Page 17

“Out,” Toni said softly over his shoulder, a quiet order and all three men shuffled out.

“I’ll have a look through the security tapes,” Angel muttered before closing the door behind him, and Toni only nodded once, eyes still on me. He took a deep breath and his shoulders dropped.

“Do you realise how serious this is, Zarina?”

I shrugged.

“Look, I’ve—” he exhaled again, shaking his head. “I’ve let this whole party-girl era go on for a while now, because it’s seemed innocent enough. But now…” he shook his head again.

I frowned. “What are you saying, Antoni? You’re going to forbid me from going out?”

“Zarina,” he said slowly, pressing his hands together in front of him. “You slept with a member of the Redline Angels,” he said slowly, emphasising each word. “Actually, no. Not just a member, the fucking sargeant at arms.”

I groaned, throwing my head back.

“So what? Neither of us knew who the other was. I’ll never see him again. It’s dealt with.”

“You threatened him!” he pointed towards the front of the shop.

I looked at my shoes, mainly to hide my smirk.

Yeah, I did threaten him.

And I would go through with it too. I’d already ordered a few tins of spray paint online just in case. I’d also learned that you could get a glitter top-coat now, which I obviously ordered as well.

“We are in trouble, Zar. I know you don’t like to be involved or know about this stuff, but?—”

“You guys neverwantme involved! I tell you all the time that?—”

He put a hand up to silence me.

“You’ve involved yourself now, okay?” he quietened.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly through pursed lips. Frustrated tears burned the rims of my eyes. None of them ever listened to me.

“Look,” he softened, his brotherly need to comfort me momentarily overruling his duties as Don. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close, kissing the top of my head.

“I’m sorry, Zar. But, there’s no running from this now. He knows who you are. Maybe he was using you, or maybe it was just an accident. We don’t know. But at the end of the day, he’s a Redliner, and we’re currently at war.”

I nodded.

“These are the same people that kidnapped your sister and tried to kill me, my wife, and your brother. They nearlysucceededin killing Ren. They’re… they’re not good, okay? They’ve only been stirring more shit lately. I thought they would’ve taken longer to recoup once King died, but they obviously had their backup plans ready to go.”

Of course I remembered everything that happened—not that I was there for any of it.

All these stories were something that bonded the rest of the family in a way I would never experience. Not that it was something to wish to be involved in, obviously, but I would never know the extent of it all like they did.

I saw the bullet woundsafter.

I tended to the injuries and listened to them recount the events later on. I wasn’t there during the adrenaline inducing parts, the parts that they told the stories about.

So yeah, I heard all about how Val was kidnapped. I heard all about how Ren was shot. I heard all about how Sammy was nearly blown to pieces by a bomb.

But I didn’tknow. I didn’t live it.

“I just…” he sighed. “I can’t have you getting hurt, okay?”

I nodded again.