Twitch stilled at that. “What do you mean shit’s going south?”
Luka sighed, closing his eyes. “The body of Aslan Sadik was found this morning in the harbor, a bullet in his back. The Lost Boys want answers, and I’m trying to give that to them. They’re mourning, and that makes them volatile.” Luka’s jaw steeled. “There are rumors going around.” He looked around before continuing, “About a relationship he might have been having with someone he should not have been having a relationship with.”
“Ling.” It was a grave response.
And as my body stiffened at Twitch’s side, Luka’s lip curled. “Seem to know a lot of underground shit for someone who’s out.” When Twitch’s gaze darkened, Luka added, “Just saying.” He peered down at his shoes, before stating, “I’m pretty sure she did it, but no one saw a thing, and when I called in to question The Dragon Queen, her brother gave her an alibi.” Luka raised his eyes to Twitch. “Said they were together all night.” He licked his lips and peered at me a moment before he clarified, “In bed.”
My stomach lurched.
Ling was screwing her brother?
Oh my God. Gross.
My face must’ve conveyed my feelings about that, because Luka shook his head, illuminating, “As far as we know, it’s a lie. Van will say and do anything to keep his sister safe. And he’d go that far to do it.”
Still... ew.
Twitch paused a long moment, before he said, “I don’t know what to tell ya, man.”
Luka watched him closely. “Why don’t you start by telling me what the fuck you and your boys were doing making a house call to Asya Sadik a few weeks back.”
My heavy gaze landed on Twitch, and when his eyes met mine, he didn’t squirm or fidget at all. He looked the picture of innocence. Fortunately, I knew better.
His shoulder jerked in a blasé manner. “A friendly visit. Just wanted to push my old friend Az in the right direction, away from the jaws of a fucking Viper. And maybe I thought giving him a scare like that would do it.”
I heard the words, but I knew you didn’t visit friends in the middle of the night bearing weapons.
“Ah, Twitch,” Luka groaned. “You dumb fuck.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Hey.” When the irritated man’s eyes snapped to mine, I was suddenly self-conscious. I pressed myself into Twitch’s side more out of fear than a show of support and uttered a weak, “Don’t talk to him like that.”
To my absolute surprise, Luka’s shocked expression transformed into a wide smile, and when he looked to Twitch, the man at my side pressed his lips to my temple. I felt his smile against my skin. “See?” The softly spoken word warmed my skin. “Solid.”
It took a moment, but Luka’s smile fell. “If I need you, I’m calling it in.”
I didn’t like the tone he used. It sounded like an order, and that concerned me. Unconsciously, my hand came up to rest on Twitch’s broad chest and my face turned solemn.
“I’m out, Luka,” was all the response the man got.
And as he walked backward to his car, I saw the danger in Luka Pavlovic when his face darkened, and he told my man, “You’re out when I say you’re out.” He grinned then, but it was warped. “Didn’t you hear, brother?” That grin vanished, and he muttered severely, “I’m the fuckin’ king now.”
The car rolled away, leaving us in the street with me clutching at Twitch, feeling as though I was about to lose the man I just got back. And I was stunned to realize I wasn’t going to let that happen again.
Not willingly.
Chapter
ThirtyTwo
Twitch
“Need you to call your boy for me,” I said as Molly sat at the dining table with her ankle resting on her knee, sipping at her coffee.
Her face bunched. “What boy?”
C’mon, Molly. Let’s not play this bullshit right now.
I rolled my eyes then sighed. “You know which boy. The huge Maori fucker.”
Her eyes landed on me, and those overfull lips of hers parted slightly. A moment passed, and she shook her head. “No.”
Coming to lean against the wall, I scratched at my prickly jawline and drawled, “Wasn’t really a request.”
“No,” she stated more firmly before standing and attempting to rush out of the room.
She was quick.
I was quicker.
My hand shot out, gripping her upper arm tightly, stopping her in her tracks. Her deadly stare landed on my hand before she slowly looked up at me, her lip curling, and I smiled as she shot me full of ice.
“Take your hand off me.” She was a bitch, our Molly. And that was good. It would serve us well. She tried to pull out of my hold, and spat, “He let his brother rape my sister.”
Silly little sparrow. “He didn’t do shit and you know it. What happened had nothing to do with Tama, but you’re hurt, so you wanna make him the enemy.” My hold loosened on her, but she didn’t run. I watched her face fall as she listened to the words I spoke. “You both lost someone important to you. You’re both upset, and if you talk about that, you’ll realize you both have something to be sorry for.” I released her then. “But neither of you are to blame.”
“I killed his brother.” Molly blinked away tears, refusing to let them fall, and I respected her for that. “He’ll never forgive me.”
That was when Lexi’s quiet voice penetrated the silence. “Oh, sweetie.” My woman’s face was desolate as she moved instinctively to Molly and wrapped her arms around her from behind, resting her temple on her head. “I didn’t know.” Lexi’s eyes closed as she dealt with what had just been revealed to her. And solid as she was, she squeezed Molly tightly, and muttered, “I’m so sorry.”
Molly spun in her hold and allowed Lexi to mother her, and it did something to me. Both of these women were important parts of my past. It was funny how the past kept repeating itself, bringing us together, forcing us together as if we were all to play a significant role in one another’s future.
Lexi pulled back, her eyes sad, and peered down at Molly, keeping her arms around her. “You don’t have to call him, okay?”
My face screwed up.
Um, yeah. She did.
But, my beautiful angel, she surprised me when she added, “But I know Twitch wouldn’t ask this of you if it weren’t important, honey. So—” She ran her fingers down the side of Molly’s soft cheek. “—you don’t have to, but—” Her eyes landed on me a moment before she went on gently. “—we’d like it if you did.”
Almost immediately, Molly uttered a hoarse, “I’ll call him.”
And Lexi leaned in, pressing her lips to the petite girl’s forehead. She closed her eyes and held them there a long time before she responded a heartfelt, “Thank you. I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I’ll be right here with you, okay?” Molly’s dejected eyes lifted to hers, and Lexi smiled warmly at the little woman. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Molly nodded, her expression one of desperation, and the childlike look in her eyes forced a protective streak out of me that I hadn’t felt with anyone apart from my son and his mother.
“Call him,” I uttered as I pushed myself off the wall. “Tell him to come alone.”
I had a bad feeling. A feeling that told me some people would need to be sacrificed to keep my family safe. I walked away, needing to get a grip on my inner turmoil. Because I couldn’t protect everyone.
The silence was thick, sticky, holding the four of us in place as we sat at the table. And when my eyes drifted from the huge monster of a man with the tattooed face to the tiny, petite willow of a woman with pouting lips, I couldn’t help but smirk inwardly, because in the ten minutes we’d been here, they only had eyes for each other.
As Lexi remained seated by Molly, she threw me a look that said “Oh my God, this is so awkward,” and I heard that shit whispered into my ear. Clearing my throat, I turned my eyes to the man and held them there. “What do you know of The Dragons?”
Tama’s dark gaze didn’t leave Molly as he drawled, “The price of this chat is gonna cost you.”