Page 93 of Outcast

Putting on a burst of speed. I launched myself at him, tackling him much like I tackled Esteban yesterday, except I let the full weight of my body slam him into the ground. He grunted, and so did I.

The cut on my arm stung as if it tore open.

"Matías!" Rita called. "Take Kurt to the shed." Manny, one of the VPs, came up and helped me off the ground. He shoved his foot on Kurt's back, holding him to the ground until I was all the way back on my feet. Then we picked him up together and I slammed my fist across his cheek.

"That's for making me chase you." I caught him under the chin with my next hit."And that's for being involved in whatever plan that almost got Rita hurt."

"The meeting with Matthews went as great as I could've expected," Rita said from the platform as the men quieted down. "He wasn't hostile. He didn't try to harm us, and we came to an agreement, however, he had information that he shouldn't have…"

That was the last I heard before the door shut.

"So what happens now?" Manny glanced at me over the top of Kurt's head. Kurt was out of it, letting his head hang and his feet drag as we carted him toward the shed. If he'd been awake, he'd be fighting for his life.

The people who entered the shed never left. Not intact.

Like the rest of the Dirty Dogs, I've never had a problem with Manny. Yet in light of everything that had happened, I wasn't sure I wanted to trust him either. Still, you had to give a little information to see how people reacted.

"Let me ask you this, Manny. Have you heard anything? About anyone being angry at Rita for stepping up or Esteban for having her back?"

Manny was older than me by five years. He had a deep scar along his cheek, and his skin was weathered. He'd also been in more fights than half the gang, and when he met my gaze, fury burned in the depths of his eyes.

"What makes you think there's anybody who's upset about Rita?"

"That's not what I asked, Manny. I asked if you'd heard anything." I narrowed my eyes on him.

Manny blew out a harsh breath as he kicked the door to the back courtyard open. The shed was an outbuilding that Javier had always used to do his dirty work. He said he didn't like the mess in the compound. That was the one thing he and my father always had in common, not that there weren't enough crimes that happened inside the mansion, but blood was avoided if possible.

Kurt started to rouse between us. I was tempted to punch him a third time, but we needed answers inside the shed. Manny and I worked together to bind Kurt's wrists and hang him from the hook in the ceiling. I used shears from the table along the wall to cut his shirt off. He needed to have skin exposed for anything Rita would want to do to him.

Once he was secured, Manny turned to face me, swiping a hand through his thinning hair.

"The club is a mess right now. Rita hasn't seen it. She's notbeen around very much, but since Javier's death, the men are scared shitless. They don't know who's going to be able to take charge of the club and keep everybody in line. Hell, or be intimidating enough to keep everybody else away. These new kids on the block are the worst possible thing to happen at the time of Javier’s death, it just made everybody that much crazier.”

I crossed my arms. "What are you talking about? Rita’s a solid choice. I don't think Joel is terrible, either. But the Dirty Dogs could do better, Man."

He chuckled softly. We all liked Joel but he was no Javier.

Squinting at me, Manny got a glint in his eyes. "You on the other hand..Javier didn't make it a secret that he always wanted you to take his place."

"Don't start that shit," I warned.

He raised his hands. "I'm just saying."

"Well, don't."

Kurt raised his head, looking between me and Manny, then dropped it back with a groan.

"Don't let yourself get too comfortable." Manny kicked his shin.

"I don't know what you're talking about." When Kurt looked up again his eyes were red as if tears were on their way.

"Yeah, right." Manny said. "Then why were you running away from the crowd when Rita was talking about a rat?"

"Look, I'm not the rat. If I were, do you think I would have come to this meeting? I would've known yesterday an attempt was made on Esteban's life. You want to find the rat? Look at the men who aren't here."

I had to give it to Kurt. He did have a point.

The door opened and Rita stepped through, followed byEsteban, then Joel, and Ricco. I wanted to hold out my hand to pull her into my side, but I wouldn't do that to her. Not here. I had screwed up enough and I wouldn't do anything else to make her look weak in front of her gang.

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