It was practically a long-winded speech coming from him.
“Too bad they don’t see it that way,” Joyride muttered.
“You can move out here too,” Ghost said. “Get your own start away from them. Hell, I’ll even split the maintenance duties with you.”
I snorted. “You trying to con the kid into doing your work?”
Ghost sent me a stern look. “Would I do that?”
With his sharp features, cool blue eyes, and eerily calm tone, I felt as if I’d just stepped into a bear trap.
The hairs rose on the back of my neck.
“Nope,” I said quickly. “Never.”
Hollywood laughed. “You need to teach us how to be so fucking scary, man.”
Ghost shook his head. “Would never work for you.”
“Why?” Hollywood demanded.
“You talk too much.” He paused. “And you’re too pretty.”
Hollywood gaped at him. “What the?—”
I laughed. “He’s right. There’s a reason your nickname is Hollywood.”
He huffed. “It’s not like Joyride looks like a hardened criminal.”
Joyride shrugged and sipped his beer, not arguing that fact. “Knight can be a badass, though,” he said. “We’ve all seenthat.”
I grimaced. “I’d rather not have a repeat of that.”
The guys all agreed. It’d been three weeks since the fight to get free and clear of the Serpents. Joyride had been impressed with my fighting skills, but he didn’t fully understand the cost. Every time I raised my fists, I was reminded of a different man, one I didn’t want to be anymore.
“How did Winslow take the news?” Ghost asked. “You, uh, had a meeting recently, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” I tipped back my beer for another swallow. “He took it better than Matteo.”
Joyride snorted a laugh. “I thought he was gonna blow his top.”
We’d left Matteo out of our dirty dealings because even though he was supportive, he was in an official position as the program director. He had to schmooze with business owners to line up jobs, not to mention continue to win grants to fund the program. His reputation had to be spotless.
So, when he saw me right after the fight, he’d freaked out, thinking the Serpents had jumped me again. He’d been ready to pack me up and ship me to the state line himself.
Once I told him the full story, he was relieved—but still pissed as hell.
“You could have gotten yourself killed!” he’d lectured. “How do you even know they’ll keep their word?”
“They voted to release me if I won the fight,” I said. “They stand by their votes. Unless I get in their way, they’ll leave me alone.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said. “The word of guys like that…”
“They have a code,” I said. “It’s not the same as ours, but they believe in it. This was my best option, Matteo. Really.”
He hadn’t looked as if he totally agreed, but he’d accepted that I didn’t have a lot of good choices. I could have moved outof state and hoped they didn’t come after me. But this way, I got to hold on to the life I’d been building.
The people I’d been building it with.
