The Devil's Masquerade: The Poison (19 page)

I walk into the room, and she immediately looks up at me. The fear is gone from her eyes, but I don’t know if it has left her completely. “Kayla, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I … I don’t know why I … I,” I break down, trying to hide my tears.

She rushes to me and grabs my hands from my face. “Nick, stop. That wasn’t you. I know it wasn’t, but somehow, we have to figure out how to control that.”

“I don’t know if it can be controlled. Princess, this is … I craved it. I craved the killing. I couldn’t see you. All I could see was your beating heart, and I wanted to stop it. I heard you, but I couldn’t see you. The effect you have on me takes too long …” I stop myself and look away from her. If she knew she could calm me, she would endanger herself over and over to help me, until I killed her. I could never live with that.

“What effect?”

“Nothing, I just meant my love for you. It took too long for me to realize it.”

“There are no more men to fight tonight. Ryan is going to stay on watch, so you can sleep. Come to bed, and show me that love you have for me, please.” I reluctantly agree to crawl into bed next to her, but the moment I feel her body next to me, I feel her calm wash over me. I cradle her in my arms and kiss her all over with tears in my eyes. The thought of losing her pains me to my core.

Chapter 23

Nick

Savage seems to be more excited every time I come to his home. It makes me crazy to think he is happy that I am here, so much so that I can’t control myself. “Did you send them to my home?!” I scream at him.

Suddenly, he looks surprised, not the usual man of complete control. “What are you talking about? Who came to your home, Nicholas?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. You know damn well who I am talking about! Who are they? They are not normal. They have an ability about them, but it isn’t like …”

“They knew how to defend themselves against your attack? They avoided looking into your eyes? They threatened you to try and draw you to them?” I stare at him, trying to decide if I believe him or not. Savage turns from me, humming his interest in my details. “You are lucky, Nicholas. You are lucky they didn’t understand your strength or your weaknesses. You shouldn’t have been there. You have no idea what you are doing against them.” He doesn’t bother to verify his questions as he simmers. “Those bastards will fry!” he suddenly screams, throwing his fists down on the desk in front of him.

“Who? Who were they?” I demand.

“You need to move in here now, Nicholas. I can’t protect you all the time, and I can’t have you wandering out there without knowing what you need to know to protect yourself.”

“No, I can’t leave my family. They were going to kill them, too! I don’t even like leaving them behind now except I have Ryan to protect them.”

“Your family will be fine, much better off without you there actually. If you leave them behind, then that will show our enemies that they mean nothing to you, and if they mean nothing, then there is no reason to bother with them. Ryan is plenty capable of detouring them. Not to mention, that boy of yours is plenty strong enough to handle those morons they sent last night. The real trouble wouldn’t come after you at your home, not without knowing who you truly are. However, they will now. Now that they know you are my grandson, and they surely know that now, no one else could have survived an attack like that. You have to leave and move in here where it is safe.”

“Who were they?”

“They are your competitors, other families looking to take over. Families of … similar backgrounds to yours,” he says as I grab my head and cringe. “Don’t be dramatic, Nicholas. That is one of the many things I like about you, the no drama. Your cousin was full of it, constant drama. Drove me insane. I didn’t think he would ever get the courage to actually take you on.”

“You encouraged him? You encouraged him to try and kill me knowing …”

“Knowing that you would kill him? Of course I did, especially when my suspicion confirmed that you killed his father and not your own father as we had originally suspected. I haven’t seen that kind of strength and power in … oh so long. I thought Adair’s father was incredibly powerful. I thought he was the one, but then,
you
. I sent him to kill your father, and I was angry when I was wrong, but I wasn’t wrong. I just didn’t have all the information. When I saw you, I knew you were special. I just didn’t know how much. I allowed Dante to live merely to protect you. I kept an eye on you of course, but I couldn’t get too close or our enemies would have surely killed you.” He laughs suddenly. “Well, they would have tried I guess. Little did I know that you were strong enough at six to take on a whole army by yourself. I wish I had; I could have trained you and prepared you already, rather than waiting until now.”

“My family. I have to get back to them. They need me. You have all this to protect you, and they have nothing. My brother isn’t strong enough. He can’t do it by himself.”

Savage exhales, exhaustively, “Nicholas, you need to stay here and train with me, there is no more time for this. If you stay here, we can speed up your training and have you ready to protect your family properly that much sooner. Ryan will be fine. I will send the right men to your home to help him. I assure you, they will be fine. As I said before, their interest is you, and if they can’t get to you through them, then they will not bother with them. You have to show no interest in them and leave them, only for now. Once we have our enemies beaten, then you can embrace your family again and live in peace. We can all live in peace. They are after you, not your family, Nicholas. Don’t give them any power to bring you down. You have a lot to learn before the war begins, and you can’t do that by visiting me at lunch,” he says, slamming his fists down in front of me.

“War what war?” I ask, taken aback by this new knowledge.

“The war between the families. Everyone wants to be in control. It is a burden at times, but it has been our family’s duty since the beginning, and there is no way in hell I am letting those bastards change that now. Oh have they tried, and now, they think they have these young ones who have new ideas and new strategies. The very idea makes me angry beyond words. Not to worry though, they have their young, and I have mine,” he says, grabbing my face and looking upon me with pride. “Don’t worry Nicholas. Your family will be fine as long as we win.”

“As long as we win? What happens if we lose?”

