Page 79 of Outcast

"Rita!" Esteban snapped at the same time Ricco and Joel yelled.

Shit, I should have alerted someone. I almost did, butMatías had me off-kilter. "Matías was there and within minutes, I left to come straight here."

"Why was he there?" It was spoken so quietly, I could almost pretend I didn't hear Esteban.

"This all feeds into what Due found. Due." I motioned for him to continue his report. He twisted his lips to the side before nodding and standing back up.

"There's nothing to report. None of the neighborhood surveillance caught anything on camera. None of the locals we spoke to saw anyone. As far as everyone was concerned there was no one out of the usual riding through."

I released a long breath. This was exactly what I feared.

"Then we need to go speak with the new guys." I leaned back in the chair, the back of my head brushing against Esteban's chest. His stare drilled holes in the top of my head, but I couldn't acknowledge that right then.

"We need to hit them hard and fast." Joel argued and a few men murmured their agreement. "If they don't exist anymore, then they can't cause us problems."

"No," I returned. "They want us to strike back, I'm pretty sure that's the case. Just like I'm sure it's likely they're the ones fucking with us, but we can't act without knowing for sure."

Ricco sat back and smoothed his fingers down his jaw thoughtfully. "I agree, you should go. Take Esteban with you since he's attached to your hip right now. But you'll take Matías too."

"Fuck no." Joel twisted to glare at Ricco. "I'll go."

"Why, because you want to be president?" Ricco leaned toward him.

"I am going to–" Joel bit off the rest of his words.

"We'll hold the vote later, but Rita called dibs on this job and you'll just work to undercut her or talk over her. That'snot going to do us any good with these assholes. Let Matías go. We at least know that both he and Esteban will keep her safe." Then Ricco squinted at me. "And you officially have a detail. You may also need to move into the compound."

"Fuck that," I spat. "I won't run from my home."

"Now who's being an idiot?" Esteban murmured under his breath. Without glancing down, I stomped my foot backward and caught his toes through his boots. They were too thick for my heels to cause any damage, but I got a grunt out of him.

"Then you'll have to have at least a couple Dirty Dogs with you at all times." Ricco's gaze slid to Matías.

"Absolutely not." I pushed up out of my chair. Then I pointed at Matías. "You want to tag along, fine, but this is my job and I call the shots. But–" I moved my glare around the room, ending on Ricco–"I choose who guards me. Not you."

"I am only here to protect you. I'll follow your lead. Always." Matías was so fucking serious. It was written in the way his eyebrows pulled low over his eyes and how his chin was tucked toward his chest.

How could I actually trust him?

"Regardless of if you're voted in or not, you're still the Dirty Dogs Princess. A blow to you is a blow to the gang. We've already been too lax given recent circumstances." Ricco shook his head.

My eyes watered but I blinked to clear those bastard tears up.

"You need a guard, Rita," Joel chimed in. "I'll arrange a patrol. You live close to our apartments anyway. You can decide who stays in your house."

"Fine. Five volunteers to ride with us?" Several men raised their hands and I picked the most competent and badass looking men. "Anything else?"

Joel gave a slow shake of his head. How he studied me sent chills down my arms. He didn't seem to like that I was going to speak to the club. But he couldn't object either. Or at least he must have felt like he couldn't.

The meeting ended and Matías walked up to the table. The men I'd selected to accompany us hung at the entrance to the club.

"I'll be ready to leave in a few minutes," I yelled, and they nodded. Then they turned to each other and started cutting up.

Due walked over with a file. "Here's the location of their headquarters. A brief on the men I could find and anything else I could find on such short notice." He flipped the file open. "They're using a Chinese restaurant as a front. I'd recommend going through the front. That would give you time to chat with them on neutral grounds. It does operate as a legit restaurant."

"Got it." I flipped through, reading as I went.

"We can ride in my car," Matías said as he read with me over my shoulder.

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