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Mel darted forward and jabbed the needle into Candy’s thigh before darting away. Leighton’s face turned murderous as Candy continued to snap her jaws, biting him a few more times before slowly succumbing to the sedative. The moment he was sure she was completely out, he dropped her unceremoniously to the ground.

“I think I need a rabies shot. Fucking hell. Someone else can carry her ass inside.” Leighton grumbled. “Only one person gets to bite me and it ain’t that fucking lunatic.”

As Leighton was complaining, the back passenger door opened, and for a moment, we all tensed until we saw the shock of blonde hair and flashy, brightly colored clothes.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Bitch Barbie.” Leighton drawled.

“What is she doing here?” Victoria asked.

“I felt it was appropriate that she learned first hand what her mistakes cost.” Helen replied calmly.

Joey was moving before anyone could even react. He moved up behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and spun her to face him. His face was twisted in a snarl as he backhanded her so hard it sent her sprawling back into the SUV.

“Since you started all this, maybe we’ll start with you and you can really learn what meddling can cost.” He growled.

“Joey, stop.” I called out, moving to pull him away from Tiffany. “She wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Fuck this bullshit deal!” Joey bellowed. “She deserves to die.”

“Do we have a problem, gentlemen?” Helen asked coolly.

“Get your shit together, Joey. Unless you want the rest of us taken out in a fight with the Golden Devils.” I hissed, grabbing him by his shirt and giving him a rough shake.

“Fine.” He snarled, grabbing my hands and shoving me away. He stepped past me toward the warehouse before he stopped and turned back, pinning his gaze on Tiffany and pointing at her for good measure. “You live today, but the next time I catch you out without protection, you’re mine. Helen can’t keep you safe forever.”

Chapter Twenty Two

Victoria

Az grabbed Joey by the back of his neck and steered him toward the warehouse, following Mel and Leighton as they packed Candy inside. I could just make out Leighton complaining about having to carry her after she bit him, but against my better judgment, I was more concerned with Tiffany. Joey had hit her hard enough for her head to bounce off the SUV. I may have hated her at the moment, but I wasn’t heartless.

“You good?” I asked, not wanting her to read further into the question.

“Yeah… I’m okay,” Tiffany replied, her hand sliding from her face to the back of her head.

“Good.” I turned to start toward the warehouse when she called out to me.

“Can we talk? Please?” something in her tone caused me to stop and turn back around, even though the last thing I wanted to do was listen to whatever she had to say. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. I fucked up, big time.”

“You didn’t just fuck up, Tiffany, you got one of the men I love killed. That’s..” I shook my head, unable to finish.

“I know,” She said, her eyes dropping to her feet. “If I knew how it would play out I never would have passed on theinformation I had. She wasn’tsupposedto hurt any of you. She was just supposed to extract you from the horsemen and bring you to us so you’d be safe.”

“You let a fucking psychopath loose, what the hell did you think would happen?” I screamed, my hands fisting at my sides.

Tiffany winced. “That part wasn’t my call. No, it doesn’t change what happened or the role I did play, but you have to believe me. I really thought you were in trouble. I’ve spent the last several years in this world and you haven’t. I had no way of knowing that you’d be able to get away if what I thought was happening had actually been happening.”

“So, we’re dropping the ditzy rich bitch pretense now, huh? Just gonna pretend like you’ve been a gangster this whole time and never said a word and I’m just supposed to what? Believe that?”

“Because it’s true. Helen will tell you as much if you want to ask her.”

“How the fuck did you even get mixed up in all this shit, Tiffany? What the hell went so wrong in your life you couldn’t tell me, your supposed best friend, instead of joining a God damned criminal organization and ultimately ruining my fucking life in the process? I think I at least deserve to know that since you’ve decided to take me down with you.”

Tiffany’s eyes flicked up to mine, and she let out a heavy breath as she held my gaze. “Do you remember that party on Iverson’s boat?”

“That eurotrash you hooked up with a few summers ago? Yeah, I remember.” I scoffed. “You’ve always had terrible taste in men. He wasn’t an exception.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t tell you what happenedafterthe party ended. Why he up and went back home the very next day. He wasn’t interested in me for the arm candy or my personality. He was looking for a mule. He had enough coke in one of thecabins that everyone on that boat that night could have OD many times over. I like to party as much as the next girl, but I wasn’t interested in smuggling his drugs, not knowing who my older sister’s mother is. We fought and he locked me in a closet. He was too stupid to take my phone, so I called Helen.”