Page 82 of Deranged (American Street Kings 3)

“Fuck,” I cursed. “Where the fuck did he disappear to?”

“I have no idea.”

“Every time we think we have him, fucker manages to get away.”

Granite rubbed the back of his neck. “I was sure tonight would be it, that we’d finally have him. And judging by the way Ink stormed in here, my guess is he thought the same.”

“I would have killed him.” I looked at Granite. “I would have killed the motherfucker tonight.”

“I know.” Granite let out a heavy breath. “Everyone wants a piece of this fucker now. Even Crow is out there searching for him, and if he gets his hands on Slither before we do, Ink will lose his shit. He’s so hellbent on being the one who drives a knife through that fucker’s heart.”

I rubbed my palms together. “After the rage I felt tonight, I can’t even imagine what Ink’s feeling.”

Wraith stirred and let out a subtle moan. I jumped up, standing by her side within the blink of an eye. “Wraith.”

“Where,” her eyes fluttered, “where am I?”

I reached out for her hand but thought better of it. After what she went through, the last thing she probably needed was another man’s touch. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”

Abruptly, she sat up in the bed. “Glenn.” Her face was pale as a ghost, and I could see the vein in her neck going completely apeshit.

Granite and I looked at each other, confused.

“I mean,” she shook her head lightly, “my brother. Slither.” Her panicked gaze swept around the room, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Wraith, listen to me.” This time I ignored my head and followed my heart, taking her hand in mine. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you here.”

Wild eyes glimmering with tears found mine. “The last thing I remember…” She choked back on her words. “Did he…did my brother—”

“No.” I shook my head. “No, he didn’t. We got there before he could…before he could hurt you further.”

The relief that visibly flooded over her was heartbreaking to witness. The thought of her thinking her own brother had hurt her in such a way was too twisted to even comprehend.

“Where is he?” Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

“We don’t know. He got away. Wraith, listen,” I crouched by the side of her bed, looking up at her, clutching her hand between my palms, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the things I said to you, that I didn’t give you a chance to explain.”

There was a weary look in her eyes screaming uncertainty as she studied me. “Onyx, I’m sorry.”

“What happened, Wraith? Did he blackmail you, force you to do all these things?”

I saw her hesitate before shaking her head. “He didn’t blackmail me, Onyx. He didn’t force me to do anything.”

“Then why? I can’t believe you’d do thosethingssimply because you wanted to.”

She grabbed the sheet and tried to get off the bed. “I have to go.”

“He manipulated you.”

Both Wraith and I turned toward the door, Granite standing to the side as Neon stepped in with her crutch. “Slither manipulated you into doing these things for him, didn’t he?”

Glancing from Neon to Wraith, I got the sense that Neon saw something in Wraith, something she recognized. So, I stepped back, trying to remove myself from the picture in the hopes Neon might be able to crack through the hard surface of Wraith’s secrets.

Neon didn’t take her eyes off Wraith, and I could see her compassion shining through. I felt it all across the room. It was like that night in the bar, when they met for the first time. There was this weird connection between them—and now, something told me that connection was Slither.

Neon took a few more steps inside the room, her lips pulled in a straight line. Her hair, which had always been some color or other of the rainbow, was now merely a faded light brown, and where she always wore heavy make-up, there was no trace of it on her face now, only the marks the cigarette burns left behind. It had been months, and even though she was recovering physically, she still wasn’t the Neon they took from us that day.

Wraith’s eyes were burdened with heavy tears. “I’m so sorry for what my brother did to you.”

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