Page 19 of The Villain

The clothes he’d given me smelled new, and the inside of the sweatshirt had that ultra-soft feel, like it hadn’t been washed yet. Why the fuck would he buy me new clothes?

I closed my eyes as my mind continued to whirl. I needed sleep. Tomorrow could hold literally anything, and I needed to be prepared for it.

When Cian hauled me out of here earlier, I’d looked back and realized I was being held in a shed. A small, nondescript building that looked like any other background structure meant to hold yard tools. It sat near the back of a large, fenced-in property. That ugly multi-story structure I’d only caught glimpses of sat about a hundred yards away.

I drifted off for a while, and when I woke, there was a haze in the air. It made my nose twitch. A crackling sounded from somewhere behind me, and I rolled over, instantly confused by why the lightbulb on the ceiling emitted such low light. I sat up with a gasp and immediately regretted it when I inhaled alungful of smoke. There was an orange glow coming from the far corner of the room, where a section of the shed wall had been torn back to reveal flames.

Flames.

The shed wasonfucking fire.

Smoke swirled through the air, thick and choking, and I slammed my body back down onto the cot. The flames were the least of my problems. Panic seized my limbs, overriding common sense.

Low. I have to get low. Smoke rises.

I rolled off the cot and crawled underneath it, tucking myself against the wall as I sucked in any air I could find. I was fucked. And I knew it. The fire would continue to feed on all the oxygen in this shed and leave me with nothing. I already felt lightheaded and dizzy. I was going to suffocate, chained to a cot in a shed in fucking New Jersey. I’d never see Cian again, never feel his hands on my throat or his hot breath in my ear.

No. No, no,no.

This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. I was still too…me. Too Devlin. No matter how much I acted like I had a death wish, survival still burned in my gut.

“Help!” I screamed, even though I knew it was pointless. No one could hear me. But that didn’t stop the panic from taking hold, and the cries wrenched from my throat. anyway. I rattled my chains so they’d clank loudly against the edge of the metal cot. “Help! Fire! Cian!”

My lungs screamed. Every inhale was full of soot. The smoke curled its fingers around the edge of the cot and beckoned me. I rolled onto my back as heat began licking at my feet. What a horrible fucking way to die. Alone.

Always alone.

A loud crack shook the walls of the shed. Then it happened again. And again.

CRACK.

The door splintered as the head of an axe broke through. Another solid weight smashed into the door like a battering ram. And then a massive body finally burst through to land on a tumble.

His head lifted. Soot darkened his cheek. His chest heaved.

Blue eyes met mine where I cowered beneath the cot, and his lip curled. “Devil.”

Cian

The fresh air pouring through the busted door only fueled the flames roaring at Devlin’s bare feet. I was bleeding. I could feel the gash on my arm.

He stared at me without blinking, and for a moment I thought he was already dead. That he’d stopped breathing, suffocated by smoke as he lay on the floor chained like an animal. But at the sound of my voice, he blinked once. Then his chest inflated with a deep breath before he rolled onto his side and started coughing violently.

“Cian!” Rhys peered through what remained of the door, flames lighting the concern on his face. “Hurry the fuck up, man!”

I surged to my feet, unlocked Devlin’s chain, and dragged him out from beneath the cot as he coughed. Then I threw him over my shoulder and burst out of the shed. I’d been in there for less than a minute, but my lungs still burned from the smoke. I inhaled the night air as Rhys and other members of the crew sprayed the flaming structure with fire extinguishers. Jace,wearing nothing but his boxer briefs, had a garden hose in hand, the spray arcing through the smoke as he doused the shed.

I dropped Devlin on the grass, and he curled onto his side, wheezing. Someone handed me a bottle of water, and I hauled Devlin into a sitting position and forced some down his throat. He gulped it greedily, watching me the whole time as flames reflected and danced in his green eyes.

I’d been woken up by a phone call from Rhys. His only words were, “The shed’s on fire.” Then he hung up. When I looked out my back window and saw flames wrapping around Devlin’s prison, my heart dropped three stories.

I’d pulled on sweatpants and a flannel shirt I didn’t bother buttoning, then shoved my feet into unlaced boots. My chest was tight at the thought of finding him either suffocated by smoke or charred to a crisp. My only goal had been to get Devlin thefuckout of that shed before he was just a heap of bony ash. When I’d reached the door and found the lock was too hot to touch, I caved the whole thing in instead.

I hadn’t expected my hands to tremble while I swung that axe. I kept replaying the image of his face when I’d broken through the heavy door—the fear that had faded into relief. He’d looked at me like I was his hero.

I hadn’t thought about revenge in that moment. I hadn’t thought about the information Devlin could give me. I’d only been able to picture him in an oversized hoodie, crouched in the dirt over a frog.

And most of all, I hadn’t expected the relief I felt, seeing Devlin still alive. Still whole. Stillmine.