4. Devon

Chapter four

Devon

“ A re you planning on keeping that delectable blonde?” Liam asks with a smirk, and I glare at the fucker.

He’s always trying to pick up chicks no matter who they belong to.

“She is mine. Stop eyeing her like she’s your fucking dessert.”

He shrugs like he doesn’t care either way. “I just thought you might care to know she’s running.”

My eyes dart to the pew I sat her on earlier, noticing it empty, and then to her blonde hair as it disappears through the fucking doors.

“Fuck,” I snap. “Time to go. Can I borrow one of your babies or not?” I ask Conrad as I hurry forward, and his “whatever,” reaches my ears as I start to run.

Storming through the doors into the foyer, I find the exterior doors just closing. Another curse flies past my lips as I shove them open to see my little mouse running as fast as she can in bare feet up the path, her skirt which tapers in at the knees making it hard for her to lengthen her strides.

I grin, storming forward with my prey in sight, ignoring the heavy drops of rain that still fall.

My strides are twice as long as hers, so it doesn’t take much for me to catch up to her as Liam calls out behind me.

“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t outrun Devon, the devil man!”

I’m going to kick his arse.

His laugh meets my ears as Jaxcen squeals in alarm, and a second later, I have my arms wrapped around her middle again.

“You’ll never escape me, little mouse,” I growl, right before she screams at my contact, flailing just as she did earlier, but this time I spin her in my arms and hoist her over my shoulder.

“Put me down!” She protests, one of her dainty fists pounding my back, warranting the slap I give her arse as I turn to face my cousins with a shit-eating grin.

“Right, Connie. Lead the way to my new ride.”

“Call me Connie again, and the only ride you’ll be in is a fucking hearse.”

I roar with laughter at my cousin, who fights to hide his own smirk with his brother Liam and Liam’s twin sister Fallon at his side.

“Put me down you… you… monster!” Jaxcen continues to pound my back, so again, I slap my palm onto her perky globe which is so fucking close to my head that I’m tempted to sink my teeth in.

That’ll really make her squeal.

Fuck. I’d love to hear that.

“You really do have a way with women.” Fallon smirks, and I spin to walk ahead of them, noticing my little mouse has now fallen quiet.

“You doing okay there?” Liam asks Jaxcen as we walk, and she grumbles.

“Just peachy.”

They all laugh.

Passing my compromised Land Rovers, I grit my teeth in frustration at how someone was fucking able to get close enough to fuck with them. Whoever this Mr V fucker is, he’s done his homework, and I don’t fucking like it.

Hurrying across the road and tram tracks, we walk in silence up the path to the side entrance of Conrad’s performance car dealership .

Once inside, he lights up the space revealing the cars in the showroom.

“Where’s the good one?” I ask as I lower my little mouse to her feet, only to score myself a harsh glare.

Shit. It looks like she wants to hit me.

How fun.

“You don’t need the good one. Just take one of these,” Conrad grunts but I shake my head.

“No way. Give me the red Corvette.”

Conrad rolls his eyes. “Fine. It’s in the back, but if you so much as scratch her, I’ll fuck you up.”

I chuckle, taking Jaxcen’s hand in mine and pulling her along with me. “I’d like to see you try.”

Ignoring Conrad’s grumble, I lead my little mouse into the back section of the dealership to find the sexiest fucking car I’ve ever seen.

It’s Conrad’s favourite, which is exactly why I’m insisting on taking it. Annoying him is worth his bitching.

As he hands me the keys, I notice Fallon eyeing Jaxcen, and I just know she’s about to start shit.

“You’re not his usual type.”

And there it is. Fallon being fucking Fallon. Always causing trouble.

Jaxcen scoffs, “I’m not with him.”

“One hundred bucks says you don’t last a day.” Fallon giggles and I roll my eyes, wanting to take the bet on a matter of hours instead of a day given what we shared in the confessional.

“Leave her alone, Fal.” Liam chuckles, before turning his sights to my little mouse. “Ignore her, she likes to stir shit.”

