The Devil’s Masquerade:
The Remedy
Jennifer Loren
Books by Jennifer Loren
The Devil’s Eyes Series
THE DEVIL’S EYES
THE DEVIL’S REVENGE
THE DEVIL’S SON
THE DEVIL’S MASQUERADE: THE POISON
The Finding Ava Series
FINDING AVA
RECKLESS
THE HAND THAT HOLDS MINE
http://www.jenniferloren.com/
First published by Jennifer Loren, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0-9888027-6-6
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Any unauthorised distribution or use of this publication may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Representation and Management, More & More Professional Literary Services
http://www.moreandmorepls.com/
Copyright © Jennifer Loren 2013
Acknowledgements
Content Editing: More & More Professional Literary Services http://www.moreandmorepls.com/
Copyediting: Erinn Giblin, Yours Truly, The Editor
Proofreading: Jacqueline Tria
Cover Model: Lionel Clerc
Photographer: Skipe and Dan Photography
http://www.skipedanphoto.com/
Cover photograph by iStockphoto (background)
Cover Design: Hang Le, By Hang Le
http://byhangle.com/
Interior Design: Polgarus Studio
http://www.polgarusstudio.com/
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those who spent countless times listening to me bitch and complain and cry about everything under the sun, especially my family and friends like Teel Kelley, Anjee Sapp, Ela Trampka and Deb Lebakken. Thank you also to those friends that worked tirelessly helping me put the Masquerade invites together like, Danielle Spellacy, Tara Ackermann, Holly Tucker, and Macey Walker. I also want to thank Rochelle Roth, and Jessica Porta, for letting me use your suggested names for the books. And a special thank you to my agent and her staff for dealing with me and the storm clouds that seem to follow me.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Prologue – The Remedy
Kayla
Nick has not been heard from for over a month now. I can hardly sleep without dreaming of him. I can hardly breathe without thinking of him. From what Kamini tells me, he is not at all himself and is lost somewhere within Savage’s lies. “Forget him,” I was told, “…forget Nick and leave him behind for a new life.” Kamini was right. I would always be searching for him within someone else. I would always desire him. There is no way I can forget Nick. How can you forget such a man? How can you forget someone who is so much more than just a man to you? Nick is more. Nick is so much more than just a man. When we are together, he proves who he is. He proves that no other can match him. It isn’t just one thing that makes him so hard to let go of. If it was just one thing, then maybe I could. If it was just the way his hands handled my body with ease or the way they caress me, filling me with a tender warmth. If it was just his lips, tenderly kissing every part of me with want. If it was just his tongue encircling the edges of my nipples and tasting my lips with his whispering desire. If it was just his erection, so bold and hard, brimming with desire as it penetrates, tight and full, inside of me. If it was just the powerful sensations causing my muscles to tighten, my toes to curl, and for me to cry out with desperate pleasure. Ohhh, if it was only just those things, then I could resist him and call for another, but no, it isn’t just any of those things. As great as they are, they are only a small part of who he is.
Nick, my Nick, is a love that I feel deep within me, an adoring love that I see within his eyes as he smiles proudly at my moaning gasps of his name. It is simply that he knows he can fuck better than any man; yet with every move he makes, he chooses to make me feel loved instead. How could I ever give up and let him go when, letting go of Nick, would be like letting go of my own soul?
Chapter 1
Kayla
Nick! Oh my God Nick, please don’t hurt him! Nick’s painful screams shake me to my core, and I run. I have to get to Nick, but one look down at my side, and I realize Nicky has stayed with me. He’s scared, for me and for his father. I need to help Nick, but Nicky, I have to protect Nicky. My heart is tearing its way out of my chest trying to keep pace with my head. I push Nicky into a closet and step back, only to have him follow me. Thankfully, Eey steps in and corrals Nicky under a table, guarding him with a fierce stance. With my son protected, I rush to my husband with the first weapon I can find, but the moment he lays his eyes on me, my body releases an exhale I cannot gain back. Savage’s hand cuts into my throat with an aroused rage. All I can do is stare into his crimson; swirling eyes and watch as his story unfolds. The madness, the black terror he inflicted with no remorse, even with his own children’s cries. I want to fight him, but I’m captivated by the story and the images developing in front of me, making this man, this demon, too real to me. I can faintly hear my son crying for me, my husband screaming for me, but the more I try to respond to them, the more he cuts off my ability to breathe and threatens to send me to my grave. There is nothing I can do but look deep into his soul, and that’s the moment I see it. I see Savage’s moment of despair, the moment he was no longer a man but hell’s darkest nightmare. I gain a single breath of air and Savage realizes his mistake. He showed me a weakness, and he showed me Nick’s future if he is to follow him. Savage’s intense glare begins to fade while the world around me begins to fade away …
There is nothing here. I am not sure how to get out. I am not even sure how I got here.
