Page 42 of Unlucky You

He placed the top bun back on the burger then lifted the two packets.

“Nah, I’m good.”

I glanced at my phone and silenced the third call from Rix. He had been hitting my line and I wasn’t about to deal with him crying about the money I’d won fairly because he wasn’t a smart businessperson.

“Not even for your burger?” He knew I didn’t want ketchup on my fries but the disappointment of me not wanting it on my burger had me taking the packets and emptying them on top of the stacked lettuce and tomatoes.

The smile he offered was enough reward to struggle through the overdose of ketchup I would have to suffer. We both dug into our food, and like I had done most of the day, I watched my son doing simple shit and enjoyed every second of the time until he dragged the back of his hand over his mouth and lifted eyes that mirrored mine.

“Daddy, can you buy me a bike?”

“Don’t you have one?”

He nodded with a jerky motion before his brows pinched a little. “Nana got me one for my birthday but I don’t know how to ride it. She didn’t know how to teach me. If you buy me one to keep at your house, you can teach me tomorrow when we wake up and then I’ll know how to ride both of them.”

“We can swing by the house and get the one you have.”

“But then you will have to bring it to your house every time I come to stay with you. There’s nothing wrong with having two bikes.” His face split into a grin and I chuckled.

“Sounds like you’re trying to hustle me into buying you a new bike.”

The kid was grinning again. He shrugged and bit into his burger, not bothering to deny that he had an agenda. Not that I cared. I would buy him ten fucking bikes if that’s what he wanted. We finished our food with me listening to him speak with elation about how his new bike was going to look just like the ones he saw outside of Sweet Auburn. My kid basically wanted a motorcycle, which he wouldn’t be getting anytime soon, but I planned on gifting a bike that was a close trade-off.

We were done with our food just after seven which left me plenty of time to keep my promise. My goal was to get Raiden a bike, spend an hour teaching him how to ride in the parking lot, but when we left the restaurant, my entire mood was shot to hell by my bad choices catching up with me.

A man approached, causing me to tighten my grip on Raiden’s hand while moving him closer to my side and slightly behind me just in case I needed to react. I was close enough to my car for Raiden to go safely without my assistance so I hit the locks. “Raidy, get in the car. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He nodded and smiled, hurrying to the back passenger seat. I shielded the path he traveled with my body. Once my son was out of harm’s way, I moved closer ,drawing whatever bullshit this man was on away from my son.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Not important but the message I have for you is. Boss says next time he calls you need to answer.” The man’s eyes met mine, then lowered to Raiden, which had my muscles tensing. I’d kill for my son, but I damn sure didn’t want him witnessing me doing it.

“I don’t know who the fuck your boss is—” I moved slightly to the side to make sure Raiden wasn’t in his line of fire, since he was approaching head on.

“Rix and he said he needs to see you soon. So when he hits your line, you need to answer.”

My eyes shifted around in confusion. How the fuck would Rix know where I was and today of all days when I was with Raiden?

“How the fuck did you know how to find me?”

“I followed you the day you met with Rix. He doesn’t like to leave anything to chance and that’s a good thing because of that stunt you pulled last night. You didn’t honestly believe you would get that type of money from him and not work for it.”

“We had a deal. I survive all three fights, I keep the money. Tell Rix I don’t owe him shit.”

He grinned smugly in a way that had my fingers curling into my palm. The only thing saving him was my son being a few feet away from us.

“I’ll tell him but just know, he isn’t gonna accept that. The minute you stepped in that ring, you became an asset. Rix is not in the business of losing assets.”

His eyes shifted past me toward my car. “I suggest you answer the next time he calls.”

I edged closer because this muthafucker was toying with his life if he thought acknowledging my son was a good idea. “I suggest you keep your focus on me. He’s the one person I will risk it all for without question.”

“I’m not the one you need to worry about.” He spoke with too much smugness in his tone, but now wasn’t the time. I’d lost one person I loved because of a careless act on my part. I left her alone. I refused to make another stupid mistake and lose one more person.

He walked away and I turned toward my car to find Raiden knocked out in his booster seat. His iPad hung loosely from his fingers. I was grateful the day had worn him out so he didn’t question me about what just happened.

I opened the back seat and checked to make sure my little man was buckled properly before I rounded the car and got in. Once I was settled, I removed my phone and hit Tali up.

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