Fallon rolls her eyes. “As if he’s not going to be balls deep inside her as soon as he can. Look how protective he was of her when you were checking her out.”

“True.” Liam fucking nods, and I want to punch the fucker.

One glance at my little mouse shows how uncomfortable she is with this entire conversation. I could join my cousins in stirring things up, because that’s how we roll sometimes, but my need to get inside the car and out of here is eating at me.

Maybe it's because I want to get her alone. But then there's also the fact that this Mr V fucker is out there somewhere and I have no idea if he’s gearing up to hit again tonight.

He made his intentions clear, though. He noticed her. He noticed my reaction to her. And now it's put a target on her back.

“Come on, love.” I ignore my cousins and open the car door. “In you get.”

Frantic eyes dart to my cousins and then to me, before her timid plea reaches my ears.

“Please, I just want to go home.”

Gritting my fucking teeth, I don't miss the curiosity on my cousins’ expressions. They're waiting to see how I react. They’re waiting to see if I’ll give in and take my little mouse home. But I can’t do that. Not now that she’s attracted the attention of someone who is clearly out for revenge.

“For now, your home is where I say it is. Get in the fucking car,” I snap, and a whimper escapes her as she takes an uneasy step back.

“Wanna clue us in?” Conrad asks, this time concern creasing his brow.

“Later,” I bark, returning my furious gaze to my little mouse. “Get in, Jaxcen.”

She takes another fucking step back and a savage growl rumbles in my chest as I point to the seat inside the five hundred thousand dollar car.

“Either get in willingly, or I’ll put you in there myself and tie you to the fucking seat.”

“This just keeps getting better and better.” Fallon snickers, and I’m about to rip my cousin a new one when Jaxcen beats me to it.

“I’m glad the fact this arsehole is kidnapping me amuses you so much!” she snaps, her glare harsh and fuck, just the sight has my dick stirring.

She looks so innocent and sweet, yet there’s fire in her, and fuck if that doesn’t make me want to devour her even more.

While I stare at my feisty little mouse, my cousins chuckle as Liam nods.

“She got the arsehole part right, hey Dev.”

I roll my fucking eyes.

“She’s a bit too feisty for you, Dev. You sure you can handle her?” Conrad asks and I scoff.

“I can handle anything.”

“Cocky much?”

The retort comes from my little mouse, right before she glares at me like she wants to stab my eyeballs out with the sharpest knife she can find. Nevertheless, she gets in the car with a huff.

My arsehole cousins’ ooooh’s meet my ears, but I can’t take my eyes off my little mouse as I notice her hands glide over the soft leather of the seat and I just know she’s enjoying the luxury of the expensive car.

Closing her in, I dodge a few more questions my cousins throw my way as to who Jaxcen is and what exactly is going on, before I’m sliding into the car with her and closing us in together.

Our eyes meet in the confined space, and I get the feeling she wants to say something, but it’s almost like now that we’re alone together, she’s lost her nerve.

The thought tugs at my lips and I try to hide my smirk.

“Seatbelt,” I say and I start the car, the engine roaring to life.

As if she’s just remembered that we’re about to drive in a car, she quickly feels for her seatbelt before tugging it across her body, her eyes wide like she’s about to go on a rollercoaster ride.

Hell. Perhaps she is.

Conrad presses a button to the side of the garage, and the door starts to roll up as I rev the engine a few times making sure to fit my own seatbelt. The lights from the dash illuminate the cabin, the warm glow dancing over the flawless skin on Jaxcen's delicate cheeks, making her appear more angelic than human.

“What do I have to do for you to let me go home?”

Her question takes me by surprise. For some reason, I figured any argument about what was happening here had finished, but she’s not giving up.

I have to say. I like that about her.

She’s a fighter.

“There’s nothing you can do. You’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

A slow, sinister smirk tugs at my lips as our eyes remain locked, and I rev the engine a few more times, just for effect before I answer.

“To hell.”

It’s then that I shift gears and plant my foot, shooting us out into the dark night, the rain soaked street adding to the effect of the tires sliding as I turn the wheel.

