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  "Wait, Chey. Hold up--"

  "No." I spun back around to him and glowered. "I want you to stay the hell away from me until this is finished."

  "Meaning what?"

  "My wedding. Outside of showing up because of the club, I don't want to see you, talk to you, have a damn thing to do with you until you finally get your shit together in realizing that your mouth is being used as a weapon against me."

  "That shit's not true--"

  "It is. You should really be thinking about just who the hell you've been talking to like a damn dog in a skirt the last few days. Because I didn't expect an apology from the last time we spoke, but I sure as hell didn't expect this either. And I don't deserve it, especially not now and from you -- You know that much."

  "Cheyenne!"

  I jumped back into my car while pretending not to hear him again and slammed the door, then jerked the gear into reverse and jammed my foot against the accelerator, performing a 180 before whizzing from the lot in a fury.

  Chapter Thirty

  Loyalty Tested, Anger Approved

  While staring out the window, my hands placed along the edge of the sill as my eyes darted between fresh stains of blood soiling the courtyard, I took a deep breath in realizing I had seen more of Rikers' family room over the last few weeks than my own bedroom within the last fifteen or so years of my life.

  To think I'd finally had enough of driving in this direction was an understatement.

  As the door flew open, I turned to see Rox stumbling inside. He was wearing the usual orange jumpsuit with his hands folded and wrists cuffed, though his left eye was puffy and sealed shut while his swollen bottom lip shifted between the colors of black and blue.

  "Oh my God." A bandage the size of a fist had been placed along his right cheek while the tip of his left ear was covered in stitches. "What the hell happened to you?"

  "Chino," he mumbled.

  "What?!"

  "Chino, Cheyenne." He lowered himself to the edge of a bench behind the table in front of me and lifted his working eye to my face. "Son of a bitch had this shit done to me."

  "HEY." I recoiled before looking to an overly tanned, freckle faced guard standing near the door; he wagged a finger and pointed toward the floor. "He's only gettin' fifteen minutes this time around."

  "This won't take that long." He nodded with a scowl before backing out of the room and slamming the door. I moved closer to the table but remained on my feet and crossed my arms while staring down into Rox's face. "What the hell did he have done to you?"

  "This shit, Cheyenne." He lifted his hands and anxiously waved them across his face. "What the fuck do you mean?"

  "Why would he have this done to you might be a better question instead?"

  He eyed me as if I had lost what was left of my mind and flexed his jaw. "Why the fuck do you think? The shit with his prick son -- you forget that quickly?"

  "I don't forget anything no matter how often and hard I try; though I imagine Chino would've been too preoccupied with Nikko now being outside to bother with having you attacked."

  "You don't know this shit like I do--"

  "I know too much. And I know when something I hear about it is bullshit."

  "You think I'm making up what the fuck happened to me?"

  "I think you're lying about who did it and why; you either know the truth and are shifting blame to keep it from spilling out elsewhere, or you don't and hoping the guess you've made somehow becomes fact. Either way, it's not why I showed up; at least you're still alive."

  "That's all I'm getting from you on this shit? The goddamn fact that I'm still fuckin' alive?"

  "You should celebrate unless you're looking for death instead. Because at this rate, it's bound to happen sooner before not at all." He pressed his lips together and knit his brows, refraining response. "I need you to tell me why the hell you didn't say anything about going to the Gambiano's for the money to pay back the club first."

  He dropped his hands back to the table and shifted his gaze. "Same goddamn reason you chose not to tell me yourself about getting married to that savage muthafucka."

  "And what the hell would you have done despite knowing it's the only way I have to help you outside of screaming at me?"

  "Exactly fuckin' that, Cheyenne! Goddamn!" He slammed his fist on top of the table and glowered. "Who the fuck told you about me going to the Gambiano's in the first place -- Chino?"

  "It doesn't matter more than the fact that you didn't. Why?!"

