Page 264

I hit him once.

Not out of control. Not repeatedly.

Once.

Enough to shut his mouth and put him on his knees.

Blood runs from his lip.

He spits onto the ground. “You're no better than me.”

“No.”

That answer surprises him.

I crouch in front of him.

“I ain't good. Never claimed to be.”

I am the man my club calls when a problem stops needing discussion. I have buried things. Men. Versions of myself. Probably a few moral standards.

But there is one difference Razor will understand before he dies.

“You thought loving her meant owning her.”

His breathing gets rough.

“You think this is love?”

“No.”

I shake my head.

“This is consequences.”

His eyes flick toward Hyde, then Nevermore.

Neither moves.

Razor's voice loses some of its swagger. “You kill me, Ravenfork comes.”

“They were already coming.”

“You don't know who gave me your codes.”

“No.”

I straighten. “We’ll find out.”

“You need me.”

“No.”

He smiles again, but fear is underneath it now.

“Sweet will hate you.”

Maybe.