A squeal escapes her and I laugh maniacally as I plant the gas and speed through the streets of Melbourne, heading towards the eastern suburbs.

Her dainty hands grip the sides of the seat, her knuckles turning white as she holds on for dear life. Where I can, I accelerate fast. Much faster than what is legal, which spikes my adrenalin to life.

There’s just something about speeding up the freeway in a five hundred thousand dollar car that has me wanting to see just how fast this baby can go.

“Please slow down.”

The quiet plea from my little mouse brings my gaze to hers and the fear etched across her face is what has me lifting my foot off the accelerator to slow to a normal speed.

“You don’t like going fast?”

“I don’t mind fast things,” she mutters, “I just prefer not to be another statistic wrapped around a tree.”

I chuckle. “There aren’t any trees out here on this part of the freeway.”

“A concrete bollard, then.” She scoffs, and my gaze manages to catch her eye roll.

She has a point. I don’t exactly want to become another road fatality statistic either, so I maintain the legal speed limit, keeping an eye on my mirrors to make sure we aren’t being followed.

“So, Jaxcen Summers. Tell me why you just had to utilise Father Peters for a confession, so late on a Tuesday evening?”

If the lights were better inside the cabin, I just know she’d be blushing right now. She shifts nervously in her seat, and when I risk a glance, I notice those pretty pink plump lips sealed together in a tight line, like she’s trying to hold back her answer.

“Oh, come on, love. Would it really be so bad to tell me why you were there?”

“Maybe.” She responds quickly, and I chuckle, checking my mirrors as I change lanes to go around a truck.

“At least tell me what sort of confession it was.” I continue, not ready to give up. “Was it like, bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I didn’t eat all my vegetables today.”

She shoots me a ‘really’ glare before turning her sights back out to the window.

“Or was it, bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I let someone eat me today.”

Her gaze shoots back to me wide eyed in disbelief, and I’m grinning from ear to fucking ear.

“That was it, wasn’t it? You totally went there tonight to confess a sex sin, didn’t you?”

“No, I did not.” She rushes out, panic lacing her tone, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, you did. That’s exactly why you went there tonight.” I snicker teasingly. “What’s wrong little mouse? You feeling guilty about getting all down and dirty with someone?”

“No! That's not what happened!”

“Yeah, I think that’s exactly what happened.” I deadpan. “Was it someone from work? Perhaps your boss?”

“No, it wasn’t my boss. I mean… no, that’s not what happened.”

My laugh is loud in the confined space of the Corvette as I throw my head back, which just seems to annoy her, a scoff flying past her lips as she shifts uncomfortably in the seat and wraps her arms angrily over her chest.

That’s when I see it. The glint of a diamond ring on her finger.

An engagement ring.

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of workplace romance, little mouse.” I tease, dragging my gaze away from the small rock and gaining her glare.

“Would you stop calling me that?”

“Why? What’s wrong with little mouse?” I ask innocently before shooting her a wink. “I think it suits you.”

“It does not. It makes me seem like I’m weak.”

My brows shoot high. “Hell, love. There’s nothing weak about you. You’re a feisty, fiery little thing, I’ll give you that.”

At my words, her own brows shoot up for a beat before her scowl returns.

“Where are you taking me?” she asks, trying to change the conversation, and I bite back my laugh this time.

“I’ll tell you what.” I grin as we pass another lone truck on the freeway. “I’ll tell you exactly where I’m taking you, if you tell me exactly why you went to see Father Peters tonight.”

She scoffs in disbelief. “How about I tell the first person I see that you just killed two men in a church.”

And again, I’m fucking laughing.

This girl. She’s hilarious.

I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone that can be so timid, yet so sensual and so feisty in one sexy little package.

“And what do you think will happen to you if you go around telling people what you saw tonight?” I ask.

“What does it matter? You’re going to kill me anyway. You’re probably driving me out of town to do just that,” she snaps. “Will you make me dig my own grave in the middle of the bush somewhere before you shoot me in the head? ”

“Well, someone’s been watching too many true crime dramas.” I point out.