“Well they will kill us all and all of your offspring, and of course, I am sure that stubborn ass wife yours since she will surely do everything she can to protect her children. They won’t be kind either; they will torture your poor Kayla until they are assured there are no more of us. I have to say, their torture methods have become inventive. She will wish she was dead. They once …” He continues on telling me of their meticulous torture methods and how much the love of my life will be tortured for being with me and having my children. I saw it in their eyes last night, and as much as I wanted to disbelieve everything he is saying, I felt it then and know it to be true. The agony is interrupted by my grandfather taking hold of my shoulders and looking me over with concern. “We will stop them. Don’t worry, Ma Joie,” he says as if he couldn’t be prouder to call me his own. “Together, Nicholas, we will protect
our
family. Our family. Trust me. They will never be able to harm your young ones or your beautiful wife. They will all be safe from their harm. All you have to do is trust me, fight with me, and push them back into hell where they belong. Don’t let them win and cause so much suffering to the ones you love so deeply.” He continues on, until tears emerge from the depths of my heart.

“I would die for them,” I whisper, painfully acknowledging my deepest love for them.

“Of course you would, Ma Joie, but better to fight
for
them,” my grandfather says, embracing me like his own and giving me another reason to stand and fight
with
him.

Chapter 24

Kayla

“Where is Daddy going Mommy?” Nicky asks, resting his head against my side.

I run my fingers through his hair, trying to put him at ease. I can always tell when Nicky and his father are upset about something. “He is going to go work out some details for work, honey. He will be back soon.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Franky says, entering the room with an odd demeanor about her. I instantly take a stand in front of my son. “No, I wouldn’t expect to him to ever come back.”

“What is wrong with you?” I ask calmly.

“Nick, is not for you. Don’t you know that by now? He isn’t a Daddy or a husband type man. He is much more than that. He
deserves
much more than that. If he is anything, he is a Prince, and you’re a peasant. You should let him go, and you should be with someone of your own type. Someone of your own level. Nick is special, and you … and you are not.” She steps forward with a strange expression and a twist of her hand.

“No!” Nicky suddenly yells and forces his way back in front of me. The woman falls back in shock. “Leave my Mommy alone!” I stand in shock, watching my son put up a fight against her for what seemed to be a simple step forward. He, however, saw something else. Franky steps back and leaves, not only the room but the house, too. Nicky turns to look at me. “Are you okay, Mommy?” I nod and instantly feel the need to wrap my arms around him and hold him tight to me.

“I love you, Nicky, but please be careful. Don’t risk …” The words to tell him not to do anything to protect me are pointless; he has too much of his father in him, clearly. I wish Brayden was strong enough to … “Brayden?” Taking Nicky by the hand, I rush to check on my sleeping son and am relieved to find him safe but not looking well. I pick Brayden up and instantly notice his fever. “Oh no! What’s wrong baby?” He is whimpering but barely able to cry he is so weak.

“Do you want me to call Lionel to take us to the doctor?” Nicky asks, sweetly. I nod, and he does without question. He also calls his father and demands that he meet us at the doctor. “Daddy says he will meet us the hospital, Mommy.”

Brayden cries and cries, and my heart breaks, wanting to fix it for him. The doctors have poked and prodded him with everything possible, and they all keep looking at me with concern. “You’re going to be fine. I know it,” I whisper to him as I kiss his head.

“How is he?” Nick asks from the doorway of the hospital room.

“He is sick, and no one seems to know why,” I say, fighting the tears. Nick approaches with his arms out, and I fall deep within them, allowing him to comfort me and Brayden at the same time.

Nick takes Brayden from my arms and kisses his head before holding him to his chest. “It’s okay baby, Daddy’s here.” Nicky approaches, takes hold of Brayden’s tiny hand, and smiles up at his father. We all fall asleep together on a tiny sofa, Nick holding us all until the doctor comes in. The doctor looks over Brayden once again, but this time, he tells us he is fine. He is fine? Suddenly, he is just fine? The fever is gone. He stopped coughing, and he is sleeping soundly. Maybe he wasn’t as sick as I thought. Maybe it was me that needed the comfort, the reassurance that Nick would come back to us.

With Brayden feeling better, I climb into bed with Nick and cozy up to him even closer than usual. I have a terrible feeling that he is leaving soon, and I can’t seem to shake the feeling. I force myself up and look down into his eyes.

He looks on me with shock, “Are you alright?”

“Don’t leave. Whatever it is that you are thinking, you’re wrong. You’re better off here with us.” Nick sits up and away from me.

“I haven’t decided anything, and how you know what I am thinking is a little scary.”

I feel up his arm and kiss his neck, “Nick, we are not a family without you. We are not whole without you. I cannot breathe without you.”

“Kayla, I love you more than anything in this world, you and the boys are everything to me, but I am not about to think selfishly and risk your lives for mine. I am not worth saving compared to you, Princess.” I try to speak, but he stops me with his fingers pressed lightly to my lips. “There is more danger than I realized, and I think the best thing for me to do is fight off the danger in the way that I believe benefits you all the best.” I shake my head. “You don’t understand Kayla. You don’t understand at all, and I don’t want you to. I want you to have that life you wanted, the one with the beautiful happy family. That’s the life you deserve to have, the happiness you have long deserved. You have been through so much, and I am not going to prevent you from that happiness.” Nick presses his full sweet lips to mine and takes my body on a journey with his. He envelops me with his warmth and covers me with kisses until I feel him inside me, filling me up tight with every inch of him. I gasp, gripping his strong arms while he looks down at me with desire, tenderness, and love. For once, I allow him to take me over, and I dive deep into his swirling eyes, deep into the waves of emotion and pleasure that instantly set me adrift into the clouds of bliss. From my toes to the tips of my fingers, he controls me. I have denied myself this experience, to be controlled by him, to feel the erotic pleasure that is him, the vibrating pulses that flow through him. It shakes every part of me into an uncontrollable orgasm and forces me into a drunken high. I desperately reach out, trying to hold onto him, to keep my body from floating away from his. Nick takes in my lips roughly before whispering, “I will love you forever, and forever you will be the only one to own my heart.”