Page 68 of Dev

“You down or what?” Dev looks up at Sinner, who's standing at the top of the ladder.

“Hell, yeah, I’m down.” Sinner looks excited as he crushes out his smoke, strips off his own shirt, and quickly climbs in after him.

“Pit fight!” One of the whores calls out loudly, and Wrath quickly moves to the edge of the pool.

“Dev, whatcha doin’?” he asks, looking around him for some support from the others.

“Relax, he just needs to blow off a little steam,” Sinner answers for him, cricking his neck and loosening up his shoulders.

“Dev, there are other ways.” Wrath tries to talk him down as a crowd starts to form.

“Nah, let him at it. I’m good.” Sinner’s bouncing on his toes now, while Dev starts to circle him with his guard up.

“What's happening?” I look to Vike for some answers when he moves closer to the edge..

“Sinner, don’t feel any pain; I guess whatever that whore told Dev had him needing to release some aggression. All this is part of their fucked-up friendship.”

“Dev,pleasedon’t do this.” Sinner may look a little psychotic, but he’s nowhere near as big as Dev is, and however angry Dev is right now, I know he won’t want to hurt his friend. “Let’s justtalk,” I call out, but he ignores me, striking out and laying a blow directly on Sinner’s cheek, and instead of flinching the way I do, he laughs.

“Good shot, big man, land another right here.” Sinner taps at his chin, and when Dev goes to hit it, he ducks just in time.

“Gonna have to be faster; I let you have that first one.” Sinner tries to make a hit himself, but Dev manages to swerve it.

“They’re gonna hurt each other,” I tell Vike, waiting for one of the brothers to step in and make them stop.

“Nah, they’ll be fine.” Ruck steps up behind us. “I got fifty on Dev sparking him,” he whispers to Vike.

“This is stupid.” I push my way past everyone and start climbing into the pool myself, and when Dev notices me coming, he immediately drops his guard, giving Sinner an opportunity. I feel the blow his fist makes into the side of Dev’s head, but Dev doesn’t flinch, just turns his head and stares at him blankly.

“Dev, this is pathetic. We’re going home and we’re gonna talk about what happened,” I tell him, trying to forget that the whole club is watching.

“I don’t wanna talk,” he tells me.

“Well, fighting sure isn’t gonna help.”

“That’s not true.” Dev shakes his head in disagreement. “I don’t wanna talk, I wanna feel something different to what I’m feeling right now. Go inside the clubhouse so you don’t have to watch.”

“What did that girl say to you?” I shake my head, sensing that I’m missing something.

“It ain’t just what she said, Mill; it’s me. It’s how I’m feeling. Right now, I’m jealous of a fuckin’ dead man.” He lowers his tone so those above us can’t hear, and I see the shame on his face. “I see how sad you are about him betraying you, and it’s hurtin’ me in a way I don’t fuckin’ like and I can’t fuckin’ handle. Get outtathe pit and go inside,” he warns me, his hand trembling as he points his finger toward the club.

I look up and see Alicia and the rest of the girls staring down at me; all of them have pity on their faces, and eventually, I turn my back on Dev and climb out, leaving him to do what he has to do to take his pain away.

Icome out of the pit in a better state than Sinner, but it still ain’t nothing Polly can’t patch up for him. He shakes my hand and spits blood at the ground before we head inside the clubhouse for a drink. I still don’t feel any better, the pain inside me ain’t gone away, and it hurts more than ever when her sad eyes look up at me as we enter.

I know I need to explain. Millie's a smart girl, and she has every right to be upset over what Corey did to her while they were together. I just don’t know how to handle her being so hurt by him.

“You okay?” Polly starts examining my split lip.

“Sin needs ya more than I do,” I tell her, taking the bottle of tequila from his hand and knocking it back.

“I think you're slowing up; must be all those feelin’s ya got for your brother’s girl are weighing ya down,” he mocks me.

“Mygirl. She’s my fuckin’ girl, Sin,” I remind him before making my way over to the girls’ table.

“Can we talk?” I ask Millie, whose eyes are all red and puffy from the crying she’s done. I don’t know if it’s over what Corey did to her, or how I reacted; either way, seeing ’em makes me feel like an asshole.

“Nowyou wanna talk?” She laughs sadly.

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