Defiance beamed from her eyes, and I half expected her to challenge him. But she didn’t. His old lady had been trained well. You never challenged a man in front of his crew—everyone knew that.
Alyx got up and handed Neon her crutches. “Come on. I’ll make us some chamomile tea.” But Neon was still so shaken, her entire body trembling, she could hardly keep the crutches upright. Ink intervened, took the crutches from her, and swept her up in his arms, carrying her out of the bedroom.
I pulled back, my body flush against the wall outside of the room, and he didn’t even notice me standing there as he carried her out. I looked at them as they passed, and I saw scars peeking out from her spaghetti strap top. I slapped my palm against my mouth as I stared at it, red tissue and raised skin. I had never seen such grotesque scars.
God, what happened to her?
Alyx followed Ink as he carried Neon down the hall, and I remained silently leaning against the wall just outside the room.
“He’s growing impatient.” It was Granite’s voice. “If we don’t do something, we’re going to lose him.”
“I know,” Onyx replied. “But what do we do? We’re low on cash and resources since we no longer have the Sixes, and our little weed business on the side ain’t cutting it.”
“Yeah, I know. But we gotta do something, man.”
“Like what?” Onyx snapped.
“You’re the president now. You need to figure out what our next move is going to be.”
I leaned closer to the door, turning my head to try to hear more clearly. If only I could get my heart to slow down and stop beating like a hammer inside my head, I might be able to hear a little more.
“Brother,” Onyx started, “you know me. I would rush over there and cut all their motherfucking hearts out right this second without thinking twice. I want nothing more than to see those Pythons bleed.”
My heart stopped. It fucking froze in my chest, the ice spreading across my ribs and down my spine.Pythons. What do they have to do with this? With Neon?
Footsteps hit the wooden floors, hard and heavy. “Maybe it’s time we stop playing it safe,” Granite said. “We’ve been playing it safe for weeks, and it has gotten us nowhere.”
“I know,” Onyx agreed. “But you and I both know we can’t do that when our emotions are running wild. Especially with Ink. That man is consumed with rage. It’s turning him into someone I don’t even recognize anymore.”
“You and me both, brother. But we can’t lose him.”
“What are you saying?” Onyx’s voice softened a little, and I leaned even closer.
“I can’t tell you what to do, Onyx. You’re the president.”
“Stop saying that!” A loudthwackclashed against the wall. “When you took over from Dad, things weren’t as complicated as they are now. You had time to settle in, to find your place among all of this. But me? I got tossed into a motherfucking vortex of shit without even having a day to figure things out, to wrap my own goddamn head around all this. Now I’m asking you, not as the ex-president of the crew, but as a brother. What the fuck do I do?”
The desperation in his voice tugged at my heart, and I wished I could reach out and wrap my arms around him, give him some sort of reassurance. He was so conflicted, even a stranger like me could figure that out.
“Okay, listen,” Granite’s voice dipped low, “take a deep breath. One thing I’ve learned during the last few years is to always follow your gut. What’s your gut telling you?”
There was silence, and I could practically see Onyx rubbing his palm across his beard while he was thinking.
“Maybe we should start with the snow problem. Figure out if our instincts are right, and that it’s the Pythons who are behind it. That might be the opening we need.”
Again, I stopped breathing for a second.
“Good. I agree. Dutch thinks he has a lead. That kid we saved a few months back—”
“Trent?”
“Yeah. Dutch thinks he might know something.”
“Okay, good,” Onyx responded. “We should discuss a plan of action in the morning at church.”
“Agreed. Onyx?”
“Yeah?”