American Street Kings: The Complete Series

by Bella J

  We didn’t walk too far down the hall when he stopped in front of a door, unlocking it.

  As he turned the doorknob, I swallowed, my heart beating a staccato rhythm against my chest. The grating feeling inside my stomach warned me not to go in, not to let him lock me in that bedroom with him. But what else could possibly happen between us? I’ve already crossed so many lines, feelings things I had no right feeling. Onyx seduced me, played my body like a devil’s chord…and I loved every second of it. Problem was, I didn’t belong here. I knew that. But he didn’t.

  Onyx dropped his keys on a table next to the door. I hesitated for a few moments, only staring into the room while my stomach kept twisting and turning, tied in a hundred knots. The room was minimally decorated, the dark blue sheets on the bed unmade.

  “No use hesitating now. You already know I bite.” He gestured toward my shoulder, and I touched the tender spot. “Close the door behind you.” It wasn’t a request.

  With as much confidence as I could muster, I walked in and slowly closed the door. The slam of the lock resonated through my chest, and my heart started to race, knowing I was trapped between these four walls with a man who knew my body like it was always meant to be his.

  I took a breath, his earthy, woody scent lingering in the room.

  The chair in the corner had shirts draped over it, a pair of boots placed on the floor.

  I felt the warm summer breeze coming from the open window, and I could hear the faraway sound of cars and alarms as the early morning NYC traffic started.

  Small, hesitant steps were all I could take as I walked farther into the room, closer to the wall. For some reason, I felt safer there, putting more distance between me and him.

  Onyx crouched and pulled a knife from his boot, placing it on the table next to his keys. “You can put yours on the bedside table if you want.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He glanced over his shoulder, a knowing look in his eyes. “The knife you’re hiding in your boot.”

  “Who says I have a knife?”

  He turned to face me, leaning back against the table. “Somehow, I doubt you’d be hanging out at biker bars without a means to protect yourself.”

  I crossed my arms. “Who says it’s a knife and not a gun?”

  “Oh, I know you’re not packing guns. If you did, it would be tucked in behind your back.” He pressed his lips in a thin line. “And I had a pretty good look at your naked back two hours ago.”

  Heat spread from my cheeks down my neck. The memory of what we did earlier ignited a familiar ache between my thighs, my core already winding tight with anticipation.

  “Take out the knife, Wraith.”

  We kept our gazes locked, the air between us laden with sexual tension threatening to break down every wall I’d ever built around myself. I’d be a fool if I didn’t acknowledge the crackle of electricity between us, the undeniable pull I felt toward him. I’d never experienced it before, and it excited me, yet scared me too.

  Without breaking eye contact, I bent down, unzipped my boot, and pulled out the blade. His eyes darkened, the temperature in the room rising as he watched me handle the knife then gently ease it on the bedside table. “You think you know me.”

  “Oh, I know I don’t.” He reached behind his neck, pulling his shirt over his head. “But I also know that I don’t really care who or what you are, as long as you’re naked and in my bed within the next twenty seconds.”

  Confidence oozed out of him as he stood there bundling up his shirt in his fists before tossing it in the corner. During our little fuck-fest earlier, there was no time for me to admire his body. But while I stood there now, staring at him, drinking him in, I had no choice but to let my gaze travel across his naked chest, taking my time to appreciate his body for what it was. Fucking perfect.

  Both arms were sleeved with tattoos. Crosses, roses, skulls, intricate lines of inked words all spread from his wrist, up his arms, and across his biceps. The way the ink curved over his shoulders, I knew there had to be more art on his back. The images called me. It made my fingers itch to trace along the black ink, to see where it would lead me.

  “Turn around,” I said in a soft voice, wanting to see what secrets he had engraved on his back.

  He cocked a brow, lips curved slightly at the edges.

  He turned, revealing the American Street Kings skull covering almost his entire back. My gaze drifted down to the cross below it, the word STONE appearing below it.

  “My father,” he said as if he had heard my thoughts. “My father’s club name was Stone.”

  He turned back to face me, his eyes iridescent, giving me a glimpse of vulnerability and grief. It wasn’t something I was familiar with, feeling grief when it came to the loss of a parent. But simply by looking at Onyx, I knew it was something he had been struggling with for a long time.

  “He died.” I stated the obvious, and Onyx nodded.

  I had to look away this time. The topic of dead parents wasn’t something I felt comfortable with. In fact, it made my skin crawl and my stomach ache.

  His leather cut was on the bed, and I noticed the loose tag next to it. “President.” I looked up at him. “Why do you have the president tag?”

  Briefly, his confidence faltered, his expression that of a man who carried the entire world on his shoulders.

  I walked closer. “You’re the VP, aren’t you? Why is there a president tag on your bed?”

  He rubbed his fists together, and I got the impression he wasn’t comfortable about the topic. But I didn’t care.

  “You are the VP, right?”

  He pulled his hand down his face, reaching to the back of his neck. “Yeah. Not anymore.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s club business, okay?”

  “Are you the new president, Onyx?” I had to keep pushing.

  He grabbed the edges of the table behind him and leaned his head back as he looked up to the ceiling. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

  “How?”