  "'Cause I knew you'd lose your shit just like this in being aware."

  "Better than losing my head first, which had I not found out when I finally did was liable to happen. You heard about Marleena?" I asked him.

  He nodded while looking to the table in shame. "How's she doing?"

  "Not good. You know why the hell it happened? Do you know anything about who the hell might've done it?"

  "Look where the fuck I am right now, Cheyenne."

  "I keep looking at it thanks to you, Chino, Snake."

  He yanked the cuffs around his wrists and sat back. "I don't know anymore shit about Marleena than you do."

  "But you knew the Gambiano's would come after you for what is essentially theft. You should've told me what the hell else was going on instead of waiting for shit to blow up in my face like it always does because of things that you've done."

  "The shit didn't blow up in your goddamn face."

  "Why the hell do you think I'm back here again -- to sing a rendition of Kumbaya with your cell buddies?! Out of boredom -- for my health?! And why the hell would you go to Deborah for help in getting the money to pay them back -- my God, as if she hasn't caused enough problems for us already?! Are you really that hard up for cooch and green no matter who or what the hell it's all coming from?"

  He arched his upper lip and pointed. "You need to watch how the fuck you're talking to me in here, girl."

  "You need to watch how the hell you're speaking to me in here and start telling the damn truth. Where the hell is the money they gave you?"

  "I don't fuckin' know!" he snapped. "I had that shit sent off to Snake--"

  "Sent off? A third party was involved in this now--? Who?!"

  He sat back and sighed. "Chino knows what the fuck the deal is."

  "That doesn't answer my question--"

  "I am telling you what the fuck matters about this shit, Cheyenne."

  "Are you?"

  He sighed heavily and clinched his jaw. "Why the fuck would I keep money hidden when there's no chance of me getting outta here any time soon?"

  "Since when?"

  "Today," he shot back. "You don't think Snake would fuck you over in all this shit like he's been tryna do with me?!"

  "Snake reassured me that once they had their money, you were out."

  "Snake is full of shit, just like you've always said. Don't switch up on him now."

  "I'm not," I replied.

  "You are. He's the one who suggested this marriage between you and Nikko -- don't forget that. And he never mentioned anything about that money either."

  "There would be no reason for him to mention it if he doesn't have a dime just like I know Deborah doesn't."

  "Fuckin' Christ, Cheyenne."

  "Why the hell did you call her out here?"

  "I didn't..." He shook his head and bit back a smirk. "I love you for being so goddamn naive with some of this shit, but I sure as fuck wish for once that it wasn't because of--"

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  He looked into my face as best as he could and gulped. "Snake suggested you marry this motherfucker to pay him back with his old man's funds. What the fuck are you getting out of it in return?"

  "My freedom."

  "In being tied down to this asshole?"

  "You know that is not what I meant," I told him. "

  "Alright, yeah. But is Nikko gonna give you even a corner of the funds he's getting the minute his old man gets locked up?"

  "
I didn't go into this with needing any of his money for myself."

  "Doesn't matter, 'cause you fuckin' do. Unless you plan on staying married to this asshole -- be his little wifey on the side while he goes out to find some bleached pussy he wants to be with for the rest of his life? 'Cause you should know the white boys like him don't really roll in a world like the one he's tryna create with you for the time being without the consequences following him home every night. He don't want or need that kinda shit for himself in the long run."

  "You don't know what the hell he wants or needs; and you know even less about me, you always have."

  "I know that you don't wanna be played."

  "Nobody is more of a master at playing me than you. Which brings me back to wondering if you even realize that the Gambiano's want you dead for what you've done? And not only in stealing their money."

  "I told you I didn't steal shit."

  "What you said doesn't matter when those gums are flapping about checks your ass can no longer cash, old man. Blabbing to the very person who tried to get Nikko taken out under your watch -- What the hell were you thinking?"

