“Granite, what the fuck, man?”
I took another step back, feeling like I had no right being there. From the corner of my eye, I saw a woman move, and I turned her way. Her face was bruised on one side, and she had a cut down her thick bottom lip. But even with a banged-up face, she was beautiful, with an hourglass shaped body and big breasts. Her perfection made me hyperaware of my imperfections.
She took her long, dark hair in her hands and tied it high behind her head. I didn’t recognize her, but by the way she stared at me, she clearly recognized me. Had she been there the whole time?
My attention was forced back to the four men in front of me when Onyx slammed his fist against the wall. A growl ripped from his throat, his body quivering. It was hard to miss the vein in his neck pulsing with anger.
“You cannot expect us to stay here and do nothing,” he gritted between clenched teeth. “We need to find those fuckers now and end this.”
Even though Granite seemed calm, I could see in the depths of his eyes how he was struggling to stay in control. “They’re expecting us to rush back and defend our turf. They’ll be waiting for us.”
“Good,” Onyx snarled. “And we’ll be ready for them.”
“No!” Granite’s voice boomed down the hall, and I flinched from the roar.
Granite straightened. Whether it was the fury that raged within him, or the fear that stung inside me, I wasn’t sure. But to me, it seemed like he made himself taller, bigger, his presence filling every goddamn space around us.
“We made the mistake of underestimating them”—he glanced at the woman standing by the doorway—“twice. But not this time.” He turned back to face Onyx. “Slither won’t fuck us in the ass again. So, we stay right the fuck here.”
“This is bullshit!”
For a moment, I half expected Onyx to launch himself at Granite. He was livid, eyes wild and skin flushed all the way from his neck up to his cheeks. “By hiding here, we look like fucking cowards.”
Granite took a huge step, putting him in Onyx’s face. “If protecting the crew makes us look like cowards, then so be it. There’s a difference between being angry and smart, and being furious and reckless. If you can’t see that, you walk right on back to Neon’s room and look at her goddamn face. Maybe that will remind you of the fucking mistake we made by underestimating these bastards.” Granite brushed past his brother, knocking into his shoulder. “Everyone stays the fuck here. Dutch, make the call. Tell the crew to lay low.”
Just when I thought some of the tension would dissipate, Onyx spun around. “We’re making a mistake, brother. And if you can’t see that, you go to Junkyard’s wife and kids and tell them he got killed because he wore the Kings cut…and we’re not going to do shit about it.”
Granite stilled, and my heart was ready to crawl up my throat. The atmosphere was palpable, laden with tension sharp enough to desecrate the silence.
He looked halfway over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ll go to his wife and kids, tell them how we failed—howIfailed. But this time, it’s the last. I won’t fail any of the Kings again.”
I sucked in a breath as his words cracked my chest wide open, pulling at every ounce of sympathy I had. That was when it hit me, the amount of responsibility this man carried alone. Every man here, every woman connected to the Kings, was his responsibility. His to protect and defend. Yes, he had his crew, but in the end it all came down on him…and him alone.
Ink placed his hands on his hips, cursing. “I agree with Granite.”
“Oh, fuck off, would ya?” Onyx blurted. “You just don’t want to go out there because you’re too busy chasing after Neon’s pussy. When the fuck will you realize she doesn’t want you, man? Huh? She doesn’t want to ride your fucking dick.”
I didn’t see it coming…and neither did Onyx. Ink launched himself at Onyx, swinging his arm, punching him right in the face. Onyx reacted, slamming his shoulder into Ink’s gut, forcing him back and crashing into the wall.
It happened so fast, and all I could do was flatten myself against the concrete wall behind me, holding my breath while watching two men tear each other apart.
The sound of bodies colliding and fists swinging, the rush of air as they knocked the wind out of each other, was scary as hell. Terrified and frozen solid, I stood there shocked and unable to take a breath.
Dutch forced his way between them, trying to tear them away from each other, when I felt two hands grab and pull me to the other side, away from the impending carnage of two savage giants.
The man shoved me in behind him when I heard Granite’s voice cut through the chaos. “Enough!”
I peeked around the broad shoulder standing in front of me, Dutch forcing Ink to the side while Granite had Onyx pinned against the wall by his throat.
“Dutch, get Ink the fuck out of here,” Granite growled, never taking his eyes off his brother. “Manic, take Alyx back to her room. Now.”
The guy in front of me turned, and I cringed when I saw the grotesque scar on his face, the big, fat line of skin stretching from one eye to the other side of his mouth.
He winked at me. “Pretty, ain’t it?”
“Wha…what—”
“Watching two assholes trying to kill each other.”