Page 29 of Wrecked By a Devil

For a heartbeat, I can’t even remember what words are, let alone the answer to his question. The heat radiating from his skin is doing things to me that I would never dare admitting.

“It would… tachycardic,” I breath out, losing my grip on proper grammar entirely. “It would go up.”

“Is that a medical diagnosis,” He murmurs, his eyes darkening as he drops his hand back to the deck. “Or an admission?”

“It’s a fact,” I clear my throat, doing my best to pull myself together. “From my book.”

“Right,” he smiles, not breaking eye contact, as he pulls the next card.

All I can think of is how bad I need to get out of there before I do something stupid. “Would it be okay if I used the restroom?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I don’t wait for him to say anything else before I jump to my feet and run to the bathroom attached to his office. I close the door behind me and immediately let the cold water run. Now that I’m far enough from him, I can breathe a little easier. The water is cold and refreshing as I let it run over my hands for a while.When I finally feel put together enough to face Ezekiel again, I splash a little water on my face and head back to his office.

Before I can properly step out into the room, the door opens with a loud sound and a young man steps in. The look on Ezekiel’s face changes the moment he sees his brother and I would almost be willing to bet that I see a trace of rage in his expression.

“We have a problem,” he speaks, completely unaware of my presence.

“What happened, Malachi?” Ezekiel leans back in his chair, his body ready to jump and take care of whatever business he might need to.

“Diana is missing.” As those words leave Malachi’s lips, I freeze.

Diana is the first dancer I got to know at Eden. I had my first rehearsal with her and she has been nothing short of welcoming and friendly. The thought of something bad happening to her is terrifying.

“When?” Ezekiel asks his brother.

“She was last seen here on her last shift,” Malachi proceeds. “Apparently no one has heard from her or seen her since.”

“That was last night,” Ezekiel recalls.

“We need to figure all of this out before it gets even bigger,” Malachi’s voice is filled with anger

Ezekiel nods and then turns around in his chair to face me. “I need to take care of this with my brother. Will you be okay on your own?”

“Yeah.” My voice comes out weaker than intended.

“Oh,” Malachi freezes when he notices me, but he doesn’t say anything. His attention goes back to his older brother, hurrying him. “Let’s go.”

“Please find Diana…” I find myself saying as they’re both heading out. Only Ezekiel stops and turns his head to me. “Please.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ezekiel

“She was supposed to come in yesterday to prepare for a special performance.” Malachi and I are walking down the corridor, heading to meet the two detectives that are waiting for us at the bar. “Jena said she received a message from Diana claiming that she’s sick and telling her she couldn’t make it.”

“And Jena didn’t think this was something worth reporting?”

“She did,” he continues. “She emailed you, but it got buried between the numerous spam emails you receive on a daily basis from brands hoping to collaborate with Eden.”

“Damn it,” I run my fingers through my hair. “Who replaced Diana for the performance?”

“Mia,” Malachi explains. “It was a last-minute change and Mia volunteered to do it. All of the senior dancers were alreadyworking on their own performances so aside from Mia and your new friend, there was no one else available.”

“She’s not my friend.”

My blood boils at the way he says those words.Your new friend.Riley is anything but my friend. I’m keeping her close so I can keep my eye on her. Yes, it’s true that I no longer think she’s involved in any of this, especially after seeing how freaked out she was a minute earlier after finding out Diana was missing. But that doesn’t change the fact that she could cause us trouble if she opens her mouth when she shouldn’t.