Page 13 of The Devil’s Lair

Oh. “I just heard he’s okay. I’m so glad.”

“Yes, he was lucky. Mr. De Vil would like to see you. If you’re in agreement, I’m here to take you.”

“I-I… I was on my way to see him, actually.”

“Then, it’s perfect timing. Shall we?”

Get in a car with a stranger? I don’t think so.

I pause, considering the best way to tell him no. I’ve never been very good at saying that word. My mother used to say people pleasers get walked all over. It might be the one and only thing she was ever right about.

“I have my daughter.” I motion behind me, although he won’t be able to see her from his vantage point.

“I can secure a car seat if that’s concerning you.”

No, mister. What’s concerning me is being in an enclosed space with a gigantic man I’ve never met before.

I glance over at Marcus’s car. I was planning to take the bus to the hospital because he never let me drive his precious car, but Marcus isn’t here any longer. “I’ll follow you. Hang on. Let me grab the car keys.”

“No problem.”

My gaze flicks past him to the end of the drive. It takes me a second to realize the journalists are gone. Huh?

“Mrs. La Salle?”

I blink, my focus shifting from the space devoid of reporters to the stern-looking man in a dark gray suit. “Yes?”

“You were getting your keys, ma’am.”

“Where did they go?” I motion to the end of the driveway where the hoards were. “The photographers and journalists?”

“We took care of that, ma’am. They won’t be back.”

Took care of… how? I’m not sure I want to know.

I return inside the house, grab the keys, and scoop up Isla. After locking the front door, I head to Marcus’s car. Once I’ve secured Isla in her car seat, I climb into the driver’s side and indicate to Benton that I’m ready. He gets into the imposing SUV and pulls out of the driveway and onto the road.

Due to typical London traffic, the drive to the hospital takes thirty minutes. I park up and walk over to where Benton’s waiting by the hospital entrance, settling Isla on my hip as we get in the lift and travel to the fourth floor.

Two different yet equally scary-looking men stand on either side of a doorway. I presume that’s Tobias’s room. He has a lot of security. It’s making me nervous. Another stark reminder that I don’t belong in this world. It was hard enough stepping from my world into Marcus’s, but this… this is an entirely differently level of existence.

“He’s waiting for you,” Benton says.

One of the men opens the door, and I enter. Inside, the décor is about as far from a standard hospital room as you could get. The walls are decorated in a floral paper, with several paintings dotted around. There’s a couch, two plush chairs, and opulent curtains frame the large picture window.

Tobias greets me with a friendly smile. “Hi.”

I duck my chin and squeeze Isla tighter, using her as my comfort blanket. “Hello.”

He motions to the couch. “Please, take a seat.” Once we’re situated, he turns his attention to Isla. “Hello, sweetheart. You must be Isla.”

I’m stunned. With everything that happened late on Friday night, and having survived a bullet and surgery, he remembers my daughter’s name.

Isla turns her face into my body and starts to suck her thumb. “She doesn’t talk, but thank you. I can’t believe you remembered her name.”

“I remember everything.”

His intense gaze is too much for me to hold. I dampen my lips and glance down. “I’m so sorry.”