Am I dead?
“Well, you look good for dead, or as best as you can look,” my mother’s voice calls out from behind me. I spin so fast I become dizzy and stumble backwards, trying to regain my composure. “Still nothing but a klutz. An ugly klutz. How you managed to get a man is beyond me, but yet, here you are: married and with children. Amazing. What did you do? Put a curse on him? You must be a witch. You’re too ugly to have what you have without being a witch,” she says with her usual intimidating glare.
“Where am I, and what …?”
“Don’t worry. You’re not dead … yet. Although, you might as well be. What kind of mother leaves her son hiding under a table with nothing but a dog to protect him?” I try to respond, but nothing more than a weak, single syllable leaves my mouth. My mother laughs before continuing her judgment, “And your husband? You leave him to defend himself and your children alone. All that he has done for you and you do nothing. You really are worthless.” Her eyes continue to look me over with judgment as she walks dizzying circles around me. “You know, Savage wants Nick to leave you. He has someone else for him, someone much better suited for him. A much better match: prettier, smarter, and an even better option for bearing his children. She has been groomed for him since birth. She …” she says, stopping to face me with squared shoulders. “She is the one meant for him. You are simply a place holder, a meaningless moment of his past.”
“You don’t know anything! You’re dead, and I don’t have to listen to a word you say,” I reply, raising my head a little higher.
“You need to let him go. You have to let him go.” I shake my head, and I feel her rage as it begins to heat my skin. “You need to do it for your son. If you let Nick go, Savage will spare your son.”
“He would stay away from Nicky and Brayden?” I ask.
Her laugh penetrates to my spine, like needles that pierce my skin to the bone. “Don’t be ridiculous! Only one will be allowed to live, and you know which one. Not that it would matter much; Brayden is nearly as worthless as you.” I step forward, forcing my mother to instantly step back. “Oh, so there is some fight in you. Tell me, Kayla. Tell me. How much courage do you have?”
She starts circling me with a hardened glare. “Are you strong enough Kayla, to stand toe-to-toe with the devil? Are you smart enough to listen to the whispers that give you the answers or speak when you know you will be heard over all others? Will you do as you know to be true and not as the world wishes for you to do? Where do your loyalties lie, Darling?”
“What are you talking about, crazy woman?” I bark at her.
“When you are faced with your greatest fear, Kayla, will you run and hide or will you face it head on?” My mother stops dead in her tracks and walks up to me, staring me down. “You are nothing but a bundle of fears and insecurities, a weakling in a fighter’s skin. Run Kayla. Run fast and hide with what little you are being offered and never come back. You don’t have what it takes to be a player in this battle.” Her image strengthens in front of me as I step towards her.
“You have never known who I am, and you certainly do not know me now. Go ahead. Test me. Provoke me with whatever you have, but you will never see me waiver. I know where my loyalties lie. They rest with my family, mother; my family is all that matters to me, and I will not run, I will not hide to protect the one, but I will stand and fight with everything I have to protect them all. Each and every single one of them.” My eyes meet hers, making it clear that I don’t mean just my husband, or just my children, but all who I love and cherish. Face to face, we stand, and my head rises above my shoulders, strong and defiant. “If you have something to tell me, then say it.”
“He will kill you if you test him,” she says with a smug expression.
“I know him now. I have seen deep into his soul,” I say.
“Oh, and so now you know how to stand in front of him like you do me now?”
“I am not afraid of him,” I reply with certainty.
“Oh no?” I shake my head, and my mother’s image fades, suddenly replaced with Savage’s in front of me. The steaming, volcanic eruption looks down on me with blood red eyes and churning detest.
“Do you not wish to run now?” Savage rages.
My heart stays steady, and my mind breathes easily, “No. Your hellish fury is nothing to me. Your actions are everything that makes me stronger.”
“A woman scorned? That old saying keeps you foolishly strong,” he fires back.
“No, your confidence is foolish. Run. Run and hide, Savage, because not you, or any of the rest of hell’s demons, has the ability to battle my fury.”
“Hell will welcome you, Fallen Angel,” Savage retorts.
“This fallen angel may be stained, but don’t be fooled. I am not broken. I will be the remedy to your poison, Asmodeus.” I breathe against his fire, causing his blaze to turn to ashes while I … I awake without fear.
