Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

Kai rolls his eyes as he brings up our cleaner’s number. “What’s wrong with a simple bullet between the eyes? It’s so much easier…” he looks down at the mess of intestines, looking a little green. “And cleaner.”

I consider his suggestion and instantly know that a bullet between the eyes would have been too easy. A traitor should always go down with a little effort, sending a message to all the other bastards who want to cross me. I save the easy kills for the fuckers I don’t give a shit about.

I’m just about to tell him that when the cleaner on the other end of Kai’s phone picks up and Kairo falls into conversation. “Yo, clean up at the old warehouse. Bring a fucking team for this one,” he says, eyeing me. “It’s a mess.”

The guy responds and Kai meets my stare before giving a firm nod, telling me that he’s on his way. The call ends, and knowing damn well that the cleaner will do his job to perfection, we head for the doors, leaving the fucking traitor behind.

We drop down into my car and take off, heading back towards the Widows compound when Kai’s heavy sigh draws my attention from the road. “What?” I grunt, knowing this guy better than anyone. He's not much for talking. He's the suffer in silence type, and sometimes a sigh is the only indication that there’s something on his mind.

“It’s nothing, man.”

“Fucking spit it out, bro.”

Kai glances at me and rubs his hand over his jaw, deep in thought with regret heavy in his dark eyes. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“The fuck?” I demand, turning my glare on him as my brows pinch in confusion. There’s a lot of shit I expected to come out of his mouth, but that wasnt it. “You want out?”

His eyes widen and his arm slams out against my chest. “No, fuckwit. That's not what I mean. I’m a fucking Widow through and through. I’m talking about the fucking killing. It’s getting to me, Nic. It’s too heavy.”

Understanding dawns, and I take a slow, deep breath, letting it really sink in. “You’re struggling with this shit?”

“Yeah, man. I’m at the point of no fucking return. If I cross over it …”

“You’ll be like me,” I murmur, finishing his sentence, knowing all too fucking well what it feels like. I crossed over that line years ago, and I’ve never been able to come back from it. It was a hard fucking pill to swallow, and I don’t want that for any of my boys, especially if it’s a road they’re not willing to travel.

“Alright, man. I’ll sort it out,” I tell him, glancing across at him as we race through the streets of Breakers Flats. “You’re still my second though. Nothing will change that.”

He nods. “I know.”

Silence falls through my car as I knew it would. Kai’s good like that; he doesn’t need to fill the empty spaces with mindless chatter. That’s what Sebastian and Eli are for.

We pull up into the Widow’s compound and the massive roller doors are opened for me. I drive on through, and just as I’m bringing my car to a stop, my phone rings in my pocket.

I get out of the car and close the door behind me while pulling out my phone. I glance down at the screen to find Eli’s name flashing up at me. I let out a heavy sigh. What does this idiot want? He’s been giving me a hard time for the past few weeks, ever since I slipped up and let Ocean know about the fucking cameras we had installed in her pristine fucking mansion. Ocean ripped into him, and I’m man enough to admit that it’s completely my fault, but he won’t let it go despite the many times we’ve talked it through. When things aren’t right with Ocean, they aren’t right anywhere, that’s just the way it is, the way it’s always been.

She’s the light in all of our skies, but lately, our worlds have never been so dull. Though, that could also have a little something to do with the fact that I killed her father … so, there’s that.

“What’s up?” I say, walking deeper into the compound with Kai at my side.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?”

The fuck is his problem?

I stop in the middle of the compound, not liking his tone one bit. Not because he’s fucking screaming at me but because of the heavy betrayal lacing his voice. My brows instantly dip. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I question, making Kai stop and look back at me with his brows drawn, only to have Sebastian step in behind him and look at me in the same curious way.

“Ocean,” he demands over the sound of his car engine roaring. “What did you do to her?”