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Diesel’s words echo through my head. Free, he wants me to give up. Accept my fate and become like them. I’ll admit the kiss made me feel something—something that scared me. It was addictive, the taste of his lips lingering even now. But I can’t go there. I have to remember I’m nothing more to them than a debt. A prisoner. I was bought.
No matter how much his kiss set me alight.
Or even that I could understand why he does what he does. It doesn’t make it right, but there are worse people out there. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, and that’s what he’s doing. Protecting his family. I didn’t even feel horror when he killed the man and set him ablaze. I expected it.
And that terrifies me. Shouldn’t I care?
He was a rapist, but…but the way he died…the smell of his burnt flesh is seared into me. The screams will haunt my nightmares, and the man responsible has my panties wet. I told him to make it hurt, and he did. I need to remember to be careful of what I say, since it seems the Vipers take orders very seriously, and for some reason, Diesel listened to me.
In a way, since talking to him, I’ve realized something. This is like a game of chess, one I didn’t even know I was playing. But I refuse to be a pawn. I’m a fucking queen and it’s time I started acting like one. D was right. They all have their strengths, but that also means they have weaknesses. I will find and use them against the Vipers.
I will kill them, cut off the head of the snake.
After all, if you can’t beat them up, join them and then kill them. It’s time I got my hands dirty, ’cause they clearly are, and being good doesn’t seem to be working for me. After Diesel stops the fire, he cleans his tools before leading me back upstairs. He lets me remain silent, lost in my thoughts. Honestly, I don’t know what to say.
He casually told me he might kill me, and then the next second, he kissed me like I was air and he was a drowning man. It pisses me off. I’ve been kissed a lot, but never like that, never so consumingly. It set every nerve ending alive with desire, like if I didn’t keep kissing him, I would die. If I didn’t taste him, feel him against me…fuck.
I mean, I did feel him, it was hard not to when his cock was pressed up against me like that. Sighing, I push the thoughts away. I can’t afford to let him get in my head. I need to think straight, and that means no more thoughts of the crazy man’s cock.
“Ready for dinner, Little Bird?” he murmurs, flicking his lighter open and closed. I want to ask him about it, but I’m not sure I could pay the price of another question so soon. Not when the last one still has me twisted up in knots, and the more I learn about these men…the less I hate them. I can’t have that.
“Starving,” I reply, making him chuckle, and it’s true and horrifying. The smell of that man burning…made me hungry.
Yep, I’m officially more messed up than I thought.
Diesel leads me into the apartment, and the guys are there waiting, with pizza and beer spread across the table. It surprises me, and Kenzo must see that. “We eat junk food too, now sit your pretty ass down and grab some before it’s all gone.” He looks me over as he speaks, but when he finds me all in one piece, he seems satisfied.
Ryder’s eyes track me across the room as I plop into my seat and grab nearly a whole pizza and two beers. Ignoring his look, I scarf them down. He wanted to teach me a lesson, to control me like everything else, and it’s clear he doesn’t like what he can’t control.
He’s going to hate me.
They all watch me eat, gobsmacked, apart from Garrett, who weirdly grunts in approval. There’s one last slice left, and as I reach for it, so does Diesel. He smirks at me, and I can almost see his dare to try and take it from him. So I do the only thing a girl faced with losing a slice of cheesy heaven can do. I grab my fork and stab it into his hand.
He yelps, yanking his hand back with the fork still sticking out of it as I grab the slice and take a bite, feeling smug. Everyone else is silent, watching Diesel, and when I gaze around, I realise they are all tense. I slow my chewing and look to Diesel to see what they are so worried about.
He pulls the fork from his hand and covers the holes as they bleed, his eyes slowly rolling up and meeting mine. We stare each other down for a moment before he bursts into laughter. Kenzo jumps next to me, so hard I’m surprised he doesn’t fall from his seat. Sighing, he looks over at me. “Don’t piss Diesel off, okay?”
“What? Why?” I ask, hiding my smile behind my slice of pizza.
Kenzo glances at Ryder, and they share a look before he brings his gaze back to me. “Just don’t.”
I shrug and swallow the last bite of pizza before washing it down with some beer. “We won’t be here in the morning, Roxxane.”
I look up at Ryder as he wipes his mouth and leans back in his chair. His shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and I swear it’s the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him. “Huh?”
“Garrett, Diesel, and I will be gone before you even rouse. Kenzo will be here, I trust after our…demonstration, I don’t need to tell you the importance of behaving.” He raises his eyebrow as I narrow my eyes. “Or I will start having to lock you up again.”
Fuck.
“Fine, where are you going?” I inquire.
“We have someone to deal with,” he offers.
“Does that have to do with the fact someone tried to kill Garrett?” I query, and Ryder sighs, looking over at Diesel with a disapproving expression.
“Yes, the man hired was an assassin, so we are going to visit an old friend, Donald, to find out who. It’s a hundred or so miles away.” He shrugs.
“So why this guy…Donald?” I press.
