Page 13 of My Prince

“I’m fine,” I insisted, ignoring the throbbing in my side. “What happened? Who did this?”

Fade glanced around, then took my arm gently. “Let’s talk outside.”

We stepped out into the sunlight, the chaos of the donut shop muted behind us. Fade ran a hand through his hair, looking conflicted.

“Talk to me, Fade,” I urged. “What’s going on? Did this have to do with you?” Bad things had been happening to the club, but they were all explainable.

The garage had exploded because of a ruptured gas line.

Faye’s ex had been a psycho, and he killed her because he didn’t want anyone else to have her.

But this? A drive-by shooting at a donut shop?

Was this just some crazy coincidence?

Was this connected to the club? But how? We weren’t even in Mt. Pleasant.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. “I can’t tell you anything, cupcake, but I can tell you that we’re not safe.”

Chapter Seven

Fade

“She doesn’t know anything,” I insisted, my voice tight with frustration.

“Well, she fucking knows that we know something,” Yarder countered, glaring at me.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check. “You’re acting like this is my fault. How the fuck was I supposed to know that Boone and Gibbs were going to gun me down at the fucking donut shop?” Yarder and Compass were acting like I was supposed to have some sixth sense.

“Well, if you wouldn’t have taken off like a bat out of hell with Adalee following you, you would have noticed that someone else was tailing you,” Compass bit off, his eyes sharp with accusation.

“No one else was following me,” I pleaded, my frustration mounting. “I was fucking paying attention. I was looking in my rearview mirror the whole fucking way to make sure Adalee was behind me. No one else was tailing me.”

Yarder shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly exasperated. “This is a fucking nightmare. We’re supposed to be getting one up on Boone and Gibbs, but instead, they’re striking at us again. It’s only been days since the whole Anthony and Faye shit.”

“What do you want me to do?” I snapped. “I told the cops I had no idea who would have shot up the donut shop. I didn’t say anything that would put me on their radar.” It was pretty easy to tell the cops I had no clue what happened when I really didn’t know. Of course, I figured it had to be Boone and Gibbs, but I wasn’t going to tell the still-wet-behind-the-ears cop that.

Compass sighed heavily, leaning back against the wall. “We need to figure out our next move. Boone and Gibbs aren’t going to stop until they feel like they’ve won.”

“We can’t just sit around and wait for them to make the next move,” Yarder said, his voice edged with urgency. “We need to be proactive.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. “Agreed. But we need to be smart about this. We can’t afford any more fuck-ups.”

Yarder looked at me, his expression hard. “And what about Adalee? She’s already too involved. If Boone and Gibbs know that she’s connected to you, she’s in danger.”

“Adalee isn’t connected to me,” I insisted.

“Yeah, well, Boone and Gibbs don’t know that. Whoever shot up the donut place just saw you and Adalee pretty much on a fucking date. They’re going to tell Gibbs and Boone that you’ve got someone you care about, and now that is one more person they are going to use against us.”

The thought of Adalee being in danger sent a cold chill down my spine. I wouldn’t say there was anything between us, but that didn’t mean I didn’t care if she was hurt because of me. “I’ll handle it. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

Compass shook his head. “How the hell are you going to be with her every minute, Fade? It’s hard as hell for us to keep someone on Sloane, Dove, Olive, and Poppy. Now you just added Adalee to the mix.”

“Again, you can’t blame this shit on me. I didn’t think Gibbs and Boone were going to hit again, and you two sure as shit didn’t think that he was going to because you were shocked as shit when I called you with the news.”

Yarder held up his hands. “It doesn’t matter who the hell’s fault this is. We need to hit Boone and Gibbs, and we need to do it soon.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Boone and Gibbs have been a thorn in our side that we can’t get rid of. They’re not going to go down easy.”

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