Kamini didn’t even do me the pleasure of looking surprised when I showed up to meet her. She simply said, “Okay, now it’s time to get to work.” She takes my hand and leads me away to her home, hidden in a place that I could never find on my own. I have to be driven there by her and her two female guards. The two women at her side stand silent and strong, never giving any sign of concern. Her place is a sanctuary, an open air paradise in the middle of nowhere. “I hope you don’t mind, but I find it easier to train in my home.”
“You have trained other people before?” I ask.
“When necessary, I train ones that have been chosen to help me locate and punish the most immoral souls. Unfortunately, there seems to be more and more work these days. Come here, Kayla.” I step towards her, squaring my shoulders with hers and follow her instructions to breathe deeply and slowly until I am relaxed and focused on the task at hand. Kamini has me step back and follow her movements. She starts out slow and easy, giving me precise instruction on every movement of my hands, my feet, and even my eyes. I practice over and over again, and at the end of the day, I return home to my sons, showing them what I have learned and earning applause with each accomplishment. Nick was right; the boys are easy to confide in. I speak of my meetings with Kamini to no one but the boys. Nicky understands that my training is a secret between us and no one else should ever find out. Brayden? Well, he understands somewhat, but he doesn’t speak much anyway. When he does, it is only to me or his brother.
Each day, I meet with Kamini’s guards and am escorted to the hidden paradise. Each day, I go through the same routine, repeating every motion and taking every breath I need to save Nick, to become what I need to be for my husband.
In between our workouts and practices, Kamini reports back to me what she knows about Nick. She sees him at The Meeting of the Lords, as he attends every assembly. He does nothing more than listen while sitting at his grandfather’s side, but he appears well.
Kamini said, “He looks healthy and strong on the outside. I spoke to him briefly, and I can find no pain within his voice; however, his eyes say something different. Clearly, he is undoubtedly lost, lonely, and completely heartbroken. The worst part is he doesn’t even remember why.”
The things she tells me make me feel good but pain me at the same time, making me even more determined to get to him, and to save him.
Chapter 2
Nick
The family bunker is a mess. Whoever attacked us was looking for something, and it doesn’t look like they found it. They left everything of importance and didn’t take anything of monetary value. So what were they looking for? There are guards at the front and throughout the tunnel leading to this point. Surely they would have encountered some forced casualties along the way, but no bodies were found other than ours. The men that were left standing remember nothing. We know they accessed the prison from the back door, the bunker’s emergency escape route, and not the main access, which is odd. If they knew where this place was and that Gideon was here, then why didn’t they know about the other door? It would have been easier and wouldn’t have put them in such a vulnerable position with our men chasing after them. That is, if they were chasing after them. I can find nothing to believe they were. Gideon’s prison cell leaves little clues; however, the access door does contain something. A few strands of long hair dangle from the hinges along with a small piece of fabric, and from the sweet scent accompanying them, they are not male. The scent is familiar and arouses me for some reason, but I am not sure why. I don’t want anyone else to know about it until I can learn more, so I wrap up the evidence and pocket it. I want these ba
stards, and I want to deal with them myself. This woman, whoever she is, is mine.
Another day of practice and another day with Ward, the fuck my grandfather has assigned to be my new trainer. He has recently been promoted to his top assassin because he is the best, so I am told. His attitude would agree. He struts around our home as if he can fight anyone, including me, with ease. If he hits me one more time, he’s going to wish he was better at running.
“Okay, Nicholas, let’s try this one more time. Do you think you understand what I have told you?”
“Yes. It wasn’t that complicated,” I say to the prick.
“I am only making sure it didn’t go over your head. Now this time, try and keep me from attacking you from the right side,” he says just before sliding in on the left and knocking my legs out from under me.
“Motherfucker, you said right!”
“Of course I did. You have to be prepared, Nicholas. You think an attacker is going to tell you which way he is going to come at you? Surely you are not that foolish,” he says with a cocky smile. I really hate him. “Now, get off the floor you lazy punk. You might have gotten away with that slacker attitude with your previous trainer, but not with me.” I stand, curling my lip and fisting my hands.
“I have never been a slacker at anything.”
“Really, you little rich boy? You have never known what it is like to be a real man and have to fight for a living, but now, I am going to show you what a real man can do to even a devil like you.” He comes at me, again and again. This time, he draws his gun and begins shooting. “Dodge the bullets Nicholas!” He laughs as I am barely able to dive out of the way of the onslaught of blazing ammunition.