All Chapters of In The Devil's Embrace : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

MARYJANE I don't want to do this. But I'm extremely easy to push around, and I hate that about myself.I'm on my way to my dad's LA warehouse. He owns Diego Medical Supplies, the biggest supplier for doctors, dentists, and who the heck knows what else. The company is based in the Bay Area, and he wants me to do this inspection because I'm 'the only one he can trust.'Complete bullshit. Just him pulling a highly effective manipulation tactic on me. It always works.I'm meeting the warehouse manager and spot-checking inventory. Which apparently, I'll be great at because I have a business degree. This is a job for someone who works in supply chain, not accounting. But it's whatever. I graduated with a 3.95 GPA and aced my supply chain class, so it won't be too hard.I grumble as I park in the alley at the docks. Why am I incapable of saying no? I use my key to open the padlock on the side gate. I don't feel like going through the main entrance, because that means greeting whatever secur

MARYJANE I can't stop thinking about what happened Saturday. What was I thinking? I helped a criminal escape. And from the little we talked about, I'm pretty sure he's a big-time mob boss. I kept watching the news for information about the shooting, but nothing ever showed up.I thought about going to the police, but I remembered how scary the stranger looked when I first laid eyes on him. I don't think he was lying when he said the county was on his payroll. So, I chose to operate under that assumption.I lied and told my dad I didn't go to the docks. He yelled at me for not going to the inspection, but I'd rather him yell at me for that than give a crime lord stitches. The inspection would be miniscule in comparison to that.But most of all, I can't stop thinking about the kiss he gave me, and every time I look in the mirror I'm reminded of it. He marked me. The nibble was so gentle, but it left a deep red mark, a silent signal branding me as his. I shake my head. He's never coming

MARYJANE I’m not sure if I want to walk home today. I’m afraid of seeing Stranger again because everything seems to go wrong when he’s around.Although he scares me, there’s part of me that’s drawn to him. I think it’s his eyes. The brown-red color always has this smoldering look when he’s staring at me. It’s inevitable that I can’t hold his intense gaze, and my eyes always break away and look at his lips. How does someone that tough have such soft lips?I recall the way they feel against my skin, and wonder what they’d feel like on other places on my body. I turn bright red. What the hell am I thinking? I’ve never gone past kissing a boy, but I’m thinking about a random man kissing various parts of my body. I need to stop.Against my better judgement, I don’t drive to work. I almost forget to cross the street when I’m walking home but remember the wrath of Gustavo and quickly skitter across. I’m hugging the cars that are parallel parked when I see him slam open his workplace doors.

GUSTAVO “Tell me what Eduardo is up to,” I say.Taime and I captured one of his higher ups. We have him tied up in the office’s basement, where the dirty work takes place. It’s insulated, and no one will hear his screams of agony. And there are many screams of pain that take place down here.Taime rips the duct tape from his mouth.“Fuck you, man!” the man says, then spits at me.“I thought you’d say that. Again.” I walk over to the cabinets lining the basement wall. “What shall we do about this?”I already know what I’m going to do, but I pull each drawer out slowly. The slower I move, the higher this man’s heartrate, and the more likely he’ll talk.I grab the thin slices of bamboo and I see Taime look the other way. He isn’t one for torture. Taime can kill a roomful of people in less than three minutes, but he prefers headshots. It’s quick, it’s easy, it gets the job done.I’m blessed with a different skillset. When I torture people, there’s no remorse. I feel no emotion as people

GUSTAVO I almost sprint to the bathroom. I splash cold water on my face and take a few deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Why am I attracted to the one girl I shouldn’t sleep with? She’s Gary fucking Diego's daughter.If it were any other girl, I could just fuck them until it got out of my system. But I’ve also never had this problem with any other girl. I’ve never been this attracted to one to the point where I’ll go out of my way for her. The other girls were meant strictly for release, and then they go.What has Maryjane Diego done to me.I manage to get my throbbing dick under control and make my way back to our table. Two men are hovering over Maryjane and she has cowered back as far possible to get away from them. My rage flares as I see them lean closer to her.My first instinct is to beat them into the ground. They’re approaching what’s mine, and they’re going to pay for that. But, I can’t let her know that I’m The Devil.“If you’ll excuse me gentleman,” I say. “I