AllFreeNovel
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“Initiative.”
“Danger. Fuckin’ gangbangers and even worse. Jesus, Longstocking, what if you’d gotten hurt? I was cooling my jets against my will in the county jail there.”
“You were at the station,” I mutter. “In holding. And these people helped. You know that?”
He tilts hid head, eyes glittering. “Lemme guess. Police scanner.”
Diego doesn’t even ask. It’s a statement and it pisses me off because it’s true.
I put my hand on his chest because some of the guys in here are jumpy and Diego’s big. And he can fight. He’s connected. None of this is lost on them.
I need him calm before we start.
“Yes. I contacted Sadie’s brother. The little girl.” My hand’s pushing hard because I can feel the vibrating strength and muscles ready to spring into action. He’s not stupid, except, perhaps, where I’m concerned. “He put word out, and a number came to me.”
“Jesus, Nadia.”
“They want to talk to you.”
He shakes his head and the tension in the bar ratchets up.
“They all had their chance and didn’t.”
“People need to think, let it sit, talk to others and you’re scary when you want.”
“To you?”
His soft question throws me. Unexpected. From the heart. And I move my hand from his chest to cup his cheek, even though I know it’s probably the wrong thing to do. But Diego doesn’t stop me.
“Never.”
Diego takes the hand and squeezes. “What do they want?”
One of them, younger, only a few tattoos steps up. A few years out of high school but I think he dropped out because keeping up with classes and raising siblings when parents aren’t around is hard. Another reason I need to have that after school hangout where those that need to can leave their siblings or bring them and use it as a place to get that extra help.
“He cool?”
“Yeah, Zane, he’s cool.”
Diego orders a drink, but he doesn’t drink it, just putting down a ridiculous amount for it. Which from the bartender’s smile is very much appreciated. “You wanna talk, talk. But if you’re looking for protection or to join my family or make trouble, I’m not interested.”
“No, man, no.” The kid slaps a hand on his chest. “We don’t wanna mess up the town. Keep it cool, you know? On the DL. We need to keep it evenly balanced, like we’re not the UN or nothing, no issues being solved, you hear me? But we keep it even keeled.”
“And the threats against Jay Reed?”
The kid spreads his hands while a couple shuffle a little, clearly trying to look small and failing because Diego’s clocked in every single face, person, and gang insignia in the place.
“Not my crew. And that’s the new 86sers.”
“New?” Diego asks.
The kid shrugs. “Things at that level are fluid you know? Got a flow. The old guard’s around, but the new one makes affiliations we don’t like.”
“Power and real dangerous bullshit,” someone calls. “They’ll take over with the rich fucks here rolling them.”
“You got us talking,” Zane says, and I swallow a smile. Diego got them talking because he scared them all. “An’ Miss R too.”
“So . . . talk.”
