“I should have stayed at the cafe and called Janis to say I’d be late.”
He shakes his head, gaze stuck on the spot where Pits slapped me, and then twists to look up at Chaos. “This will complicate things.”
Complicate what?I glance between Chaos’s legs and spot someone lying on the ground. Someone in a Devil’s Breed cut.Yeah, more than that already will.“What happened?”
“What needed to.” Jinx pushes the hair from my face. “Are you okay to walk?”
I nod. “Can you help me up, though?”
“Always.” He offers me a hand, helping me ease myself to my feet. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, my body feels like soup. I gather up enough strength to move toward the alley and put one foot before the other. He stays close behind, hand to my elbow the whole time to help me outside.
Davis catches my eye when I step into the afternoon light.
“You need to find out what he knows,” I say, staring at Davis before I shift my attention to Pits’s static form. “Because that was his brother.”
Chaos frowns, looking between the living man and the very dead relative on the ground. “Interesting.” He jerks his head at a crazy motherfucker with inked-out eyes and facial tattoos. “Leave that to you, yeah?”
The sideshow freak nods, seemingly pleased at being tasked with the job.
“I’ll take you home,” Jinx says, pulling me closer so that I can lean on him.
“No.” I shake my head. “Dad will lose it if he sees me like this.” I lift my hands and check out the angry marks that will take days to fade. Let alone how my face looks. “Can I go back to yours?”
Chaos locks his stare on Jinx, silently vetoing the idea.
Jinx sighs. “As much as I’d love that, it’ll make things worse.”
“She can go to Vanessa’s,” Chaos offers. “I’ll let her know.” Their president walks away to make a call.
I stare at Pits again.Totally deserved it.“What do you do with him?”
“Crow will take care of that.”
I look to the other Kings assembled in the alley and spot a tall and broad guy with jet black hair who lifts his hand in greeting.
“I was so worried, you know.” My focus slides back to Pits, drawn to the raw honesty of the situation. “What if it were you?”
Jinx tugs me tighter, wrapping his hand around my head to block my view when he places a kiss on my head. “Thought the same thing, darlin’. I thought the same damn thing.”
His heart beats rapidly against my shoulder.Hell of a day.
Hell of a wake-up call.
“I’m sorry I ever let what you do get between us.”
Jinx switches tact, sliding his hands beneath my arms to lift me against him. I wrap my legs around him to save from falling, his hold on me keeping me close to his hip as he walks.
“You’ll doubt me a thousand times over before we’re through, Kyra. And you’ll have a reason to every damn time.”
TWENTY-FIVE
JINX
No matterhow many times I hear the phrase, I always forget how true it is: life can change in an instant. I spent yesterday with Kyra because I naively believed we had weeks, if not months, yet, before everything fell to pieces.
But in the blink of an eye, it started.
The Devil’s Breed showed their hand, and now nothing will ever be the same.
