Page 18 of Sypher

“Fine,” he growled. “I won’t. You don’t have a family breathing down your neck. You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. I do.”

“No, you don’t,” I said, my anger rising to the surface. “You are a grown ass man. You owe no one an explanation. You can be anything, do anything, fuck anyone you want, Danny.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. You are overthinking everything as usual. You always do that when—”

“What?” He groaned. “When I what?”

Seething with rage, I rounded the table and stood before him. “When you regret something.”

I watched when his eyes widened and he slowly shook his head.

“Don’t you fucking lie to me. You regret fucking me!”

Fuck this shit.

I was done.

I had barely walked two steps from him before a hard shove sent me crashing into the wall, the force of it making my head spin. My fist was cocked, aimed at his face, when the unexpected impact of his kiss sent shockwaves through me.

Chapter Eight

Sypher

July 13, 2023, New York City, New York,

I don’t know what made me do it, but the way he turned his back on me, the finality of his gait, the dejected silence of his retreat—it ignited a furious rage to well up deep within me and I was unable to control it. But seeing the pain, the hurt in his eyes when I flung him around, I knew I had messed up.

He was the one person in the world I never wanted to hurt.

Frozen, eyes wide, I captured his face and crashed my lips to his in a searing, desperate kiss. I kissed him with fierce urgency, the unspoken words hanging heavy between us, each touch a desperate plea, only to break apart when the door to his office opened.

“Oh shit. Sorry.” Silver gasped, backing out of the room fast.

With a shove, Dante pushed me away, then used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, his glare intense and furious.

“It’s alright, Silver. What did you need?”

“Montana texted. They got Illyria. He wants you to take Sypher home and babysit him. He’s not allowed to leave your sight.”

“He say why?”

“Does he ever?” The pretty bartender smirked. “I’ll let Montana know you agreed to house Sypher for the time being.”

“Why can’t I just go back to school?” I asked, interjecting.

“Gonna have to ask Montana that. All he said was you were staying where he can keep an eye on you,” the woman said, then turned to look at Dante. “That gonna be a problem, Pippen?”

“No. I’ll babysit Sypher,” he growled.

“Alright.” The woman smiled. “Play nice, boys.”

With that, Silver left Dante’s office, closing the door behind her. The second she left, Dante’s fist connected with my jaw, a sharp sting accompanying the sudden impact.

“What the fuck, Dante?!” I shouted, rubbing my jaw.

“You stupid redneck!” he roared. “Do you know what you just did? She is Montana’s favorite. She’s gonna tell him!”

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