Page 91 of Ivory's Ruin Romance

Adrian swallowed. If that had been his kid and his woman…he glanced over at Ivory.

If she’d been hurt while carrying their—dammit, he shouldn’t even finish that thought. His chest pounded so hard that the rest of him started to shake.

They needed to get to the bottom of this.

FORTY-FOUR

“Why did Jun come here?” he demanded.

The single question brought them all back to the gravity of the situation. Riley could’ve held onto her secret a little longer—until she was ready to share the news, happy and round and irritably confined to a rocking chair in a nursery instead of hunched over in the backroom of a bar—but this threat pushed them all out of their comfort zone.

Raptor understood, nodding and squaring his shoulders. “We can talk out back.”

“No need.” Adrian shook his head. “Here’s fine. Ivory already knows everything I do.” Glancing over as she squeezed his hand, he added, “We’re in this together.”

The corner of Raptor’s lips twitched, and Riley stared at him like he’d sprouted fluffy ears. Their reaction made him want to roll his eyes. They should’ve known Ivory was the real deal. But he’d just confirmed it beyond a doubt.

As long as he’d known them, which for Riley meant his entire life, he’d never trusted anyone else. Not when it came to sensitive topics and, especially not regarding the death of their father. When Raptor came along and earned that trust, Adrian hadn’t expected him to become family by law, but if nothing else, the universe was determined to bind him to the people he cared for. Maybe because he couldn’t have it any other way.

Raptor cleared his throat. “All right. I suspect Jun caught wind of my request for the police records, and that’s what sparked his little tantrum. Never should’ve trusted Kam,” he muttered. “Guy’s got one too many connections.”

“I also beat up Jace,” Adrian admitted. The prick had probably tattled to his older brother. If Jun wanted to get at both him and Raptor, then Riley would be the obvious target. But this also meant Jun had gotten antsy—like he had a secret that needed to stay hidden.

Raptor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Neither of you know how to keep shit quiet, do you?”

Adrian ignored the jab and turned to Riley. “Did he say anything?”

Her scowl returned as she adjusted the ice pack to her nose. “Just to back off, and that we better keep our noses out of his family’s business.” She looked like she wanted to spill more of his blood than she already had. “Coward,” she spat.

“Going after a woman and a pregnant one at that.” Adrian cursed under his breath. All this because he couldn’t let the past die.

“We’re lucky he didn’t know,” Raptor added. “But this will get him in trouble. Even Red Dragon has rules against harming women and children. His last name won’t save him from that mistake.”

Adrian grit his teeth, fighting the urge to light up a cigarette and suffocate his foul mood in the bitter smoke. “So now you can get Royal Flush involved?”

“I have no other choice.” Raptor glared at him. “It happened on their property.”

“If the club didn’t want to help before, I don’t need them interfering now.” Adrian fumed. “And I already made it clear that talking to Cortez about my personal business isn’t on the agenda. He’s fucked with my life enough as is. Even if Jun made this your problem, I’m not going to just hand over what was my issue with my family to begin with.”

“It’s too late. Pres is on his way.” Raptor’s steel gaze locked onto Adrian’s, positioning himself squarely behind Riley. They were both family, too, and he knew it. But Cortez had motives that neither of them had control over.

“For fuck’s sake,” Adrian hissed, pacing a few steps back and clenching his fists. Nothing that man touched came out unscathed. It was his damn DNA that got his son killed. And if Luke’s death had anything to do with the Dragons, then it was all the more reason to stay away.

Years ago, he’d made the decision to ditch any future with Royal Flush. Glancing at Ivory, who had taken to chewing her lip, only solidified his determination to keep their worlds separate. The last thing he needed was to owe Cortez any favors, only to be asked to take up the club patch in return. Getting any closer to a life of drugs and violence wasn’t going to happen. Period.

He let out a steady breath to curb some of the anger and took Ivory’s hand again. “Leave out the part about the dragon tile.” He jabbed a finger at Raptor. “As far as the rest goes, I have a personal issue with Jace. That’s all Cortez needs to know.”

Raptor’s eyebrows shot up, but Adrian pursed his lips. Explaining what he found out about the ring would have to wait for another night. However this shit got handled, if he still went for revenge, it had to be separated from the motorcycle clubs. Neither side wanted war, and he only cared about the man who pulled the trigger, not the politics behind it.

“Sure.” Raptor reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tipping the box so one slid out halfway. “You look like shit. Take this and get yourself sorted before Cortez gets here.”

Adrian snatched the cigarette and marched outside without another word, mindful to keep his grip light on Ivory’s hand as he burst through the backdoor.

A rancid odor of trash and stark shadows along the alley walls echoed the growing despair in his thoughts. The blaring music from inside faded to a low rumble as the door shut behind them. Shooting a glare in either direction, he made sure they were alone, then stepped around a stack of old pallets to give them some semblance of privacy.

He needed to calm down and get his head on straight, but this had turned into a fucking nightmare.

His forehead pounded so hard he couldn’t focus. Why did shit always have to go wrong? Why did people have to go out of their way to hurt one another for the sake of power and ego? This damn contest to see who could conquer who was getting out of hand.

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