Page 3 of Laila Manning (Shadeport Crew #3)

“Laila. Is there a problem here?” He turned, looking down his nose at the woman who probably had never been looked at like that before a day in her life .

“What?” She stammered and stepped back away from him as he came to stand at her side, cocking his hip against the counter. “No! No problem.” She finished in a whisper.

“Good, because I know of about ten different ways off the top of my head to make a cunt like you beg for forgiveness, and not a single one of them leaves you alive in the end.” Diesel snapped back at her.

He turned his attention to my teenage boss, “Your employee is hurt, and you ignore her pain to take the side of your bitch-ass customer? Do you have any idea who the fuck she is?” He challenged the kid and, as expected, my boss shrunk under his intense stare and menacing words.

“Uh, my apologies–” Nate the snake said, looking away from Diesel to me, but I just rolled my eyes.

“I’m done,” I said, realizing that even without Diesel stepping in and scaring my boss, there was no way I could do this stupid job anymore.

“I quit.” I took off my apron and threw it on the counter before going to the back to get my bag and walking back out around the front counter.

The entire coffee shop was silent as patrons and employees watched on in morbid fascination while Diesel stood rooted in place with his arms crossed over his chest and his leather vest hanging open over his clean white tee.

I didn’t stop to talk to him or anyone else as I walked to the door, but on my way, I heard his warning loud and clear. “Laila Manning is protected by the King of the Shadeport Crew himself, as well as the Reapers MC. Fuck with her again and I’ll skin you alive.”

I pushed my way out onto the sidewalk and gasped a deep breath of fresh air to calm my spiraling nerves.

The tingling in my hand was fading, so I knew it wasn’t severe, but my chest was tightening more and more, and I knew if I didn’t get out of my head, I’d be falling face-first into a panic attack in minutes .

“Hey, wait up.” Diesel said as I ran my hand through my hair and looked around for a way out of this mess.

“I have to go,” I said quietly, looking anywhere but at him.

I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and pulled up a ride-share app, but my hands were shaking so badly that I dropped it and the screen shattered on the rough concrete.

“Shit!” I hissed and clawed at the collar of my shirt. It was suffocating me.

“Laila, hey!” Diesel tried again, putting both hands on my arms, and turning me towards him.

He leaned down to look at me, and I focused on the top of his man bun for mere seconds before turning away and looking for an out.

“You’re having a panic attack, aren’t you?

” He asked. His voice lost the edge that I usually heard in it and softened.

I nodded quickly and closed my eyes as tears soaked my lashes. “I have to get out of here,” I whispered, keeping my eyes closed.

“Let’s go.” He said, pulling me towards his bike parked a few spots away.

Red flags flew into my vision like a downhill skier as I followed after him, but I didn’t know what else to do.

My phone was useless, and I couldn’t wait for the bus to take me home.

I just needed to get home and into my space, and I’d be able to calm down.

Diesel swung his leg over the large hunk of matte black metal, and I froze. The seat on the back was tiny, and I fought the memories trying to assault my brain that associated motorcycles with pain from my experiences with the Youngblood MC.

But they were all dead.

Because of Jed and Diesel’s men.

I could trust him. He killed for me.

“Get on, Laila.” He commanded, and my feet moved again without thinking as I threw my leg over the back and pressed my chest against his body.

He smelled of leather and cigarette smoke, and I closed my eyes and tried to ground myself to that one single sense instead of paying attention to all five.

Wrapping his hands around my ankles, he lifted my feet onto the pegs behind his legs before taking my hands and wrapping them around his stomach.

“Hold on to me, and don’t let go. Got it? ”

“Got it,” I nodded and kept my eyes closed.

My crossbody bag rested against my back as he turned on the bike and it roared to life.

I felt him move his legs, and in seconds we were pulling away from the curb and thundering down the busy city street.

He weaved in between cars, and my arms wrapped tighter around his stomach as the bike leaned from side to side.

With my eyes closed, the sights passed by unseen. I couldn't hear over the rumbling pipes; all I could do was smell and feel—it was perfect.

