Page 127 of Depraved

I nodded, toying with my cuticles. I didn’t know what to say next. What was left to say after everything that had happened? Words felt so inadequate. Nothing could make any of this better. Maybe only time, something that almost got taken away from her in the cruelest way. And here I was feeling sorry for myself, thinking I had it bad. A mother who didn’t know how to love. A father who didn’t seem to care. And a man who tore me away from my world, made me fall for him, then ripped my heart out by lying to me. By making me think he was the devil. All that had happened to me could not even be compared to what Neon had to have gone through. Yet here she was, trying to play it down by seeing the silver lining—the fact that she didn’t die.

“So,” she started, “what’s going on out there? I was sure I heard a commotion.”

“Well, I think I almost witnessed World War Three out there with Onyx and Ink trying to kill each other.”

“Oh, my God. Are you serious?”

I nodded.

“God, Ink is such an asshole. What’d he do?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think it was Ink’s fault. Onyx was all worked up and pissed at Granite.”

“About what?”

It occurred to me that this wasn’t the kind of conversation I should have with Neon right now. “You know what?” I waved it off. “It’s nothing.”

“Nah-ah. You don’t get to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Start a conversation, going in one direction, then make a complete U-turn just because you don’t want to upset me. You know what’s going to upset me?”

I stared at her.

“You not telling me what you were just about to tell me.”

Leaning to the side, I looked at her IV. “Is that stuff not supposed to make you sleepy?”

“Swan Lake, out with it.”

“Neon—”

“Don’t make me get up and kick your ass.”

“Oh, please. A minute ago, you couldn’t move from one position to another.” Neon’s eyebrow snapped down, and I frowned at her. “Okay,” I conceded. “Do you know a guy with the name…I think it was Junkyard?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s a member of the club. I’ve seen him around at the bar.”

I hesitated, doubting whether I should continue. Neon picked up on it.

“Talk, Swan Lake.”

“Fine. Apparently, this guy Junkyard got killed tonight.”

“Jesus—”

“Neon, are you sure you want me to tell you? I don’t even know if I’m telling the right story here. All I know is what I heard.”

She lightly shook her head, her nose scrunched up. “It’s fine. If I can survive a bunch of sadistic Python fucks, I can survive whatever you’re about to tell me.”

I sat back. “All I heard was something about an ambush, and that Junkyard got killed. Onyx wanted to go back to NYC…” I paused. “Wait a minute. If we’re not in NYC, then where the hell are we?”

Neon sighed. “We’re at the safe house in Coney Island. Now can you please just finish the fucking story before I die of old age?”

“Coney Island?”

“Swan Lake!”