Page 23

No way out.
Regretting my decision to pursue this stupid plan, I bolted and crashed into a hard chest. Thrown backward by the force of the hit, I fell on my side and scraped my right leg. Wincing in pain, I clutched my knee and breathed deeply through my nose.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Luca shook his head. “Was I not clear when I told you to go home?”
“You didn’t tell me anything,” I shot back, my vision blurring as my heart hammered. “Your guard dog did.”
“Go. Home.” He pronounced each syllable, his deep voice a rumble in the silent space. “You. Are. Not. Welcome. Here.”
“Aiden,” I choked out. “I know you did something to him. You…”
I struggled to catch my breath.
Dismissing my concerns, Luca lifted me from the ground and set me on my feet. Then, he shoved me toward the street.
“Forget about your brother.” He gripped my ass and pushed me once more. “Go home before you get hurt.”
Anger furled inside me, and my vision flashed in violent red waves. I spun around, hands balled into fists at my sides. Luca walked away, but I advanced on him, yanking his dress shirt from behind. Using all my strength, I slammed his back to the brick wall and pounced, banging my fists on his chest.
“Tell me what you did to Aiden.”
“Crazy ass bitch,” he bit out and peeled my fingers from his shirt collar.
“Fuck you,” I hissed.
I felt the darkness leeching into my skin, clawing at my insides. My medications helped dull this part of my brain. I so desperately wanted to turn it off right now.
But I was too far gone.
When provoked, I lost control.
As Luca turned on his heels, I grabbed something cold and hard from his waistband. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, but I couldn’t focus on the thing weighing down my hand.
“Don’t,” Luca warned when I pressed the cold metal to his stomach. “Drea, stop it. You’re not thinking clearly.”
He attempted to wrestle the object from my hand, but I swatted him away, screaming at the top of my lungs. The metal plunged into something hard and dense. A warm liquid coated my hand and slid down my fingers. In the darkness, I couldn’t see anything.
“Give him back,” I chanted. “Give him back.”
Luca made a guttural sound but didn’t speak.
A door opened to our right.
Four sets of eyes flicked to me. Tall men dressed in jeans and T-shirts approached, and as they drew closer, I got a good look at their snake-like skin.
The Serpents.
It was all part of the act. They painted their faces like different snakes and only used code names.
A man with golden snake scales on one half of his face muttered, “What the?—”
“Call my uncle,” a man with yellow scales said to his friend.
The dark-haired man with greenish-yellow skin gripped my shoulders and shook me. “What did you do?”
The alleyway spun around me, the scent of metal and garbage clinging to the air. As I lost consciousness, I glanced at the man, his face painted like a black mamba. He had something red on his hands and shirt.
“What’s wrong with her?”