Page 81 of Laila Manning
“Wrong.” Kade snapped, and I suddenly had the image of my hands around his neck, shaking him. “Her big, bad biker man saved me. She just mouthed off to them as the bike man scared them off.”
“You don’t value your life, do you?” Jed questioned with a raised brow as Zeke glared at me.
“You can’t have him here.” I ignored the overwhelming judgment from Zeke, Jed and the other crew members watching the entire shitshow unfold. “He’s too young.” I felt outrage building inside my body. “He was dealing drugs the other day and nearly got his ass beat doing it. He’s just a kid!”
“You want me to fire him?” Zeke asked emotionlessly. “Fine. You’re fired.” He nodded to Kade. “Get the fuck out.”
“Are you serious?” Kade cried, throwing his hands up in the air. “That’s not fucking fair! I work my ass off for this crew!”
Zeke didn’t even bother looking at the kid again as he stared at me, and suddenly I got the feeling that I was the one in trouble. “Are you happy now?” Zeke asked me. “Does it soothe the injustice of it all for you?”
“Maybe.” I deflated a bit as Kade paced back and forth angrily. “Not really.”
“Good.” Zeke deadpanned. “Because without this job, without thiscrew,” He pointed his finger towards Kade as he angrily towered over me, “He doesn’t eat! So, if your morality can’t handle the fact that the street kid does street kid shit to survive, then maybe you can stomach the fact that you just took away his chance of existence.”
“Zeke.” Jed warned, watching Zeke wind up even more in anger.
“I didn’t—” I swallowed, feeling small and guilty.
“No, you didn’t.” Zeke snapped, “You didn’t stop to think that this crew is the only chance he has.”
“He’s a kid.” I whispered as stupid tears burned behind my eyes.
“Most of us were kids when we got in. I was younger than he is.” He leveled and I let my gaze roam over the crew members staring at me, finding confirmation in their eyes. “Without this, none of us would have survived.”
I took a step back from him, not recognizing his anger now that it was coming toward me. Not once had his rage been aimed my way before. I hated the way it made me feel.
I hated the hurt that bloomed from it.
“Just because this world chewed us all up and spit us out, doesn’t mean we should help it do it to others.” I said, and some of the darkness in Zeke’s eyes lessened. I looked at Jed and pleaded with him to understand me. “What’s the point of bringing new life into this world if you’re going to let kids fall victim to it?”
Maybe it was a low blow.
Maybe it was the practicality he needed so he could understand mine and Carly’s view on it, but my brother’s shoulders deflated, picking up what I meant through my cryptic message.
Now I was angry. I was angry about the injustice of it all. I was angry at the cruelty of it all. Mimicking their wisdom-imparting stances, I squared my shoulders, and deepened my scowl, feeling their authority settle upon me. “If the kid is hungry,feedhim.” I gritted my teeth as more fury burned. “When did you two climb so high that you forgot to look back down at the ones beneath you once in a while?” And then I walked the fuck away before I did something stupid.
Chapter 21 – Zeke
Icouldn’t find her.
I couldn’t breathe without knowing where she was.
She was gone, and it was my fault.
I scanned the sidewalks, searching for the angry brunette who shoved my ego down my throat and twisted it so deep before pulling it back out that it brought my conscious back up with it. Something I hadn’t seen in decades.
God, she was pure and innocent, and I threw that into her face because I was jealous that she had spent more time with Diesel.
And now I couldn’t find her.
She ran from me when I became the monster I’d always been, but this time to her.
“Where are you?” I whispered to myself as I turned another corner and drove further into Shadeport’s dark streets. She had no business here, but something in my gut told me it was exactly where she would go.
My phone rang through the car speakers, and I mashed the call button on my steering wheel when Carly’s name popped up. “Did she call you?” I asked in place of a greeting.
“No.” She sighed, and I could hear Jed muttering in the background. “But I know where she is.”
