Leaning back against the wall, I avoided eye contact with Onyx. “How is she?”
Onyx blew out a cloud of smoke. “If you really want to know, go find out for yourself.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Onyx.”
“Don’t use me to be your eyes and ears when it comes to her. You want to find out how she’s doing, go see her. Don’t fucking ask me.” He tossed his cigarette onto the dirt before turning his back on me and continuing to clean his bike.
I exhaled, bending my knee and placing my boot against the wall.
“So, where did you and Ink disappear to last night?” Onyx didn’t turn to face me as he spoke.
I plucked out a cigarette and placed it between in my lips. “Just went for a cruise.”
“Such bullshit.”
“What?”
“You two were gone for hours, and not even Dutch knew where you were.”
“Dutch doesn’t have to know my every move.”
“Yeah, he kinda does.” Onyx turned in my direction, eyes pinned on me with a scrutinizing glare. “Where were you, Granite?”
I lit the cigarette, blowing out some smoke. “Got nothing to do with you, little brother.”
“There was blood on Ink’s boots this morning. Have any idea how it got there?”
My mind reeled while trying to think of something to say. Goddammit. I told Ink to be careful.
I shrugged and let my gaze drift to the horizon before finally looking back at him. “I’m not your fucking eyes and ears when it comes to Ink.” I flicked my cigarette and straightened. “Want to find out what’s up with him, ask him yourself.”
Onyx snorted and continued to clean his motorcycle, seemingly unfazed by my sarcasm. I grabbed my phone and stomped back into the house.
Ink took his sweet time answering, and I was about to drop the call when his voice came through the receiver.
“Ink, where are you?”
“Where do you think?”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Listen, Onyx is like a fucking bloodhound. We need to lay low for a while.”
“What do you mean?”
“He said the saw blood on your boot this morning. And he has that fucking look in his eyes when he’s trying to get to the bottom of something. We need to cool down a little.”
“No fucking way, man. I’m going out again tonight.”
See, I knew Ink wouldn’t play along. The man was consumed with an unhealthy amount of rage. It had been days since he slept. He was living off whiskey, nicotine, and air. But who could blame him? He was a walking hard-on, always trying to get into Neon’s pants because she was the one girl who didn’t fall for his dirty mouth and boyish good looks. Ink had that charisma and confidence women seemed to fall for hook, line, and sinker. I was pretty sure if I had a pussy, I’d probably fall for his dirty mouth. But not Neon, and that drove the guy insane not being able to crack through her hard casing of attitude. And even though he always joked about never stopping until she spread her legs for him, I knew deep down the guy cared for her—more than he ever wanted to admit.
Now, he was all types of fucked up over her.
“Listen, Ink. Let’s just be cool for a few days. Besides, you need to get some sleep.”
“Granite, you’re my bro, man. But I’m going out tonight, with or without you.” And then he hung up.
I cursed under my breath. It was probably better for us—for him to continue doing what we’d been doing. That fury he carried was like a pressure cooker put on high, and he needed to get rid of some steam. At least what we were doing was better than him shooting it up and getting high. When Ink joined the Kings a few years back, the guy was having a hard time getting off the needle. That was one thing our club didn’t tolerate, the use of hardcore drugs. Weed? Sure. Selling weed was great for our cashflow. But heroin? No way. It took us months to help get the guy clean. My dad refused to give up on him.
Goddammit. If Ink had to fall off the wagon because of what happened to Neon—because of what Ilethappen to Neon—that would be the final nail in my fucking coffin. I already felt like a dead man walking, robbing the world of air I didn’t deserve. The only thing that kept me from falling down that metaphorical black hole of nothing was my need for revenge. I would avenge what happened to Neon. I would demand payback for what happened to Alyx. Her mind was fucked because of what I let happen.