Devilish - A Demon Stepbrother Romance (13 page)

              So Lawson had been innocent of murder, just guilty of greed.

              “I wanted to make sure I got my hands on you, the last of Madewell’s pride,” Senator Folsom said, his eyes gleaming with a lust for pain. “So I had to cover up my tracks. I pushed Lawson to court the committee for the contract so that the alliance remained as the top suspects for any suspicious business that might happen.”

              “The gunmen in New York?” I whispered.

              The Senator nodded. “That was your last chance at a decent death, my dear. I was a little worried at the moment that the alliance and contract wouldn’t be enough to cover my steps so I tried to hide a good murder under a silly terrorist attack. But that was when I had a brilliant idea.”

              I stared at the man, seeing for the first time how lustful he was for pain and power.

              “None of those men in the alliance were people worth keeping around,” Senator Folsom said, walking over to Harrison’s dead body. Gripping the corpse by his hair, he jerked the man up. “Eh, Harry? You weren’t as evil as Eric Madewell but you sure had your fair share of skeletons in the closet, didn’t you?”

              Harrison’s head bobbed grotesquely as the Senator shook him.

              “But he sure did want to try and come clean,” Senator Folsom said in disgust, staring at the dead man. “He called you over to spill what little beans he did know. As if I wouldn’t be on to him.” The Senator snorted.

              “And Ron was easy. He blubbered and cried but I made sure he took those pills because if he didn’t, he knew I would have it leaked that Lawson had arranged the Madewell murders and he would rot in a single solitary cell for the remaining years of his life. Dying instead would be a mercy.”

              “How?” I mumbled. “You’re a senator. How can you murder?”

              Senator Folsom grinned. “Didn’t you know, my dear? Government is the last real mafia now. It’s amazing what you can have disappear through the walls of bureaucracy.”

              The Senator released Harrison’s head, letting it thud onto the table. “T.J. Mackson did me a favor by finally dying. And then all there was left was you, my dear.”

              I stared at the man who had eaten dinners with me, the man who had brought me birthday and Christmas presents, the man who had always remembered to thank my mother for cooking dinner.

              “You fucking monster,” I said. My mother had died screaming and crying because of this man.

              Senator Folsom laughed. “Maybe I am but your father made me that way,” he said. He pulled out a small switchblade from his pocket and opened the blade out. “So let’s see how much I can make you scream before your heart stops beating. Shall we?”

              I jerked away from him, trying to rise from the chair but my legs felt like they had been filled with cement. All I managed to do was swing my arm haphazardly a little at the Senator.

              “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he warned. “None of that now. Take your punishment like a good girl.” Holding onto one of my shoulders, he ran the small blade straight down my chest,
hard
, cutting open the blouse and running a thin line of dark blood right down the middle of my torso.

              Drugged as I was, I felt every tear of pain. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. How could this be happening again?

              I had fought so hard and for so long now to get to this point and here I was, defenseless and at the mercy of another sadist.
Where was Liam?
Hadn’t he promised me revenge? Hadn’t he sworn to give me that satisfaction? Hadn’t he promised to help me and keep me safe till then?

              Senator Folsom studied me. With my blouse and bra cut open, my breasts were completely bared. Blood slowly seeped out of the thin burning cut down my chest. “Hmm,” Senator Folsom murmured, as if trying to decide what to order for dinner, “which breast are you most particular for? I’d like to start slicing open the left one but feel free to chime in with your opinions.”

              Hot tears fell. Another night of excruciating torture and pain was in store for me before I finally succumbed to the darkness of death. But this time, I wasn’t sure I could make it through. The leering gleam in the Senator’s eyes made it clear just how demented he was. And he would execute that demented mind through sadistic torture.

              “In the end, I guess there’s no point in quibbling over small details, eh?” Senator Folsom said with a shrug and a grin. He grabbed my left breast and squeezed hard, making me cry out. With his eyes bright with a sick lust, he raised his blade over the top of my captured breast.

              I took in a deep breath, tears clinging against my lashes.

