The Devil's Masquerade: The Poison (6 page)

My life is now at a lower level, but this opportunity gives me a chance to be with my children like I never could before. Tonight, they are all gathered together.

Lena, the daughter I would have raised on my own if I thought I could have, was raised by Andrea, a much better choice for her and the best mother a girl could have. Andrea was tough, but loving; she never let Lena get out of line. She was the perfect mother for a girl, especially one that could have easily been swayed down a bad path. Andrea was well established, intelligent, and able to give Lena the life I couldn’t. Lena is an example of one of my few good decisions.

Lena and her new husband, Brady, sit cuddling together in one chair, reminding everyone they came back from their honeymoon too soon. I sniff him repeatedly, checking him out. He seems to love her deeply and doesn’t seem to be bothered by me sitting in between them while I give him a closer look.

“Hey, Jayzon, what is wrong with your dog? Did you train him not to like cops or something?” Brady says, laughing as he tries to kiss Lena around me.

“Do you think Nick would bother to train that dog?! Are you kidding? Unless that dog can spy for him or handle a gun, then he has no time for him. Not liking cops must be a natural instinct, Brady. They do say dogs have good instincts about people.” Ryan laughs nodding in Nicholas’s direction.

Ryan, my youngest, is growing into such a fine man, and so happily teasing Sam as they talk of their own wedding plans. I have heard them discussing running away in the middle of the night and skipping the large wedding now that they have built their dream home. I imagine it is only a matter of time before they do just that. The way he talks to her, I’m surprised that she isn’t pregnant already.

“Come here, Eey. I have to tell you something,” Nicky says, grabbing my collar and pulling me onto the floor to show me his new toy. My grandson, Nicky, already showing signs of being just like his father. Even his responsibility of being the older brother mirror Nicholas’s relationship with Ryan. Nicky rarely lets Brayden out of his sight. Kayla had to move Nicky’s room next to Brayden’s just so they could share a door in between, a door that is never closed. Nicky looks after his little brother’s every step and never lets him fall. Not that I can blame him, Brayden, looks just like his mother. His angelic face makes you drunk with love. No one denies him much; I even let him chew on my ears whenever he wants. As much as he looks like his mother, he still has the blood of his father. His strength is low from being ill most of the time, but you can see the swirling anger in his eyes if you deny him something he wants. Brayden, however, tends to use his mother’s angelic gift to get what he wants, a gift his mother uses quite well, too.

Kayla, I had no idea how strong she was when I pushed Nicholas in her direction. The more she denied him, the happier I became. I watched their relationship grow to something so strong that I am sure no one can break them, not even my father. Kayla is beautiful, intelligent, and a wonderful mother. Most of all, she loves my son like he has never been loved before and like he deserves. She also has moves that hypnotize you. Yes, Nicholas is a lucky man, and it is no wonder he rarely misses an opportunity to get her naked and close to him.

“Eey, go on, move,” Nicholas says, pushing me out of Kayla’s lap and away from her affections. “That dog is constantly on you.” Kayla laughs, calming him with sweet whispers and tender kisses. Nicholas, my son, the strongest of them all. His shoulders carry them, but if not for Kayla, Nicholas wouldn’t be the man he is. The two of them need each other more than they even know. My first goal is to make sure
he
, Savage, Asmodeus, my father, does not take Nicholas away, but I’m not sure I can manage that much longer. My father has been constantly sending out spies to draw him in. I find them hovering around the estate and provoking Nicholas to come out to meet them, but he is too smart for their baiting games, something that only increases my father’s hunger. I would like to say that no spies have attempted to come into their home, but there is one woman that has already entered the house more than once, and I suspect she works for my father. I’m not sure why I distrust her, but I get a faint scent of desperation and dishonesty every time she steps into the room. Nicholas does not block this spy from what she wants; Kayla does. Nicholas is strong, intelligent, intuitive, and powerful, and Kayla is the same. Together, they are unbreakable. The goal of my father will be to separate them somehow, and once that happens, the resilient pair will become frail and weak. I just wish I knew how he plans to do it. I assume he will go after Kayla and lure her into fear, and to her death.

My second goal for being here is to make sure my father does not kill Kayla as I know he wants to. She stands between him and my son, and she alone keeps him from becoming filled with anger and destructive beyond control. Nicholas needs her, and she needs him.

My third goal is to insure he never gets to Nicky. The only chance they all have is if Nicky survives. His power is like no other. I didn’t even realize what he was capable of until he helped me. He is young but smarter than anyone three times his age.

Everything is quiet tonight, and I enjoy the smiles and laughter until I sense something strange. I instantly run outside to investigate. It’s a brisk evening, with the fall air making its way through. There are many scents, but one clues me in to
who
is watching us. It has been a long time since I have seen her, but her scent is distinctive, and I will never forget it. Before I have a chance to check it out, Nicholas steps out beside me, searching the darkness as well.
Does he sense her too?
With a cock of my head, I watch him as he listens and carefully observes the trees’ movements. His sudden low growl evokes a trembling in the air and a spine-chilling effect on me.

Nicholas looks down at me and hesitates before speaking, “Do you sense it, too?” I get excited by his acknowledgment of me. He doesn’t usually pay me much attention, and he certainly never speaks to me, but tonight, we share a common trait, one I wasn’t aware he had. Looking back out at the trees, he stiffens, and I follow his gaze. She is not visible to him or me, but I know she’s there. Racing towards the trees, I follow her and back her up to the fence. She turns to me and instantly eyes me down as she always had with foes. I can only assume her attack strategy hasn’t changed either. Sure enough, she comes at me in her usual fashion, and I wait for the right moment before slipping her grasp and finding her weak spot. No one knows that spot except her father and her brother. I release my hold on her, allowing her to stand in amazement.

