The Devil's Masquerade: The Remedy (The Devil's Eyes) (26 page)

She suddenly jumps and turns to me. “But you can stop him. Tell him that he needs to come back for you,” she says. “He would do that for you, Kayla. Eli cares so much about you,” Catriona begs, gripping both my hands. Wow, she really does care about him. I feel really guilty now for doing this to her but not enough to stop. Besides, my quest is just as much for her as it is for everyone else.

“Possibly, if he stops to think before he acts. As much as I think Eli cares for me and the boys, I am positive we won’t enter his mind when he sees you being taken away.” Her silence gives their plan away. “But, I am sure you guys have thought about everything and have a plan that will work perfectly.” Her eyes rise to mine. “I didn’t think so. They have assumed losses haven’t they?” She nods. “And you never considered that, out of everyone, there is a strong possibility that Eli would be one of the ones to be lost. Elijah is stubborn, and he feels as if he has nothing to lose most of the time. His wild abandon is attractive at times, but it mostly gets him into trouble.”

“I didn’t want to consider it, and I asked my father to watch out for him.” She crashes her face into her hands. “Oh, I don’t know why I did that. He could care less about what happens to Eli, or me obviously, as long as he wins favor with Savage. He will probably even turn Eli over to Savage just for extra favor from him. But what can I do about it now?”

“I promise you, Cat, I can bring Nick to our side and help us. I just need to get near him and you …”

“Oh no. Noooo. I can’t Kayla,” she says, backing away from me.

“It is the best way. Do you think I would risk it if I didn’t think I could? Do you think I would risk hurting my kids?”

“That’s exactly why I can’t. You are a mother. If something happens to you, and it is my fault … ugh, there is no way I could live with that, Kayla.”

“Cat, please, I know I can do it, if you will just listen to my idea.”

“No. Ryan said you would try this. I should have known you didn’t really want to help me prepare. Thanks anyway.” She grabs her bag and heads for the door.

“Cat? How much are you going to miss Eli when he is gone?” I ask her before she can walk out. “Cat!” I yell, desperately and then calm when she turns with tears in her eyes. “Come back and let me help you. You don’t have to listen to me. I don’t even have to talk. If I say one word, you can leave.” She walks back to me slowly, and I help her get ready without any conversation at all but with a lot of glances towards each other.

Chapter 29

Ryan

Galena pulls through, and we receive our invitations via a special courier

The invitations come decked out in the finest of papers and wrappings, with Savage’s logo embellishing the front in brilliant gold lettering. These invites give us opportunity, and some hope. I have spent a lot of time trying to decide the best way to handle the Masquerade. Everyone has an opinion on how to go about it, but I have a strange feeling that nothing is going to be as it seems, and I can’t shake it. I want to believe that we will be fine and I don’t need to come up with an alternate plan, but experience and intuition tell me otherwise. There is only one way to kill Savage, and I have to find it while I am there. That blade has to be with him, maybe in that cane, maybe that aide Rabbie carries it for him, or maybe he surgically implanted the damn thing within the man. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him; however, there is another way to be rid of him, to maybe not kill him but sentence him to a life in hell. From what Kamini told me, Savage can’t be touched by the High Council unless he is proven to be guilty of a crime, but once he is, his Lordship is revoked and everything he has ever done will come into question. His sentencing will be severe, and his punishment will be to face Kamini, much to her pleasure. She explained to me what I need to do to be a Lord. The process is long and nearly impossible to get approval, but it gave me the opportunity to plead my case and to gain protection as a Lord in waiting. If one Lord is found to be unable to fulfill his duties, then I can step in if they approve me. Approval, though, is not my goal; it is the protection. No other Lord can attack another without cause, or at least not without approval from the Council, even one in waiting. I have made arrangements with Kamini to be there, hidden among the crowd as my witness. If Savage kills me without just cause, then we have him. His army will come for us, and we will have to defend our efforts, but I won’t go after him until he comes after me. One of us will have to die, and either way, he will be done. That is all that matters. As far as Nick, I don’t think I can kill my brother. I keep thinking maybe if I get rid of his tormentor, I can give him a chance to find his way back to his family, but I know that is foolish thinking. Amery is intent on killing Nick, and I trust him to not hold back any when it comes time to do so. I am not sure I can watch the anticipated horrific battle, but if he acts too soon, I can’t hesitate to block him from my brother and hopefully I don’t have to keep Nick from killing me in the process. I will have to let Amery go if that becomes the case, Savage has to be the one to kill me, not Nick. I can’t kill my brother and I certainly can’t sentence him to an eternal, unforgiving hell for killing me.

