“Take me to her before I change my mind,” I snarled, practically spitting in the asshole’s face.
“This can be an ambush, Granite,” Onyx chimed in from behind. “Don’t trust the fucker.”
I smiled wickedly while still standing up close and in Slither’s face. “Don’t worry, brother. I don’t. That’s why Slither here is going to tell me where Alyx is, and then stay behind with Ink and Manic,” I shrugged, “just in case it’s bullshit.”
Slither pulled his lips in a straight line. “Fine by me. However you wanna do this, man.”
I stepped back and lifted my cut up behind my back. “Ink, take your gun. You know, just in case.”
For a moment, Slither’s confident expression faltered as he watched Ink take the gun and place it behind his back. Ink might be a loose cannon right now, but if Slither was feeding me bullshit, there was no better man to execute the punishment.
“Now,” I crossed my arms, “where is Alyx?”
20
Alyx
“Jesus. How much longer?”
Tanit paced, heels clicking on the concrete. I watched her with weary eyes, observing how agitated and nervous she was getting with every second that passed.
Every thirty seconds, she would look at her phone, and I noticed the wet fabric of her white shirt along her armpits. She was sweating, worried, no longer as confident as she was before the snake came by.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said in a soft, calm voice. “There’s still time to stop this.”
“Shut up. God, it’s hot in here.” She glanced up at the ceiling. “Fucking old buildings with no air conditioning.”
I pressed my lips together, my palms sweaty and wrists burning, still trying to wriggle them free from the rope.
“I’ll go home, you know. If you free me, I’ll be able to go home. Then you can have Granite for yourself again.”
Her top lip pulled up, her eyes narrowing at me. “Let’s get this straight, okay? You never had Granite. He was never yours to begin with. You were nothing but a mere distraction, new pussy to fuck until he got bored with you. That’s what they do, you know,” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “fuck women until they grow tired of them, tossing them out like garbage when a new cunt walks in.” She snorted, steadying herself against the desk, looking down at her phone. “We’re nothing but tits and ass for them. All they care about are their stupid bikes, money, beer, and whores. Dirty fucks.”
“If they’re so bad, why are you doing this?”
She let out a laugh, throwing her hair back. “I already told you. A woman like me needs a man like Granite if she wants to live a decent life. I don’t have a rich daddy like you do, princess.”
“Oh, believe me. My life isn’t as perfect as it seems.” I rolled my eyes. Funny how people with no money always thought people with money were happier. It was automatically assumed that happiness came with all those big houses, fancy cars, and designer clothing—things only money could buy.
Tanit scowled at me, her dainty nose all scrunched up. “I suppose this is where you tell me money can’t buy happiness? Well, let me tell you, that saying was thought up by some poor douche who tried to convince himself he was happy with his miserable poverty-stricken existence.” She pushed herself off the desk. “For people like me, money sure as hell can buy a fuck-load of joy.”
If only she knew how wrong she was. I would have traded all the luxuries in my life for a single goddamn day where my mother would hug me, saying she was proud of me.
I smiled halfheartedly at the thought. “I suppose everyone’s burden is the heaviest.”
“Yeah, well. I look after me, and no one else. Unfortunately for you, you fucked with the wrong girl’s life.”
The skin around my wrists burned as the rope cut into it, my fingers aching as I tried to pull my hands free.
Tanit picked up the gun from the desk, holding it like she was inspecting it. “Ever wonder what it feels like to kill someone?”
My throat closed, and my heart stopped.
“I’ve seen people die before,” she continued, “and I’ve seen the faces of those who killed them. The adrenaline, exhilaration. Sheer fucking excitement of knowing you had the power to drain another human being of life. In that moment…you’re God.”
Fear knocked against my chest as she placed her finger on the trigger, turning it from side to side, scrutinizing it. The look on her face was unreadable, almost like she was trapped in her own mind and space in time. Like she lost her grip on reality momentarily. It was fucking terrifying.
“Tanit, listen to me. You are not a killer.” God, my voice was shaking. Truth was, I didn’t know her well enough to know whether she was a killer or not. But I knew she was desperate, and desperation made people do stupid, stupid things. “Like I said, there is still time to make this right.”