Page 7 of Laila Manning
I was the devil himself.
I offered her nothing but more terror and darkness, so I needed to stay away.
I threw myself into the driver’s seat and turned the engine on as Ryker got in the passenger seat and Jed climbed in the back. Normally, riding anywhere with the only two men I trusted in the world would bring peace to my chaotic mind.
But not today.
Today, I wanted to kill something.
Someone.
“You good?” Ry asked as I tore down the street away from Lux, his strip club.
“Perfect,” I responded, ignoring the glare from Jed in my rearview mirror. “Let’s just find these assholes.”
“Proof you aren’t good.” Ry sighed, adjusting himself in the seat to my right. “You’re supposed to be my calm and levelheaded one. I can’t have two hotheaded fuck offs riding alongside each other.”
“Hey,” Jed grunted from the back seat. “I’m not a hothead.”
“Are too,” I argued, tightening my hand on the steering wheel. “I’m straight.”
“Want to talk about it?” Ryker challenged, ignoring my previous statements. “Or about whom.”
“Say her name and I’ll break all the bones in your face,” Jed warned ominously from behind me.
“I was talking about Diesel.” Ryker butted in, stopping me from slamming the brakes hard enough to send the giant asshole in the back through the windshield for even bringing her into this.
Laila.
He didn’t have to say her name, but I knew who he meant.
“I’m straight,” I repeated. “I’m allowed to want to break some skulls occasionally.”
“Hmm.” Ryker hummed, disbelieving. “Whatever you say. But the reapers are off limits, and that includes Diesel.”
I grunted.
“Is that an order, Dad?” Jed asked, “Because if he puts Laila on the back of that motorcycle again and I’m declaring war, your order be damned.”
“That we can agree on,” I murmured as we rounded the building outside of Shadeport city limits that we were planning to burn to the ground.
Much like the Reaper clubhouse, if that piece of shit ever touched an inch of Laila’s body again.
“You two are insufferable.” Ryker took his seat belt off, leaning back to get comfortable as I parked down the street. “If you two would get on the same team instead of fighting against each other all the time, you might actually do that girl some good.”
“We’re not fighting. And there is no same team.” Snapping, the entire situation annoyed me. “I have no claim there,” I held my hand up when Jed opened his mouth, sensing the movement without even seeing it. “I’m not interested in one either. She sleeps across the hall from me, and I care about helping her get over the absolutely atrocious things that were done to her because she’s your sister.” I locked eyes with Jed in the mirror. “That’s it.”
“Good.” He declared. “Because you’re the last person she needs to get mixed up with.”
Ryker snorted and looked over his shoulder, “You say that like Zeke’s the boogeyman, Jed.” Even though he showed no other signs, Ryker ran his thumb across his lip, just as he did when stressed. “She could do worse, man.”
“She could do a lot better too,” Jed argued, annoying me even further. “Zeke’s worse than the boogeyman.” He stared at me in the mirror again as he finished. “The things he’s done would scare the boogeyman to death. And that’s exactly what Laila doesn’t need in her life. Romantically or friendly-wise.”
“Message received, Jed.” I clenched my teeth and looked back out the front window.
“Are you two done?” Ryker interrupted. “Because there’s the scum bag now.” He nodded toward the man who went by the name of Wickham. The piece of shit was walking in broad daylight toward the nightclub he trafficked girls straight out of. He forced them into places like the brothel where Carly ended up. The same one Laila was a prisoner in for years too.
Right under our fucking noses. And he was going to pay for it with his life.
