THE DEVIL'S HEIR

Chapter 1 The Lie Between Us "Tell me this isn't real." He spoke in a hushed voice. Risky. The type of whisper that was hotter than a scream. Laziel Ashford stood in the corner of the penthouse room, all sharp edges and coiled tension. Through the glass walls behind him, city lights framed him like a crown of fire. His emerald eyes pierced mine as if he could see everything: the terror, the shame, and how my heart raced every time he whispered my name, as if it meant something more. I said, "It's not real," even though everything about it was. The ring on my finger. The picture of us on the front of Elite. The deception we had been living with for three years. He came up to me. Every move was planned. Invasive. "You want me to believe that after what just happened downstairs?" I jumped. He had, of course, seen it. Dorian's touch on my hand at the gala. He grinned at me like he already possessed me. Like he knew everything. "I didn't know he was alive," I responded immediately. "I swear, Laz." "I don't care that he's still alive." Laz's voice got sharper. "I care that you looked like you wanted him to be." That hurt more than it should have. "Don't do that." I crossed my arms and stiffened my back. "You know what he did to me." You know what he can do. "Do I?" He smiled bitterly with his mouth. “Because I don't know what's real with you anymore, Sienna. My heart hit my ribs. He was coming apart. And I was the one who pulled the string. I turned my back on him and looked out at the sparkling skyline of Manhattan. "You think I want this? That I appreciate being your trophy girlfriend while your enemies line up to ruin us? "We struck a deal." "We built a prison." There was a loud silence between us. Then Laz murmured, "You think I don't see it?" How you jump when I touch you. You look at me like I'm your rescuer one second and your executioner the next. "I don't flinch." "You do." He stepped behind me and his voice brushed across my neck. "Right now." You're shaking. I hated that he was right. I hated that his voice still made me angry. "I'm scared, Laz." Everything is going wrong. "Then hold on to me." I turned around carefully. Our faces were just a few inches apart. His breath smelled like scotch and danger. His palm stroked my cheek, and his fingers shook a little. I murmured, "I don't know what's real anymore." He looked into my eyes. "This. This is genuine. He kissed me. And I let him. God help me, I really needed it. His lips weren't soft. They weren't ever. Laz kissed me like he wanted to eat the universe, and I was the last thing he would ever taste. My back smacked the glass pane, and his body pushed into mine. All the heat, muscle, and silent apologies. He whispered against my lips, "You still want me?" "Always," I said softly. And that was the most hazardous thing I had ever spoken. His hand slipped under the split in my dress, and his fingers ran over the inside of my thigh. I gasped. Not because we were surprised, but because we were meant to be phony. But this? This was not a game. He added, "I don't want to pretend anymore," his voice hoarse. "Not when the world is trying to take you away from me." The elevator then dinged. We stopped. River barged in a second later, phone in hand and out of breath. "You should look at this. Now. Laz backed away from me like he had been shot. I cleaned my lips and my heart raced. River threw the phone at him. Laziel's eyes got smaller as he read. Then his jaw clamped up. "It's leaking." Truth. Someone put videos of us online. Not all of it. But that's enough. My stomach sank. "What kind of video?" I asked, but I already knew. "Us," River stated in a serious tone. "In the Den." One of the times. It seemed like the floor was crumbling out from under me. Laz glanced at me, and his eyes were filled with both wrath and sadness. "Helena." It had to be her. It was, of course. "She had the tapes," I said softly. "She said they were gone." "She lied," River said under his breath. "She's working with Dorian," Laz hurled the phone across the room. It broke. He hissed, "This is war." I couldn't get any air. "What are they trying to do?" I asked. Laz said, "Kill you." "Make me miserable." And in the process, break what's left of us. River's voice became serious. "It's not just a video, Laz." More is on the way. Laziel moved closer, fists tight. "What do you mean by more?" River was unsure. "Sienna's treatment notes. From Helena's personal files. Word for word. Signed. "Time-stamped." My knees gave way. Laz got me. River remarked, "They're going to paint you as a deviant." "Use your own pain against you." Make you seem unsteady. "Risky." "I can't go through that again," I said quietly, my eyes watering. “I won't make it through it.” Laziel turned to River. "Bring me a jet." We're going to Berlin. "Why Berlin?" I asked. He looked at me. "That's where the rot began." That's where we stop. The wind howled outside the window. "But first," Laz said as he walked toward a hidden panel in the wall, "I need to show you something." Something I hoped I would never have to do. He put his thumb on the scanner. A door that was hidden opened. There was a steel vault inside. Laziel walked in and turned on a light. And there were hundreds of labeled drives on the back wall. Lazarus Project. I stepped inside gently. My heart is hammering. “What is this?” I whispered. Laz gazed at me, eyes empty. “It’s everything my father tried to bury. Evidence of what he did to me. To Dorian. To everyone who crossed him. You too. I had to swallow hard. "You kept it all?" “I was saving it for the day I lost you.” And that’s when the lights went out. The room became dark. The entrance to the vault banged shut. There was a crackling voice on the speakers. It's cold. Familiar. "Welcome to the start of the end." Dorian.