Page 10 of Pink Poison

The previous bile stirs in my stomach again. I knew damn well I shouldn’t have done anything with Stephanie, especially after finding out who the hell she was. But a part of me, the part that spent the last few months withStevie, needed tonight. Call me a fucking sap, but I was falling in love with her. It wasn’t just sex with her, although the sex was fucking phenomenal. Unfortunately, it’s not like I can justsaythat to my best friend.

“I don’t know what you want, Mack.” I shrug. “I went and blew off some steam.”

His accusing expression transforms into pure, unadulterated rage. If I thought he was pissed before, I was wrong. His eyes glaze over before a solid hit smashes over my jaw, snapping my head to the side. The familiar tang of copper floods my taste buds as my teeth cut into the soft flesh of my cheek.Motherfucker.“Pink. Lipstick.” He shakes me violently. “Herlipstick, you stupid prick!”

Groaning, I spit a glob of blood and saliva at his feet. “What of it, Junior?” I sneer. “She’s not a concern anymore.”

I feel the crushing weight of his hand wrapped around my throat before I can comprehend that the bastard is choking me. “She was mine!Mine.”

A satisfying smirk tugs at my mouth, distracting him from his unnecessary anger. His hand drops quickly from my throat as he realizes that he just said the quiet part he kept to himself all these years out loud. “Yours? That’s weird, I could have sworn she was mine when she was bouncing on my dick earlier.”

Should I bait him like this?Probably not.

Do I care that I pissed him off?Not even a little.

“Fuck you, Graves. Stay away from her,” he snaps.

“Fine by me.” I shrug with a tired sigh. “I told you she’s not a concern anymore.”

He shakes his head as he steps back before turning on his heel, leaving me with a bruised cheek that will probably match my bruising nose from Stevie’s cheap shot. I trudge to the bar and take a seat on an empty stool at the end—far enough away from everyone else’s wary stares.

“You’re a dumbass, Graves,” Stone snorts, pulling a chair up next to mine. “No pussy is worth losing the trustof a brother.”

April, the club’s main bartender, slides a bottle of Jameson across the counter with a heated glare in my direction. “What kind of asshole fucks his best friend’s sister?” she snarks.

Uncorking the bottle pourer from the liquor, I bite back, “Which time? Before I realized who she was or after?”

Her features pinch at my response before she flips her dark hair over her shoulder and turns away from me.Whatever.

“Christ, Graves. That’s fucked up,” Stone reprimands

I tilt the bottle at him with a bitter salut on my tongue before sucking down a generous gulp. The burn soothes my frayed nerves enough to steal the tension from my neck. Setting the bottle back on the bar top, I sigh. “It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s gone.”

He lifts his dark, unkempt brow, signaling for me to add more context. I don’t know why I want to tell him—there’s a good chance he’ll go tell Mack, and drag this shit out. We all know Mack is petty enough to bring her ass back here just to knock her down until she can’t get back up. It doesn’t matter that he’s just as infatuated with her as I am—his grudge runs blood deep.

“I got her out of the city. That’s all that matters.Stephanieis gone for good,” I admit.

That’s because Stephanie doesn’t exist anymore. It’s Stevie.

Fuck. I’m an asshole. There was no way I could miss how defeated she sounded when she said that shit. LikeIwas the one who killed what remained of her as Stephanie.

“Good,” he grunts with a jab to my shoulder. “I’m fucking beat, brother. I’ll see your sorry ass tomorrow.”

Bowing my head, I breathe harshly through my nose. I don’t know how I’m going to fix this, but I know I have to. I wasn’t bluffing when I said Stephanie wasn’t an issue. As much as I could have fallen for her, loyalty means something to me. Mack is my brother above all else. He doesn’t havemany people to lean on, and I’ll be damned if I’m just another person who casts him aside.

Butchers ‘til the end. ‘Til we die.

Chapter four

Stevie

Five Years Later…

The exhaust fumes from the cab clear, revealing Le Papillonfrom across the strip. The club is a helluva lot bigger than I imagined it. Honestly, it looks like something straight out of Forbes Magazine. Flashy as hell, but still has a piece of historic charm in it.

Holding my phone between my ear and shoulder, I smooth my faux, baby pink, leather mini skirt over my toned ass. “I made it, Tee,” I squeal into the device.

She giggles tiredly.“Are you ready to make this interview your bitch?”

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