Where Demons Hide

Copyright © 2023 by Delaney Foster All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Edits: Dawn Alexander with Evident Ink, Nicole McCurdy with Emerald Edits Cover design: Daqri Bernardo with Covers by Combs Cover image: Daniel Jaems Join The Diva Lounge for exclusive excerpts, inspiration pics, release updates, giveaways and so much more! Or subscribe to Delaney’s newsletter for bonus content! CONTENTS Foreword 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 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Epilogue Also by Delaney Foster Acknowledgments About the Author FOREWORD Watch him smile. Give him your heart. Dress him up in three-piece suits. The Devil wrapped in silk is still the Devil. 1 Callisto There are a lot of graves with my name etched in the blood of the souls who occupy them, but I won’t let myself believe Makenna will be in one of them. I never should have left her alone. The guilt of my decision will drive through me, draining me of happiness and hope and light until I’m nothing but an empty shell. Maybe that’s what I was meant to be all along. I can’t even look at my reflection in the car window without seeing a monster who led his angel to hell. I’ll tear anyone apart who had anything to do with this—starting with Anthony, the guy watching over her while Franco takes care of a problem at the port. I scroll to his name in my contacts. He picks up on the first ring. “Where the fuck were you?” There’s muffled conversation in the background, then a cold silence before he replies. “She was at Suppato’s. I thought she was safe with Jaxon.” At the mention of Jaxon, his name flashes across my screen. “I’ll handle you when I get back,” I tell Anthony, then switch calls to Jaxon. “Tell me you found her.” “I found her phone in the bathroom.” His voice is quiet. Calm. Focused. Like he’s disarming a bomb or tiptoeing across a mine field. “Just her phone?” My heart cracks, tiny veins splintering the hard shell around it. “Just the phone.” The angry thrumming of my bloodstream pulses in my ears. “I’ll call you back.” I end the call, and my gaze shoots to the rearview mirror, finding the driver’s. “Turn around. I’m going to kill that motherfucker.” We just took the exit to the airport. Panic flashes in the driver’s eyes. His hands grip the steering wheel. Vince turns to me. “Cal—” I cut him off, gritting my teeth until my jaw hurts. “Turn the goddamn car around.” The driver’s gaze shifts from me to Vince. He eases into the far-right lane, slowing but not stopping. Vince places a hand on my shoulder. “Cal—” “Jesus.” I whip my head to him. “What?” He drops his hand to his lap. “The lion is always quiet when he’s stalking his prey.” Nothing in his tone or his face shows he’s the least bit affected by this. I am affected. I am furious. I don’t want to be quiet. I want her. And then I want to rip my prey apart, limb from limb. “This is not the time for poetic bullshit. She’s out there. He has her.” I know he does. I saw the smug look on his face, heard the pride in his voice when he asked if I had any weaknesses. This whole time, he made me believe he knew nothing about my connection with Makenna. He was quiet. That’s what Vince meant. My guilt outweighs my rage. “I did this.” I chased his bait and left Makenna vulnerable. The car slows to a stop as the driver pulls to the shoulder outside of the airport entrance. Cars pass. The flash of their headlights fill the backseat, then disappear, leaving us in the shadows of the moon. The tick, tick, tick of the hazard lights echoes in the quiet car. “What would you have done differently?” Vince asks. “Brought her to Miami? Put her in the middle of all this? Hired bodyguards to watch her every move or locked her up somewhere? Are you ready to answer the questions she would have had if you’d done that? Are you ready to tell her who you really are?” Am I ready to lose her? Because that’s what will happen when she inevitably finds out the truth. I am not a good man. And isn’t that the way of the world? Choose the good guy. He’ll never break your heart. I’m the bad guy. I’ll ruin you. “You did everything you needed to do,” Vince says in my silence. “Except for wait.” Fuck that. “I waited.” The venom burning my veins seeps into my voice. “And he sent a man to threaten her.” If I hadn’t found Nathan and killed him, there’s no telling what he would’ve done to Makenna—because Morano told him to. “I’m done waiting. This ends now.” This lion is ready to roar. My phone vibrates against my thigh with a text from an unknown number, but I recognize the area code. It’s Morano. When I open the message, the world falls silent. The darkness edges in closer, squeezing my chest. The cracks around my heart burst wide open and