The Devil's Game (Rhodes to Hell Book 1) Read online

  I have absolutely no idea what to do.

  “Come on, kid,” Hollis encourages. “We’ve got other things to do.”

  Yeah, me too.

  “How do I do it?” I ask them, bringing my eyes up again.

  “However you want,” Elijah tells me, and I lift the knife to look at it again, noticing how perfect it looks in my hand.

  It’s sharp as hell and thick and I just want to get this fucking over with. I don’t want to draw it out so I lean down, grab the dirty tangled hair at the back of the man’s head, and press hard against his throat before swiping the blade quickly.

  Blood sprays me, but most of it just leaks to the floor below him as he gasps and gurgles his last breath. I let go of his hair and his head flops back hitting the ground. I stand up just watching the blood leak toward my feet.

  I step back again, not wanting to be here anymore. They’re both watching me when I bring my eyes up again and they almost look proud. “I’m going home.”

  I grip the knife tightly, just in case I have to fight them, but I know I still don’t stand a chance against their guns. They surprise me, though.

  “It’s probably best,” Elijah says. Hollis nods.

  I back all the way out of the building and once I’m back in the trees I look around trying to remember what direction we came from. My heart is pounding in my ears and I can’t fucking believe I just killed someone.

  I look down at my hand where I’m still gripping the knife I used to kill someone, and I tell myself I’m not going to freak out but as I see the man’s blood on the knife and my hands my throat tightens as I realize I not only almost just died myself, I killed someone and nothing I can ever do will change the fact. He’s dead.

  Chapter Seven

  HOLLIS—PRESENT

  I watch her slowly pick apart one of the Rice Krispies I set in front of her a few minutes ago and I can’t understand why she won’t just bite the damn thing. I picked up on her food sensitivity before so I don’t bring it up, but I want to just shove the damn thing in her mouth so she can be done.

  “You have any more questions?”

  She looks over at me quickly and I chuckle because it’s the first time all night she’s allowed me to see how surprised she is.

  “What’s your favorite part of the day?” She grins at me, not missing a beat and probably already guessing the answer in her head.

  “I’ll answer if you tell me what you think my answer will be. You look confident in your assumption,” I tell her, and her cheeks turned rosy, but she doesn’t let my poke at her deter her from answering.

  “I think you like the night the best, now tell me.”

  “You’re kind of right, this time of the day, after the clubs are shut down, the work of the night is over, and I’m able to shower and kick back. Even get something to eat,” I explain to her, looking down at the still mostly just picked over treat in front of her.

  “Makes sense, you must not sleep much,” she says, sounding like less of a question and more of an observation.

  “I get enough,” I assure her, but I know I’m being fully truthful. If I could have time off, I’d probably do nothing but sleep, but I don’t get breaks. None of us do and I have to keep fighting for everything I have, or it will wash right down the drain.

  She smiles at me. “For some reason, I just don’t believe you.”

  “It probably wouldn't be considered enough for the average person, but it works.”

  “How many hours have you slept in the last twenty-four?” Her big eyes scream how worried she is, and it doesn't seem to bother me as much coming from her as it does when Elijah starts digging around. She has this way about her and it makes me want to talk and I can see now getting away from this girl is not going to be easy.

  She’ll make sure of it and at this point I’m not convinced I want to get away from her at all.

  She takes my silence as the answer and nods as she stands, leaving the Rice Krispy treat on the bar. “See? You probably haven't slept a wink.”

  “Is sleep even important? My body doesn't seem to want much of it.” I pop the last of my sandwich into my mouth when I finish talking and wait for her answer.

  “Hollis, you're probably one of the smartest people I've ever spoken to,” she says, putting her hands on her hips, “You and I both know how important sleeping is.”

  “Okay, I’ll try to sleep but you have to answer the only question I have for you.”

  She smiles and her hands drop from her hips and she looks so triumphant over her win. “Okay, shoot.”

  “Why aren’t you scared of me?”

  She doesn't hesitate at all when she looks back up at me and answers my question with a question of her own, “Are you going to hurt me?”

  I frown but answer her anyway. “I have no reason to hurt you.”

  “Then I have no reason to be scared of you. Now come on.”

  The shock isn't as deep this time, and when she takes my hand in hers I let her pull me from the barstool and follow behind her willingly. I let her lead me almost all the way to the couch before lightly tugging on her hand and pulling her towards the bedroom.

  “The couch is too small for me to lay on,” I tell her truthfully. Being as tall as I am has its perks but not being able to sit on most couches comfortably isn't one of them.

  She stops, letting go of my hand before glancing back toward the dimly lit couch and even in the low light I know she can tell we won’t both fit comfortably leaving her only one decision. She turns back and follows me, again with no hesitation, and I am beginning to wonder if anything makes her nervous at all.

  When we get into the bedroom I turn on the lamp on the bedside table and watch as Ruby kicks her shoes off and looks up at me. “So, I’m going to help you get to sleep and I need you to keep an open mind. No laughing, okay?”

  “I’m not much of a laugher,” I tell her, still watching her move so effortlessly to remove the boots that were so tight on her legs just moments before.

