The silence that filled the room made me uncomfortable. I shifted in my chair as their eyes fell on me. The light from the sparkling chandelier above us turned the kitchen table into an interrogation room. I cleared my throat to break the silence.

Trisha stared at me from across the table. "Spencer, is this true?"

I nodded my head as I forced myself to look at her. "Yes, ma'am. My father has been struggling for a few years now. Stuff hasn't been the same since my mother left us." It was strange opening up about my life. Allowing my emotions to show was new to me, it made me feel vulnerable. The Southside had taught me to be emotionless because people can use them against you, but here, I could let my secrets out. I pushed my food around on my plate with my fork. Adrienne's hand rubbed my thigh as she tried to soothe me.

"Are you sure you're ready to take on that kind of responsibility? That's a lot for a young man this early in life," Jeff asked.

I glanced at him. The look on his face convinced me his concern for my well-being was genuine. With a light shrug of my shoulders, I dropped my fork. "Sometimes, you don't have a choice but to be ready. I'm just doing what I can to make it."

The food that looked so good just moments ago made my stomach churn. I leaned back in my chair as the silence settled on the room again.

Adrienne's aunt leaned forward against the table. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, Spencer. That must have been hard on you."

I was desperate for it to end. "Yeah, it was. For a long time, I was angry because she didn't take me with her. But then, I met Adrienne." I squeezed her hand that rested on my thigh and took a deep breath. "She made me realize that maybe my mom did it for a good reason. Besides, if I carried that anger around, it would rot my heart." I glanced around the table.

Her aunt pointed her fork at me with a smile. "I'm just happy you didn't turn to these gangs around here for support. They're nothing but trouble."

Jeff's eyes were on my face, but I didn't look at him. The knot in my stomach returned, the gnawing at my conscience that came with a lie. I glanced at my hands, clasping them together.

"You have no idea, Trisha," Jeff replied. "Last week, we had to bury a decorated officer. She was murdered in cold blood by the Southside gang." His eyes remained on my face. "Now her little boys will have to grow up without a mother."

My eyes rose when he mentioned the Southside, meeting his dark ones. The look he gave me sent a shiver through my bones. Did he know? There was a lump in my throat that I struggled to swallow. I had warned Rodney, but he had been, and still was, too lost in Cayden's fantasy. He was determined to get redemption, no matter the cost, and now, another family was broken. Her aunt replied to Jeff's statement, and they started their own quiet conversation.

"You okay?" Adrienne's soft voice asked from beside me.

I nodded before glancing at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." I managed a weak smile.

Adrienne looked at her aunt across the table, standing up. "Dinner was fantastic, Auntie. I'm finished, and Spencer is too. May we be excused?" She picked up her plate and reached for mine.

Trisha nodded with a warm smile before continuing her meal. I followed Adrienne to the kitchen where dishes cluttered the marble countertops. Spices were perched in perfect rows along a shelf above the stove, and filled the room with an enticing aromatic smell. Adrienne rinsed our plates off in the sink.

I leaned against the counter, watching as she placed the plates into the dishwasher. "Thanks for having my back in there. I hate lying to them."

She folded her arms across her chest and looked up at me. "I know, Spence. I don't like it either, but they'd flip if they knew you were part of a gang."

I sighed, glancing down at my feet. I knew she was right, but from the looks her uncle had given me, I had a feeling he already knew. He was just waiting for me to tell the truth.

She placed her palm against my chest, forcing me to look at her. "Spence, we're in this together. Stay strong."

The bruises on her face had darkened into bluish color that contrasted against her tan skin. I leaned forward to place a soft kiss against the bruise on her cheek, savoring this happy moment with her. It provided an escape from the thoughts that swirled in my mind. I was plagued with not only the guilt of the crimes I had committed, but now, the fear of facing the Southside returned. She wrapped her arms around my waist, pressing her chest to mine. The closer she got, the more my mind eased. She tilted her head to place a few sweet kisses along my throat.

A smile tugged on my lips. "Adrienne, I don't think it would be a good idea to get caught by your uncle twice in one day." My hands gripped her waist, holding her against me.

She laughed and pulled away from me. "True. He might start to think you're a very naughty boy." She winked at me.

I raised an eyebrow and tapped her nose. "I'm the naughty one?"

"Yes, Spence. Don't play. You know you are." She glanced at me over her shoulder as she left the kitchen.

I chuckled before following her. We returned to the kitchen, where her aunt and uncle had finished eating. They both looked to us.

Adrienne tilted her head. "Would it be all right with you guys if I went to chill at Spencer's house for a while?"

Trisha's emerald eyes bounced between us before she turned to Jeff. "That is fine with me. What do think Jeff?"

I watched as her uncle let out a loud breath, leaning back in his chair. "Will your father be home?" he asked, looking directly at me.

Here came another lie. "Yes sir, of course."

He thought for a moment, and his dark eyes never left me. "That should be fine. Just please be careful."

Adrienne rounded the dining table with an excited gait, throwing her arms across their shoulders. She pulled them into a large hug. "Thanks, guys. Love you."

They both smiled in response. After their sweet exchange, she hurried to her bedroom. I waved to her aunt and uncle before following behind. I leaned against the door frame with my arms crossed as she grabbed a small bag and started shoving clothes inside. She grabbed a jacket from her closet before skipping over to me. "Ready?" Her blue eyes sparkled up at me.

