Devils & Thieves (Devils & Thieves #1)(51)

Everything inside me wanted to argue. Surely Crowe wouldn’t have… but the tiniest whisper of doubt crept in. Suddenly I remembered what Crowe had said about him this morning, how Darek just pissed him off, how he should have killed him when he had the chance. Was this what he meant? Had he actually used me as an excuse to beat on Darek? “Does Killian know?”

Darek pulled several small objects from his pocket and dropped them on my bedspread. I peered at the shattered remains of Darek’s phone. “Honestly, I’m not sure what happened after the fifth or sixth time he hit me. I woke up in a ditch at the side of Highway Ten just over the city limit. When I crawled out, a passing driver stopped and called an ambulance. I’ve been in the ER getting stitched up. I hitched a ride here when they let me out. I thought you…” He looked away. “I hoped you would be worried.” He held his hand out, palm up.

I slipped my hand into his, and he squeezed my fingers. “I don’t know what to say, except that I’m sorry if I played a part in this.”

“Did you tell the president of the Devils to go after me?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“Then this isn’t your fault at all. Just… I don’t want to cause trouble, Jemmie. Killian made it clear to all of us before we rode up here that he wanted us to behave. He’s worked for years to resurrect this club after what happened to Henry and the others, and I’d say he’s just about done it. So the last thing I want to do is start some kind of war.”

“Letting Killian know you’re safe is probably the best thing you can do, then.”

He let go of my hand. “I guess I will. It’s just…”

“What?”

“It’s so fucking humiliating, Jem. I try to have a good attitude. I’ve tried for years. But sometimes it feels like more than I can bear.”

“Having so little magic, you mean?”

“I wanted to fight back. I want to fight back. I’m not weak.”

“I know you’re not, Darek.” My heart ached for him, for the tortured look on his face. “I know it’s hard.”

“You can’t know how it feels,” he whispered. “And I’ve had to do this alone. I’ve always been alone. At least your dad is still alive.”

“I’m sorry. I know you miss your parents a lot.”

“You know, it’s funny. My dad died on the same stretch of road that took out Michael Medici. Quite the coincidence.”

“I didn’t know.”

He shrugged. “Didn’t seem worth mentioning. Killian knew my dad really well—they were raised together. So he got a nice couple to take me in. Used to come visit me from time to time.” He chuckled. “I guess he wanted to keep an eye on me. Make sure I was brought up right.” His sad smile faded. “But like I’ve told you, they were drecks, Jem. They didn’t understand me. Sometimes I wondered if he did that on purpose.”

“Because he knew you didn’t have a dominant power?”

“You said it, not me,” he grumbled. “It took a lot of convincing to get him to let me prospect. I finally talked him into it, though. I’m gonna prove myself to him.”

“You will. And I’m not saying I know how you feel, but I do know what it’s like to feel alone, and to be different from others around you. I know it sucks.”

He sat up, not meeting my gaze. “Since I can’t text Killian, I guess I’d better get back to the grounds.”

“Are you going to confront Crowe?” I knew Crowe was tough, and I knew he hated the Deathstalkers and suspected they had a hand in Michael’s death, but Darek was no threat to him. His only crime had been looking at me.

I wouldn’t have thought Crowe cared about that. He thought I was a distraction and nothing more.

“The last thing I want is to play a part in starting another war between the Stalkers and the Devils,” Darek said. “It’s the opposite of what my club needs, and I pledged to protect my club. A man’s got to be able to take a beating, and that’s one thing I can do.” He smiled, then winced as it pulled at a cut on his cheek. “Pretty well, at least.”

Anger ran hot through my veins. “This is wrong, Darek. Crowe needs to face what he did.”

“I’m not the one to make him. I’ll tell them I drank too much and walked into a tree or something.” He got to his feet with a groan, then tugged my hand and pulled me up next to him. “I’m sorry Alex is missing. She’s a tough, smart girl, and I’m sure she’s fine. She was awfully pissed at her brother, though. Maybe she decided to remind him of the importance of family or something.”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Maybe.” But it was now late afternoon, and my friend was nowhere to be found. Untraceable even with locant magic. “I won’t feel good until we find her, though.”

“You’re an amazing friend, Jemmie.” He ran his fingertip along my cheek. “I’m glad you’re one of mine.”

I looked up at him. “And I’m glad you’re okay.” I took in the cuts and bruises on his face. “Mostly okay, at least.”

His hand slid around my waist. “Right now I’m feeling pretty damn good.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine, and I blinked in surprise. It felt… it felt like a kiss. Soft and gentle, warm and minty from his breath, along with a hint of stale cigarette. If I had planned to kiss him regularly, I would have told him to quit that nasty habit, but…