“The Kings,” he said quietly. “Everyone in town knows who they are.Whatthey are.”
I crossed my arms, feeling like I needed to defend them, even though it wasn’t that long ago that I would have agreed with him. But I knew them now. They were helping me—protecting me. They weren’t what I had thought they would be like at all.
“And what exactly are they?” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Dangerous.” His voice was serious now. “They bring trouble wherever they go, and a woman like you can do better than a man like him.”
I shook my head. “You don’t know them, or him. Not like I do.”
I thought back to how much they had done for me since this whole thing had started. How they could have just left me to the cartel but hadn’t.
“I know enough,” Mark insisted. “And I don’t know what you’re doing with them, but it can’t be anything good.”
Something inside me snapped. “You don’t know anything about my life right now, Mark,” I said sharply. “I haven’t seen you in years, and then suddenly you’re everywhere. Every time I turn around, there you are, giving me advice like you think I need it. Well, let me tell you something, Mark. I’ve managed well enough on my own for a long time, and I don’t need a man giving me advice on how to keep safe!”
His expression softened a little. “Row?—”
“No,” I cut him off. “You don’t get to judge me, or my decisions.” I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair. “I’m going outside to get some air.”
Before he could answer, I pushed away from him and through the door, stepping out into the cool night air. The music from inside thumped faintly through the walls as I walked toward the edge of the parking lot and tried to breathe. Anger and worry surged inside me, partly because I knew Mark was right, but partly because for some unknown reason I hated the thought that he was not just judging me, but judging Tex too.
Tex was a good man. No matter what anyone said, or anyone thought. He was good, despite the bad things he might have done in life. He’d been right when he said that things weren’t always black and white. Things weren’t simple, and someone could do bad things but still be a good person.
That small realization made my heart soften a little, forgiveness for what my parents had done seeping into me.
“Rowan!” Mark had followed me out. “Rowan, wait, come on.”
His hand closed around my arm again, stopping me, but I jerked it back immediately.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Will you just listen for a second?”
“I’ve heard enough, thank you. I don’t want to talk to you right now so just go back inside.”
He stepped in front of me, frustration flashing across his face. He was a handsome man—I knew that, and yet he was nothing compared to Tex. His jaw was too rounded, his eyes not deep enough, his broad shoulders not broad enough. Tex had ruined all other men for me, and I hadn’t even kissed him.
“Rowan,” Mark continued, “’m trying to help you.”
“By insulting my friends?”
“Those guys aren’t your friends,” he said. “They’re bikers. They deal drugs, they start fights?—”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“No, you’re being blind.”
Anger flared hot in my chest. “Why do you even care?”
Mark hesitated and then his voice dropped lower. “Because maybe I think you should be with someone else. Someone better—someone like me.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I would be good to you,” he said quickly. “I would treat you right, like you deserve. I could sure as shit treat you better than some asshole biker who’ll just use you and throw you back like used garbage.”
My stomach twisted. “Mark…”
“You’ve been leading me on all night,” he continued, his voice rising. “Laughing at my jokes, flirting with me?—”
