“Granite,” I whispered, but he shushed me by holding out his hand, not once taking his eyes off Tanit. She seemed confused, frenzied, almost disconnected somehow.
Granite positioned himself between her and me. “Say okay, Tanit. I’m going to untie Alyx, and I need to hear that you’re okay with that.”
My heart had started to claw up my throat, my skin damp and cold. Even if he did manage to untie me, I wasn’t sure my weak legs would have been able to carry me.
Tanit nodded, wiping tears from her cheek. And Granite stepped backward, crouching as he started to untie my legs.
“As soon as Alyx is out of here, you and I are going to talk calmly about this and see if we can sort something out.” He reached behind me and untied my wrists.
“Do not run,” he whispered. “Walk slowly to the door, and then you get the hell out of here with Onyx.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to leave him here. Not with her still holding the gun.
“Do as I say, Alyx.”
“I’m not leaving you here with her.”
Tanit’s glare cut to me, her bewildered look replaced with sheer hate. “You’ll never take your claws out of him, will you?” she shouted, the anger in her voice slamming against my chest.
“Tanit, calm down.” Granite tried to push me out of the way, but she lifted the gun and aimed it straight at me.
“As long as you fucking breathe, you will never let him go. You will never let me. Have. Him." Her arm shook, and I knew she was about to pull the trigger. I saw it in her eyes, the way they darkened, the bloodlust mixed with her scorn. In her mind, I had to die.
“Alyx!” Granite called, and I closed my eyes, seconds suddenly turning into hours.
And then the explosion came, the thunderous crack fracturing the silence. I was expecting the blow, but instead I got slammed into the ground, the wind knocked out of me.
I opened my eyes, blue irises staring down on me. “You okay?”
“Onyx.” I tried to push him off me. “Granite. Is Granite okay?” Finally, Onyx gave way, and I saw Granite standing a few feet away, holding a gun.
I got up to my feet and gasped when I saw Tanit’s body, her back halfway on the desk like she had stumbled back, a blood stain spreading along her white shirt.
Granite shot her.
Granite killed Tanit…so he could save me.
21
Alyx
I watchedas they pushed the gurney out of the abandoned warehouse building. It all seemed too surreal, like it was nothing but a dream playing inside my head. The place was swarming with police and paramedics, like a scene out of a thriller movie.
Granite hadn’t left my side since he managed to save me, never standing more than two feet away. “You okay?” I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. “Yeah.” I turned to face him. “I saw him. Slither.”
Granite placed his hand under my chin, lifting my face to his. “Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “But he…God, Granite, I’ve never met anyone that vile. The things he said to me, things they did to Neon,” I choked back a tear, “it was enough to make me sick. And the look he had in his eyes when he talked about her, it was like he was in awe of her because she managed to survive.”
I could no longer stop the tears from falling, and Granite wiped them away with his thumb. “I swear to you, Slither will never lay a hand on Neon again. And he sure as fuck will never come near you again.”
“I just don’t get it. Tanit was working with Slither, brought me here to hand me over to him. But then he left, and you showed up.” I took a step back. “How did you find me?”
He placed his hands on my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re safe. And there’s not a chance in hell I’ll let him near you again.”
I lifted a brow. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Granite let go of me and roughed a hand through his hair. “Listen, Alyx. There’s a lot of shit I can’t tell you about the club and what we do.”