Page 21 of Broken By The Devil

He sighs, “You know, I was part of a black ops unit before I came into the force,” he explains. I knew his skill set was incomparable to anyone here, but I didn’t know it was black ops. The man is a walking weapon. I don’t say anything. I let him continue as I’m cleaning his wound.

“One of my missions went wrong in the Middle East. My superior gave an order I knew was the wrong one. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t want to go against a higher-ranking agent. He ended up going into the building and an IED went off, killing him and another agent instantly. I will live with that regret for the rest of my life. We all have regrets as we walk through life, and if you avoided one today, I can’t fault you for that, Viper.”

I look up at this man in awe. He may be infuriating and a bit of a brute at times, but he has a kind heart. He places his thumb on my jaw and tilts my head up. “What happened to the target who planted the IED?” I ask trying to distract him from what he’s thinking of doing. I can’t trust that I’ll be able to control myself if he kisses me.

“I killed him,” he says at a matter of fact. He grabs my jaw with his whole hand and pulls me closer to him. “I’m not a good man Viper, but I care about my own. I don’t hesitate to protect what’s mine, no matter what I have to do, no matter who I have to slaughter. I. Don’t. Hesitate.” My breathing hitches slightly as his hand travels lower across my neck. If he’s going to kiss me, I won’t stop him. His gaze drops to my neck, and all I see across his face is pure blind rage. He brushes my jacket aside and examines the bruises. I take a step back from him and pull my jacket closed.

“Who…the fuck…did this to you?” he demands through his gritted teeth.

Shit.

KADE

Ican’t see straight. I can’t think. I can’t force my eyes away from her neck, black and purple bruises on either side. The rage is going to swallow me whole. I grip the desk so hard, I take chunks out of the wood.

“Viper, don’t make me ask again. I hate having to repeat myself.” I’m struggling to get words out. I can’t control the rage.

“It’s nothing. It must be from sparring the other day, I’m fine.” She’s a good liar, but not that good. Her nostrils are flaring, and she keeps touching her jacket zip.

“Don’t do that, don’t lie to me, I’m not stupid, Hale.” Hoping the use of her surname will make her realise I’m deadly serious. You can almost see the fucking fingerprints embedded into her skin.

“Please don’t call me that,” she whispers. She stands there looking so vulnerable, holding her jacket closed. The fury doesn’t dissipate, if anything, it makes it ignite. She isn’t vulnerable. She isn’t fragile. This is not Emilia Hale. This is not the Viper I know.

“Why should I not call you that? That’s your last name, right? Is it because your father did that to you?” I throw out the comment, hoping it’ll stir something. I need answers now. If it is her father doing this, I can sort that out, right now. It’s clear they don’t have a good relationship.

“No! I just don’t want to be constantly reminded that the chief is my father! This is nothing, just leave it be, Kade,” she pleads. I’ve had enough. I’ve asked numerous times, given her space, tried to gain her trust, and she still won’t let me in. The anger takes over my body. I have no control over it. I punch a hole through the wall in my office. “Someone is hurting you and you won’t tell me who it is. Just let me in! Tell me who it is Emilia!” I rage.

Emilia flinches, her body visibly shaking and her eyes have a sheen of terror over them. I’ve lost control. I let her see the real me for just a fraction of a second, and I’ve scared her. “Viper, I would never hurt you, you know that, right?” I soften. She backs up towards my office door, still clinging to her jacket to hide the marks.

“I know you would never hurt me Kade… but if you’re reacting like this now… it scares me what you’ll do when you eventually know the truth,” she whimpers. She opens the door to leave. “Emilia, don’t…just wait,” I plead with her to just stay and talk. “I’m taking the rest of the day off, I’ll see you at the charity event later.” She darts down the corridor. I’ve been dismissed as if nothing has happened. The fury ignites in me again, still having no answers to anything.

I go back into my office and let the rage out. My chair is broken and the books, that were organised in the bookcase, are now spewed over the floor. My desk is in pieces. Cyrus barges through the door and takes one look at the office.

“I told you not to piss her off before the charity dinner, and now look. She’s sprinting out of your office, and it looks like a rabid animal came in here and tore shit up. What the fuck happened?” You know things are bad when Cyrus is raging. He’s normally laid back, but when things matter, he cares.

I put both hands behind my neck, interlock my fingers, and breathe. I need to get control of myself, otherwise there will be nothing stopping me from confronting her father. “She has bruising on her neck Cy. Looks like someone choked her. They’re black and purple—a day old at most.” I start pacing my office, trying to burn off the rage, but nothing is working.

“Shit, alright. There are cameras outside her apartment. Every time I’ve looked previously, they’ve been scrubbed clean, but maybe we’ll get lucky. I’ll check there first.” He is trying to instil some reassurance in me, some calm, but there’s none to be found.

“It has to be her father or Tom, right? I can’t think of anyone else that she’s involved with that could be doing this.” My thoughts solely centred on the person hurting her. “I’m going to pay Tom a visit. If it’s not him, he knows who it is.” I go to move towards the door, but Cyrus blocks my path.

“That is not a good idea right now. You’re not just angry you’re in a rage. You don’t know what you’re doing, just give it a minute and process. The priority is Emilia.” Cyrus has always been good at being the voice of reason, but it’s not working this time. Cass comes barrelling into the office, and I see red. I grip him by his Kevlar and push him into the bookcase, holding him there.

“You’re going to listen to me very carefully Cass, because I’m not in control right now. Who is hurting Emilia? I want to know a name right now.” The threat is clear in every word I choke out .

“Kade, don’t.” Cyrus shoots me a warning from across the room. I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but logical thought escapes me. It’s been months with no answers. The final strand of my patience has snapped.

“She has fingerprints embedded into her neck. Someone choked her Cass. You tell me, now.” I’m not human at this point. I feel more like an animal.

“I can’t! Anything I say could put her in more danger than she’s already in! She’s being blackmailed Kade!” He blurts out. I let him go and move to the other end of my office. “What do you mean she is being blackmailed? With what? By who?” I demand.

“I can’t tell you anymore than I already have. I’m not doing this to be difficult. I’m doing this for her. She is my family Kade. She is like my sister. I would do anything to protect her, and it kills me to sit on the sidelines like this, but it’s necessary!” I have no words for a response—more questions than answers, yet again. Cass must sense I’m not going to say anything, so he continues.

“You might not think you’re getting anywhere with her, but you are. It’s a lot for her to trust anyone. She doesn’t have a family anymore. Her father is a drunk, and her mother and sister are gone! Just try and talk to her at the dinner tonight. Walk with her up the beach and just see if she’ll tell you. I’m going to check on her now. I’ll talk to her,” Cass suggests.

“Alright, I want you to text me once you’ve seen her. Just let me know if she’s ok,” I order. He nods and leaves my office. I shouldn’t have gripped him up like that. I’ll apologise later.

“If she doesn’t tell you tonight, what’s the plan? We can’t let this continue. Nobody hurts one of our own,” Cyrus declares. He’s right, nobody hurts one of mine. She might be the chief’s daughter, but she is one of us. Everyone seems to gravitate towards her, including me.