  "Then you did hear this shit from Chino, 'cause he told your ass about Elias. Or he told his kid who ran home and opened his mouth." He paused. "Either way, I was thinking of the goddamn future on this shit. There was a method to letting that asshole know what was up."

  "And that was what?" He fell silent. I cut my eyes from him and grumbled. "Admit you were a snitch without purpose."

  "My snitching about that deal had every goddamn purpose in the world, Cheyenne."

  "One you refuse to tell me about."

  "You don't need to know shit while I'm still breathing."

  "Then why the hell are we even having this part of the conversation?" I said. "And do you know for a fact that Chino had this done to you or was I right--?"

  "I don't know shit," he muttered.

  "Then why say anything at all?! Why say it?!"

  "Chey--"

  "Do you even understand just how much your tongue manages to get people fucked over and dead?! Nikko's life might be on the line yet again because of your inability to just shut the hell up when needed. My life is still on the line because of you -- what the hell is it going to take for you to stop acting as if you're the only one being affected by your words and actions?! And now your claim that you don't have this money is only bound to make things worse for every single person involved in this mess."

  "Are you still marrying Nikko?"

  "Why the hell do people keep asking me this question as if I suddenly have a choice in not doing it? Maybe if I had the money, I could reconsider a few things, but I don't."

  "If you had the money, would you still go through with the shit?"

  "Why the hell do you care so much when you claim you don't have any to stop it from happening?"

  "If I did--"

  "If you did, this wouldn't be a conversation to have." I moved around the table and hurried for the door.

  "Where the fuck are you going?"

  "Away. Because as usual, coming here was not only a mistake but a waste of time. You've given me nothing to work with, nothing to go on, no help at all--"

  "I gave you Snake, Cheyenne -- what the fuck more are you looking for with this shit?"

  "Anything else that doesn't include Snake, because I don't believe you about him--"

  "You should."

  "Why?!" He turned to me as I lifted my hands in question. "I know times when he's been full of shit, I lived most and barely survived others. But why are you so determined to pin his ass to the wall like a donkey for what you have done yet again?"

  "Because I only fessed up to taking that money in the hope he'd fess up like a goddamn man for himself, admit he had it and tell you he only wanted you marrying Nikko to get more of it while using what was left to give back to the Gambiano's in my name."

  "Why the hell would he do that?"

  "Because he's greedy as a motherfucker, Cheyenne -- Why the fuck else? In the end green is what he cares about most -- more than you, more than the goddamn club. The money being snatched from that safe was opportunity for him to get more of it in any way that he could. I fucked up 'cause you became a pawn in all this and I'm sorry for it; but I did my part in tryna get you out."

  "Too little, too damn late."

  "Yeah, maybe--"

  "Not maybe," I told him. "Fact. But if what you're saying to me is the truth, Snake knew long before he claims that Nikko needed a wife, and Chino knew long before you told him that the club needed their money back."

  "I guess the fuck they did."

  I folded my arms and looked to the floor. "Do you think they're working together?"

  "I don't know anything else," he replied. "But you falling for this asshole is bound to get you killed by the same muthafuckas hoping to put me down, no doubt by his own hand."

  I lifted my eyes back to his and frowned. "What are you talking about?"

  "I'm not a dumbass despite it not taking a goddamn genius to figure out the Gambiano's need something more than a little green as a 'thank you' for helping Nikko get out, Cheyenne; on top of that fit you threw about his life being on the line as much as your own. If he doesn't do this shit, he's dead. Snake more than likely knows all just as much as I do -- asshole probably knows even more, and he doesn't give a fuck about any of it as long as he gets enough green for himself before it's over."

  "Is that why you asked Deborah for money you knew she didn't have?"

  "I assumed she could get it," he said.

  "How?"

  "The same way I assumed it for her son. But it doesn't anymore since the shit fell through on both ends. The point behind it was to get enough to keep you from going through with this shit."

  "Nikko would still need a wife to get Chino's money."

