Page 56 of Depraved

“Listen to the man, Granite.” Dutch walked up to me, giving me a knowing look. “I’m siding with Onyx and Ink on this one.”

Ink rolled his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Shut up. Now, Granite. You and I both know Slither will think that if we have the girl, you’d have your entire security detail around her. It’s what anyone would do…which is why we need to think differently.”

Fucking man was right. He knew it. I knew it. But it didn’t mean I had to like it. Not being there myself to make sure she didn’t get hurt was hard enough. Toss my brother into the mix, and it made me feral. Our little standoff in the kitchen that morning proved the tension between us was palpable. I loved my brother. I really did. And we mostly got along just fine. But Kate was a touchy subject for us, and it seemed like Alyx would become one too.

My gaze cut to Onyx, then to Ink, and back at Dutch. For the life of me, I wished there was a way for me to argue this further, but I knew the bastards had me in a corner. A lesson my dad taught me—always listen to your team. A leader was only as strong as the bond between his men. Protect each other. Respect each other.

With a simple nod, I agreed. I didn’t fucking like it, but my guys were right, and I’d be a fool if I acted on impulse rather than on good advice. “A good leadership quality,” my dad always said. The ability to listen rather than dictate.

I glanced at my wristwatch. “We ride in at dawn.”

Everyone scattered out to go do what they needed to do, but I grabbed Onyx by the elbow. “Wait up.”

He faced me.

“I don’t want trouble, Onyx.”

“And I won’t give you any.”

I pulled my hand down my face, glancing around before leaning closer to him. “No matter what, you make sure nothing happens to her. Okay?”

Onyx licked his lips, narrowing his eyes at me. “You care about her.” It wasn’t a question.

I clenched my jaw. “Promise me, Onyx.”

For a few seconds, he studied me, blue eyes raking over my features. “Yeah. Okay, man.”

“Okay?”

“I said okay.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. I’ll take care of her.” There was a little squeeze from his fingers, a gesture meant to reassure me. Unfortunately, when it came to Alyx, the only thing that would set me at ease was if she was locked up in a padded fucking room where nothing or no one could touch her…except me.

Psychopath.

Onyx walked off, and I called after him. “Get Neon to take her some food.”

He didn’t turn. A wave was the only confirmation I got.

A part of me felt excited, thrilled, eager to get the show on the fucking road. The sooner we took down the Pythons, avenging my father’s death by pulling this off, the sooner I could get to her and the plan I had for us.

But another part of me felt the slight twinge of nerves, an edginess I didn’t like. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was unease simmering in pit of my stomach. It was just something I had to shake. This was my one and only opportunity to get what I wanted while giving the club and my guys what they wanted.

Killing two birds with one stone. But that bird upstairs was mine, and once all of this was done, I’d make sure she understood that concept.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

ALYX

It felt comforting, in a way, to wear my own clothes. Familiar. Made me feel a little closer to home. Just a thread of normalcy.

It didn’t smell the same, though. I noticed the new soapy scent the second I pulled my shirt over my head. Amazing how one’s sense of smell got used to something like a specific detergent brand, unable to smell it anymore because your clothing had been washed with it for years. But the second a different scented brand was used, you could catch the unfamiliar whiff immediately.

I made sure to avoid the mirror. My mind had already turned into an epic battlefield. Losing myself would only disarm me more, weaken me more than I already was.

Even though it freaked the fuck out of me knowing Granite had replicas of my stuff placed in this room, I grabbed a hairband and tied my hair. The blonde strands felt like sandpaper every time they brushed against the bruise on the side of my face. The rest of my body felt achy too, and I was starting to hope Neon would appear again with some aspirin in hand.

I heard the door unlock, and since she was in my thoughts last, I expected to see Neon. But Onyx was the one who appeared.