Ariana's face scrunched up. "I don't really do fried food."
Bones faced her. "Angel's a hater. Don't listen to his lies. Not all of their food is fried." He listed off a few dishes, licking his lips between each.
I don't know if Ariana liked the sound of the dishes or not, but she was sure looking at Bones like she wanted to gobble him up. Maybe my sister could get over her loser ex after all. That was reason enough for us to go.
"I'm in," I said.
"Your opinion doesn't count," Ariana replied. "You lived in Africa eating God knows what and you just jumped from a fuckin' tower. You'll try anything."
I briefly considered reminding her that she'd almost died from crap drugs, which was way more dangerous than anything I'd tried, but bit my lip. My sister was finally calling Matt out on his assholery, and I didn't want to drive up any walls between me and her.
"And you should live a little and join us," I told her instead. "A few more calories in your diet wouldn't kill you."
Bones nodded. "Your sister's right. You weigh practically nothing. You could use a little meat on your bones."
"How do you know what I... oh, right, you carried me. Well, this is awkward." Ariana crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, I'm in for whatever."
Bones grinned. "What do you say, Angel? You up for Cajun deliciousness?"
Angel started to shake his head, but then relented. "Yes, I'm in. Where the hell is this place?"
Angel led us to the decked out black Hummer I remembered from Ariana's hospital drive. I was planning on sitting in the back with my sister, but he opened the passenger's door and gestured for me to climb in as Bones and Ariana got into the back. Bones navigated the way to a dilapidated, red-brick, mixed-use building in a rough-looking neighborhood, and Angel parked his shiny black Hummer next to a rusty Ford truck that had to be older than I was.
"Here?" Angel asked, craning his neck around to check the place out. "Seriously?"
Bones stared at the front door of the restaurant like it was edible. "Oh, hell yeah," he said, unbuckling his seat belt.
Movement in front of the restaurant drew my attention. I looked up in time to watch a group of teens descend on an elderly man. One of the boys reached for the man's backpack. The man dodged and his cane wobbled under his weight. Fearing he would fall, I jumped out of the Hummer and hurried to help him.
While the man shielded his pack from the first teen, a second darted in, reaching into the man's pocket. The old man stumbled back and the boys laughed.
"Markie, wait!" Ariana shouted from the Hummer.
I ignored her and charged into the fray, positioning myself between the old man and his attackers. "What do you guys think you're doing?"
"Mind your own fuckin' business, bitch," one teen said, sliding a hand into his pocket. He was maybe fifteen. I wanted to smack him upside his head for talking to me like that.
"Watch your mouth," I countered.
"Or what? You'll spank me?" he sneered.
A couple of the kids snickered.
The little punk started to say something else, but before he got the first word out, his legs were swept from under him and he was lying on his stomach, face pressed against the ground with Bones on top of him. His friends took one look at Bones and stepped back.
"What the fuck, man?" the kid asked.
"We have rules in this city, you disrespectful little shit," Bones said, yanking the kid's arms up until he cried out. "We don't fuck with old people and we sure as hell don't threaten to draw on unarmed ladies. What sort of fuckin' coward does that?"
"Get off me!" The kid wriggled, but Bones didn't budge. "You're making a big mistake, man. You don't know who I work for."
"Doesn't matter." Bones released the kid's arms, grabbed his head, and angled it at Angel. "See that guy right there? My boss, he's a Mariani."
I couldn't see the kid's expression, but his body stilled. The other kids all stared at Angel with awe and respect. I followed their gaze to watch him arch an eyebrow at the scene while holding my sister back. The group of kids all dropped their gazes and took another step away from their friend.
"You feel me?" Bones asked.
"Yeah, man. Sorry. I didn't know." The kid's whole demeanor had changed, instantly.
