Page 153 of Depraved

Harrison’s cocked a brow. “What? No.”

“Come on. We only have twenty minutes to get there. Driving Miss Daisy ain’t an option now.”

Harrison squared his shoulders. “I’m driving. Or you’re walking.”

Onyx opened his mouth to talk shit when I slammed my fist on the roof of the SUV. “Get in the fucking car. And Onyx, unless you want to fucking walk, get in the back. Now!”

We got in the car, and the second I closed my door, it felt all kinds of wrong. I hated being boxed in. Made me feel like I was about to jump out of my own skin at any second.

Onyx moved in between the two front seats. “So, let’s get this straight. We are about to meet someone at the aquarium, a public place. And this someone might be the one man we really, really want to disembowel before we cut his head off.”

I rubbed my palms together, staring out the window. “That’s why he chose a public place.”

“Hold up,” Harrison chimed in. “You guys are convinced this is Slither?”

Onyx leaned back. “One can only hope.” It was clear in his voice he was already readying himself for battle. Onyx wanted Slither’s blood, just like the rest of us, and was already psyched up about the prospect of that happening. But I, on the other hand, wanted Alyx back with me and safe more than I wanted to see Slither’s blood flow into a ditch.

“I don’t care who is waiting for us at the aquarium, but no one kills him until we’ve got Alyx.” I turned in my seat and shot Onyx a warning glare. “I mean it. And don’t fuck with me on this, Onyx. This time, you keep that trigger-happy finger of yours on a goddamn leash.”

Onyx didn’t say anything. Usually, he was full of sarcastic comebacks and arrogant remarks. But today, he knew I was fucking bleeding all sorts of serious.

The drive felt like it was taking hours. I texted Manic, telling him to meet us at the parking lot across from the aquarium. It was only when I saw Ink pacing next to his Harley that I realized things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

“Ink, you need to calm down.” I got out of the SUV and approached him. “I don’t want trouble from you.”

Ink bit his lower lip, his eyes nothing but wild orbs of turbulent anger. “I’m going to kill him, Granite. I swear to God.”

“No, you won’t. Not until we have Alyx.” I forced myself right up to him, looking him square in the eye. “Do not make me send you away. If that’s Slither waiting for us, you will keep a handle on yourself until we find Alyx. Do you understand me?”

Ink placed both hands on his head, growling like a fucking animal. I could practically feel the rage radiating from him, his entire body shaking with adrenaline. “You know what he did to her, man.”

“Yeah, I do. And believe me, I want this fucker dead as much as you do. But right now, our first priority is getting Alyx back safe and alive. You got that?”

Ink kicked at the asphalt, arms still in the air as he clutched the sides of his head. His nostrils flared, his mouth pulled in a taut line, and the vein in his neck going apeshit.

He sucked his lips into his mouth, stepping right up to me, his face inches from mine. “Remember your promise, man.”

“I do.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You will get your revenge, Ink. But not today. Now, give me your gun.”

“What?” He stared at me, wild-eyed.

“Give me your gun.” I held out my palm. “Now.”

Ink snorted, his eyes wide and face red. “If not today, then when?”

“We don’t even know if it’s him, man. So calm the fuck down, and give me your gun.”

Manic and Onyx flanked me, and Ink looked from me to them before finally placing his gun in my hand. “Not today, then,” he sneered, but I knew not to make the mistake of trusting he’d be able to keep his cool. But I couldn’t chance it by going in another man short since we were already down by one with Dutch being injured.

I tucked Ink’s gun in the back of my jeans and pulled my cut over it. “No one does shit until we find out where Alyx is. Understood?” No one responded, so I glared over my shoulder. “Understood?”

Two ‘yups’ followed, but I didn’t press Ink to voice his understanding of my clear orders.

Harrison stepped in beside us, and I frowned while simply saying, “No.” There was no argument or debate. I didn’t care how long he’d been on our payroll, no cop would ever be allowed close to inside club business.

The streets were buzzing even when it was close to nightfall. Around here, most people only came out at night like fucking vampires. It was a smart move using a public place to meet. We might be savages, but killing innocent people wasn’t exactly our forte.

We stopped in front of the entrance, the place humming with people talking and children laughing. Talk about collateral damage if things got out of control.