Page 82 of Born to Scar

“Just say it,” I whisper. My heart races and my stomach flips.

“Thank you. For everything,” she whispers. I let out a shuddered breath, and her eyebrows pinch together. “Were you nervous?”

“Yeah, Indy, I was nervous. You never need to thank me for protecting you. I’ll always protect what is mine, baby girl.”

Nervous isn’t right, though. I was terrified at what she was about to say. She doesn’t usually hold back from saying what’s on her mind. It’s safe to say that there isn’t much of a communication issue between the three of us. We’ll say it first and think about it after.

We head back downstairs, and Jay meets my gaze, his eyebrow arched. I shake my head, and he frowns. We weren’t up there long enough. He knows me better than that, damn. I’m no two-pump chump.

“Indy, I didn’t know you were such a good cook,” Kia says, shoving more food into his face. She chuckles.

“You can thank me for that,” Bik chimes in.

“And me. You aren’t the only one who spent endless hours in the kitchen with her,” Ray adds.

Indy nods. “Ray’s a Michelin-starred chef.”

Every set of eyes—except for Bik’s, which are rolling in the back of his head, and Felipe’s—is on Ray. He smiles and nods once at her admission. “I sold the restaurant, but you never lose the love for cooking.”

Lainy whips her phone out. “Holy fuck, he is.” She holds it up, and a picture of Ray beside other great chefs is pulled up on Google.

“Fuck, Indy, do you realize how lucky you are to have been taught under a Michelin chef?” Ken says. Both Indy and Ray turn toward Ken. His lips form a thin line. “Maybe lucky wasn’t the best word there.”

Indy bursts into laughter. “Nah, that was lucky. You aren’t wrong. Meeting Bik and Ray was the best thing that could have happened to me.” She turns to face Felipe. “And you.”

He shrugs, as if he didn’t help save her life. “They helped me when I was young, too. When I saw who you were racing with, I knew you didn’t belong with the actual low lives of this city.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Indy. You were too young and involved with the wrong crowd. I didn’t want to see a young girl like you getting mixed up in that mess.”

“Do you take teenage hoodlums off the street all the time?” Jay asks Bik and Ray. Felipe and Indy whip their heads in his direction. He smirks. “You heard me.”

“Only the good ones.” Ray laughs.

While we’re in the middle of cleaning up, there is another ring of the doorbell. Indy stops to look, but Bik grips her hand and pulls her back. Mik checks instead. His body tenses, and he shakes his head. I know exactly who it is.

“I got it, Mik,” I say.

“I want to fucking pummel him,” he grits.

“He’s not worth getting an assault charge, Micky,” Indy whispers.

“I’d take it to knock him the fuck out,” he mutters with a roll of his eyes.

“I know. But not worth it, man,” I say.

“But she is.”

Stopping dead in my tracks, I meet his gaze and give him a small nod. “Can’t argue with that, Mik,” I agree, opening the door a crack.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Halloway?”

“Mr. Beck, I would like to speak to my daughter.”

“No.”

“I didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice. She will be placed under arrest.”