  "He could put a ring on somebody else's finger to make that happen for himself, Chey."

  "Not when I might want that finger to be mine."

  He dropped back as his shoulders sank. "Christ. You've jumped in headfirst with this asshole?"

  "I jumped... head or feet first, I'm not exactly sure just yet."

  As the door reopened, the guard stepped back into the room and grunted. "Let's go, Cunningham -- time's up."

  "Wait." I stepped back over to Rox and lifted my hands palm side up to keep him from moving forward. "If you didn't call Deborah to come back out here, who the hell did?"

  "Taz." He took in a breath and looked aside. "VP asked his mother to come back from Phoenix with a checkbook in hand after learning you were getting married."

  I scowled. "Has he been out here to visit you since I told him about it?" He nodded. "He said that he didn't know who out of the brothers had called her down here."

  "He's full of shit like Snake; though in this case, it was 'cause he didn't want you pissed at him."

  "I'm already pissed, which is something you both manage to do for me quite well."

  "Let's GO, Cunningham," snapped the guard. "Fucking now, asshole--"

  "How can I prove Snake actually has that money, if he does?" I interjected, keeping my eyes focused on Rox as his eye shifted. "The club is not going to give him up, not even to me."

  "Nix would. Taz might be hesitant to fess up on some shit, but--"

  "Taz is not ready to lead that club. No matter the big talk he's always putting on for show, he wouldn't turn on Snake for that reason alone."

  "Maybe you should finally give him a reason for it--"

  "CUNNINGHAM!" the guard hollered out again. "BRING YOUR ASS TO THE GODDAMN LINE AND SHUT THAT BITCH DAUGHTER OF YOURS THE FUCK UP ALREADY."

  "HEY!" I whipped my head around to him and sneered. "Fuck off, asshole -- we're not finished."

  He glowered while stepping forward; his face burned red as his eyes bulged from his head in rage. "What the fuck did you just say to me?!"

  "What I just said!" I turned back to Rox without further response to the guard, and lifted my hand to his chest. He
stared down at my fingers as they tapped across his heart. "You better not be lying to me anymore about any of this, or I will make damn sure that you rot for it."

  "LET'S GO!"

  Rox returned his attention to my face and bobbed his head. "I'm giving up every word you need to hear from me right now, Cheyenne."

  "That implies there's more to come."

  "Could be, baby girl. But it won't be today."

  I lowered my hand from him and stepped back. "I don't know what the hell to do about keeping you protected in here."

  "I'll be good -- don't worry about my ass, just make sure to keep looking after your own out there."

  I nodded and lowered my eyes from his before turning away and sprinting past the asshole guard.

  Once I reached the parking lot and jumped back into my car, I sank into the back of my chair like a pile of mush and burst into a fit of tears that seemed to come from the only place I had known to exist within myself more than most.

  The fire pits of hell.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Moving Around, Ahead

  After returning to the Brownstone and locking the door, I took in a breath deep enough to reach my stomach and removed my shoes.

  "Cheyenne?" I stopped at the deep and husky sound of Nikko's voice and looked to the stairs, then closed my eyes and slowly exhaled while imagining the look on his face as he called my name. "Baby?"

  I followed the lasting sound of his voice upstairs, hesitating to move inside his bedroom after seeing him hunched forward on the bed, his phone in hand with his thumb hovering over the keypad.

  "Hi."

  He turned to me with an unsure, fearful look in his eyes before throwing the phone behind him and pushing himself to stand. "Hey there, baby." I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth as he moved toward me like a man in need of more than I was certain I could give him in the moment, then practically fell into him as he lifted his hands to my face and brushed his fingers across my cheeks. My chest tightened as he stared into my eyes; butterflies filled my stomach as if it was the first time he had ever put his hands on me.

  God.

  The warmth pouring from his gaze and touch into my skin soothed me in a way I had never known with another person before him; in a way I was certain I would never know with anyone else in the same way ever again.