“Maybe. But there ain’t shit we can do about it now, and we don’t have time to sit around thinking about what we should have done differently. We need to figure out how to play with Crow so we don’t have to bury another brother.”
“I’m going.” I still didn’t look at Onyx, my eyes pinned on the fucking empty leather chair. “Don’t waste your breath trying to figure a way out of this. Crow will get what he wants.” I slowly dragged my gaze to Onyx. “And what he wants is me.”
“There’s one thing you need to understand.” Granite placed his fists on the table in front of him. “You didn’t do anything we wouldn’t have done.”
I frowned, and Granite pointed at Onyx yet kept his gaze on me. “My brother already admitted he would have killed Slither if he had the chance. And me?” He pressed his finger hard against his chest. “If that fucker had to so much as given Alyx a goddamn hangnail, I would have gutted him from nose to navel and turned his corpse inside out.” His jaw clenched. “You. Did. Nothing. Wrong.” He sat back. “So, stop with the guilt-trip bullshit. Dutch died saving my ass. But if that bullet did end up in my back like Slither had planned, Dutch—or any of you—would have ended him, and that’s a fact. So, whether it was you,” he pointed at me, “or Onyx, or Manic, or me, one of us would have crossed Crow when it came to that bastard, no matter how it played out. Now, we will sit here for the next two fucking days if we have to, but we will figure this out so there’s no more goddamn bloodshed on our streets.” Granite looked at Onyx, his eyes hard and fierce, burning with vengeance. “What does our president have to say about that?”
Onyx nodded, jaw tense and shoulders squared. “He says ‘fuck yeah.’”
“I might have a way out of this.” Everyone looked at Manic, who had remained oddly quiet up until now. “I think I might know how to bargain with Crow.”
I narrowed my eyes, our secret playing in the back of my head.
Manic gave me a knowing look before turning to Onyx. “Turns out Crow and I kinda have one thing in common.”
Onyx lifted a brow. “Yeah, and what’s that?”
Manic took a deep breath, the moment just as sharp as the word that came out of his mouth next.
“Blood.”
22
Neon
I thoughtthe hours spent in that room with a bunch of Pythons was the longest day of my life.
I was wrong.
Sitting around the club, waiting for the guys to come out of that room, were the longest fucking hours, minutes, seconds of my life.
After the mini conversation Crow and I had, I knew Ink’s head was on the line. I knew shit was millimeters away from hitting the fan. How in God’s name was this even possible? We get rid of the one devil, only to be threatened by another.
Wraith, Alyx, and I were sitting in the kitchen, each with a glass of vodka in hand. Every now and then, I would look over at Wraith and feel sorry for her. Not because Slither was dead, but because she had lost a brother. I couldn’t imagine what it had to feel like to know that your brother was responsible for so much hurt and so much pain, and yet you still mourned him. It had to be the mindfuck of the goddamn century.
After hours of waiting, the door creaked open, and Onyx was the first to appear. My heart raced, and all I thought about was to finally have Ink’s arms around me. When he walked in after Granite, I jumped up, knocking over my chair—not giving a damn—and rushed to him. My arms were around his neck clutching tight and holding on for dear life. I didn’t care that everyone was in the kitchen watching. I didn’t care who knew, who thought what, or who made the shittiest, most sarcastic remark. All I cared about was him. The man who gave me everything yet lost so fucking much.
“What’s happening?” I whispered in his ear while hugging him.
“Don’t worry about it, babe. We got it handled.” I heard the uncertainty that rang in his words, his voice nowhere near confident enough to settle the dread in my gut.
I leaned back, studying him, searching for answers in his eyes. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“Don’t stress.” He brushed his hands up and down my shoulders. “You okay?”
“I’ll be okay once I know we’re in the clear.”
“What do you mean?”
I stepped closer, not wanting anyone else to hear. “Crow told me.”
Ink tensed, and I could see the vein in his neck bulge. “What did he tell you?”
“That we have forty-eight hours.” By the look on his face, I knew there was no need for me to say anything else.
Ink cursed, pulling both palms down his face. “That fucker had no right to say a damn word to you.”
“Stop, okay? Now is not the time to be worrying about who told me what and how much I’m not supposed to know. Just tell me there’s a plan. Tell me there’s a way to get you out of this.” My heart was beating so damn fast, my gut feeling empty and heavy at the same damn time.