Page 55 of Knockout Queen

By the time the rest of the guys arrive, I’ve stopped fighting Johnny. My mind goes blank. Every time what he revealed tries to drill into my brain, I go completely numb.

I knew K killing them was senseless, but to find out that it was as senseless as this? To find out that it was done as almost a sport? To fucking find out that he got his position because he murdered my parents?

I can’t even comprehend it. I don’t even want to fucking comprehend it. It’s sick. It’s wrong. It’s fucking awful.

The door opens, and I run to the first body who enters. Magnum wraps me in a hug, holding me so close to him. I can barely breathe, which is fine by me because every time I breathe, I know that what Johnny said to me is true. It really happened that way.

“What the fuck did you do?” Oscar growls.

“I didn’t do anything,” Johnny yells back. He’s dressed in boxers now, and he was able to wiggle a shirt over my head when I was just staring into space. “She just kept asking for my gun. She freaked out, she—”

I start to tremble. I’m not cold. I’m not furious. I’m just so…lost.

“Shh, baby girl,” Magnum says. “What happened?”

I close my eyes. I don’t even know how I can look at Johnny. This isn’t his fault. He’s as much of a victim as I am, but I just fucking lost it. How can I still hold everything inside after this?

“Kyla, you’re killing me,” Johnny says, and the anguish in his voice tells me it’s true.

My stomach seesaws, threatening to spill again.

Oscar pushes Johnny, and he stumbles into the wall. “You must have done something to her!”

“Don’t test me, Drego.”

“You’ve got to tell us what happened, baby, before the guys kill each other.” Magnum loosens his hold, and I gaze up into his hazel-green eyes. He nods.

Behind us, there’s still shuffling going on before I finally turn. Oscar and Brawler face Johnny down. “It’s not Johnny,” I choke out, finally finding my words I’d been wanting to say all this time. But how do I say that and then tell him what I know?

All three of them turn to me. Johnny pushes past them to move closer. I wince when he goes to cup my face, and he drops his hands at his sides. His eyes are turning vacant, and I’m yelling at myself to calm the fuck down, but I just can’t. Not right now. Not after this.

“Kyla, I’ll do anything,” Johnny pleads.

I wiggle my fingers, feeling the weight of his mom’s ring on my finger. What happens when I tell him why I’m here? I’m such a fucking chicken shit because I don’t want to find out.

The time is now though. I couldn’t even explain away this last half an hour without the truth even if I wanted to.

Magnum kisses the back of my head, and I blow out a breath. I’ve almost gotten myself under control. I swallow the humongous lump of fear in my throat and stare a distraught Johnny down. “Do you remember the story you were telling me? The one about your dad...”

Brawler glances between the two of us warily. Oscar crosses his arms, and Magnum grips my upper arms. Johnny peeks at all of us and then nods. “Yeah, I told you what my dad had to do to become leader of the Crew.” His jaw tenses. “He killed two people. A man and a woman.”

The second time he says it is not any better than the first. I slap my hand over my mouth and beg my body not to react the way it did the first time. I breathe in through my nose.

“Fuck,” Oscar growls.

“What?” Johnny asks, looking around. No one will look him in the eye now.

No one except me. “Johnny.” I draw in a shaky breath. “I think those two people you’re talking about were my parents.”

Time transcends reality. For a moment, I’m caught in a nanosecond, almost wishing I could hold onto it forever. The next second that blips by could change everything. Strike that. Itwillchange everything, I just don’t know in which way.

Johnny blinks and shakes his head. “No.”

I nod. “I’m sure.”

“No!” Johnny yells. He turns to the wall and slams his fist through it. Deep breaths flare his nostrils. He punches the wall several more times. A hole appears. Pieces of drywall litter the floor. A tiny droplet of blood from Johnny’s knuckles falls to the wreckage, splattering.

“Stop him,” I say.

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