Page 118 of Ridin’ Dirty

There were outlaws and there were monsters.

In the world I knew, it wasn’t as simple as good guys and bad guys; right and wrong; crime and justice. Everyone played by their own rules. Fortunately for me, I landed amongst men who lived by a code that made sense to me. The Stallions weren’t law abiding citizens. They colored outside the lines, but they were a family above everything. They loved as hard as they fought. And everything they did pointed to their purpose.

But the Kings?

They lacked purpose.

They lacked a moral code.

They were corrupt.

It ate me up inside knowing my brother was one of them.

And when I saw Carmine walk in behind Joker, I felt gutted.

Joker didn’t wait to be seated but went straight for a vacant table in the center of the diner. Much as I didn’t want to, when Carmy slid into the booth on the opposite side, I knew that was my cue to greet them.

Carmy never let anyone serve him except for me.

“Where’s Max?” asked Joker, not bothering to look at me as he peered around the restaurant.

“Not in today. Are you two going to eat or just take up a table for the rest of the day?”

I knew better than to be snide with the diner’s guests, but I couldn’t help it. These two weren’t welcome.

“Nah. Not hungry,” said Joker, sounding annoyed.

“I’ll have a coke,” replied Carmine.

For the first time in my life, I felt hatred—pure and unadulterated hatred—toward him.

I didn’t say a word as I went to fetch him his drink. When I returned to the table, I resisted the urge to spill the whole thing into his lap, set it in front of him, and left as quickly as I came. I wasn’t sure how long they’d stay. With Max gone, they didn’t stay for hours the previous day, but their visit was longer than the ten minutes Carmine usually had. Either way, I was planning to avoid their table as best I could.

If my brother wanted a refill, he could go to the McDonald’s down the street.

Thirty minutes later, my hands full of a couple empty dishes from a recently vacated table, I was making my way back to the kitchen when Carmy intersected me. I couldn’t even step around him as he grabbed my arm and squeezed hard. “Put the plates down. Now,” he demanded. “We’re gonna talk.”

“Let me go,” I snapped in an angry whisper, yanking my elbow away from him.

His grip only tightened.

“You think just because you’re married to one of them you don’t have to answer to me? Think again. Put em down. Now.”

I glared up at him, feeling bewildered, pissed, and a little scared. My instincts, trained as they were when it came to my brother, told me not to make a scene. Instead, I nodded, waited for him to let me go, then put the plates down next to his empty cup. Even though I was doing what he asked, as soon as my hands were free, he had hold of my arm again as he dragged me outside.

He didn’t take me far, and I was still in view of the window, when he got in my face and hissed, “Joker can’t read lips, but he can read faces. Look pissed, look scared, look like you’re ready to hit me in the face, but Lyla, don’t you dare looked surprised.”

I drew my eyebrows into a scowl of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“By now I’m sure you get the picture they’re after Max. I can’t stop it this time. This whole mess started with her, and they’re determined to make sure it ends with her. She might be hiding now, but she will be found—and it might not be a King who finds her.”

“What? What does that even mean?”

“Pissed, Lyla—you’re fuckin’ pissed, remember?”

“You’re right!” I yelled, getting into his face. “I am! You’re one of them!”

“That’s it. Hold onto that,” he replied, not missing a beat. “They don’t find her in the next twenty-four, they got a bounty hunter hired out to find her. It’s like I said—I can’t stop it this time.”