I walk into the house with the invitations in my hands; everyone instantly looks at me full of restless nerves. “This is probably not going to go well, so if anyone wants to back out, I understand. I have enough of these for everyone, so if you are willing and want to still move forward, then step forward and get yours,” I say, looking at old and new friends. Amery steps forward with a roll of his eyes and takes his, which prompts Dwayne to growl and step forward for his. Terrence, Bo, Reginald, and even Brady step forward to claim theirs as well. Eddy wants to go, but we need him on the outside. We need him to be our eyes and ears.

“You sure they won’t just let me in based on my looks? I look damn good in a tux,” Elijah says, taking his.

“No, your face won’t help us any. You will probably get us all killed before we can even get started, so keep your mask on, Jackass,” I laugh. “Cat already has her own. I gave Kamini one earlier, Kayla isn’t allowed, and Gideon is supposed to stay put and watch her. He has orders to protect her and the boys at all costs. He is the only one that knows how to do it properly. Running isn’t a choice for them anymore. They need to use the Council against Savage. If he has plans to take them over, then they will be desperate to save any power they can to use against him, and Nicky is their best chance.”

Getting ready for this event is a tedious project. No weapons are allowed, so I carefully scope out my tux for any possible places to hide a knife or anything else I think might be of help. Galena gave us special invites which allow us to get in without much scrutiny. I find odd places here and there to hide things, but I know they’re useless unless I can get Savage. Nothing else matters. I must kill him. To come back without doing that is simply failure on my part. I tie Sam’s fire-damaged engagement ring around my neck and let it hang in front of my heart.

Suddenly, Nicky runs into my room and sits on my bed, looking over my mask. “This is cool,” he says, trying it on with funny expressions.

“Yeah, it is, little man,” I say to him, enjoying watching him play with it. Kayla had my mask made. I wouldn’t have thought to do anything this elaborate, but I guess her reasoning is correct. These people won’t spare any expense in their costumes. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed?”

“But I want to see you guys get dressed for the party,” Nicky replies, handing me my mask.

“We will take pictures for you, I promise, but you should be in bed.” I pick him up, take him to his room, and put him in bed. He lies down and looks at me oddly before jumping back up and hugging me.

“I love you, Uncle Ryan,” he says, tearing me apart.
Ugghhh fuck.

“Uhhh, I love you too, Little Man. Now, get in bed, and I will see you in the morning. I’ll make pancakes tomorrow if you get to sleep right now.”

“Promise?” he says

“I promise.” I kiss his forehead and leave his room before he messes my intentions up any further. Little shit, just screwed my plans up. Now, I have to be sure to come home and make pancakes. I look up and see Kayla smiling at me.

“You look very handsome,” she says.

“Thank you. I wish this was something we could do together, but I am glad you are not coming,” I say, looking her over for any signs that she is going to defy my orders. “You are staying here, right? You aren’t going to show up somehow, are you?” She doesn’t say a word. She simply adjusts my tie and kisses my cheek, wishing me good luck in her own way. She is going to defy me. I don’t know how, but she is going to do something I told her not to do. I sigh and let it be. Talking Kayla out of doing something she wants to do is as much of a waste of time as talking me out of doing something I want to do. “Nicky wants pancakes for breakfast,” I say to her.

“Well, you are the one that does that best,” she says. I smile at her and hope she stays safe no matter what happens tonight. I decide to continue with my plans as if I still believe she is going to stay put. I grab the back of her head, pull her forward, and kiss her on her cheek.

