Crown of Lies (Pretty Ruthless Monsters #2)

38. Quinn

38

QUINN

The wind whips through my hair as we speed down the darkened streets. I keep glancing back, my heart pounding in my chest. A few bikes are still on our tail, their headlights cutting through the night like angry eyes.

“We need to lose them!” I shout over the roar of the engine.

Nico nods, leaning into a sharp turn. The bike tilts dangerously, and I tighten my grip around his waist. We weave through side streets and alleys, the pursuing bikes falling farther behind with each maneuver.

As we emerge onto a main road, I pull out my phone and dial Emmett’s number. He picks up on the second ring.

“Emmett!” I yell over the wind. “Listen up! We’ve got trouble with Carnage. I need our people on high alert. Defend our borders, consider them enemies until I say otherwise. Anyone wearing Carnage colors is not welcome in our territory. Understood?”

I feel Nico stiffen under my arms as I speak. My stomach twists with guilt and fear. This isn’t how I wanted things to go down, but we’re past the point of no return now.

“Got it,” Emmett’s voice crackles through the phone. “We’ll lock it down tight. You headed back to the shop?”

“Yeah, we’ll be there soon. Make sure it’s secure.”

I end the call and shove the phone back in my pocket as we ride through the familiar streets of my territory. The neon signs and graffiti-covered walls feel like a comforting hug after what we’ve just left behind. As we approach the tattoo shop, I see a group of my people standing guard outside. No weapons are drawn, but it’s clear from where their hands are resting that the guns are only barely concealed.

Nico slows the bike to a stop in front of the shop. For a moment, neither of us moves. Then, slowly, I unwrap my arms from around him and slide off the back of the motorcycle.

The adrenaline is wearing off, leaving me feeling hollow and drained. It’s been a hell of a day—searching for that damn marker, chasing my stalker, and now this mess with Carnage. My head is spinning, and I have to take a few seconds just to center myself.

Inside the shop, I’m all business. I grab my phone and start making calls, dividing up our people to cover every inch of our territory.

“Jake, I need you and your crew patrolling the east side. Keep an eye out for any Carnage colors.”

“Lena, take a team and do some recon along our borders. Report back anything suspicious.”

The room buzzes with activity as people come and go, following my orders. I’m in the middle of coordinating a defensive strategy when Emmett walks in, his face tight with concern.

“Quinn, what the hell happened out there?”

I fill him in on the clusterfuck at Carnage’s place—the accusations, the threats, the narrow escape. Emmett’s jaw clenches as he listens, his eyes growing harder with each detail.

When I finish, he shakes his head, muttering, “I knew it. Knew that alliance with Carnage couldn’t last. Bunch of trigger-happy psychos.”

“Yeah, well, it’s done now,” I say, rubbing my temples. “We need to focus on protecting our people and our territory.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging inside me. Emmett is right, and that frustrates me to no end. The alliance with Carnage did collapse spectacularly. But he’s not seeing the whole picture.

“Look, Emmett,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “You’re not wrong about Carnage. But it’s not that simple.”

His eyebrows raise, skepticism written all over his face. “How’s it not simple? They turned on us, Quinn.”

I shake my head, remembering the chaos at Carnage’s place. “No, not all of them. Nico, Atlas, and Killian… they stood by me. When everything went to shit, they had my back.”

In that moment, they weren’t just allies or business partners. They were something else. Something more. Something I’ve rarely experienced in my life.

“They defended me. Put themselves between me and danger without hesitation. That’s not nothing.”

His expression softens slightly, but I can see he’s still not convinced. I get it. Trust doesn’t come easy in our world.

“I can’t change what happened,” I continue, my voice firm. “But I’m not letting Enigma fail because of this. We’ll find a way to come back stronger.”

I turn away from Emmett, his unconvinced expression still lingering in my mind. But I can’t focus on that right now.

I spot Atlas and Killian standing near the back. They look up at me as I approach, looks of grim determination on each of their faces.

“Hey,” I offer quietly, knowing that what we’ve all just gone through must be hurting them more. It was their own brothers they had to fight off at the clubhouse. “You guys okay?”

Atlas nods, his jaw tight. “We’re fine. It’s not us I’m worried about.”

I glance around, belatedly realizing what he means. “Where’s Nico?”

Killian jerks his head towards the back door. “Outside. Needed some air, I think.”

