McNamara blew out an irritated breath and turned up the radio.El grimaced, but settled back into her seat.As they reached the end of the drive that led to Feral, the guard asked, “Where to, Mr.DeSoto?”
“Abbey Grange, over on the Hills.”
“Impressive neighborhood,” El congratulated him, then she grinned.“Although, should I expect any less with… How many are there now?Eight Ferals all over the country?”She giggled.“A few up and down the coast?More like over half a dozen.”
He smiled at her chiding of him.“They’re not all mine.”
“No?”
“Well, I have a lot of family.I start them up with my partners and then hand them over to siblings.Theirs or mine.The ones in California are the restaurants we manage.”
“That’s an interesting business premise,” she teased.“I’m not entirely certain my brothers would be so generous with their babies.”
He snorted and turned in his seat so he could see her better.“They’re not my babies.They’re something to do.”Well, they’d been an outlet.Before her.
The brand employed Pride members, so it was imperative the restaurants remained successful, but now she was in his life?Nuhuh.Feral would go on the back burner.
He had enough crap to deal with where the Pride was concerned.The restaurants had been a kind of release for his Triad.A chance to mess around and dirty their hands without having to deal with Pride politics too.But with her at their side, they had a better way to vent.
Between her legs.
Or her on top.Whichever suited the moment, he thought wryly.
“That’s an interesting choice of words,” she said softly, breaking into his not so innocent thoughts.“Are you independently wealthy, Ryan?”
“Perhaps.”His grin was as teasing as hers had been moments before.“Nothing to your scale, mind.”
That had her grimacing.“It isn’t my scale.It’s the family’s.”
“Because you’re not a part of the family?”He cocked a brow at her disbelievingly.
“I sometimes think they wish I wasn’t.”
Her soft, sad words had McNamara letting out a long breath.It grabbed Ryan’s attention, and he saw the pity in the man’s eyes.So, her statement wasn’t wrong.The guard believed El was right.
It also showed that he liked El.Had more than just a professional interest in her.
Before his Lion could get riled, McNamara quietly murmured, “You know they’re just different to you, El.Not better, nor worse, just different.”
She turned her face to the side.“Thanks, Shawn.”
McNamara shook his head, apparently sensing like Ryan had that her words were more by rote than anything else, and he turned his focus on the road once more.
Ryan squeezed El’s fingers.“Family can suck sometimes.That’s why friends are better.At least you can choose who you ignore.”
She snickered at that, her gaze returning to him.“That’s a unique way of looking at it.”
About to reply, he felt the subtle revving of the engine and the rapid increase in speed.He shot McNamara a look, saw the other man was peering into the rear-view mirror.
“Shawn?What is it?”El had noticed the increase in speed too.Ryan wouldn’t lie—the awareness she had of her environment impressed him.
Few others would have noticed what had just happened.Not without prompt.
“Someone’s tailing us.And it’s not Enrique.”The man’s mouth firmed into a thin line as he began maneuvering through the early evening traffic.It was approaching eight, so the roads weren’t as jammed from the commuters, but it wasn’t exactly quiet either.
The sun was setting, sending shards of purple and gold throughout the sky.It was still a bright ball though.Enough for McNamara to scramble for his shades as he sped up once more, then began nipping in and out of the lines of traffic.
He knew this road like the back of his hand.So, looking back, he tried to discern which of the cars was trailing him, and proffered, “There’s a turn off coming up in under a mile.If you take it, it brings you out onto the—”
