Page 51 of Depraved

He let out a mocking laugh. “Where is the police commissioner’s daughter?”

“Oh, you mean the girl you kidnapped?”

“Are you sure you want to go down this road again? We all know what happened to your father when he decided to go up against me.” The malice that oozed out of him taunted my rage, and if it wasn’t for all this collateral walking around blissfully unaware, I would have ripped this fucker’s throat out right here, right the fuck now.

“Move the fuck along, Slither. This is not the time or the place.”

“Not until you admit you have her.”

“What the fuck would I want with her?”

Slither frowned, his eyes shooting daggers at my forehead. “Do not underestimate me, Granite. I know you have the girl. And I know you’re trying to pin it on us.”

“Oh, yeah?” I walked right up to him, our faces inches apart. “Fucking prove it.”

Slither smirked, the sound of traffic slowly disappearing into the background. In that moment, it was just me and him, two enemies desperate to tear each other’s heads off. From my calculations, it would take me less than five seconds to pull my gun out and plant some lead in the fucker’s skull. But he planned it well, calling me out in the street. Public. Open. Lots of witnesses. Fucker was good.

Slither smiled, and the snake on his face seemed to move. “Your plan won’t work.”

“Like I said, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

He bit his lip, pure amusement on his face. “You’re giving me what I want. You know that, right?”

“And what exactly is that?” I tilted my head, my shoulders squared.

“A fight. A chance to ruin the Kings once and for all.”

Onyx moved, and I could practically feel the tension roll off him and onto me. Luckily, Ink was there and jumped in front of him before my brother had the chance to do something stupid.

“Listen, you reptile, cock-sucking fuck,” I growled, baring my teeth. “If you knew how much I’d like to tear you the fuck apart, you wouldn’t come onto my turf and threaten my club. Your balls are way too small for that shit.”

Slither didn’t back down an inch, an evil smirk plastered on his ugly face. “It’s just a matter of time before I kill you with the same knife I stuck in your father’s spine.”

I lost it. I lost my shit, not giving a fuck about witnesses or collateral anymore. It took me a split second to launch myself at the piece of shit, but Dutch had his arms around me before I had a chance to plant my fist in Slither’s face.

“Not here, Granite,” Dutch warned. “Keep it together.”

Slither started laughing. “Better listen to your bodyguard, Lincoln Walker.”

I hissed at him when he used my real name. No one had called me that for years. The last person who called me Lincoln was my dad on the day he died. Only then we didn’t know it would be the last time we’d see each other.

“I swear to God, Slither. The day will come when I tear your goddamn skin off.” I jerked from Dutch’s hold, moving closer to the son of a bitch in front of me. “There’s a special corner in hell for motherfuckers like you.”

“I don’t care much for your threats. What I do care about is when my enemy tries to win a war by playing dirty.” He cocked his head. “And kidnapping Alyxandria Green, then trying to frame us, is a very dirty move.”

I hated the way it sounded on his lips, the evil that laced his every word, how he rolled his tongue while saying her name. It made my skin crawl.

“You’ve been warned, Walker.” Then he turned around, so sure I wouldn’t shoot him in the back. It proved he knew I had more honor in me than he had in his left fucking testicle.

As I watched the fucker get on his bike, the snake on his cut taunting me, I realized I had fucked up. For the first time since we put this plan in motion, I regretted it. I regretted the decision to use Alyx as a pawn in this game. Greed blinded me. My obsession made me see only what I wanted to see—grief over my dead father…and my lust for the girl in the window.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ALYX

Since Granite locked that door, I had been sitting on the bed, tracing my index fingers across my lips. Left to right. Right to left.

It felt surreal, and I kept replaying it in my head, starting at the part where he grabbed me. Everything from there was a blur right up until he kissed me. Hard. Demanding. And unapologetic.