Frowning, I didn’t like his tone. “And?”
He got up close to my face and looked dead into my eyes. With his freaky black and white skull makeup it was kind of fucked-up. Narrowing my gaze, I waited for his next words before I punched him in the face. My fingers twitched on both hands as my Reaper hovered just below the surface of my skin.
“Xenon texted me. He wants to talk to us.”
I didn’t blink or back away, just stayed exactly where I was. “About?”
“Fuck, Bodie. When we gonna work this shit out?”
I moved forward a step and closed the distance between us. My eyes wanted to cross we were so near to one another. “When you stop fucking with me, Rael.”
The right side of his lip curled up in a snarl. “You know, I kind of like how you don’t take my shit. It’s fucking sexy, brother.”
Motherfucker was crazy. That was all there was to it. Neither one of us moved for about ten seconds.
With a shake of my head, I gave him a light shove. “You’re sick in the head.”
A wide grin spread across his face, looking like some demented Halloween mask gone wrong. “Knew you thought I was special.”
Snorting, I flipped him off and turned toward the entrance to the clubhouse. “Stop fucking around. We need to talk to Xenon.”
“Right after you, honey.”
Asshole.
“You cut your hair.”
Cindi was seated at one of the tables in the common room, painting her nails a dark shade of red that was nearly black. “Hey, Sasha. Yeah, I did.”
I supposed she probably needed a change after all that happened. “I like it.” Spiky, blonde, and sassy. Just like Cindi although she had a sweet side too.
This was the first conversation I’d had with her in weeks. I was always working or with Bodie and she was spending a lot of time with Lucky. He hardly left her side.
My gaze swept over the scars visible on her arms and legs. Pink, puffy marks that ran the length of her skin and were still fading in spots. I swallowed hard. Guilt surfaced every time I bumped into her as the memory of that day invaded my mind with a vengeance. It was my fault. I left her stranded without her phone or a vehicle when I sped off to rescue Trish. It was obvious now that Dawg had been tailing the SUV and noticed when we stopped at Wal-Mart. He probably staked the Crossroads for the opportunity.
While I was on my way to meet Acid, Cindi was left alone and vulnerable. Dawg carved her up and left her to die in the cold by the trash dumpsters. He probably thought she would bleed out. The frigid temperatures had saved her life. Over a hundred stitches later, she was sewn back up but the trauma of the attack hadn’t faded completely.
I doubt it would for any of us. Trish was just as fucked-up as me and Cindi.
Cindi was the only who carried the visible scars. Lowering my gaze and prepared to rush toward the room I shared with Bodie, she caught me off guard with her softly spoken words.
“You don’t have to act like I’m made of glass.”
I swallowed hard, meeting the determined set of her jaw as she gestured to the table. “I know.”
“I’m not,” I argued, taking the seat across from her. “I just feel so damn bad about what happened. It kills me to know you got hurt because I left you –”
She cut me off. “You didn’t slice me up with a knife, Sasha. Dawg did.”
Sighing, my head fell into my hands. “How can you be so nice? I left you. I abandoned you.”
Cindi blew on her nails, waving them lightly in the air. “You ditched me in what you thought was a safe place to save your best friend.”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“Trish might have died if you didn’t do what they said. That’s Grim’s woman.”
“And you’re Lucky’s,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t being held at gunpoint.”
“He-he hurt you,” I stuttered, upset that she wasn’t mad or frustrated. Why wasn’t she pissed that I took off and left her stranded? “Dawg almost killed you.”
She blanched at my words. “I know that, Sasha.” It was the first time I detected any emotion in her tone. “I refuse to break. I won’t lay down and forget that I exist or drown myself in drugs or booze. I’m a survivor. I didn’t die.” She pinned me with a focused look. “We aren’t victims, Sasha. We’re fucking badass bitches. I plan on living my life and not having any regrets. I’ve dealt with my shit.” She ticked her head in my direction. “Have you?”
Wow. She completely caught me off guard. “Shit,” I whispered. “I don’t know. Yes and no.”
“Then I think your looks of pity and remorse can fuck off. Yeah? I need a friend not someone who tiptoes around me or thinks I’m too fragile to hang with.”
My lips lifted in a smile that felt way too wide but was genuine. “You’re right. I could use a friend too.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Purple, like royal purple.”
“Knew it.” She gave me a smirk, plucking a bottle from her bag and reached for my hand. “I think this shade is perfect.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, admiring the sparkles in the light.
Half an hour later my nails were done and the tension was gone. I may always feel a bit responsible for what happened to Cindi but I wasn’t going to let that ruin our friendship.
My phone chose that moment to vibrate my pocket and I was glad my nails had just finished drying.
“Better answer that,” Cindi advised with a smile, “It’s probably your man.”
I swiped across the screen at the same time I heard Bodie say “Hey, baby.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that greeting.”
“Oh? Like the sound of my voice?”
I heard one of the guys make gagging sounds in the
