The Devil's Masquerade: The Poison (22 page)

“You did?” Nicky asks him.

“Yep, we spent hours playing it. I won constantly, but every once in a while, I would let your dad win,” Elijah says, and Nicky laughs. “Don’t laugh. I am a genius.” Nicky laughs again, only louder. “I am starting to get a complex kid,” he says with a wink back in my direction. I mouth “thank you,” and he nods with a smile.

Chapter 27

Elijah

I don’t know what I was thinking moving in. Maybe a part of me really wants to believe this is my family. Kayla is my wife, and little Nick and Brayden are my sons. Nicky certainly has a good life. I don’t know why in the hell he would ever give this up. I would fight like hell to keep it, and I hope like hell that’s what he is doing. Kayla passes me with a smile and my knees begin to buckle.
Oh what the hell am I doing? I should leave.

“Eli!” Little Nick runs up on me, carrying his favorite car. “Eli, my car is broken. Will you fix it?” I nod, and he climbs up next to me, watching me as I repair the broken toy.

Before the end of the night, Brayden begins to get tired, crawls into my lap with his blanket, and falls asleep against my chest. Nicky eventually falls asleep next to his mother who is curled up near me, asleep. I pull a blanket down and cover them up. Looking around me, I have to take a second to remember to breathe.
Oh, Dad, if only you could see me now. In this moment right here, right now. This is all I wanted for you, for me.

“You look good with them,” Franky says, looking over us all.

“I look good with my best friend’s family. Yeah, I don’t think so,” I say.

“Well, he’s not here anymore, and they are going to need someone. His loss could be your gain?” Franky says with an encouraging expression.

“What are you doing here, Franky?”

“They want me here so I can be protected from those horrible men, too. I have no idea how to defend myself against such ruthless killers.”

“The ruthless killers are after Nick and his family, not Nick’s dead mother’s physician.” She looks confused by my words. “I don’t think so, Franky. I’m not buying the innocent girl needing protection bullshit. Why are you really here? Why are you encouraging me to steal Nick’s family? You have no chance with him anymore. He loves them. He loves her. No one else is going to break that.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I am over Nick. I am perfectly content with my life. My only interest is helping Nick any way I can. Even with his mother gone, I can still help. In fact, Nick is very encouraging about me helping Ryan through his tough time. The poor man has lost his love, Elijah. He needs me.” I roll my eyes, laughing at her absurd reasoning. “And what about you Elijah? What are you doing here?” she asks with a sudden attitude. I stand up with Brayden still in my arms, and look down at her.

“I’m here to figure you out, whoever you are.” She looks me up and down with a scowl.

“You are a disgusting individual,” she says with a snarl.

“See, it’s things like that, Franky. I have always been a disgusting individual, everyone who knows me knows that, but you, whoever you are, seem to be shocked by it.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I have changed over the years. Sure, I assumed you had grown up some over those same years. My mistake, I guess. You apparently don’t have the ability to progress past a young child’s mind.”

“Ooh that hurts. Tell me. How does it feel to be in the house of the man you love but not be in his bed? Instead, he puts you in the guest quarters way in the back and away from the family he shares with another woman. How does it feel to walk around seeing pictures of them together, celebrating their happiness and love? You’re nothing but a memory, girl, a distant one at that.”

She leans in with a tense expression, “I am fine Elijah. How do you feel about it?” She steams, and in that instant, I see it, a flicker of something change about her. It is brief, and I am not even sure she realizes that I saw it.

For now, I back off and let my suspicions rest. “No reason to get bent out of shape Franky. You know me. I just like to mess with people.” I laugh it off and watch her stomp away.

“What was that about?” Kayla asks.

“I thought you were asleep.” She sits up and cocks her head, waiting for me to answer her question. “I don’t know yet, but I will let you know when I do.”

Later in the night, I see Franky sneaking into Ryan’s room.
Oh gross.
I groan at the horrible images in my head.
Damn you, Nick.
I suck it up for friendship and knock on Ryan’s door. He finally opens with a disgusted expression. “Hey sunshine, I think you need to see something I discovered earlier.”

“What’s that Eli? I am a little busy right now.”

“I understand, but it is extremely important I show you right now.” He rolls his eyes and follows me out of his room to a private place for us to talk. I smack him in the back of the head as soon as we are alone.

“What the fuck Eli! I swear I will …” He yells, standing toe to toe with me.

“What is wrong with you? You need to stay away from that woman, not fuck her every night.”

“What is with everyone telling me what to do? I can make my own decisions, and if you don’t like it, then fuck you” Ryan snaps at me.

“Ooh are we angry now? Good! You’re being a jackass. I understand your grief Ryan, but she is using you.”

“She is helping me. You don’t know what you are talking about. She hypnotizes me, and I get to be with Sam every night. I don’t have to miss her so much.” Nick was right. He does need someone to keep him from doing something stupid. I feel for him, his broken heart is written all over him.

“She’s not helping you, Ryan. She’s helping herself. I don’t know what she is after, but she is using you to get it, and worst of all, she is using Sam.” His hardened expression turns to shock. “You know it. There is something about her that just isn’t right, and she just volunteers to pretend to be Sam every night to the point that you fuck her. Who would do that?” He steps away from me, pretending he stopped listening. “You’re right. You can make your own decisions. I won’t bring it up again, so you go ahead and fuck her. Hell, marry her for all I care. You can pretend she is Sam forever, but at some point, I would think you would realize that she isn’t Sam. Then what? Are you going to grieve all over again? You’re just prolonging the inevitable. Ryan, Sam is gone, and I guarantee you that woman is not going to ever be able to replace her.”

“I am not trying to replace her!”

