His expression changes almost immediately.
The room is loud enough that I can’t hear the voice on the other end, but whatever’s being said has Riot sitting up straighter in his chair.
“What?” he says.
A pause.
Then his jaw tightens.
“Where?”
Another pause.
Then Riot exhales sharply and runs a hand through his hair.
“Fuck,” he mutters.
Now the room is quiet enough that a few heads have turned.
Riot looks at Mason across the room.
“Yeah,” he says into the phone. “We’ll be there in twenty.”
He hangs up.
Nobody speaks for a second.
Mason pushes away from the bar first.
“What is it?”
Riot looks around the table.
“The Rust Nail,” he says.
My stomach drops before he even finishes the sentence.
“What about it?” Blade asks.
Riot’s eyes shift to me for half a second before he answers.
“Someone just dumped Rae in the parking lot.”
The room goes completely silent.
My chair scrapes hard against the floor when I stand up.
“What?”
I’m moving before anyone else in the room even processes what Riot said.
The chair slams backward as I shove away from the table, my heart already pounding hard enough to make the room feel smaller. I don’t ask questions. I don’t wait for details. The only thing running through my head is one sentence on repeat.
Someone dumped Rae in the parking lot.
My boots hit the floor fast and hard as I head for the door.
Behind me I hear Mason bark something, but I’m already outside, already crossing the gravel lot toward my bike. The cool night air hits my face and does absolutely nothing to slow the anger building in my chest.
