Page 20 of Depraved

“I’m not.” I turned and walked in the other direction, but my stubborn-ass brother followed.

“Ah, yes, you are. You’re on edge more than usual.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Onyx remained on my heels. “You’ve been more on edge than usual since last night. And now you’re all up in my grill over a goddamn sandwich because she doesn’t eat bread. I call that on fucking edge.”

I stilled, placed my hands at my sides, and took a deep breath. Onyx was right. I was on edge. He was also right about her being as thin as a stick. Girl had a serious weight issue, and it was clear to everyone around her, except one—the demon behind her misery. The mom who claimed to know what was best for her little girl. Well, I called bullshit. Bitch only knew what was best for her, and no one else. I knew everything there was to know about Alyx’s life. For years, I watched her, studied her, followed. Her being a ballerina was just a way to pull a blindfold over the eyes of the rest of the world. No one questioned it because ballerinas were supposed to be…tiny. But Alyx wasn’t just a little underweight. Her goddamn spine protruded from her back, her body lacking the healthy curves of a twenty-year-old. But she was still beautiful. And still mine.

“You’re right.” I turned to face my brother. “I’m just on edge about this whole thing.”

“Why?”

I pulled my hand through my sweaty hair. “Because last night didn’t go exactly as planned, and you know how I get when things don’t go according to plan.”

My brother relaxed a little. “Dude, relax. We got this. So, we underestimated the Python prospects. Turns out the fuckers had slightly bigger balls than we thought. But we pulled it off. No big deal.”

I sighed. “I know. Just don’t do any more stupid shit that can fuck all this up, okay?”

Onyx grinned and crossed his heart like a goddamn Girl Scout. “You got my word.”

“I don’t want your word. I want you to do as you’re fucking told.”

I walked over to the fridge, grabbed two beers, and tossed one to Onyx before opening mine. The fact that it wasn’t even noon yet didn’t do shit to stop me from chugging down the whole fucking bottle. “Dad would piss in his grave if he knew what we were doing.”

Onyx took a seat on one of the benches. “I’m pretty sure the second that Python stuck his blade into Dad’s stomach, Dad knew this war was inevitable. If he was here, he would have agreed we had no choice. If we don’t deal with these Python fuckers now, they will grow the balls to challenge us even more.”

I shoved my hair out of my face. “Yeah, I know.”

Onyx gripped the beer bottle tighter, his knuckles turning white. “You and I and the rest of the club will show those Pythons that we won’t be fucked with. You don’t kill one of ours without carrying the consequences.”

“No mercy. Never surrender.” I glanced his way.

My brother nodded. “That’s right. No mercy. Never surrender.” He downed the rest of his beer and threw the bottle against the wall, glass shattering everywhere. “Fuckers!”

I didn’t even flinch when the bottle hit the wall. I just scowled at him. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. But when I think of those filthy Pythons, all I want to do is break something. Preferably their fucking necks.”

Onyx just turned twenty-eight, and with me being six years older, I got used to him being unable to control his anger—which was exactly what happened last night. He was so amped up to kill those Pythons, when the opportunity presented itself, he grabbed it with both fucking hands.

“Don’t worry, brother.” I got up, walked over, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “It’s been years coming. We’ll avenge his death soon.”

Onyx slapped his hand on mine, a brotherly gesture. He might have been a pain in my ass sometimes, but I loved him, nonetheless.

“You should get some sleep.”

“Nah. Don’t want to waste daylight.”

I grabbed a towel from the rail. “Get one of the prospects to clean the mess you made.”

Onyx snorted. “You not done in here?”

I picked my gloves up from the ground and slipped them on. “Not by a long shot.”

“Fucking masochist.”

I laughed then heard the gym door close as Onyx left.