All Chapters of A deal with the devil: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

NinaI tore down the alley at breakneck speed, lungs burning, heart hammering against my ribs. Ahead of me, Santiago slipped through back doors, cafés, and side streets with infuriating ease, a ghost in a suit, always just out of reach. I could only wonder how he was so familiar with these streets. It was even more evidence of his gang affiliation.By the time I finally cornered him in a narrow dead-end alley, sweat was running down my spine. I swiped an arm across my face, breath ragged."There's nowhere left to run," I said, voice rougher than I wanted.My calves screamed from the heels, my hair had long since escaped its neat chignon, tumbling down my back in wild, riotous waves."Isn't there?" he asked, raising a brow - calm as sin, unbothered by the chase."You're under arrest, Mr. Santiago.""For attending a party?". His tone was a velvet taunt. "Come now, agent, we both know you've got nothing solid. You're wasting both our time.""You attacked a detective."He laughed, low, da

Nina I tucked some loose strands of hair behind my neck as I navigated through the upper deck of the luxury cruise ship. Around me, the him of guests tastefully clad in shiny, designer dresses and suits rose, while I tried to keep my head down and go unnoticed. “Champagne?” I asked, forcing the light French accent I’d practiced, stopping beside an older blonde woman with a dark-haired man.“None for me.” She dismissed me with a flick of her hand, not even sparing me a glance. “I’m on an alcohol ban.”Nodding, I continued on my way, gaze flying around surreptitiously. I had gotten on the boat almost an hour ago, disguised server's uniform to blend in. I recognised a bunch of the people around as top millionaires and high profile people, but I was yet to see any sign of gang activity. Had D7 gotten it wrong? This just looked like a standard party for rich assholes. I was beginning to think this had been a mistake. Annoyed, I trudged down the metal stairs to the kitchen below. Dumpin

Nina I rose slowly, carefully, every muscle coiled tight, trying not to provoke him."Turn around. Slowly." He ordered. This was a pretty good time for Santiago to show up out of the blues again, but I knew he wasn't coming. With no other choice, I turned and met Paul's gaze. Shock caused his green eyes to flare as recognition hit. "Nina? What the hell are you doing here?" He barked, then he took me in. "Dressed like that. What the fuck is going on here?" I tried to smile but my face felt stiff with anxiety. "Well, it's a pretty long story." Outside, another explosion rocked through the ship. Cursing under his breath, Paul grabbed my arm and began to pull me out of the cabin. "You're going to tell me everything, Nina. And don't even try to give me that bullshit about me not getting it." He snarled as he navigated us through the hallway and up the stairs. "Do you have a fucking death wish?" "It's complicated, okay?" "Oh really? In that case, let me give you a simplified versio

RafaelDamn it. Did she have a fucking death wish? What was she thinking traipsing into the street with no single care of what was going on around her. My heart thudded violently against my chest as the bullet exploded somewhere to the side. I couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if I had been a split second too slow. Nina would have been lying in a pool of her own blood by now. Taking aim and ignoring the woman writhing in my arms, I fired up at the dark shadow hiding at the rooftop of the bar, satisfied when I heard a grunt of pain followed by a thud. Scanning the street to make sure there wasn't another mercenary, I pulled Nina further down the alleyway before leading us into an abandoned bowling alley tucked at the very back. From there, I led us through two more streets, following a network of back alleys. As soon as I stopped moving, she pushed away from me, breathing hard and looking beautifully furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Saving yo

Nina "Bryan." I said through clenched teeth. Any other person would have immediately heard my tone and known that I wasn't in the mood for conversation, but I would be overestimating the lawyer if I referred to him as someone with working brain cells. "Nina, darling." He smirked, gaze running over my body with a leer. "Damn, you clean up real nice." My eyes narrowed at his comment, but before I could say anything, Paul stepped up between us. "Who's this dickwad?" "Who are you?" Bryan snapped. "Get lost. We have serious business to see to." Paul scoffed, spinning around and grabbing my hand to lead me away. Unfortunately, Bryan jumped forward and grabbed my other hand, holding me in place. "Hey, hey, not so fast. Nina and I were talking. As a matter of fact, we also have serious business to attend to." His gaze met mine. "You left our date in a hurry the other night. I've been meaning to call you sweethear_" "If you sweetheart or darling me one more time, I'll knock all your b