              But before the blade or my tears could fall, a loud bang echoed against the walls of the house.

              The Senator took a step back in surprise, his head whipping around for the source of the sound. Even in my addled mind, I still recognized the sound of the front door being thrown open.

              I heard the quick even steps of someone moving with a purpose. And then there, within a matter of seconds, stood Liam in the dining room entrance.

              He was completely drenched in blood. But it was obvious by his tall, rigid stance that none of the blood was his. Clearly the guards had given him quite a bit of trouble. Blood was even smeared against his cheeks.

              “My god,” Senator Folsom whispered. “Who the hell are you?”

              Liam, eyes glowing a fiery green, just stared at me, his eyes running over my body, taking note of the blood seeping down my breasts and my dilated drugged pupils. His lips turned thin in anger.

              I looked up at my dark angel.

              “Liam,” I whispered.

Chapter Twenty One

              Liam slowly walked into the dining room, taking in everything—Harrison’s dead body, Senator Folsom and his blade, my slumped form.

              “Who the hell are you, I said?” Senator Folsom demanded.

              It wasn’t surprising he didn’t recognize Liam. After all, the real Liam had barely ever met the Senator. And this Liam looked almost nothing like the smooth and sophisticated Liam that had gone to the dinner weeks ago.

              No, this Liam was oozing something unearthly, something dark.

Something devilish.

In New York when we had been attacked by gunmen, his whole body had radiated a power that had become unleashed. He had looked like anger incarnate and had had the power to show it.

But now, standing here in Harrison’s luxuriously decorated dining room, he did not look like anger incarnate. He looked like pure darkness. With blood soaking into his clothes, darkening them, his whole body took on a black aura. His eyes glowed menacingly and his face hardened into granite.

He had no uncontrollable rage or anger though. He seemed completely in charge of his body. If New York had been raw power, tonight he was holding honed, lethal power, sharp as a sword’s edge.

Ignoring the Senator’s gape mouthed expression, Liam stood in front of me, his head slightly bent.

“Tonight, I will fulfill my contract,” he said, his voice somehow deeper than before. It seemed to resonate all across the room, making the house echo with his voice. “Tonight, I will help you achieve everything you’ve worked for. Tonight, I will give you justice.”

I stared at him. I could hardly keep my vision focused. But even without my eyes, my body felt his presence and it recognized the truth in his words. Every word, every note, rang with a vicious sincerity. Without realizing it, I closed my eyes and nodded, grateful to not have to fight till the bitter end alone. I had someone.

I had Liam.

“Wait….” Senator Folsom started, his large eyes peering up at this demonic hell force. “Aren’t you the brother? Aren’t you Liam?”

I could hear the note of doubt in the Senator’s voice as he looked at this bloody man, dripping with power and darkness.

Liam shook his head.

“No, Senator,” he said, his voice still possessing that odd deepness that made me shiver a little. “Tonight I am merely a servant carrying out an obligation.” Slowly, Liam began to advance on the politician.

“Obligation?” Senator Folsom said, gripping the small blade as he wielded it against Liam. It looked almost comical. “What the hell are you blathering on about? Do you want to die as well?”

Liam raised a hand that was drenched in dark red blood. It looked as if he had literally shoved his fist inside a man’s body. Thinking about it, I realized that’s probably exactly what he did.

Liam raised his bloody hand and slowly licked it from wrist to fingertip. “Die?” Liam finally said. “I can’t die. I have the blood of eons running through me and the power to destroy existence. No, I can’t die.” I saw him flick his green eyes towards me. “I have a bargain to satisfy.”

Senator Folsom, seeing that Liam would not be put off by simple threats or a switchblade, reached behind him and pulled out a gun. The gun he must’ve killed Harrison Dell with. Holding it with a steadier hand than I would’ve given him credit for, Senator Folsom fixed Liam with a steely gaze.

“Son,” the Senator said, his voice calm, “you take a seat and behave yourself and I promise I won’t make your death so agonizing. But you try to come at me and I’ll kill you. Slowly.”

