CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 20: PUNISHMENT

The four of them took turns beating me up. Duke noticed my double dewclaws on my hindlegs (a normal thing for Beaucerons) and decided to cut off one on each foot as revenge for pushing him down the stairs. The three others seemed to be grossed out by it but allowed him to do it anyway.

As tough as I was, I didn't feel all that tough once they were through with me. I realized just how fragile I was and remembered that I was still young and inexperienced. I had acted recklessly because I let my emotions get the best of me. I finally understood just why Uncle Blade didn't want me getting involved with the mafia. I had grown up in a good home with good parents, neighbors, and friends. I didn't know what it was like to be so helpless and weak. I almost always had someone by my side to help me out whenever I needed it, but I was completely alone now. Nobody was coming to save me.

The jaguar, whose name I discovered was Jordan, took the chain off me which was attached to a post and Rockie took the muzzle off. Duke cut me free of the rope tied around my legs. Now there was nothing holding me back but the pain in my body.

"I don't usually invite traitors to things," Rockie said, "but I guess you're an exception so... We're gonna play some poker on Tuesday. Do you wanna come?"

"What?" I said.

"None of this was personal. You know that, right? We were just doing what we were told."

"It was personal for me," Duke said.

"But you're even now, right?" Rockie asked him.

"I guess so. Sure," he said.

"So are you gonna come?" Rockie asked me.

"Is this a trick?"

"No! Of course not! You know I've wanted to be your friend since I've met you."

"After you found out about my power," I said.

He shrugged. "So what? I think explosions are cool."

"Are you sure we can trust him, Rockie?" Cam asked.

"The boss seems to think so."

"That was before he shot him."

"He knew Crypto was going to try to kill him. That's why we were there. He instructed us not to put a bullet in his head because he trusts him not to betray us again."

"What makes him different from all the other traitors?" Duke asked.

"His power," Jordan said. "And the fact that he's a cop. He's too valuable to kill."

"Don't those things just make him more of a threat to us?" Cam asked.

"He's not a threat," Rockie said. "There's only one of him and hundreds of us. Besides, he's not gonna betray us again, right, Crypto? He's our friend now. We protect him and he protects us."

"I already have friends," I said.

"Really? Where are they? Real friends don't leave their buddy to suffer alone."

"They don't know I'm here."

"Maybe you're not friends with them. I bet you didn't even tell them we threatened to hurt them or that you were going to put your life in danger. I wonder how long it would've taken for them to find out if you had died. Weeks? Months? You're friends don't have your back. It wouldn't change their lives one bit if you disappeared."

"I'm not gonna blame them for choosing to get an education. They need to live their lives."

"Yeah, but they chose to live their lives away from you," Rockie said. "It's over, Crypto. They're not coming back. You need to move on."

I looked down. He was right. I knew it all along, but I had been denying it. Our friendship was over as soon as they left for college.

"So are you available on Tuesday? I know you're not working."

"Yeah," I said. "I'm available."

"Great! We'll pick you up at 2 pm."