I rested my forehead against his back as we ate up the pavement, and I felt my anxiety melting away with each wisp of air blowing through my hair. Diesel rested his warm hand on my jean-clad knee, and he patted it reassuringly.

I finally felt relaxed enough to open my eyes and saw that we were nearing the East Valley, where Ryker’s property lay, and I felt my quiet apartment beckoning to me from here.

When we got to the gate at the Valley entrance, the guard eyed Diesel crudely before looking back at me and raising the gate, but before we were even under the arm, he was on the phone from the booth.

And I knew exactly who he was calling.

I was in trouble. As we got to Ryker’s driveway, the gate opened without us even nearing it and Diesel chuckled, gently shaking his head .

“Think they’re all going to be waiting for us?

” he asked before opening the throttle and roaring loudly down the driveway.

I cringed inwardly, hating the idea of Jed or Ryker seeing me on Diesel’s bike, while also worrying about the noise for little Gavin.

If Ellie had him sleeping and Diesel woke him up with his pipes, she’d have both of our heads.

Babies were fucking tough.

As we neared the mansion, I groaned as I watched my brother and Ryker both rush out of the garage to stand with their hands on their hips watching our approach, and Zeke and Carly stood with them.

Carly had a smirk on her lips, and I wanted to flip her off.

Lovingly, of course.

Because that girl had a meddling bone that she loved to use every chance she got.

But the thing that surprised me the most was the downright enraged look on Zeke’s face as he stood between Jed and Ryker. I shrunk back behind Diesel further when he pulled to a stop in front of them and killed the engine.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Jed snapped, scowling at me.

I guess he forgot our heart-to-heart in my bedroom last night when he was angry. I put my feet down, and Diesel held my hand as I slid off the bike on unsteady legs, never letting go of me until I was stable.

“Thanks for the ride,” I told him quietly, hoping he’d catch my drift and leave quickly. But I should have known he would have something to say before he did any of that.

He turned to my brother, stepping off the bike and standing to his full height, toe to toe with Jed as he bit out, “Do you have any idea what conditions she works in at that fucking place? Are you too fucking busy with your little family here to support your blood financially while she figures shit out?”

Jed’s scowl darkened, and Carly put her hand on his arm, pulling him back a step before putting herself between them.

“Diesel, stop.” She ordered, pointing her finger at him sternly while keeping a hand pressed against Jed’s chest before looking over at me where I stood on the other side of the bike wringing my hands together.

“What happened, Laila?” She asked in the gentle voice that she used with me.

The one that screamed ‘pathetic’ and ‘wounded animal’ every time she did.

Because she had seen my abuse firsthand, the sounds of my screams and the sight of my injuries haunted her.

I just wanted to be normal.

“Nothing,” I said, looking at her shoes instead of her face.

She sighed, and I felt even worse about myself for disappointing her.

“Some cunt burned her hand, and her bitch ass boss did nothing about it. Then she had a panic attack and broke the screen on her phone, so I got her the fuck out of there.” Diesel said, and I watched as he leveled Jed with a pointed look.

“A thank you would have been a more respectful greeting, boy.” He spoke.

Jed clenched his jaw so tight I was afraid I was going to hear his teeth crack from ten feet away.

“Thank you.” He bit out, keeping his stare locked with Diesel’s.

Ryker stepped forward and held his hand out to the MC president, and Diesel finally looked away from Jed and turned his attention to the King. They shook hands, and Ryker spoke, “I didn’t realize you drank coffee.” he said with a curious look on his dark face.

Diesel finally dropped his offensive stance, lowering his shoulders and relaxing with a smug smirk on his face.

“I don’t go there for the hippie coffee.

” He said plainly, and Ryker’s eyebrows rose as Jed cursed before being shoved backward again by Carly, who was surprisingly strong for her tiny frame.

I didn’t want to know what Diesel meant by that, so I just turned and walked away towards the barracks, aching to be in the dark quiet of my space.

I walked in the main doorway and was halfway down the hallway when I heard the door open behind me, and I fought down the panic inside of me that rose with the sensation of being followed.

“Laila.” A deep voice echoed down the hall, and goosebumps erupted over my skin as if I’d touched an electric fence, feeling the voltage burn in every cell.