Miscreants: Next Generation (Badlands 8)

She flipped off his retreating back, shaking her head. “Why are the best-looking men such cocky shit heads?”

“Because they know how damn fine they are,” Poet mused, staring after Amo. “I bet he’s more girth than length.”

My mouth turned down at the corners. That was a visual to bleach from my brain.

“Gross. Major cringe, Poe.”

He waved me off. “You don’t get to have a valid opinion on this. You’re biased. You’d kill him if you could.”

I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t think…

He’d never done anything to me personally, aside from fuel and spread bullshit rumors about how I was being treated. My dislike for him was on par with his disregard for me.

The majority of the female proselytes loved Amo almost as much as they did Samael. Some of the men, too. I wish I could say I didn’t get the allure, but that would be a lie. Well-built with soft grey eyes and a head of tapered dark brown hair, he was far from ugly, and his self-confidence was on another level. His ego was about as big as this lodging site.

However, my judgement was biased, just like Poet had pointed out.

His personality was one matter. The other was my lack of attraction due to him being so close to Samael. That right there made Amo automatically off limits. The two of them had become like brothers, and I wasn’t a fan of double dipping. Or homie-hopping.

“Are you going to be okay?” Kara asked quietly, looking at me with concern.

I didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about. That’d be pointless. These were two of the rare few that understood the unorthodox relationship Samael and I had.

“No, but the hurt is necessary.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Poet replied.

I gave him a small smile. “It’s been hurting this long already. Why make it stop just to deepen the wound when I reopen it?”

Neither of them had anything to say to that. They knew I was right. Of course, I didn’t want to be.

There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t miss the boy who’d been my best friend. I couldn’t wrap my head around this new version of us, because I was still mourning the old one.

I loathed what we’d become.

The worst part about all of this, though? How good we’d gotten at breaking each other’s hearts when we’d promised to always protect them.

We had become a ruinous concoction of animosity, secrets, and lies. A concoction that continued to ferment more and more as time went on. The cycle had to end.

I wouldn’t ever be ready to let him go, but I knew I had to.

Even if it meant destroying part of myself.

CHAPTER SEVEN

It took time to not only plan but also execute an elaborate escape from a certifiably bat-shit crazy man.

Time we didn’t have.

This was so risky it could be argued we’d never pull it off. But unless we wanted to wait even longer, there wasn’t any other option. Worst case scenario?

We’d fail and be killed.

I’d tried to talk Poe and Kara out of coming with me for this very reason, but all my objections fell on deaf ears.

I should have expected as much. These two deviant souls kept me grounded on some of my worst days. We’d been close since first meeting one another. That was exactly what Samael had wanted: stand-ins for the only other friend I’d had and ultimately lost.

He brought Kara back along with some other girls after a big run a few years ago. She had been in rough shape and pitifully reserved, but over time she got better.

I couldn’t remember the exact time Poet showed up, but he’d become our teddy bear of sorts. He was also one of the few men Samael didn’t lose his shit over me being close with.

They could never replace my Belladonna. One person’s shadow couldn’t fill the shape of someone else’s. I loved them, though. Their friendship was invaluable.

“You’re sure he’s going on a run?” Poet asked for the sixth time.

“She’s answered that more than twice now,” Takara replied before I could.

“Focus, buddy. We’ve got an even smaller window than we thought we’d end up with.”

“Right, sorry. Where do we go after we leave the woods?”

“I remember there being a town outside of here. We’ll have to get through it.”

“All right, I’ve got two supply bags stashed and ready to go. That won’t last us long. Whatever you want to take, make it light and preferably useful. I’ll do my best to gather more supplies, but on such short notice, don’t expect any miracles.”

“He’s right. And we need to figure out how to get hold of the Savages A-S-A-P,” Kara said.

I shook my head at her suggestion. “You don’t just ‘get hold’ of the Savages. We can’t go around inquiring about their location. That’s a quick way to die.”