Page 9 of Dissolving Prejudice

“What’s up, hombrecito?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “And you’re still an asshole.”

I laughed because I fucking missed the little grump.

“Is that the way you welcome me back?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to welcome you back if you’d never left in the first place.”

I even missed his passive-aggressive ass.

He coughed. “And just so you know, I am two inches taller.”

I tilted my head and raised one brow. “Is that so?” As he didn’t bother to answer, I glanced at the bouquet he was holding. “Are those for me?”

“No,” he snarled, his ears turning a bit red. “These are for Soren.”

He was always so easy to embarrass, and I missed teasing him.

“Can I hold him?” Jessie asked, changing the subject while already reaching toward my jacket.

I slapped his hand away. “No.”

“Please!” He pressed his palms together in a prayer while invading my personal space. At least he smelled good. “Please, Diesel, I want to touch him.”

“Touch what?” Levi frowned.

“His cat,” Andrei said, unable to hold back his amusement.

“His cat?”

Ugh. I forgot what a headache this group was.

Seeing that the coast was clear, I unzipped my jacket. Levi let out a short “oh” while Jessie squealed with excitement.

“Anything happens to him and I do the same to you, only twice as painful. Got it?” I warned Jessie, who nodded eagerly before snapping Toro from my hands. Once he darted away from us, I cursed his boney ass because he clearly didn’t hear a word I just said.

“Why did you adopt a cat?” Levi asked after he averted his gaze away from Jessie, who was now moving around in circles while hugging Toro close to his chest.

“Found him on the street, felt bad for leaving him there.” Andrei snorted, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s that about?”

He grinned like a jackass. “A bit ironic, isn’t it?”

“Fuck off,” I hissed, not in the mood to be lectured.

Did I pick up Toro because my heart was already full of guilt over leaving Shay-Lee? Fuck yeah. But I didn’t need Andrei to point it out, nor did I need to watch the glee on Levi’s smug face. They were both being assholes, which was okay, I guessed.

“So Andrei said you’re a bodyguard now?”

Oh yes, the little lie I told them yesterday. It was better than admitting that I was a criminal who cut off fingers when payments didn’t flow on time. My only consolation was that those people I hurt were motherfuckers who deserved to suffer. Abusive, violent, vile men who borrowed money to spend it on whores and gambling in the good cases and much darker shit in other cases. I remembered this one fucker who tried selling me his own ten-year-old daughter instead of paying his debt. Fuck. Just thinking about it pissed me off. By the time I was done with him, he was short one eye and had no teeth inside that dirty mouth of his.

“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my head while trying to avoid thinking about how that asshole screamed for mercy. “Something like that.”

“That’s nice, I guess.” Levi hummed. “It suits you.”

“Oh, you’re all here,” someone said, and all three of us turned in time to see Chief walking toward us. He looked better than he did yesterday, yet he still looked exhausted.

Stopping beside us, he placed his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Did you skip class to come here?”