I could see the Senator inching towards the silver dart gun he had left on the table near me. With monumental effort, I swung my arm out and sent the dart gun flying off the table towards the other side of the room where it crashed against a wall with a loud thud.

“You stupid little bitch!” Senator Folsom cried as he reached for me.

But before I could even close my eyes in preparation for whatever it was the Senator was going to do, a large hand swooped in like a flash of thunder, gripping the Senator’s arm.

I took a deep breath to collect myself before I looked up and saw the Senator’s face turning sheet white, telling me just how tightly Liam was gripping his arm. From the looks of it, it would soon snap if Liam didn’t let go.

I felt Liam’s gaze resting on me. Tearing my eyes away from the Senator’s white face, I looked up and saw the question in his eyes.
Keep going?
Did I want him to keep punishing the Senator? Yes, I did. I wanted to take his life but I wasn’t able now to stand up straight, let alone hold a knife or gun.

But I also was just profoundly exhausted. I wondered if my body somehow knew its time was up. My mission was nearly at its completion and soon, I would go back to the darkness of the underworld, but this time without the benefit of a soul or future.

I nodded.

And with my sign of consent, Liam brought down every punishing torture I had endured when I had been murdered. Senator Folsom was no match for Liam. He called out for his guards but I knew they were all dead. He threatened, he yelled, he cursed. But it was of no use.

Liam had a bargain to close and it was time. So Senator felt every bone break, every bruise burst, every cut bleed.

And I sat and watched. I didn’t turn away. I didn’t close my eyes. This was what I had wanted and so by extension, I was doing this to the Senator through Liam. I would not turn away from what I had created. I didn’t feel pleasure or even really satisfaction. The closest thing I could describe would be a sense of…peace.

I felt somehow the scales had been balanced and I had done my duty and family proud. I knew my mom would disagree. In fact, so would the real Liam. But I knew dad would understand. He would’ve done the same thing. Maybe by blood I wasn’t a Madewell. But I was still my daddy’s daughter.

Finally, lying broken and bleeding on the floor, the Senator was gasping his final breaths. Liam looked over the body, studying his life signs, before kneeling in front of me. He pulled out the knife that had been strapped to my leg and presented it to me, handle first.

“It’s time,” he said, not even winded after the punishing torture he had just inflicted. “It is time to take what is yours.”

The words echoed within me.

It is time to take what is yours.

I took the handle of the knife. The drug had worn off a bit but I still felt woozy. I stumbled out of the chair and made it onto my knees near the Senator purely by graceful luck.

Face battered and bruised, the Senator hardly looked like himself. But even through his swollen eyes, I could see his pupils flicking over between the knife and me, eyeing me warily.

“Senator,” I said slowly, wanting my words to come out clearly, “you and I are not so different.” Liam stood behind me, patiently waiting. I felt comforted by his presence. “You were hurt and broken after Angela was taken from you. So you plotted for revenge. I was hurt and broken after you murdered my family and me. So I came back for revenge.” I waved my hand at the obvious follow up that would be needed. “I guess there’s no point in explaining how I came back now.”

I thought about my family. I thought about that last horrific night they had on earth. “But there is one difference,” I said. “You were given time. I wasn’t. You were given decades to watch my dad become someone else entirely. You knew that. He wouldn’t have supported you and contributed to your campaigns if he hadn’t changed. But you held him accountable for a crime from decades ago that he was indirectly culpable in.”

Senator groaned as he gurgled, “E…vil…man.”

I sighed. “And so are you, Senator. In the end, none of us are clean. None of us are innocent. I bear that flaw as well because now, at the end….”
At the end.
I was finally here. And it didn’t matter how innocent or dirty I was by the end of this night because the end was finally here.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Bear your guilt as well, Senator. And know that I have no regrets tonight.” And with that, I dragged the knife cleanly across his throat. His warm blood splattered across my exposed chest.

I paused, staring down at what I had done, until I felt a large hand on my shoulder.

I turned and looked up. “I’m ready,” I said.