“He made a deal with the Pythons.” Onyx’s voice came from behind me, and I turned to face him.
“Stay out of this, little brother,” Granite warned.
Onyx shrugged. “Why? It doesn’t seem like you’re going to tell her the truth, so I’m going to.”
“Mind your own damn business, Onyx.”
Onyx smirked turning his attention to me. “Granite offered them the one thing they’ve always wanted ever since they came riding onto our turf.”
I glanced from Onyx to Granite. “What did you give them?”
Granite kept on glaring at Onyx, lips curled, animosity pulsing off him.
Onyx ignored his brother. “Granite offered them the business with the Sixes in exchange for Neon’s life.”
“Who are the Sixes?”
“Our biggest client.Wasour biggest client.”
“I’m sorry,” I shook my head, “I’m not sure I understand.”
Onyx walked closer. “Let’s simplify it, then. Without the Sixes, the Kings are nothing. The Sixes were our bread and butter. It’s because of them that our business thrived. Now that we handed the reins to the Pythons, we’re basically…what’s the word?” He feigned a look of confusion. “Oh, yeah…fucked.”
I frowned at Granite. “Is that true?”
“Of course, it is,” Onyx answered for him. “But my big brother has this huge guilt trip happening, so he doesn’t really want you to know.”
“Okay.” I held out my hands, pointing to both in each direction, standing right in the middle of them. “I’m starting to feel dizzy.”
“It’s easy, Alyx,” Onyx continued. “Granite is so stuck on that guilt trip he’s currently on, he doesn’t want you to know that he basically cut the throats of our crew in order to save Neon’s life.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
Onyx shrugged. “He doesn’t want you to forgive him,” Onyx studied his brother, “because he can’t forgive himself.”
“Fuck you, Onyx,” Granite spat.
The smirk remained on Onyx’s face. “You’re welcome, brother.” He turned and left, as if he didn’t just drop this huge bomb on us—on me.
I was frozen on the spot. “Is it true?”
“My brother doesn’t know when to shut up.”
I spun around. “For once, just cut the crap, Granite. For once, pretend that you’re not this arrogant hard-ass without a heart and tell me the truth, man to woman. No bullshit.”
Suddenly, a glimmer of hope lit up inside me. Maybe—just maybe all wasn’t lost. God, I was hoping with every fiber of my being that he would be able to give me something—anything that would make it possible for me to forgive him. Now, while I stood there staring at him, I realized that was the worst part. The part where I hated how much I still wanted him even after what I thought he had done. But up until now, I would have rather died than admit it, and deep down, I hated that it wasn’t possible for me to forgive him. It was the one thing that slowly chewed away at my soul because it felt so incredibly wrong to want to forgive the man who, in my eyes, was responsible for Neon’s death.
I leaned my head to the side. “Please, Granite. Be a man, and not just the president of a biker crew.”
“Fine,” he stepped forward, “you want me to talk to you as a man, and not a monster.”
“That’s not what I said. I didn’t say you were a monster.”
“But you thought it. All the time you spent in that room crying, hurting, grieving—you thought it.”
“What did you expect? You let me believe a woman who was supposedly family to you was dead, and you did nothing to save her.”
He shrugged. “You’re right, I lied. But you want the truth, here’s the truth.” He took a step closer, and his eyes darkened. “As a man and not a president of a biker crew, all I can think about is you. All I think about when I lay in bed at night is how it felt to be with you, how it felt to be inside you.”