  “Good, to get relaxed you have to release all of the stuff keeping you distracted from falling asleep.”

  I nod at her words as she walks closer to me. When she stops in front of me I keep staring down at her, waiting for her next words.

  “Are you going to sleep in your shoes?”

  I look down at my shoes and so does she, laughing as she does.

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” I tell her. I sit onto the edge of the bed and untie my shoes before pushing them off and nudging them under the bed.

  When I sit back up I look at her and she slowly lowers herself down to kneel in front of me. She reaches for the waistband of my jeans but backs up a little as I stand, allowing her to pull them down to my ankles. I step out of them and my dick presses hard against my underwear, begging to be released.

  She wastes no time and pulls my boxers down and takes my dick into her mouth. She knows exactly what to do with her tongue and as I push deep into her throat she takes it all. This is not what I expected her to do at all, but I am absolutely not complaining. She’s sucking my dick like a lollipop and when she pulls back and swirls her tongue over the tip I shudder.

  She sucks me back into her mouth and sucks and massages my dick as I guide her with my hand on the back of her head, holding her hair tightly. I’m gripping her hair tightly, forcing her to look at me as she sucks me off. As I shove further into her mouth I groan at the sight of her eyes watering due to lack of oxygen. I ease out but she stays on me, breathing heavy through her nose as she catches her breath.

  She gets into a steady rhythm and sucks my rock hard dick for so long I know her jaw is aching. When I feel my orgasm building I try to warn her, but she won’t listen.

  Picking up the pace she sucks my dick in and out of her mouth before pulling back all the way and moving the tip of her tongue around the head of it again and I jerk forward. I can’t resist the teasing and before I can come all over her face I get my grip back on her hair and push myself deep
into her throat, exploding in her mouth. It is rough and violent, and I don’t let go of her head even once I’m finished shooting my seed down her throat.

  Her eyes are watery as she stares up at me, gagging on my dick and when my mind finally snaps the fuck out of the trance she’s put me in I release her. She slowly pulls away and sits back on her heels looking fucking perfect.

  I gaze down at her in complete shock and can’t believe she just threw head on me the way she did. I don’t even know who she is, but the more I learn about her the more I want to keep her around a little longer.

  We both get up and she’s still on a mission to get me to sleep. I am spent and while sex would’ve completed the night for me, I’m not sure I have the energy after everything happening. I get up onto the bed and watch her silently as she walks over to my side of the bed and cuts the lamp off.

  She climbs over me and once she’s settled on my other side she just sits there just watching me and I know she wants me to just try to sleep, but I don’t like to sleep. She goes to lay on the pillow next to mine, but I put my arm out, curious to see if she’ll lay on my chest instead.

  She does, and her body is warm as she settles next to me. Her dress rides up when she raises one of her legs over mine and I rest my other hand on her knee.

  “Close your eyes,” she whispers to me as I lay here, the moonlight from outside casting its light on my face and hers. She’s not looking at me, but I can tell she knows I’m looking at her.

  “I don’t need sleep.”

  “Why are men so stubborn?” she asks, her voice even softer, and my chest shakes silently with laughter.

  She shifts in my arms and when her hand moves to touch my face, I grab it with the hand on her knee. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to get you to sleep,” she says, yanking her hand from my grip. “You have to relax.”

  “Relaxation doesn’t come easy for everyone.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just start with closing your eyes.”

  I close my eyes and when her finger begins to dance over my forehead I tense. I have no idea what the hell she’s doing to me, but it does feel good. I let her go on for a little while and I do feel myself slipping into a sleepy state, but I’m not sure it’s the rubbing she’s doing between my eyes making me feel relaxed.

  Reaching up, I take her hand in mine and hold it still on my chest and I feel myself getting tired. “It’s annoying.”

  “Oh,” she says, “I—"

  “Shh,” I say, interrupting her, “you’re not annoying, but your fingers are distracting.”

  She withdraws her hand and tries to scoot away but I stop her and pull her back to my side securely. Everything about her feels good and for the night I am going to let myself not care just how bad I am for her. Or how bad we all are for her.

  “Stay.”

  She doesn’t pull away from me again and I don't know how quickly she falls asleep, but as I finally fall into a deep sleep all I can focus on is how on fire her touch makes my skin feel.

  Chapter Eight

  RUBY—TEN YEARS AGO

  It’s been a week since the party, and since Messiah came back to his house with blood all over him and no explanation for me at all. All he told me was he found what he was looking for. I still have no idea what it means, but he won’t talk about it, so I try not to think about it.

  Not letting my thoughts wander definitely easier said than done.

  He’s been distant, but only because he’s barely been at the house. When we do get alone time he’s all over me, but those times are few and far between lately so I have to enjoy any little bit of him I can get. I don’t know what he’s out there doing in the streets, but I hope he’s being safe.

  Seeing him less has given me more time with Cece, Tasha, and Lucky and while I do miss him, I can’t complain about their company. I’m waiting for everyone to come over now and while I probably should be cleaning, I’m not. I used to care more about letting people see how I live because everyone else I know lives way better than I ever have. I’ve learned to care less and less the older I get because the first chance I get, I’m out of here.

