e
n
g
t
hened her.

“
I’m worried about yo
u
,
”
her brother whispered over the music.

She chuckled
.“
You always worry about me
.
”

Laurent spun her out and reeled her back into his arms
.“
This is different. These are dangerous times for us
.
”

“
There’s no reason to concern yourself
with
m
e,
little brother. You’re the one who chose to side with Jacque and Angel against Lucifer. Only fools take on the Devil
.
”

“
Sometimes you have to do the right thin
g,
even if we’re demons. It’s time someone stands up to Luc
.
”

She placed her hand over her brother’s heart. Moisture filled her eyes
.“
You can’t win. You’ll only end up dea
d,
or wors
e,
in one of Hades’ lower levels
.
”

He covered her hand with his
.“
If it helps my family and friend
s,
it’s worth it
.
”

The song ended. An odd silence spread between them. She met Laurent’s gaze
.“
Only fools and dead men say shit like
t
h
a
t
.
”

Her brother hugged her tight. Another slow jam began to play. They started to head off the floo
r,
when Jacque caught her arm.

“
Can I steal you for a moment
?”
His intense green eyes bored into her soul.

She bit the inside of her cheek and balled her hands to keep them from shaking
.“
Where’s the wifey? She know you’re out
h
e
r
e
w
i
t
h
m
e
?
”

Fear and doubt darkened Jacque’s features
.“
I told her what I was doing. I figured I owed you one last dance
.”
A smile crawled across his fac
e,
disappearing into those delicious dimples. She remembered why he had stolen her heart so long ago. Who could resist that smile?

As
J
a
h
ei
m began to croon his soulful melod
y,
Jacque surrounded her like a cocoon. She was at home in his arm
s,
comfortable. She suppressed her amusement when she recalled this was the very reason she ran from him in the first place. Bell thrived on passion and excitement. Comfort equated to boredom.

His lips grazed her ear
.“
I’m sorr
y
,
”
he whispered.

She raised her hea
d,
immersed in the haunting depths of his emerald pools
.“
Too late to be sorry. All those years we spent together. Never once did you ever ask me to be your wife. A few months with the human and she’s sporting a three carat rock on her hand
.
”

He loosened his hold on her
.“
You didn’t want to marry me. You didn’t even want to be monogamous with me
.
”

“
You knew who I was. Why couldn’t it be enough for you? I gave you everything I ha
d,
but it wasn’t ever good enough
.”
She spoke more to his chest as she could no longer manage to meet his stare.

He pulled her i
n,
placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. Bell rested her head on his ches
t,
listening to the steady sounds of his breathing
.“
You are special. We just have two different paths to travel. I need someone who needs me and only me. Angel allowed me to be her everything. She needed me to save her more than I needed saving. That brought me strength
.
”

“
I guess I was holding you bac
k
,
”
she scoffed.

She could hear the strain in his voice
.“
I think we held each other back. There’s someone out there for you. I know you don’t believe in lov
e,
but once you find that perso
n,
you’ll change your mind. Maybe the
n,
you’ll understand
.
”

His words stung like alcohol in a wound. She had lost him
.“
Love is overrated. Love only brings pain. It’s a wea
k,
human emotio
n,
not fit to be brought to the surface. Leave it to our resident empath demon to speak of love. No
w,
I remember why we couldn’t make it work
.
”

He tipped her chi
n,
forcing her to face him
.“
You’re wr
o
n
g
.
”

Tears threatened to escap
e,
her throat constricted. Bell tore herself from Jacque’s arms. She refused to let him see her cry. In the course of their fifty-year relationship and twenty or so breakup
s,
she never allowed her emotions to surface. Tonigh
t,
she couldn’t stop it. Bell did something else she never imagined herself doing. Ran.

Bell slowly inhaled in and ou
t,
with her back pressed into the door of the bathroom stall. She was relieved the VIP section had its own restrooms; only Angel and her girls would have access. Thank Lucifer they weren’t in there. The knot in her gut grew into a
t
a
ut spasm. Her dinner threatened to reappear with an unwelcomed vengeance. This couldn’t be happening to her. Only weak-minded females allowed a man to get to them. Isn’t this what her mother taught her? It was her role to control her men. And ye
s,
there was usually more than one. She needed their energy and strength to survive. One partner wasn’t enough to maintain her powers.

The anger and panic abated. She jumped when the outside door to the bathroom slammed. A familiar voice calle
d,
“
Hey. Bell. Get your ass out here
.
”