AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Blinking away the watery haze, Devin looked around the office. She was still alone, still had to use the bathroom, but was afraid to do anything about either. Chrissy had been gone for some time, and Devin wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out.
Deep violet-blues skimmed the room, searching for some distraction. They settled on the phone, buried under piles of forms and scraps of paper. Devin had the receiver jammed to her ear, fingers flowing through the number she’d memorized as soon as she’d been given it.
“Who is this?” Ashley’s caustic tone slammed into Devin’s eardrum, the Alpha always hating unlisted numbers. Likely thought it was a telemarketer, the bane of any Alpha’s existence.
“A-Ashley? It’s me.”
“Shit! Devin. Devin, honey, where the fuck are you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, and you never returned any of my calls. Fucking cops are useless, they’ve been giving me the runaround. Are you okay? What happened at the club—”
“A-Ash, I… I got the job.”
“That’s… good?” Ashley gave a mirthless laugh, diving forward as she always did. “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?”
“Things haven’t been… I just… I wanted to thank you.” Devin sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. “For everything, you know?”
“Ominous much? Why aren’t you answering any of my damn questions, Devin? Come on, tell me where you are, and we’ll go out for lunch.”
“I can’t. I don’t know how much time I’ve got before they come back—”
“Before who comes back?” Ashley’s voice dropped, a vicious growl edging her words.
“It’s okay, Ash. I just… I wanted to say thanks. You were my only real friend here.”
“I still am, bitch. Now tell me where you are.”
“Hang up,” Rey whispered against Devin’s opposite ear. His hand closed over her shoulder, tightening by degrees.
Devin dropped her shoulder, wincing and gritting her teeth as her arm went numb once again. Still, she held the phone, forcing a smile into her voice. “I’ll call you later, Ash. Bye.”
“Devin, don’t you dare—”
Letting the receiver drop into the cradle with a hollow rattle, Devin panted through the pain, slamming her fist against the desk to keep from clawing at Rey’s hand.
“What the hell was that,” Rey asked, his voice liquid silk as it invaded her every sense and tangled through her spine, demanding her compliance.
“I have to go to the bathroom. Please. I mean it.” Devin jostled in place, baring her teeth as Rey crushed her shoulder in his grip. “I drank an entire bottle of water. I haven’t left this room since I got here. Please, Gods, don’t make me humiliate myself any more than I already have before you do whatever it is you plan to do.”
Rey growled something under his breath, dragging Devin with him towards the door. Marching her down the hall, not to the small bathroom the staff used on this level, but to the private one inside his office. Shoving her through the door, he slammed it in her face.
Devin didn’t care. She wasted no time yanking the dress up and dropping onto the toilet. Groaning, she realized what she’d just done. She should never have called Ashley and didn’t understand why she had. The selfish goodbye had no purpose but to get her friend mixed up in all of this.
Once finished, she took her time washing her hands, waiting for the water to become scalding hot to waste a little more time in her thoughts. She’d gotten herself in this. There had to be a way out. Ashley couldn’t get involved, that much was clear. The female Alpha would only get herself killed. She’d have to figure some way to get Ashley out of the line of fire.
Cracking the door, Devin edged her way along the wall. Eyes downcast, head lowered, she had a brief moment to bask in the lack of Rey’s expected response before she crumpled to the floor from the force of Beau’s hand connecting with her cheek. Curling in around her middle, arms a protective circle around her head, she waited for the next blow.
There wasn’t long to wait, his furious curses raining down upon her along with his fists. She’d made a fuss, created a scene. Refusing to anger him more with anything but the grunts and groans he pummeled from her body, Devin managed to take the beating. Breathless, sweating, crying silent tears, but alive. Anything was possible, so long as she was alive.
“What kind of bullshit move was that, hmm?” Beau crouched over her, pretending a gentle caress to thread his fingers through her ragged curls. He wrapped them around his fist and yanked her head back so he could see the fear bright glaze of her eyes.
“She would have come here eventually. Said she called the cops. Had to tell her something…” Devin gagged and coughed, blood spilling over her lips as she let the words out in a rush.
“What the hell, Beau!” Rey appeared at their side, knocking the other male back. Grabbing Devin’s bruised face, he turned her left and right to view the swollen bruises. “Just great, man. Now I can add assault to the list of shit I let you get away with in this club.”
“I’m sorry,” Devin whispered, cowering before them as soon as Rey released her chin. Prostrating herself until she set her cheek to the abrasive floor. Trying not to breath too deep, the grinding pain in her chest promising something more than a mere bruise, she whispered it over and over again. Apologizing, pleading for mercy. Begging and promising in the same breath.
It was what one of them wanted at least. Beau scoffed, placing the sole of his boot against her hip, toppling Devin sideways.
“You tell me what happened.” Rey rolled his weight back onto his heels as he crouched, fixing Devin in his dark gaze.
