Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
GRANITE
Seeing the bruises that marred her body flipped the fucking coin.
Alyx was so delicate, the thought of someone hurting her was like trying to swallow glass.
And while she stood there, naked and so fragile, my chest got sliced wide open.
In that moment, my main objective was not to fuck up the Pythons.
It was not to finally have the girl I had been lusting after for years.
But to protect her. To protect my innocent ballerina girl.
God, I was such a fucking contradiction. Kidnap the girl. Turn into a jealous savage. And then try to keep her safe from you and the entire goddamn world.
I walked out of the bedroom, determined to burn the road as soon as possible.
We had to change our plan. Underestimating Slither was one mistake I’d never make again.
I knew the son of a bitch would figure it out; I just didn’t count on it being so soon.
But it didn’t matter. What mattered now was getting Alyx to the safe house.
Tomorrow, it would look like the Kings were just doing their normal Sunday run.
Nothing out of the ordinary. Odds were Slither would be anticipating it.
The man was a sociopath, but a clever one.
For this plan to work, I had to be three steps ahead of him, as he’d try to be two steps ahead of me.
And that was why we had to get Alyx out of here… now.
“Manic.”
I was halfway down the stairs when our road captain came rushing in. “Yeah?”
“Have two different runs mapped out. We’ll need to split up and do everything possible to make sure we’re not followed.”
“Already done.” The man had a huge, self-assured smile on his face.
“Fucking show-off.” I lit a cigarette as I passed him on my way to Dutch and Onyx, who stood by the door talking. “The unmarked van ready?”
“Yup,” Onyx confirmed.
“Has the safe house been secured?”
Dutch nodded. “We sent our guys out there three days ago. They’re scouting the area every few hours.”
I took a long, deep drag from my cigarette, letting the smoke linger inside my chest, practically feeling the nicotine cling to my lungs.
Neon passed us carrying a tray of beer. I grabbed one. “Pack your stuff.”
Neon’s eyes pulled into slits. “Here’s a question. Why?”
“You’ll be going with Alyx to the safe house.”
“Ha. Ha. Funny. You almost had me there for a second.”
“Does it look like I’m making a motherfucking joke?”
Neon paused, blue irises studying me for a moment before narrowing her eyes. A groan rolled over her lips. “Come on, Granite. You know I hate that place. It’s in the middle of fucking nowhere. I’ll be bored out of my mind.”
I chugged down the beer then placed the empty bottle down on the tray she was still holding. “You girls can paint your nails, braid each other’s hair, or do whatever the fuck it is girls do.”
“Are you serious?” She scowled. “Do I look like the type who wants to sit around and swap out beauty tips all fucking day?”
“Neon,” I said, deadpan, “go pack your shit. You’re going with.”
“Fuck me,” she muttered, pulling her hand through her blue hair before pinning her glare on Onyx. “This is all your fault, you know?”
Onyx’s hand flew up to his chest, eyebrows raised. “What the fuck did I do?”
“You made her dance.”
“Bullshit. You were the one up her ass about her eating habits.”
Neon leaned closer. “Yeah, well…you could have stopped me.”
“I fucking tried.”
“Next time, try harder.” Neon turned on her heel and stomped off in the other direction. Dutch laughed, and I was slightly amused. Just slightly.
Ink joined us, his eyes finding Neon first. I often wondered if he really did like her, or whether the fact that she was one of the only girls in town who didn’t want his dick fucked with his head.
He turned his attention to the rest of us. “Everyone suited up and packing?” His way of asking if we had enough ammo to go start World War Three.
Everyone nodded, then he looked at me. “Who will be riding with the girl?”
“Dutch and Ink,” I answered simply.
Dutch straightened. “No fucking way, man. I’m riding with you. Let Onyx go with them.”
“Onyx can ride with me. I want my enforcer with Alyx.”
“Granite, as your enforcer, my place is next to you.”
“Don’t fight me on this, Dutch.” I gave him a look of warning.
Onyx crossed his arms, a taunting smirk on his face. “What’s the matter, brother? You don’t trust me with her?”
I clenched my jaw, biting my tongue while choosing not to look at him. “Don’t push me,” I warned.
“Listen,” he moved closer, “you and I both know there’s not a chance in hell Dutch will let you ride without his protection.
Besides, having both our SAA and our enforcer on the same run as the girl would be like putting a giant red bullseye on that van.
Everyone will expect heavier security around her.
” He shrugged. “Assuming they’re convinced we have her. ”
“He’s right,” Ink chimed in. “Onyx and I will take a few other guys and ride with the girls. You and Dutch go with the decoy. You have to take Manic, as he’s the road captain. It would look suspicious if you went on a run without him.”
My fists balled at my sides, hating the idea of Onyx going with her while I couldn’t.
“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.