Page 71 of Deranged (American Street Kings 3)

All I saw was the Python clubwhore who accomplished what she had set out to do. Ruin me.

“Onyx—” She reached out for me, but I pulled back, letting out low snarl.

“Don’t,” I warned.

“I didn’t mean—”

Slither pulled her back. “I’m going to take all this melodramatic bullshit as our cue to leave.”

Her eyes pleaded with me, like she was begging me to ask her to stay. But I’d rather swallow glass. The anger simmering in my veins was too much. The scent of betrayal was too fucking pungent in the air around us.

“Slither,” Crow called the same time two of his men flanked the snake and his sister. God, I threw up in my mouth a little, thinking of her being his sister.

“I don’t do business with men who have no respect for family,” Crow growled. “Don’t come back here.”

“Excuse me?” Slither narrowed his eyes. “Since when do you take the moral high ground?”

“Get the fuck off my turf, and I better not see your face around here.”

Judging by the animosity that pulsed all around us, it seemed like we didn’t need proof of the Pythons’ hands in the Sixes’ drug trade after all. All it took was for Crow to see for himself what a low-life piece of shit Slither really was.

Slither wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pure hatred beaming from his eyes. “This isn’t over. I can promise you that.”

While Crow and Slither had the stare-off of the motherfucking century, all I could do was look at her. Stare at her, wondering how it was possible for a lie to have felt so fucking right ever since it all started.

Another tear trickled down her cheek. “This isn’t how I intended for things to turn out.”

I watched with a wildly beating heart as she looked from me to her brother, then back to me. It was there, every conflicting emotion she felt was right there in the blue shades of her eyes.

“Dahlia!” Slither scolded. “Shut the fuck up, and let’s go.”

“Then what the fuck did you intend to happen, huh?” I bit my lip, hand shaking while I still clutched the gun. “You pretended to be someone you’re not, doing his bidding. And even after you saw what he did to Neon, after you witnessed the hell she’s going through, you still came back to him. Still stand next to him?” Disbelief crashed with fury, and I didn’t know whether it was my heart or my goddamn mind that was breaking. I leaned forward, shooting a glare right at her pretty fucking face. “You’re not just a clubwhore. You’re a monster. Just. Like. Him.”

The look in her eyes scared me. It told tales of loyalty, history, and family secrets. Secrets she would keep…in order to protect her brother.

She whimpered, placing her palm in front of her mouth. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Onyx. I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed—”

“Fuck this bullshit.” I turned my back on her and on everyone else who stood there watching the show. I couldn’t stand staring at her for a second longer.

“Onyx!” I heard her call after me, but I ignored her. I ignored the piece of my heart urging me to turn around and go to her. I ignored everything inside me that wanted me to go back and beg her to tell me all this was nothing but some sick, twisted, fucked-up joke. She had made a fool of me. Played me. Lied to me like I was nothing but a street rat, and not even the plea in her voice as she called my name could make me see past that.

“Onyx! Please!”

I couldn’t stop myself from walking away.

19

Onyx

Watching her get into a car,driving away with Slither tailing her, I wanted to claw my own heart out. My mind was struggling to make sense of it all, how she deceived me since day one. The connection I thought we shared, the undeniable attraction was all a lie. Everything was a lie. Every touch, every kiss, every heated breath wasn’t real.

After today, at the beach, I was sure we connected on some deeper level with her sharing a piece of her past with me. I was convinced it was a step in the right direction to have her trust me with her secrets. But now, every goddamn word she spoke to me today felt like knives of lies cutting through my chest.

“You okay, man?” Manic slammed the cage door, and I stared after the car that eventually disappeared into the distance.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Liar.

“This is some fucked up bullshit.”

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