Page 85 of Outcast

"What happened?" Matthews came running out of his restaurant with two of his men behind him.

Pushing off of Esteban, I held my gun loosely in my hand. It was a miracle it hadn't gone flying. When no other shots popped off, I stood. Rita tried to open her door, but I held it closed and shook my head.

The SUV was bullet proof and she needed to stay inside it if only for my peace of mind.

"Seems like someone doesn't like my friend, Esteban," I said lightly while Esteban brushed himself off.

He was shaken. I almost felt sorry for him.

The kid had probably never had to watch his back with his own club.

That was the story of my life, so this betrayal didn't cut so deep.

Shaking his head, Matthews peered up and down the street, as if he'd see the shooter. He was already long gone, and the other men who were our guards rode over.

No one said anything. Matthews and his men were still the enemy. But maybe now they were the enemy of my enemy.

"You all right?" Matthews eyed me like he was torn between offering me aid and not helping a potential rival.

"Fine. We're going to head out. If you change your mind on telling us who your contact is, give us a call." I pointed at Esteban. "Give him your number."

Without a fight, Esteban rattled off his phone number. Then we were in the car driving.

Rita’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel and she kept sucking in tiny, stilted breaths. Since getting in the car she hadn’t looked at either Esteban or me. I didn’t even think she’d blinked.

"Do you want to pull over? I can drive us." I rolled my head on the headrest to face Rita.

"Fuck no. I need something to do to take my mind off of Rob trying to shoot Esteban. Rob. I fucking picked him to be part of our security.” She cursed under her breath. “If you hadn't knocked Esteban down..." She shook her head and the car jolted forward.

"Hey, hey." I shh'd. "Don't think like that."

The more we drove, the more it became clear we weren't going to the compound. "Where are we going?"

"To your place." She uncurled and curled her fingers back around the steering wheel.

"If you're trying to lie low, the tail of Dirty Dogs isn't going to let you keep this secret." I nodded to the side where the four motorcycles now surrounded the SUV.

"I don't give a shit about that. But your place was locked down. Right? It's safe? I need to be somewhere where I don't have to worry about a death threat for just a fucking minute."

Pulling out my phone, I called Andre.

"Yes?" He answered on the second ring.

"What's the status of my house? Do you have a detail of men still guarding it?" I asked, keeping a close eye on Rita. Esteban was silent in the back.

"Parker had one of his connections upgrade the security so it's been on lockdown. It's monitored with our properties why? I thought you didn't want anything to do with that place."

I hadn't. But if that was where Rita wanted to go, then that was where I'd go.

"I changed my mind. Can you send a few of your trusted men over to guard us? We're going to stay there for a night at least."

There was silence for a few moments. "Sure. They'll be there in fifteen." He gave instructions on how to turn off the security system and rearm it. Then he hung up.

I could have told him what happened. He would expect it. But at that moment, my loyalty wasn't to him. It was to Rita and the Dirty Dogs. If she was okay with me filling him in, then I would.

We pulled up to my place. A mini mansion in its own right, though nothing like the massive structure that my father's had been.

The engine slowly stopped as the air inside the car became stuffier from no air conditioning.

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