“Yes, you are! You feel guilty, and if she isn’t actually gone then you don’t have to feel guilty. I can tell you though, the guilt never goes away, even if it isn’t your fault. The best you can do is go on and be the man Sam loved. She wouldn’t want it any other way. You are only disgracing her memory this way.” He turns to face me, ready to tear me apart. “Fall in love with another woman that is up to her standards, then, you’re honoring her. Fucking a woman that isn’t even close to who Sam was and pretending she is her, well, I can only imagine how she would feel about that.” I shake my head and leave him alone. Ryan passes by me quickly and walks straight into his room. Within a few seconds, Franky is escorted out of his room and the door is shut behind her. I smile wide, much to Franky’s displeasure. “Have a good night.” I wave happily to her frowning expression before going into my room.

The night air has a sharp chill to it this evening. I have to step back in between the fishermen’s storage sheds to escape the blowing wind. The dark night is suddenly broken up by a flash of lights from a car I know well.

“So you were actually able to get away from Grandpapa,” I say to Nicky as he walks up with a scowl. “Nice outfit. A gift for a being a good demon boy?”

“I’m not in the mood, Eli. Tell me what you know so far.”

“Not much to tell. Everything is going pretty smooth. Not one of your contacts is getting out of line. Terrence has been handling almost everything on his own, and he is getting bored. Majority of your men are spending time playing cars with Little Nick. Work is unusually calm and easy. Ryan is back to sleeping by himself, and Kayla is back to threatening to kill Franky on an hourly basis. Everything is normal.” He smiles with a roll of his eyes.

“Speaking of, what about the other trouble I anticipated? I have been waiting to see her banging on Savage’s door to yell at me, but she hasn’t even tried to call me. Is she planning something, or is she staying steady for now?”

“She is fine, dealing pretty well actually. Now, when you get back, you are going to surely have to do some major groveling. Your boys are good, too. Brayden is super cute. That little one is so lovable that I don’t think I am going to be able to sleep without him snuggled on my chest with that little blanket of his. And Little Nick… wow he’s a smart kid, and he loves to talk about his day. I think he has a little girlfriend, too,” I laugh, smacking Nick on the chest. “He said, ‘Eli, I asked her if I could hold her hand and she said yes, so I did.’ So, I asked him, ‘So what does that mean?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know’.” I laugh, motioning how Little Nick shrugged his shoulders. “Every day it is something new with him. I don’t know how many girlfriends he’s had already. Oh, and Kayla and I watched this kids’ movie with them the other day, and Brayden laughed every time Little Nick did. Kayla and I laughed through the whole thing watching them together. I will say, it is tiring, dealing with those kids. We all woke up on the sofa the other day together, even the dog was laying right next to us.” I laugh until I see Nick’s expression. “What’s wrong? You should be happy. This is what you wanted me to do, to make sure they are okay and stay happy. Right?”

“Sure. Happy and
safe
. Are you actually making sure they are safe or are you too busy taking naps with Brayden? Stop fucking around and look after my family. If that is too much for you, then I will find someone else.” Nick proceeds to pass me information for Ryan and others before he begins to turn away.

“Before you go, Nicky, someone stopped me before I could get out the door. She wanted me to give you this. I don’t know how she knew that I was coming to see you, but I didn’t bother denying it. You should know, she isn’t sleeping well without you.” I hand him the letter Kayla gave to me and walk away.

Chapter 28

Nick

“Nicholas! Concentrate!” Savage yells at me again. “These men will not give you an opportunity to adjust your coat.” He steps out from his corner and faces me head on. “Are you bored with the challenges I have set up for you? Maybe you need something a little more.” I prepare as he sheds his jacket and comes at me at the same time. His strike on me blows me back like a freight train. I try to get back to my feet, but again, I am whipped onto my back. I can’t catch my breath before another blow causes my blood to spray. In minutes, I am laid out with nothing more to give. Savage stands over me with disgust. “I barely broke a sweat, Nicholas. Perhaps you are not as strong as I thought. We are done for the day. Go clean up.”

Rabbie helps me up to my room and cleans my wounds before finally leaving me to nurse my ego by myself. The only one that could make me feel better right now is Kayla. I miss her smile, her kiss, and the feeling of her warm body embracing me. I suddenly remember that my wife sent me the perfect letter to put a smile on my face, along with a picture Nicky drew for me, reminding me of everything I am missing. Kayla tries to give me the day to day of what is going on in her letter; it doesn’t make me miss them any less, but at least I know they miss me just as much. Now, when I am alone in my obnoxiously decorated room, I can still have my family with me. As soon as I hear Savage coming down the hallway, I jump up and stash my letters and pictures with the rest of my hidden treasures behind the drawer in the chest. When he enters my room, I am laid out with little interest in what he has to say.

“Nicholas, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” He rolls his eyes as he waves me to follow him. I am starting to understand where I get my attitude problem from. We get into his car and drive to a dark area of town where he points out a crack house surrounded by gun-toting criminals willing to kill anyone that gets too close to their boss’s gold.

“This group has taken it upon themselves to grow in the wrong direction. I have an interest in a company I believe to be an up and coming opportunity. The man who owns the company has recently lost his daughter within this group. They have kidnapped her to encourage him to hand over money they believe he owes them. I don’t care about their problems. I care about my investment, and my investment is obviously distraught. He is unable to perform his duties properly and unable to concentrate on the business I have invested in. It does me no good to threaten him if he prefers death than to be without his daughter. I need him to do his work, but until he is relieved of his heartbreak, he is useless to me. I need you to go in there, find her, and bring her to me. Here is a picture of her,” he says, waiting for me to simply agree and do as asked without question.