The Devil (BOOK I + II)

15 | "Someone Could Have Told Me"

Chapter Fifteen
   "Someone Could Have Told Me"

"the truth will set you free,
but first it will piss you off,"
— joe klaas

┏━━━━━━━┓

My wide eyes shot up, trying to look over Daemon's shoulder while he slowly reached into his jacket.

His eyes were trained on me in warning, and I could tell he was silently telling me to stay behind him. But the second he pulled out his gun, the owner of the gun spoke up.

"Don't."

My spine straightened before I stepped away from Daemon—who seemed ready to kill at any moment.

He was reaching for my wrist to bring me back to him, but I quickly shot my hand away from his grasp. I threw him a dirty look before turning back to our intruder.

"Hi, papa. Lovely day, isn't it?" I tried to chirp, but when his bright blue eyes narrowed on me, I could tell I was in trouble.

"Step away from Mr. Kade, Roza," he demanded harshly in Russian. "Now."

I pursed my lips. "Well, if you say it that way... no."

His eyes flared with anger, and I saw his hand gripping his gun tighter—which was pointed straight at Daemon's back. Without thinking of the consequences, I shuffled in the snow, so I was standing between Daemon and the gun.

"Roza." Papa's voice was full of warning, but I could see his hand twitching lower. "Get out of the way."

Behind me, I finally felt Daemon shifting before his hands dropped to my waist. He tried to pull me back, but I kept myself rooted in place, keeping my eyes on papa.

Daemon seemed momentarily at loss, but clearly, he'd come up with a plan when he ended up tightly holding my waist with one hand, but lifting a gun up with the other.

Now, without taking his eyes off him, papa barked, "Move, Roza!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." I kept the smile on my face, but it was chilling. "Put the gun down. Both of you."

Papa narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to take my time torturing him. I won't kill him yet."

"I'd love to see you try," Daemon drawled dryly. "You will be dead before you get your hands on me, Somov. Don't mistake me being here as your ownership over me."

Papa's nose flared, clearly annoyed. "Get away from my daughter, you son of a bitch."

I don't know why, but hearing that suddenly make me laugh. Papa glanced at me, mildly confused before turning his gaze back to Daemon—who was too busy wrapping an arm around the front of my body.

"No. You don't have the right to be mad," I said to papa, still laughing in disbelief. "You don't, after lying to me for months. Years, maybe, about the fact I'm a target. So, you're going to put the gun down, and then Daemon will follow."

For a moment, papa said nothing, but mixed with how he clenched his jaw and his avoiding gaze, I knew I was right. He'd been lying to me for a long time.

"That plan sounds stupid, Roza. I'd rather just shoot the убийца," a new voice called out, just as several guns safety turned off.

My eyes widened, but still, I stayed in front of Daemon as I looked around, only to see that all three of my brothers were outside, all dressed in suits and neatly styled hair.