I nodded my head as she interlaced our fingers and pulled her door closed. We walked through her living room to the front door. I opened it for her. The coldness surrounded us. The color faded from my face as the wind whipped against my cheeks. The snow had built up in large mounds along the sidewalk. Her neighbors worked tirelessly to shovel their cars free from the snow's grasp. Adrienne's arm wrapped around mine while she leaned into my side as we walked in tranquility. The brick walls covered with bright graffiti narrowed around us as we turned down an alley headed to my apartment. There was only the sound of sirens in the distance and the crunching of snow beneath our feet. I'd never imagined I would be at this point in my life. Joining the gang started out as a way to get off the streets. It gave me fast money and fast power. But as time passed, I thought I would end up incarcerated, or worse: dead. My loyalty to the Southside had been real, but Cayden was falling apart in his desperate mission for vengeance on Mr. Jackson. The conversation with Damen and Holiday after our failed mission in the Eastside flashed through my mind.

Don't listen to anything Cayden says about Jeff. His mind is clouded by jealousy and resentment. He will tell you lies to paint Jeff as the bad guy. He wanted to make something of himself, but he never forgot about Cayden.

Was there a different side to this story than the one Cayden was telling?

A loud clatter filled the alley as trash cans scraped along the brick walls, accompanied by a woman's soft pleas. My body tensed, and I reached for Adrienne, shoving her behind me. Gunshots cracked into the air as loud as thunder, but without the raw power of a storm. I held my ground, but my heart raced as my eyes scanned the darkness in front of us.

"Stupid hoe deserved what she got, Mason. She tried to hide the money," the voice growled in the distance. It was unmistakable.

"But she said she just needed a little extra to get food for her son." Mason's voice tried to reason, but it was useless.

"Do you want to die too?" the first voice snarled in return.

There was no response, causing a surge of fear through my veins. I didn't want any harm to come to Mason. Rodney had just murdered a prostitute in cold blood, and if he had to, he would take Mason out, too. "Leave him alone, Rodney."

Adrienne grasped the back of my shirt desperately trying to pull me back to her. I glanced over my shoulder, her face was contorted with concern. "Spence, please don't do this." She touched my face.

As I looked into her pleading eyes, a sharp breath escaped my lips. "Mason needs me." The presence of another body forced me to turn away from her.

Rodney's form appeared, and his gold grill shimmered through the darkness. "Well, well. What do we have here?" He folded his arms across his chest. "It's the pretty boy, and he has his little junkie with him."

I kept my body in front of Adrienne's small form. He pulled his mask away from his mouth in slow motion. My weight shifted onto the balls of my feet as the anxiety of the situation loomed like a cloud above my head.

His signature sinister smile appeared on his lips. "Cayden is waiting for you at the crib."

"I don't give a fuck what Cayden is doing."

His eyes narrowed as shook his head. His eyebrows pushed together in the middle of his forehead. "That's disappointing. He really gives a fuck about you. Wasn't Cayden the one who saved you from your pathetic excuse of a life?" He was trying to push every button I had.

Every push was like gasoline, fueling the fire inside my chest. "Yes." The truth was simple. It was Cayden who saved me, but it was also Cayden who destroyed me.

"Just don't forget what brotherhood you're with, pretty boy." He replaced his mask over his mouth. He tilted his head to the side, causing Damen and Mason to step beside him. "You don't want anyone else to get hurt, right Spencer?" His eyes flickered past me to Adrienne.

A burning rage raced through my veins like a deadly poison. I would never let them hurt her again. "Why are you here, Rodney?"

"Cayden sent us. Just a little reminder that you have some unfinished business." His dark eyes returned to me as he rested his hand on his gun. They couldn't take me back to Cayden if he hadn't given them orders, and he wouldn't give those orders until the last resort. He knew I would return or they would come after me and the person I loved.

My fists clenched at my sides. "Reminder noted."

Rodney stepped forward so that he was standing directly in front of me. "The Southside is still inside you, Spencer."

His words caused a shiver to race through me. I didn't want anything to do with the Southside. I wanted it out of me, but it was burned into me. It was hand-carved into my heart by Cayden

He used his shirt to cover his gun again. "Your clock is ticking." He stepped past me down the alley.

While his back was turned I fought the monster inside me. It demanded that I take his life with a simple snap of his neck, but that would be too quick. I wanted him to suffer.

Adrienne pushed against my back, and my eyes flashed to her as she leaned around me. Her eyes were full of hatred as she watched Rodney.

"Fuc—" My hand covered her mouth as I pulled her to my chest.

Rodney's eyes cut to her as she spoke, but then he laughed. He strolled past us, down the alley without another word. Mason and Damen met eyes with me as they followed before they ducked their heads, stepping after Rodney.

I wanted to talk to them, but I knew I couldn't. I had been disloyal to the gang, and that was a punishable crime. They disappeared into the darkness.

Adrienne looked at me as she moved my hand away from her mouth. "You didn't have to do that. She folded her arms across her chest.

My jaw locked as my hands clenched into fists. I didn't have the patience to deal with her stubbornness right now. She didn't even realize the danger she put herself in. "You were being reckless, Adrienne. You could have gotten us killed," I snarled, glaring at her. The monster still had hold of me.

Instinctively, she recoiled away from me. Her eyes darkened. "Me? You were the one who brought us into this. You spoke to them first, Spence. We could have turned around and headed in the opposite direction." Her eyebrows furrowed together.

She had a point, but I cared for Mason. He was the little brother I never had. I wasn't going to let him get killed by a monster like Rodney. A heavy sigh escaped me. "It's complicated."

"Spence, after everything I told you today, you don't think I understand complicated?"

My body ached with a dull pain, and my mind fought to push the monster away. "I'm struggling, Adrienne." I raised my hands to my face, squeezing my eyes shut tight.

"With what?" Her soft hands ran along my forearms to my wrists. She pulled my hands away from my face, forcing me to meet her awaiting blue eyes.

"Who I am."