“That’s why it’s called true crime, because it actually happens in real life.” She counters, and I can’t help but laugh again.

“Since you think you’ve got me all figured out, little mouse, what have you got to lose by telling me why you went to confession tonight?”

“How about my dignity?”

“You didn’t seem to have much dignity when I had my thigh pressed between your legs.”

Her dark lashes flutter as she shoots her gaze out the passenger window again, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks are most likely on fire.

Fuck, I wish I could see them. I wish I could see how the red tints her skin. I wonder if it travels up her neck and reaches the tips of her ears, giving her feelings away to anyone that is watching.

“Come on, love. You didn’t seem that shy in the confessional. Why have things changed now?”

Anger flares to life as her head darts back in my direction, those big blue eyes wide with fury.

“You tricked me,” she snaps. “You told me to kiss you. You said that you were about to die, and yet you knew damn well you weren’t going to.” She shakes her head like she’s angry at herself. “I know now you knew you weren’t going to.”

“I might have died. Those men might have had one up on me that could have killed me before I even fired my gun so that may just have been my last kiss.”

“But it wasn't.”

I frown. “So you wish me dead, is that it? You give me a kiss and wish me dead.” Her expression contorts into shame, but I stop that in its tracks. “Ah, woman. You are so cruel.” I slap my hand over my chest, feigning a wounded heart.

And that’s when I see the slight tug of her lips.

I nearly made her smile.

“I have to say, love, as far as last kisses go, it was fucking hot. Sent the blood straight to my cock which made it really fucking hard to leap out like a hero and shoot those motherfuckers.”

She rolls her eyes. “You didn’t seem to have much trouble from where I was sitting.”

I wag my brows. “Were you checking out my arse?”

“Are you always so crude?”

I shrug and nod at the same time. “Well, yeah. Pretty much.”

She huffs in frustration, her eyes staring out the windscreen again, but I’m not ready to give up on her just yet.

“What would you say to a deal?” I ask, as the freeway lights slowly lessen the closer we get to the regional fringe. “A trade of sorts?”

“What do you mean?”

Damn. Is that curiosity I hear in her tone?

“How about you tell me exactly what you said to Father Peters in that confession booth, and in exchange, I agree not to kill you.”

Knowing I’ll likely get a less than stellar reception from my idea, I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead and a moment later, I can feel her eyes boring into the side of my head. They’re like a sharp knife stabbing right through my temple.

If looks could kill, Jaxcen Summers would have just murdered me, but thankfully she doesn’t have that power.

“I think it’s a pretty good deal,” I continue. “You want to live, right?”

“How do I know you won’t just kill me anyway?”

Smart girl.

“You don’t.” I shrug. “But what’s the alternative? You stay quiet and I take you out to the bush, make you dig your own grave and shoot you in the head.”

“Why are you doing this?” she whimpers. “I swear I won’t tell anyone. Please just let me go home. My family is going to be worried.”

She’s right. Her family will be worried. Especially whoever put that ring on her finger. They’ll be wondering why she’s disappeared, which is why I’ve already arranged for Finn and Dom to dive into her background and see if we need to come up with a story until I can get this shit show fucking sorted out. I didn’t contemplate her having a fucking fiancé though, given how young she is.

It’s a problem, but one my men can handle, so for now, her family will simply think she’s decided to spend Christmas with a friend. Or perhaps she’s run off with her new lover.

Yeah, I like the sound of that better.

I mean, it’s not that far from the truth, right?

“I can’t let you go, little mouse, but I can keep you alive. All you have to do is tell me what you confessed.”

The cabin falls quiet. The only sound is the rev of the Corvette as we travel towards country Victoria.

At first I think she’s not going to answer, and hell, I’m not going to force her. I was just hoping I could use a little blackmail to find out what makes her tick. But when she clears her throat and shifts nervously in her seat, I know she’s about to reveal her secret. The one that has her so ashamed that she had to go to confession on a wet and stormy Tuesday night in December, only five days from Christmas.