The Devil's Masquerade: The Poison (20 page)

I don’t bother to question. I only give him all of me, including my own heart. I return to him from my high and orgasm again. Only this time, I align with Nick’s powerful rush. I am able to enjoy him coming inside me while feeling his energy intensify his smooth stamina.

Nick sleeps quietly while I grip him closer to me. I fear him leaving, and throughout the night, something inside me begins to change. I begin to fear and want to hide. My dreams crush me every time I close my eyes.

By the next morning, I see Nick coming towards me with a look I know well from him. He takes my hand and brings me into his office where Elijah already awaits. I nod Elijah’s way, and he returns the favor. Neither of us wastes time with much more. He wants to talk about something he knows I will not like. I stand strong and cross my arms, waiting for him. “Now what is that look for?”

“Well, I don’t know yet; however, I am sure you do,” I say, avoiding looking up at him.

“Kayla,” he sighs deeply.

“Nick,” I say sharply.

“Please don’t do this. I have thought about this and ran every possibility through my head, and this is the best one for all of us.”

“Is it? Best for all of us?” I ask.

“Yes. I am going to go and stay with Savage and work my way into his favor. In the process, I’ll pretend I have no ties to anyone else, which should steer any possible trouble from you and the boys. I will still be able to work on my father’s notes, and in the meantime, work with Savage to become stronger too.”

“You mean work with him so he can change you into him and leave your family vulnerable to be killed so he can have you all to himself when we are gone,” I cry to him.

“Kayla! That is not going to happen!”

“Bullshit it’s not! That man is ruthless, and now you believe he has your best interest at heart? Are you suddenly some kind of fool, Nick?” Nick takes hold of me, his eyes swirling as he looks down into mine. “Remember, baby, you have no power over me. Be angry with me if you must, but you better believe I am not going to simply let you walk out of our lives without a fight,” I say, desperately trying to hold onto any strength I might have.

“I am not walking out of your lives. I am trying to protect you until I can get our lives back to … to normal,” he says, walking away from me like he doesn’t even believe it possible.

“Nick, I believe you can do anything, but I think, sometimes, you take on issues by yourself when you don’t have to. Baby, please let me help you. Talk to me and tell me what you are thinking and doing. I can help you.” I approach him and smile, but he doesn’t smile back.

“Princess, I want nothing more than to tell you everything, but I also want to protect you from a world that you shouldn’t have to deal with. If you would leave with the boys and find a life that makes you happy, I would …”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!! Listen here, Nicholas Jayzon,” I say, poking his chest. “You better fucking believe I am not going to be happy without my husband and the father of my children. You promised me the perfect life when we got married, and you are not going to deny me that life. That means you are going to be in it. So help me if you …”

“Alright! Damn you! You stubborn ass mule,” Nick snaps at me but allows me to collapse into his arms.

“I told you,” Elijah says, getting up and making himself a drink.

“Shut up, Eli,” Nick sighs.

“This asshole wanted you and the boys to leave with me tonight,” Elijah says, relaxing on the couch with a large smile. Nick eyes him harshly.

“Oh, don’t bother trying to destroy him with your demon eyes. I already caught on to your plan. You have tried it before, Nick!” I yell at him.

“Well, my beautiful, frustrating wife, I guess hiding things from you is futile. Yes, I wanted you to leave and hide.” Nick fumes for a few seconds before turning back to me and my crossed arms. “It’s not like you and Eli don’t have something for each other.” Elijah stares at him in shock, but I step towards Nick and look him dead in the eyes.

“Excuse me? Have I
ever
been unfaithful to you?” He doesn’t respond but stands stubbornly strong against me. “You’re right. I think Eli is hot.”

“You do?” Elijah suddenly chimes in.

“Shut up, Eli,” I say, continuing to facing off with my husband. “I tell you what, Nick. I will leave with him. I will fuck him every day and every night. I will let him suck on my tits and taste my pussy, and we will have more children together, all the while forgetting all about you,” I say, watching Nick steam while Elijah slips into a dreamy eyed fantasy. “Is that what you want Nick? For your family to run away and forget all about you? Because I will if that’s what you want. I only want to make you happy, Baby. Hell, let me prove to you how happy I want to make you.” I approach Elijah and kiss him deeply. Nick grabs my arm and pulls me off of him.

“Are you done?” he hisses, his entire body tense. He lets me go and walks away, fisting his hands. I gently touch him and he relaxes to look back at me. “Are you done with your tantrum? I am trying to explain to you why I am doing this, and if you will give me a minute, I can explain everything I am thinking.” Nick glances at Elijah’s overly smiling face and growls.

“Your fights are awesome,” Elijah says, sitting back in his seat and taking a drink.

“Kayla, there are more people out there who are against me, against who I am, and they want to destroy me anyway they can. The only one who can help me get them is Savage. In the meantime, I can get closer to him and find his weaknesses. Once he helps me, then I can destroy him, too.” Nick takes hold of my arms and nudges me to look up at him. “Princess, please understand. I know it isn’t going to be easy, but there is nothing you can do to help in this. I have to go at this alone, and I don’t want you and the boys anywhere near.”

“How do you know I can’t help you?” I ask.

“Kayla! Listen to me! Did you see what happened the other night when I killed those intruders? I nearly killed you. I had no control over myself, and I don’t want that to happen again. What if it had been Nicky or Brayden? What if Ryan hadn’t been able to stop me? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt you or the boys.” Nick softens while I begin to question.