  “Listen, Wraith,” he pushed away from the table, “I can’t discuss club business with you. That’s not how we do things around here.”

  “But Granite is the president. And it’s not like he’s dead or anything. Is he leaving the Kings?” What the fuck was going on?

  Onyx brushed past me and picked up his cut and the tag, placing it on the chair. “I really don’t want to sound like a dick, but it’s none of your business, okay?”

  My mind reeled, trying to figure out why Onyx would be voted as the new president. The VP could only act as president if the president wasn’t around. The VP could only take the place of the president if the current president died or got voted out.

  Oh, my God.

  I slanted my head to the side. “Granite got voted out.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Wraith—”

  “Why? Why would the crew vote Granite out? What did he do?”

  “Why are you pushing this?” Onyx narrowed his eyes. “If you know so much about crew business—and it seems you do—then you should know there’s no way in hell I’ll discuss any of it with you.”

  The expression on his face hardened, his sapphire eyes losing their luster. I had pushed him too far, and I had to back down before I screwed everything up.

  “I’m sorry.” I had to gain control of the conversation, and there was only one fail-proof way for a woman like me to do it. “I didn’t mean to push. I’m just curious, is all.”

  Sashaying my hips, I moved toward him and untied the bandana around my head, letting my raven curls fall down my shoulders. Unlike other times, I didn’t have to pretend to be attracted to the man in front of me because I really was attracted to Onyx—dangerously attracted.

  “No more club business.” I stared up at him from under my lashes, our bodies inches apart, yet it already felt like we were touching. “Let’s just forget I asked.” I grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head, his gaze droppi
ng to my C-cup sized tits. The hardened look on his face disappeared instantly, blue orbs gawking at me with hunger.

  He reached out, grabbing my waist, digging his fingers into my hips. “There’s something about you,” he started, licking his lips like he was craving a taste. “I can’t place it. But it’s like you’re already in my head.” With a jerk, he pulled me against him, and I sucked in a breath, placing my palms flush against his warm, naked chest.

  “I think I know exactly what you mean.” I craned my neck to bring my lips closer to his. The way my heart pitter-pattered against my ribs, and how my skin already tingled with a need to be feathered with his kisses, I knew the walls around my heart were close to crumbling to the ground.

  His eyes glanced from mine to my lips. “You’re going to ruin me, aren’t you?”

  My heart stopped, the blood in my vein turning to ice. “What do you mean?”

  A loud scream tore through the air, echoing from the hall. The fear that resonated from the shrieks slammed against bone, and it almost fucking crushed me.

  “What the fuck?” Onyx yanked open the top drawer and pulled out a gun, rushing to the door.

  My heart was no longer beating, but rather clawing its way out of my chest. A loud thud of scurrying footsteps came down the hall, and I grabbed my shirt, pulling it on as I ran out.

  I looked from left to right when I noticed Alyx hurrying down the hall while tying her robe.

  “Oh, my God, it’s Neon,” she yelled, and suddenly there were so many faces darting in one direction. I stood with my back against the wall, only able to witness the chaos while stunned into silence.

  Onyx tried to open the door. “It’s fucking locked.”

  “Move the fuck up,” Ink ordered before rearing back and kicking at the door. “Neon!” he yelled before kicking again, and again.

  I cringed when I heard the wood crack and splinter, Onyx and Ink rushing inside the bedroom. Neon’s cries were clear now that the barrier had been broken down, her uncontrollable sobs. The absolute pain and fear that rippled from every cry splintered through me. What the hell was going on?

  Ink dropped a string of f-bombs, curses dripping from his mouth like poison. Step by step, I kept against the wall, my shoulder sliding against the concrete as I moved closer, Neon’s cries urging me to see what was wrong with her. The last time I had heard someone sound so broken, I was the one shedding those tears.

  I peeked around the corner, trying to keep myself hidden. With my hands against the wall, I watched as Onyx rushed across the room, gun aimed, checking everywhere—the closet, under her bed, searching every inch of the room.

  “There’s no one here,” Neon whimpered.

  I moved up until I finally saw her sitting on the bed, Alyx clutching her tight. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks, a look of sheer horror on her face.

  “It’s okay.” Alyx kept holding her, rocking back and forth. “It was just a nightmare.”

  A nightmare? What kind of nightmare would make someone scream out in such gut-wrenching cries? Her fear was real; I could hear it in the shrieks that ripped from her room.

  “This is bullshit!” Ink slammed his hand against the wall, plaster cracking from the concrete. “How long, huh?” He turned to Onyx while Granite stood against the farthest wall in the room. “How long before we can kill that motherfucker?”

  “Ink—” Onyx started, but Ink slammed another first into the wall.

  “I’m so sick and tired of excuse after fucking excuse why we can’t go over there and plant a bullet in every one of those fuckers’ skulls.”

  “And you think that will make this better?” Alyx glared at him with rage burning in her eyes. “You think killing him will stop the nightmares?” She didn’t take her hands off Neon’s shoulders as she continued to console her. “It won’t change anything. It won’t take away her pain. And it will definitely not erase the memories.”