I hesitate, torn between my duties here and the pull I feel toward Nico. Atlas must sense my conflict because he places a hand on my shoulder.

“Go to him,” he says. “He needs you right now.”

I search his face, looking for any sign of jealousy or resentment, but don’t see any. Just understanding.

Killian nods in agreement. “Yeah, he’ll want to see you. Not us. Not right now.

Their words settle something inside me, a permission I didn’t realize I was waiting for. I share a look with both of them, gratitude and something deeper passing between us.

“Thanks,” I murmur, squeezing Atlas’s arm before heading toward the back door.

I step outside and scan the darkness, searching for Nico. I spot him in a shadowy corner, leaning against the brick wall of the building. His shoulders are slumped, his head bowed.

As I approach, I can see the pain etched across his face. His expression is dark, almost haunted, and my heart aches at the sight. I can’t imagine being forced out of Enigma, losing everything my father and I spent so long building up. I know how much Nico cared for his people, how much Carnage meant to him. The devastation he must be feeling right now is unimaginable.

A wave of guilt washes over me. This is my fault. If I hadn’t burned down Carnage’s old clubhouse, if I hadn’t gotten involved with their business, if I hadn’t gone with them tonight, none of this would have happened. Nico wouldn’t be standing here, cut off from everything he’s known and loved.

I step closer to Nico, my hand reaching out before I catch myself and let it fall back to my side. The guilt churns in my stomach, making me feel sick. Does he hate me now? If he was pissed when I burned the clubhouse, how could he ever forgive me for essentially being the reason he lost his entire gang?

“Nico, I…” My voice catches, and I have to take a deep breath before continuing. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have burned the clubhouse. I was pissed about the betrayal, and it hurt even more because I thought we had something.”

Nico looks at me, his eyes dark, his expression unreadable. We hold gazes for a long moment, and I feel like he can see right through me, right down to my soul. It’s unnerving, but I can’t look away.

“I can’t believe you and Killian and Atlas did that,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “That you defended me against your own.”

The weight of what they’ve done for me settles heavily on my shoulders. They’ve given up everything—their brotherhood, their home, their identity—all for me.

Nico’s expression shifts, a fierce intensity replacing the haunted look in his eyes. Before I can react, he moves like lightning, reaching out and grabbing me. He pulls me toward him, spinning us around so my back presses against the cold brick wall. His body looms over mine, boxing me in.

My breath catches in my throat as I look up at him, my heart pounding. His eyes burn with emotion as he stares me down for several long seconds before he says anything.

“Believe it,” he growls, his voice low and rough. “You’re worth it.”

His hand moves to the collar of my shirt, tugging it down to reveal the marks on my chest. The tattoos that bind me to them, to Carnage. To him.

“You’re one of our own,” he says, his fingers tracing the inked lines on my skin. “You’re ours.”

A shiver runs through me at his touch, at the possessiveness in his voice.

“And we protect what’s ours,” he continues, his gaze locking with mine. “No matter what.”

His words hit me hard, like a physical blow. I gaze up at him, trapped in the intensity of his eyes. I knew from that first night that this man would throw everything in my world off-kilter. That he and his friends would disrupt everything I thought I knew about myself and this life. But I had no idea how deeply intertwined with him I’d become.

I’m so entangled now that I don’t know if I could ever disentangle myself, even if I wanted to. And the crazy thing is, I’m not sure I’d ever want to.

My heart hammers in my chest as the reality of it all sinks in. Nico is right. I’m in this—in them—for good. Whatever happens from here on out, these men are a part of me, and I’m a part of them. It’s beyond tattoos and alliances now. It’s something deeper, something unbreakable.

Nico’s thumb brushes over his mark on my breast, sending a shiver down my spine. I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry as the truth of it all hits me. These men have marked me, and I’ve let them. Hell, I’ve welcomed it. And now, instead of running from that truth, I’m owning it.

A part of me is still reeling from the revelation, but another part—a stronger part—feels a fierce sense of clarity and purpose. I’m committed to this, to them, whether it’s crazy or not. And maybe it is, but in this moment, I don’t care.

I lift my hand, placing it over his on my chest. “You’re right,” I whisper, my voice steady, surprising myself. “I’m yours. And you’re mine.”

“Damn straight,” he says. “And don’t you forget it.”