“Intruders? Is that what they were? Is it that simple, Nick?”

“No, it isn’t simple at all. There are no easy answers, only trouble no matter which way we go. No matter what we decide,” he says, looking defeated already.

“It’s
we
now? You are going to listen to what I want now?”

“Do you ever give me a choice, Kayla?”

“No. I am glad you have finally learned that. Now, tell me what you know and be careful, My Love. Don’t leave anything out or there will be hell to pay.” I smile and sit down next to Elijah who is enjoying the show immensely. I give him a sideways glance, but it doesn’t seem to lessen his amusement. Nick takes his time beginning but eventually tells me that he didn’t even recognize me and that he became so empowered by killing that he craved even more. When he wrapped his hands around my throat, he thirsted for the feeling of my pulse stopping beneath his fingers until he realized it was me. Nick stops suddenly as if he wants to tell me something, but he continues, confessing to visiting with Savage and discussing their partnership in defeating what Savage calls, “his born enemies.” There are eight others with power, but only one can come close to Savage’s power, Rein. He will do anything to keep Savage from growing anymore; however, he is too skilled and intelligent to outright take on Savage by himself. Instead, he has convinced one of the others, if not more, to do it for him. Their first attack was obviously to take out Nick, since he seems to be of interest to Savage. And now they know that Nick is no ordinary interest. Savage feels that Nick should join him now and separate himself from the rest of us in order to protect us. Savage and his crew, along with Nick, will fight off our latest enemies. Once they have fought off the takeover attempt and proven their power, Nick’s power especially, then Nick can come home and reclaim his family. “So, you say Savage said all this? And why should we believe that he is out for our own good?”

“That’s what I asked.” Elijah says with a wide smile.

“I know. I don’t particularly trust him either, but I am not sure we have a choice right now. I don’t know these … whatever they are, and I have no idea what they are capable of. That first team was a feeler team, to see how easy it would be to take me out. And since I somehow let one get away, they are more than aware of my abilities now. Plus, Savage says he will teach me more, and that can only help our ultimate cause in getting him,” Nick says with an encouraging tone.

“I don’t like any plan that has you leaving your family,” I say.

“Kayla, I promise you, I will come back.”

“Come back as what, Nick?” I don’t bother waiting for an answer. I know even he doesn’t know. I didn’t mean to say that to him. I know how torn up he is about it. I quickly change my mood and approach his stiff back with a soft hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I hate the thought of you not being with us, and I hate not being there for you. Nick, please look at me. I love you too much to simply agree to a plan that we don’t have all the information for, and don’t tell me that you do, either. Your fear of hurting us is clouding your judgment, My Love.” He cringes and sighs, obviously searching for a way to argue with me, but after a few seconds of fuming curses, he calms.

Nick suddenly looks down and embraces me. “I will find out more then, Princess, and I won’t make a move without your approval.”

Chapter 25

Nick

I promised Kayla I wouldn’t leave her again, and she is holding me to that right now. I am scared to leave my family yet scared to be around them, so I spend most of my time at my father’s hideaway. This place calms me for some reason, but I also can get in more treatments on my father’s machine. I am hoping that, if nothing else, it will give me more control over my emotions. I have asked Eddie to up the intensity, double the usual, and today, I let everyone know I am going to go even further so they can be prepared. I don’t want anyone taking it easy on me, no matter what. Ryan has already made it known that he is not happy with my decision, but he isn’t here to stop me this time. Elijah isn’t offering any assistance on the matter either, giving Bo and Brady reason enough to back off as well. The rest are busy handling work. There just isn’t enough to make it worth my while. Damn them. I will just figure it out on my own. I will do it without them and force myself to recover and fight another way. I set the intensity myself and setup a motivator opposite me. I have sixty seconds to recover or I will get shocked again. I start the machine and sit down in the chair as I wait for it to warm up. Closing my eyes, I breathe in deeply and then …
nothing
. The first thing I see when I open my eyes is Kayla, holding the override button.

“What the hell is wrong with you? This is what you have been doing? Killing yourself?” she says to me.

“I’m not killing myself. It makes me stronger,” I say to her.

“Oh really? Because you look like shit. I knew something was wrong, the bruises and the dark circles under your eyes.” Before I can get up and argue with her, she hovers over me, looking me in the eyes. “Nick, stop. Stop doing this. It is making you sick. Everyone can see it but you. If what you need is to go and do this thing with Savage, then do it. I don’t want to lose you. I won’t lose you. So go, but you better damn well believe that I will come after you if you don’t come back to me when you should.”

She is so frustrating at times. No matter what I say or do, she just won’t give up on me. “I have nothing but dark clouds hovering over me, Kayla, and those clouds are going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Why would you ever want to live with that? You should just let me go and be happy.” Kayla grabs my collar and forces me to look into her eyes.

“You listen to me, Nicholas Jayzon. I love you! I married you. I had your children. All because I love you. If hell rains down on you, I will stand next to you holding the fucking umbrella over your head. We are in this together, and we will spend
forever
knowing we are meant to be … that we are meant to be together. Do you understand me?”

I cannot help but smile as tired as I am, “Yes Ma’am, I understand you perfectly. I need to do this Kayla, and you need to trust me to handle it.” She nods but doesn’t agree vocally.