“I love you, Kayla. Out of all the people in the world, I would still pick you to love my brother and be my sister.”

“Just come back to us. Nicky hasn’t said anything disgusting in weeks, and Brayden still thinks you’re funny. I can’t have that. Who will I be mad at?” she says with a smile.

“We are all coming back, and we are all going to be happy again,” I say before kissing her on the forehead and walking away.

“Hey!” she yells after me. “I like my pancakes with chocolate chips.”

“Good choice.” I wink at her.

“I love you too, Ryan.”

Chapter 30

Elijah

Today is the day, and I am so on edge that I can hardly sit down for a second. My tux fits perfectly, and my mask is shockingly cool as hell. Too bad it’s probably going to get destroyed when I get killed. On second thought, hopefully not. Maybe I can die wearing it, and people will say he died with his mask on. I laugh to myself before noticing Dwayne roll his eyes at me. He would have laughed too; he just wishes he looked this good. If not for having to worry about killing some demons, I might be very excited about tonight. Ryan comes down the stairs with Kayla right behind him, the weight of the world on his shoulders. I don’t envy him. I don’t envy me either. This whole damn thing is pretty much fucking bullshit. “You don’t look bad,” I say to him with half a smile.

He rolls his eyes. “Thanks. You don’t look … horrible or anything either.”

“You both look incredibly handsome,” Kayla says while adjusting our tuxes to her liking before stepping back and gazing at us with
the look
that makes us feel guilty.

“Did you hide some weapons in your tux?” I ask him, and he smiles back. “Me too.” Knowing how to fight is great, but having a blade to slice a fucker with just makes you feel better.

Kayla adjusts my clothes again and my hair before kissing my cheek. “Be careful. Watch your back. Watch Ryan’s back, and please don’t do anything stupid and reckless.” I would argue, but instead, I just give her a wink and enjoy another kiss to my cheek. “Cat is ready. She is just taking a moment to breathe before she has to go.”

My body tenses, and as hard as I try to avoid looking directly at her, the moment she steps out, I know it, and I cannot keep my eyes from going straight to her. She is stunning. I rarely feel breathless, but it is fitting in this moment. I want so badly to pick her up and run, carry her far away before it is too late. It is not right that she is taking this on for her father, or for anyone. Her white dress makes her seem like an angel walking towards me. Her red hair floats around her with perfection, a cloud I would love to bury myself within. Even her breasts sit high in her corset top, begging to be taken out and caressed against my lips. I feel myself gulp before realizing that she and I are alone. “I guess they had something to discuss,” I say to her as she approaches me.

“I guess so. You look so handsome,” she says, rubbing her hands on my chest and driving me insane.

“Thanks. You look … breathtaking,” I reply, awed by her overwhelming beauty. My words cause a bright smile to take over her sad expression. “You really do. I wish we were …” I try to tell her, but nothing comes out.

“Yes, you wish we were what?”

“I wish we were somewhere else. Like a nice beach with a cocktail. You know, I have this beach house that sits right on the water. It is completely secluded, serene, and we could … you should go there with me. I know you would love it”

“I would love to go there with you.” She smiles up at me.

“Yeah?” She nods, laughing at me. “Okay. You know, in some countries, it is customary to give a soldier a kiss before he goes off to war, a kiss for protection you could say,” I say, watching as she steps closer.

“Which one of us is the soldier, Eli?”

“You, Short Stuff.” I kiss her on the head, her nose, and rub my lips delicately across hers before taking them in, embracing her, and pulling her closer to me. Cat takes hold of the back of my head and grips my jacket to pull me even closer to her. “Don’t go,” I whisper. She looks up into my eyes but I quickly hide my fears and my pain within her hair, begging for a solution that keeps any of this from happening. “Come with me, Catriona, and I’ll hold your hand every night to make sure no one takes you away.” I begin to feel the tears from her eyes fall against my face. I feel terrible for her and kiss them away, wishing I could fix everything for her. I just don’t know how. I move her chin up so I can look into her eyes. “I will be there. If, at any time, you change your mind, all you have to do is call my name, and I will carry you out of there. Okay?”