Page 5 of Kane's Kingdom

His dark hair is cut close, and his beard kept tight. Nothing about him looks wild except the patch on his back and the quiet in his eyes. PRESIDENT is stitched over one side of his chest and KANE on the other side.

His gaze passes over the broken window and the glass. Then it lands on Lyle.

Lyle pushes back from the table. "I was just leaving."

"I'm sure you were."

It isn't a threat, which is what makes Lyle move so fast. He slips past Kane without another word. The screen door slams behind him, and the cafe exhales.

Kane watches him go. "Did he touch you?"

"No. He didn't."

"Threaten you?"

"Not exactly."

His eyes come back to mine. "That's not what I asked."

"And I answered."

We stare at each other across three feet and a lifetime of knowing each other.

He stood at the back of my father's funeral, where I could pretend not to see him. I went to King's because staying away would've looked like fear. I stood at the back, just like he did for my father. We haven't spoken properly since my father, Red, died.

"You shouldn't be here," I say.

"Probably not."

The answer catches me wrong. Too dry and too familiar.

"What do you want?"

"To keep you alive."

A sharp, humorless laugh escapes me. "Your club's helped my family enough, don't you think?"

His jaw ticks once, but his face stays still.

Around us, chairs scrape. My regulars suddenly remember they have somewhere else to be. Marisol comes through the kitchen door, takes one look at Kane, and starts herding people out. Nobody wants to be trapped in the middle of this.

Kane waits until the last customer leaves. I hate him a little for that patience.

"I heard about Franklin," he says. "And the cut power."

"Congratulations, you've heard the gossip."

"This isn't random."

"I gathered that when a man explained the criminal business model over coffee."

I fold my arms. "You don't get to walk in here wearing that patch and act like you're the answer."

"I'm not acting like anything, Bella."

"Your father stripped mine of his patch."

"I know."