She paces around me in awe as she begins to realize. “Dante?” Galena asks, but she knows the answer. “I am only looking after him, Dante,” she says as I growl my disapproval. “You can distrust me if you want, but I was the one that helped you. I talked Father into letting you go and not killing you. Now, I can help your son, too. Protect him from Father and make sure he doesn’t fall into trouble he can’t escape.” I know her, and the only reason she tried to keep Father from killing me was in hopes of protecting her own secrets. I am the only one that knows the secret that Galena would never want our father to know. She approaches me with a smile, carefully reaching out her hand. Looking deep into her eyes, I search for any sign that she might have changed, but before I can decide, I hear Nicholas calling for men as he and Ryan head out towards us. I quickly lunge at Galena, sending her retreating over the estate wall. My sister is too controlled by my father to be fully trusted, but there is still something there that I once knew and loved. My boys head off every possible escape as they meet me in the midst of the trees. Galena is long gone before they can cut her off.

“There is no one here Nick,” Ryan says.

“There was. I know it.”

“Yeah, you know it. I think you are on edge and jumping at the shadows of the trees.”

Nicholas smiles as he looks down at me and brushes his hand over my head, removing a piece of Galena’s shirt from my teeth. “Trees don’t wear clothes,” he says, holding up the fabric to Ryan.

“Wow, it would seem even our dog has a special kind of sense about him,” Ryan says rewarding me with a loving rub of my ears.

“A special sense. Funny how that worked out for us,” Nicholas says, eyeing me suspiciously. “There is something about you. I don’t know what it is, but I am beginning to trust you more with my son, dog… Eey,” Nicholas says.

Chapter 7

Kayla

“Nick? Nick!” I yell, a little louder each time until our bedroom door opens and I see his tall, dark form slowly walk in with an admiring smile.

“You called, Princess?” Nick says, leaning down and pressing his warm lips to mine. Feeling his strong hand press sweetly against my cheek, he leans in and hums, “You look better. I was worried about you. You were screaming in your sleep last night. I wrapped you in a blanket and kissed you several times, but nothing seemed to work until I let you sleep on my chest. Not that I minded having you that close to me, but I hate that you are having nightmares.” I don’t say a word. Not that I have to, he knows the cause of my nightmares and considering the look on his face, he is feeling the guilt already.

Savage’s face haunts me every day. That night, oh that night was my worst nightmare. I couldn’t do anything for my husband, or my child. All I could see was evil’s swirling eyes stealing the breath from my lungs. The more I tried to free myself from him, the more he controlled me. I could hear my mother’s voice screaming at me, “
You loser, you weak little nothing. You don’t even deserve Nick and your boys.
” In the end, through her laughter and my son’s and husband’s screams, Savage comes forward and backs me into a corner where I can neither breathe nor escape. I hold onto Nick every night, desperate for him to tell me he has it all figured out and everything is going to be okay. I am beginning to fear that he won’t be able to come up with a plan in time.

Nick leans down and gently kisses me. “I decided to let you sleep once you calmed, but you didn’t sleep long, Princess,” he says as I catch a strange mark on his neck. The mark is almost like a branding into his skin, except it doesn’t resemble anything more than a simple blackened circle. I try to pull back his shirt to see it more clearly, but he grabs my hands and holds them with his. “That’s nothing. I promise, Princess. It is nothing to be worried about. As you can see, I am fine and still more than strong enough to hold you in my arms and keep you safe.” He embraces me fully, proving how wonderfully safe it does feel to be in his arms. “Lay back and rest. The doctor did say you will need some time before you can regain your full strength again. As always, you have been trying to overdo it too soon.”

“I’m fine Nick. What I need is to know what happened with Savage?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I am taking care of everything. You just worry about taking care of yourself and our boys.”

“Don’t do this Nick! Don’t shut me out and force me to standby and wait for things to happen while you’re out protecting everybody else. I’m strong enough to handle anything, and you know it. Please, let me help you.”

“Princess, I know you are quite capable of handling most things, but this time, the situation is not something for you to handle. This time, I need to take care of it on my own. It is beyond you. I fear it is beyond me even, but I have no choice if I want to protect you, protect the boys, and everyone else. Savage is too strong, and until I can figure out a way to beat him, I have to work with him,” Nick says, staring at me hard and doing the best he can to convince me there is nothing I can do.

“So are you going to tell me what your plan is? Do you even have a plan? Oh, please Nick, please tell me you have a plan?”

“You know I always have a plan, Princess. Good or bad I always have a plan. I can’t explain it right now, so you’re just going to have to trust me.” I tug my hands from his and quickly pull back his shirt to gaze over the burn marks and bruises on his neck, arms, wrists and chest before looking deep into his eyes and trying to understand what he is doing to himself. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t even try to explain. The expression in his eyes tells me all I need to know. He is endangering his life somehow, and I will certainly not agree with whatever his plan is.

“Nick …” I try to speak, but the words just won’t come out. No matter how hard I try to confess to him I am scared and, for the first time, fearful that we are going to lose, I can’t. I can’t force the words from my mouth. I can’t do that to him. I can’t burden him with that right now. I’m being selfish, hoping he will soothe my confessions with the right words that everything is going to be alright. The more I look into his eyes, the more I realize, he doesn’t know, and those words I have been waiting for are not going to come, no matter what I confess. So with the best smile I can form, I simply say, “I love you. I love you so much …” Tears form in my eyes, and he immediately stops me with his comforting hand on my cheek.