  Anger rolled off Ink in waves, and I felt it infecting me from across the room. I had never felt so much hate, so much fury emanate from one man. “It sure as fuck will make me feel better.”

  “This is not about you, you selfish ass!”

  “Alyx!” Granite’s voice cracked through the tension, warning burning in his eyes. “Take Neon to the kitchen. Make her some tea or something.”

  Defiance beamed from her eyes, and I half expected her to challenge him. But she didn’t. His old lady had been trained well. You never challenged a man in front of his crew—everyone knew that.

  Alyx got up and handed Neon her crutches. “Come on. I’ll make us some chamomile tea.” But Neon was still so shaken, her entire body trembling, she could hardly keep the crutches upright. Ink intervened, took the crutches from her, and swept her up in his arms, carrying her out of the bedroom.

  I pulled back, my body flush against the wall outside of the room, and he didn’t even notice me standing there as he carried her out. I looked at them as they passed, and I saw scars peeking out from her spaghetti strap top. I slapped my palm against my mouth as I stared at it, red tissue and raised skin. I had never seen such grotesque scars.

  God, what happened to her?

  Alyx followed Ink as he carried Neon down the hall, and I remained silently leaning against the wall just outside the room.

  “He’s growing impatient.” It was Granite’s voice. “If we don’t do something, we’re going to lose him.”

  “I know,” Onyx replied. “But what do we do? We’re low on cash and resources since we no longer have the Sixes, and our little weed business on the side ain’t cutting it.”

  “Yeah, I know. But we gotta do something, man.”

  “Like what?” Onyx snapped.

  “You’re the president now. You need to figure out what our next move is going to be.”

  I leaned closer to the door, turning my head to try to hear more clearly. If only I could get my heart to slow down and stop beating like a hammer inside my head, I might be able to hear a little more.

  “Brother,” Onyx started, “you know me. I would rush over there and cut all their motherfucking hearts out right this second without thinking twice. I want nothing more than to see those Pythons bleed.”

  My heart stopped. It fucking froze in my chest, the ice spreading across my ribs and down my spine. Pythons. What do they have to do with this? With Neon?

  Footsteps hit the wooden floors, hard and heavy. “Maybe it’s time we stop playing it safe,” Granite said. “We’ve been playing it safe for weeks, and it has gotten us nowhere.”

  “I know,” Onyx agreed. “But you and I both know we can’t do that when our emotions are running wild. Especially with Ink. That man is consumed with rage. It’s turning him into someone I don’t even recognize anymore.”

  “You and me both, brother. But we can’t lose him.”

  “What are you saying?” Onyx’s voice softened a little, and I leaned even closer.

  “I can’t tell you what to do, Onyx. You’re the president.”

  “Stop saying that!” A loud thwack clashed against the wall. “When you took over from Dad, things weren’t as complicated as they are now. You had time to settle in, to find your place among all of this. But me? I got tossed into a motherfucking vortex of shit without even having a day to figure things out, to wrap my own goddamn head around all this. Now I’m asking you, not as the ex-president of the crew, but as a brother. What the fuck do I do?”

  The desperation in his voice tugged at my heart, and I wished I could reach out and wrap my arms around him, give him some sort of reassurance. He was so conflicted, even a stranger like me could figure that out.

  “Okay, listen,” Granite’s voice dipped low, “take a deep breath. One thing I’ve learned during the last few years is to always follow your gut. What’s your gut telling you?”

  There was silence, and I could practically see Onyx rubbing his palm across his beard while he was thinking.

  “Maybe we should start with the snow problem. Figure out if our inst
incts are right, and that it’s the Pythons who are behind it. That might be the opening we need.”

  Again, I stopped breathing for a second.

  “Good. I agree. Dutch thinks he has a lead. That kid we saved a few months back—”

  “Trent?”

  “Yeah. Dutch thinks he might know something.”

  “Okay, good,” Onyx responded. “We should discuss a plan of action in the morning at church.”

  “Agreed. Onyx?”

  “Yeah?”

  A few seconds of silence passed before Granite finally said, “You can do this. I know you can. You’ll be a good president.”

  “Thanks, brother, but just know that if your woman and your goddamn word weren’t so important to you, I never would have agreed to this.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I was so taken by their conversation, the information overload causing me to freeze. Footsteps came closer, and as I managed to gather control, trying to turn in the other direction, Onyx came walking out. “Wraith?”

  Fuck.

  I turned to face him.

  He frowned. “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Oh, I just got here.” I let my arms hang down my sides. “When all of you rushed over here, I stood back. You know, not actually belonging here and all. But you were gone a while, so I came to look for you.”

  He paused for a second, blue eyes scrutinizing me before he looked down the hall in the direction where they took Neon. “She’s really fucked up.”

  “What…” I swallowed. “What happened to her?”

  He wiped his hand across his mouth, preoccupied by his own thoughts. “I can’t—”

  “Tell me, Onyx. Please.” I had to know whether what I suspected was true. “What happened to her?”

  His gaze cut to mine, and I could see remorse swirling in the shades of blues—remorse for what had happened to the woman they had just carried out of that room.