Page 60 of The Kings of Kearny

“Has he thought about leaving?” I asked.

She nodded. “We talk about it every time he’s home, but no one else nearby pays the same or has the benefits that they do.”

Amanda set her water cup down by her feet. “They’re building that car plant a few towns over. That’s supposed to bring something like ten thousand jobs to the area.”

Emily shook her head. “We looked into it. Entry-level pay for a machinist is only half his current salary.”

I sat back. “Damn.”

Across from us, Daniel King roared with laughter so loud that it drowned out Amanda’s next words. She shot him an annoyed look, and I followed her gaze. More and more bikers had congregated around him while I spoke with Amanda and Emily, and now he held court on his side of the fire. Jakob still occupied the seat beside him. I’d expected him to get bitched out again, but instead, Daniel, looking like a full sociopath, had been grinning every time I glanced their way.

Jakob was leaned away from Daniel now, talking to another Kings enforcer who sat on his other side. Firelight played over the hard planes of his face, sharpening his features. Behind him, the bacchanalia raged on, members of the club drinking, eating, fighting, and fucking as if they were trying to resurrect a long-dead god of depravity.

The other enforcer said something to Jakob, and Jakob nodded in answer and took a sip of his beer. I’d had two beers myself while sitting here, but instead of feeling a buzz, the alcohol only served to deepen my exhaustion. I wanted to leave. The wooden bench beneath me was unforgiving, and my leg was starting to throb.

As if he could feel my eyes on him, Jakob glanced at me across the fire. He’d done it a lot since we’d sat down, sometimes watching me for long moments as he talked, sometimes just a quick flick of his eyes, as if he were checking that I was still here.

Our gazes locked.

“You ready?” he mouthed.

I nodded.

He set his beer down and stood.

I turned to the women beside me. “We’re gonna head out.”

Amanda glanced over at Jakob. “Don’t settle for anything less than two orgasms.”

I grinned. “I won’t.”

She’d made me laugh a few times while we talked. She had a dry kind of wit and a healthy amount of self-deprecation that made me glad we’d avoided an altercation.

I pushed up from the bench and paused for a second, breathing around my pain.Fuck, that hurt.

Emily stood and grabbed my elbow, steadying me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Just a bum leg. I’ll be fine in a second.”

Actually, I didn’t know if I would be. A deep, throbbing ache had settled into my hip. My knee wasn’t happy either. Between my fight in the elevator and my sprint down the nursing home hallway, I’d pushed myself too hard today. Sitting on a rock-hard bench had only made it worse.

Jakob took one look at my face and came over. “I got her,” he said to Emily.

She nodded and sat back down.

Jakob moved closer, sliding an arm around my back like he was getting ready to scoop me up.

I put my hand on his chest, stopping him. The wall of pectoral muscle beneath my palm felt intractable. “You carry me out of here right now, and I will never live it down. I can walk.”

His expression flattened out. “You fall over, and they’ll never let you live it down either.”

“I’ll say I was drunk.”

He shook his head. “You’re so fucking stubborn.”

“You’re so fucking bossy,” I snapped.

Emily made a strange noise beside us. It sounded like she was choking back a laugh.

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