Cross (Dark Kings 3)

“Don’t do this,” Cross says to Grave. He’s pleading with his best friend. “Don’t let her think you’re still the same guy.”

“This doesn’t concern you!” Grave shouts, stepping up to them.

Cross shoves Ethan to the side, and he trips, falling to the floor once again. Cross bumps his chest to Grave. Bones goes to intervene, but Titan pulls him back. What the fuck? Why isn’t anyone stopping this?

“It does!” Cross shouts. “You are my brother, and I won’t let her think that you haven’t changed.”

“Fuck you!” Grave shoves him.

Cross grabs his shirt and yanks Grave into him. “I won’t let her think any less of you.”

Grave’s bottom lip begins to tremble.

“Do you hear me? I know it. Titan and Bones know it. You are not the same man you once were. You’ve come too far for that, Kyle,” Cross says, softening his voice at his best friend.

Grave sniffs but shakes his head, whispering, “I won’t do it. I won’t do that to her.”

Silence covers the room. My hands are shaking, my heart pounding. What is going on? What does Cross know, and what has Grave done? What is he protecting April from?

Cross lets go of him and takes a step back, squaring his shoulders once again. “Fine, then I will.”

“No—”

“April, your brother here stole Grave’s pills from him months ago. He’s the one who’s using in your house,” Cross announces, interrupting his best friend.

April’s wide eyes go from Cross to Grave. He looks murderous as he stares at the back of Cross’s head. His chest rises and falls fast with his heavy breathing. His hands are fisted down by his sides. I see Bones step closer to them, expecting Grave to pounce on Cross.

“What?” April blinks, and fresh tears run down her face. She looks at her younger brother, who’s still on the floor but now sitting up. “Is this true? You’ve been using?”

He won’t meet her eyes. Instead, he stares at the blood spots on the floor in front of him.

“But …” She swallows. “You’ve been working. Doing better. Staying out of trouble. I’ve seen you—”

“Some addicts care what others think and hide it well,” Cross says matter-of-factly, interrupting her.

Her watery ice-blue eyes go from Cross to Grave, and when he doesn’t look at her, she looks at her brother once again. “Answer me!” she shouts, running to him. Grave grabs her but not before she gets a swing at his face, knocking him to his side on the floor. “How long?” she cries as her feet leave the ground from Grave’s hold.

Ethan bites his lip and continues to ignore her, pushing himself back up to a sitting position.

“How fucking long?” she screams this time, trying to get out of Grave’s hold.

“April?” Grave spins her around to face him. His hands cup her tear-streaked face. “April, look at me. Take a deep breath.”

“Oh, my God,” she cries, her body caving into his. “Grave … I-I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself.” He shakes his head at her, pulling her into his chest and hugging her tightly. Her hands dig into his shirt while he kisses her head. Her legs give out, and he picks her up, carrying her away from the foyer.

CHAPTER TWELVE

CROSS

I TURN TO look down at the jackass who almost ruined my best friend’s life. I don’t know much about the kid, but he can’t even be twenty-one yet. He cost Grave fifty grand months back when the Mason brothers were after him. Grave paid them off, and he was to pay Grave back. I’m not sure how that’s been going. I haven’t asked. Maybe I should have. “Come on.” I grab his upper arm and yank him to his feet. “Let’s go.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” He tries to pull away from me, but I keep hold of him.

“Yeah, I’m taking you to rehab.”

“Fuck that!” he shouts, starting to fight me harder, but he’s still too weak. I picked him up off the floor at the Airport. He had two fights tonight and got his ass kicked both times. Trey Mason, the youngest of the three brothers, had to help me get Ethan to my car. “You never stopped him from doing drugs.”

I grip his face with my free hand. “Your sister has been through enough.”

“She made her choices,” he spits out.

I’m going to fucking kill this kid.

Bones pulls me away from him and shoves his back in the front door. “Get the fuck away from here. I don’t care if you go to rehab or go get fucked up. But stay the fuck away from April and Grave, or I’ll kill you myself.”

He shrugs off him, turns around, and slams the front door shut on his way out.

“He needed rehab,” I bark at Bones.

“You can’t force someone to choose sobriety, Cross,” he snaps. “You of all people should know that.”