  I’m thankful my parents are nowhere to be found today. They’re nothing but a complication in my life and I wouldn’t even be sad if they overdosed today and I had to be the one to find them. Sure, it would make my life a lot harder considering I’m not even sixteen and I’d obviously need somewhere to live, but anything is better than having to deal with them for the rest of my life. I can’t remember a time where they’ve acted like proper parents and I gave up hope on them and my living situation a long time ago.

  I hear the knock coming from the front of the apartment while I’m laying in my bedroom, so I roll off my bed to go get the door.

  Cece is alone when I open it and she’s smiling big. “Guess what?” she squeals, hurrying into my house.

  I laugh and step back so she can pass me then I close the door and turn to face her. “What?”

  “Your bitch just made today one thousand percent better,” she tells me, her honey brown curly hair wiggling down her back as she bounces on her toes. Her hazel eyes sparkle with mischief as I stare at her, not understanding until she holds her hand out and I see two white pills in her palm.

  “Oxy,” I say, my smile growing. “Only two?”

  “Lucky is scared of everything and Tasha just judges me when I do pills, so just me and you baby,” she tells me, closing her hand and pulling it back. “I don’t want to just take them this time though, I want to snort them.”

  “I’m down. My parents aren’t home but let’s do it in my room anyway, it’s the only clean part of this dump,” I tell her, looking around the dingy living room.

  The couch looks like it’s been on its last leg for years, but it’s not like my parents would ever be bothered with buying something like a couch. They’re too high to care anyway.

  “I got these from one of Si’s friends,” she laughs as we make it to my room. “He’ll kill me if he ever finds out.”

  “He doesn’t know we do pills?” I ask, frowning when I turn to face her. “I don’t feel like we hide it.”

  “I’m not hiding it, I just don’t do anything but smoke weed around him because he’s so serious when it comes to drugs. He’s just worried I’ll get crazy and lose control like my mom did before she OD’d,” she tells me and even though I knew their were never meant to be parents either —which is why they stay with their Granny now. It still stings a little to hear what happened to their mom. I know just how easy it would be for me to be in their shoes.

  Neither of them like to talk much about it, but every now and then I get bits and pieces of their life before moving in with Granny in the middle of fourth grade. If I’m completely honest, they probably only ever got to know me because they can relate to having their parents known by everyone in the town for all the wrong reasons.

  I used to care about the house, I used to care more about what people thought of my parents too. Now, I know I have no chance of changing anyone’s mind on my parents and it makes it a whole hell of a lot easier to not give a fuck about them at all. Or this house.

  “I won’t let you lose control.” I grin, walking over to her. “Because life without you would really fucking suck.”

  Without a word, she turns and walks to the desk in my room and I follow. She beats me to the chair and sets the pills in front of her on the desk before pulling the little black bag on her back to her lap. She digs out a smoothie queen card, a crisp ten dollar bill already rolled up like a straw, and a silver makeup mirror. She lays the card and the bill down on the desk before pulling the pills closer to her.

  I watch as she crushes the pills into powder with the edge of the mirror and then she looks up at me. “Wanna go first?”

  “I don’t care.”

  She rolls her eyes but looks back to the desk and sets the mirror down and picks up the card to separate the pile into two. “You know, I think he loves you.” />
  “What?”

  “Messiah,” she says, looking back up at me. “I think he loves you.”

  “You just found out about us on Monday,” I laugh, turning to look out the window in my bedroom.

  This apartment is on the fourth floor and I like to keep the broken blinds pulled up so I can see the beauty above me instead of facing the fact everything around me is just broken, like me. I’m lucky enough to have my window facing west because I get to watch the sun set every night I’m home, just like right now. But I know the beauty won’t last, it never does.

  “Bitch, you are delusional if you think I didn’t know my brother was at least fucking someone, but it’s more with you. Before I even found out what sneaky little shits y’all have been, he was changing,” she tells me, but I don’t look at her. “It’s why I was pushing him so hard to tell me. If it had been anyone but you, I would’ve put them both in the hospital.”

  I laugh but I know she means it. Cece is a wild card in every sense of the word. She isn’t above fighting old people or little kids ... or anyone and the amount of strength she has always amazes me. I guess fighting Messiah her whole life set her up to kick some ass. Cece isn’t a small person by any means with all the right curves in all the right places, but her brother — even at sixteen—can easily be mistaken as a grown man.

  “I’m serious, Rue. These bitches ain’t good enough for my brother,” she laughs.

  “And I am?” I ask, finally looking over my shoulder at her. “You think I’m good enough for the Messiah?”

  She picks up the ten dollar bill and doesn’t answer my question before holding it out to me, offering me the first hit. I walk back over to her and take the bill from her hand, snorting the pill up my nose quick. It feels like sand ripping through my nose and the taste in the back of my throat is disgusting but it doesn’t take long for me to feel something other than dread.

  Cece laughs under her breath as she stares at me, waiting for me to give her the dollar straw. I smile back at her and hand it to her before flopping into my bed with another laugh and staring out my window as the sun continues to set. I’ve never snorted pills before and even though the grits of the pill are still making their way down the back of my throat I’m already starting to feel lighter and more excited for tonight.