Page 37 of Defiant (American Street Kings 2)

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I made a meek attempt at looking calm. “Everything’s fine. Just something that needs taken care of ASAP.”

Alyx brushed her hair out of her face. “Does this something have to do with the Pythons?”

I studied her, contemplating how much she really needed to know about our business with the Pythons. “Yeah.” It was a simple answer, one I would not elaborate on.

She nodded and rubbed an arm across her shoulder. “Okay, well. You better go, then.”

“Alyx,” I tilted her face up to mine, “this conversation isn’t done yet. I will make you say it.” I placed a gentle kiss at the corner of her mouth. “Because you and I both know it’s the truth. But I need to hear you say it. Soon.” It wasn’t a threat. It was a vow, a promise, a fucking guarantee that I would not stop until she fucking admitted she was mine. All mine.

I took a step back and picked up my cut from the floor. “I won’t be locking the door again.”

Her eyes narrowed, seemingly confused. “You’re not?”

“You’re free to walk around down here.”

Her gaze cut to the ceiling then back down. “What do you mean, down here?”

“We’re at a safe house, and this is like an underground bunker. We needed to make sure you and Neon were safe.” I slipped my cut over my shoulder and walked to the door. “But just know the door leading out of here will be locked at all times. Not to keep you in. To keep the bad guys out.”

A hint of a smile tugged at the end of her mouth.

“Are you not one of the bad guys?”

I shot her a cocky grin. “My sweet ballerina girl, I’m far worse.”

11

Granite

The skinon the back of my neck prickled with warning. As I took a drag of my cigarette, the red coal lighting up in the dark, I could feel the malice hanging in the air. Something was coming. It was so fucking close, I could practically reach out and touch it.

I glanced over my shoulder at Dutch. “Everything is secure at the safe house, right?”

“Yeah, man. We got Manic and Ink there. You know no one is getting close to Neon with Ink being there.”

That settled me a little. Ink was like a fucking pit bull when it came to Neon. Fucker even thought he had the balls to challenge me when I warned him about touching Alyx. Amazing what a woman could do to a man. Either they made your balls grow bigger, or they made you lose ’em.

“We should have gone back to the club to get them ourselves.” I flicked the cigarette onto the road, the coal still flickering for a few seconds before fading.

Dutch leaned against his Harley, arms crossed. “I told you we can’t risk it. It’s what the Pythons would expect. For all we know, this whole thing with Tanit was a way to lure us out.”

“He’s right,” Onyx chimed in from the side. “This entire thing reeks of a setup.”

I pulled the elastic from around my wrist and tied my hair. It was almost spring, the evenings still cold, yet my skin was clammy with unrest. The patches of clouds moving in front of the full moon seemed angry tonight, and that unsettled me more.

I glanced at my wristwatch. “They should have been here ten minutes ago.”

“Relax, would you?” Onyx pulled out a smoke. “They’ll be here. They took a little detour to make sure they weren’t followed.”

“How many Pythons did you kill?” Dutch’s question sliced through the atmosphere like hard fucking ice, but I played it down.

“No idea what you’re talking about, man.”

“Cut the crap, Granite. I know what you and Ink have been doing.”

I jerked my head to the side and snapped my gaze to Onyx.

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