Page 140 of Depraved

I took a deep breath. “I dunno. I’m not exactly his favorite person at the moment.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever been his favorite person,” Manic chimed in, and Dutch knocked him with his shoulder.

“What? Just saying it as it is, brother.”

I shook my head, and Alyx came sauntering over with plates. “Just a fair warning, I was, like, ten when I last made pancakes. You might be getting rubber on a plate.”

The guys laughed, and Manic rubbed his palms together. “Girl, it can’t taste worse than Dutch’s cooking.”

“Fuck you.”

Alyx let out a laugh, and at that moment, it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Her face lit up, her smile reaching those amazing sapphire blue eyes. Everything about her was so light, airy, like she didn’t have a care in the world. It was the first time I saw her like that. Even before I took her, she always seemed like she carried the world on her shoulders. Hardly ever smiling. And since she came here, I saw her cry more than I saw her smile. If I had a brick for every goddamn tear this woman cried the last few weeks, my path to hell would be perfectly paved by now.

Alyx placed the plate with pancakes in front of us. The sweet scent of sugar and cinnamon was tantalizing, and I was pretty sure Manic started to drool.

Alyx tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “I hope it tastes okay.” The shy tinge of pink on her cheeks was exquisite, and when her eyes met mine, time stood still. It was there, in her eyes, the confirmation that she was mine. Completely. Wholly.

Manic was about to grab a pancake when I slapped at his hand and grabbed the plate. With my attention fully focused on her beautiful face, I held the plate out to her. “Ladies first.”

What was a pink shade on her cheeks had now turned a bright red. She glanced from me to the plate, then back to me like she was searching for courage, or permission in my eyes.

I simply nodded. “She’s not here anymore, Alyx.”

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. For everyone else, this moment would seem futile and insignificant. But as she reached out, taking a pancake from the plate, I knew it was a huge motherfucking moment in her life. A huge step. No one was forcing her to eat, or not to eat. She was making this decision on her own. No threats. No deals. Only her.

I gave her a half smile as she took a bite. God knew I wanted to watch her as she ate that motherfucking pancake, every bite one giant ‘fuck you’ for her psychopath mother. But it was a big moment for her, and she was already uncomfortable enough just by eating. She didn’t need me to gawk at her as well, so I played it down and placed the plate back on the table. The guys dug in like savages, eating like they were the ones who had been starved half their lives.

As I glanced from Alyx, to Ink, to Dutch, to Manic, watching the looks on their faces as they passed the syrup and butter around, eating pancakes. Talking and laughing, they seemed like men without a care in the world. I couldn’t remember the last time the atmosphere around us felt so light, having my brothers seem so relaxed.

I looked back up at Alyx. “Thank you,” I silently mouthed, and she shot the most heavenly smile that crashed against my chest, ricocheting to my heart. The moment was fucking perfection. It was like her being here managed to make the air not so goddamn heavy. Even Ink smiled, chatting with a mouthful of pancake, like he managed to forget about all the shit that had happened.

I was about to reach for a pancake when the chatter stopped abruptly, everyone looking toward the back door.

“Hey, Onyx,” Dutch said, taking another bite. “You want a pancake?”

I looked at my brother, and our eyes met.

The despondent look on his face, his eyes glum and uncertain, had me seeing the little boy he used to be years ago. The boy I had to take care of, protect, love. We couldn’t all be the same, and I couldn’t expect Onyx to be like me, think like me, act like me.

A moment passed with not a single word spoken, yet we said everything we needed to say. He was my brother, and no matter what happened between us, there would always be a place for him at our table.

“Have a pancake, brother.” I held up a plate, and he came over, removing his gun from his back and placing it on the counter.

Alyx turned, the warm smile still on her pretty face. “You better grab one before Manic eats it all.”

Onyx stopped at the side of the table and held out his hand toward Ink. “I’m sorry.”

Ink chewed, glancing from Onyx down to his hand, and back up. He nodded then shook Onyx’s hand. “Yeah, bro. Me too.”

Yup. This was turning out to be a pretty fucking good moment. A bunch of dirty bikers laughing and eating pancakes. Go figure.

Onyx grabbed a chair and sat at the side of the table, reaching for the last pancake.

Alyx pointed over her shoulder. “I guess I’ll need to make more, then.”

“Hell, yeah,” Manic exclaimed, a greedy grin on his face.

Just as Alyx turned, the door blasted inward with a deafening crash, almost torn from its hinges, and chaos erupted. Masked men forcefully rushed in, loud, angry voices shouting, all while pointing guns in every direction. Then there was the sound of glass breaking as Alyx dropped the plates.