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No one fucked with me, or my family. Not anymore. And Eric had gotten too close to destroying us. He was going to die. But first, his friend here was going to pay a portion of his debt. If word got around that helping Eric led to pain and death, they would stop helping him that much quicker.
I fisted his hair and yanked his head back. “What’s your name?”
Nothing. Damn. Guess it was time to play. Between Drew and I we had him shaking from pain and blood loss by the time his eyes started to dim.
“Last chance,” I told him, watching his face closely. He’d given up at least fifteen minutes ago. When he shook his head, I shrugged and swiped the blade of my knife across his neck.
We watched quietly as he choked on his own blood. Waited until it was over, before we went to the kitchen sink to wash the blood off our hands. I still had some spattered on my clothes, but at least it wasn’t as obvious thanks to my black t-shirt.
“Let’s get back to the clubhouse,” Drew said, eyeing the scene to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind that we’d touched.
I grabbed the roll of duct tape as Drew took a dish towel and wiped down door handles as we left. More than likely Eric or his allies would take care of the guy’s body. They didn’t like the cops any more than we did. They’d try to find us on their own to mete out justice for their dead comrade.
I hoped they did. It would bring Eric directly to us. My eyes swept over the neighborhood as we climbed on our bikes. He was hiding somewhere nearby, I knew it. But sticking around meant we’d get ambushed by The California Syndicate. Not worth it. We’d track him down when he was least expecting it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Marina
I shifted and patted the bed next to me. The sheets were cool under my palm and I let my eyes open. Trip was gone. Shame came flooding in like a sneaker wave hitting the shore. It came on fast and devastated more than I thought it would. I shouldn’t care that the man I’d slept with had slipped out of bed early so as not to see me the next morning. It didn’t matter how much I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter, it did. I was hurt.
Slipping out of Trip’s bed, I gathered my clothes. I looked around as I dressed, but there wasn’t much to see. I knew from dropping him off yesterday that this room was on loan, so I didn’t expect much.
I hurried downstairs, hoping to get out of here before anyone saw me. The plan was to start walking home and call Kat to come pick me up. We’d meet somewhere along the way.
“Good morning.”
Freezing in my tracks, I cringed, then glanced over toward the owner of the soft voice. There was a woman sitting at a table, drinking a cup of hot coffee.
“Hello.” I started to edge toward the door.
“You came in with Trip last night.”
It wasn’t a question. My cheeks heated as embarrassment snaked over my soul. It was bad enough to be doing the walk of shame. It was worse now that someone was witnessing it.
“Sorry,” she said with a soft laugh. She was somewhere in her forties and had red hair and the prettiest blue eyes. There was a kind smile on her face. “I’m not judging. I just wanted to let you know he and Drew left on business this morning.”
“Thank you,” I told her, frozen to the spot. I wasn’t sure what business meant, but I knew better than to ask. There wouldn’t be an answer.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“Oh, I really should get going.”
“You’re not going to wait for him?” Her perfectly arched eyebrow rose. Then her eyes narrowed on me. “You’re not a sweet butt. There’s no reason for you to go scampering off the next morning. He’ll be disappointed to find you gone.”
Would he?
I didn’t have the courage to ask it aloud.
“You’ll have coffee with me,” she decided, getting up to grab another mug.
I walked over, my manners refusing to allow me to just bolt out the door, though the longing was there. Sitting down, I watched as she poured and set the mug down in front of me.
“I’m Celeste.”
“Marina. It’s nice to meet you.” I took a sip from the cup and my eyes fluttered closed. It tasted wonderful. “Seattle’s Best?”
“Would we West Coast people drink anything other than Seattle’s Best Coffee?”
