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“People change, Cora,” Lizzie says with a sneer.
“My friends and loved ones call me Cora, and you aren’t either of those things, Lizzie. So you call me Coraline or Ms. Carter.”
My gaze bounces between the women as they volley a few times. And suddenly, it becomes startlingly clear what this is. This is a fucking manipulation.
There’s truth behind her story, sure, but this isn’t an information swap or a cautionary tale on Evangeline. If she was really calling to warn us earlier, she would’ve called hours before they hit the compound. Shit turned sideways on her, so now she’s trying to straddle the line, play both sides. And the shitty thing is, my fucking girl is so good, so kind-hearted, that she’d help Lizzie, even when she doesn’t deserve it.
Fortunately she has me, and I’m not bound by the same compulsions.
“And you expect me to do what, fix this for you?”
“You helped my sister,” she says, somehow managing to look down her nose at me.
I tap the edge of the sugar packet against the table, rotating it so each side hits the table once. “You’re not Evangeline.”
She slams her palm down on the table, rattling the silverware next to her untouched coffee. “I am so sick and tired of everyone telling me how I’m not my sister.” She expels a breath, her cheeks puffing out like she’s trying to find her inner calm. “But she’s not better than me, and it’s not fair that she gets so much when I get so little.”
Coraline shoves to her feet, leaning over and seething in Lizzie’s face. “You are such an unbelievably shitty person, and every time I think you can’t possibly be as terrible as I remember, you prove me wrong. You don’t deserve Eve. You never have.”
I push to my feet, hovering next to Coraline’s elbow. The energy she’s throwing out is volatile and unpredictable, and with the way she’s vibrating with anger, I half-expect her to throw a punch at Lizzie. I owe it to my girl to make sure her favorite cousin doesn’t get thrown in jail for assault.
I toss a twenty down on the table. We didn’t order anything, but we took up space in their diner today. And if the conversation had gone a different way, we might’ve had service.
Coraline storms out of the diner without another word, and I make it two steps before Lizzie’s palm wraps around my forearm. I glare at the offending digits and she removes them immediately.
“Please, help me, Bane.”
A wave of forced calm washes over me as I ignore her and follow Coraline out of the diner, making sure she gets into her car safely. I slip my phone out of my pocket and call Diesel, VP of the Blue Knights as I walk across the parking lot, toward where I parked my bike.
“’lo?”
“It’s Bane.”
He sighs, the sound noisy in my ear. “Look, man, I already apologized for the babysitting detail last week. We got some bad intel, or fuck, I don’t know, the girl probably just slipped her tail. She’s apparently resourceful as fuck. She’s in the wind and?—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the ride-out we did for you,” I interrupt.
He grunts. “Alright. Why don’t you tell me why you’re calling me then?”
“I need you to keep your ear to the ground.”
“What happened?” he asks, the background noise lessening like he moved to a different room.
“First one is five-four, black hair, brown eyes, mid-twenties. She was last seen wearing jean shorts and a tee. Evangeline Carter.”
“This wouldn’t happen to be the same Evangeline Carter who’s warming the back of your bike and your cousin’s bed and living with your Prez, hmm?”
I still, like someone pressed pause on my body. I have to forcibly make myself exhale as my gaze scans the horizon. “Where’d you get that information?”
It’s not like we’re keeping it quiet, but it’s not like we’re broadcasting it either. We’re doing shit our own way, and I find it very fucking interesting to hear that Diesel knows about it. Or fuck, maybe Nova dropped hints to Grizz on the ride-out we did. That asshole is always running his mouth.
“It’s not personal, Bane. I make it my business to know things.”
My mind rolls over itself, worrying if I have to watch my back from the Blue Knights now. The board is getting full, and in a time where enemies are disguised as allies, I’m worried we can’t afford another misstep.
“We’ve known each other a long time, Marcus.” It’s a subtle warning.
He laughs. “You tryin’ to government name me, man?”
