Page 21 of Kings Against the World

“I’ll start taking them again,” I say. “You just saw me, didn’t you?”

“And?”

I almost roll my eyes. “No more drugs. Cool it on the alcohol.”

“Eat what Teysha made you. Her eggs are fantastic.”

“I’m sure they are. Everything she cooks is.”

Teysha smiles and wobbles from the kitchen to stop at Logan’s side. They immediately look right together, like they’re already a family before the baby’s even popped out.

It does something to me. Pulls at the heart inside my chest. Reminds me they’ve got what I don’t.

All of them do.

Mace. Cash. Logan.

Their worlds are whole and complete, whereas mine is pure fucking chaos. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Not with how fucking determined I am to wreck myself and everything around me.

I’m a mess and no woman wants that. No one ever sticks around for somebody as fucked up as me.

There’s an abrupt knock on the door, interrupting the moment. A sigh leaves me as I shuffle over, scratching my head, preparing myself to find another club member showing up to scold my ass.

Instead, I twist the knob and drag the door open to find the composed, emotionless face of FBI Agent Zoe Strauss. Her mouth is set in a straight line, her expression sharp and severe. She waits on my doorstep with a baseball cap on and a pair of mirrored sunglasses like she expects them to be some kind of disguise. Anything so she can pretend she’s notreallyassociating with me.

“Got a minute, Gallagher?”

7

ZOE

Pulsboro was like many small,dusty biker towns.

It was tight knit and charming in one breath. In another, it was suffocating and dull with its less than impressive Main Street attractions and handful of beer-soaked bars.

But it was where I would find Gallagher, so I didn’t think twice about the trip. I had dug his address out of the case file on the Chosen Saints debacle. All the Steel Kings were taken in for questioning. His personal information was listed on his statement.

I pulled up outside the Pulsboro Trailer Park with a raised eyebrow.

If I didn’t think Duchovny would cancel the investigation, I would’ve skipped out on approaching Gallagher altogether. I would’ve carried on by myself.

He answers after my third knock.

The door swings open to the sight of him squinty-eyed and shirtless in flannel pajama pants hung low on his pelvis. Instant warmth flushes my cheeks as I accidentally let my gaze roamover the vivid dragon tattoo inking his chest, then the chiseled V indentations of his Adonis belt.

Clearing my throat, I say, “Got a minute, Gallagher?”

“Uh… right. Yeah, come in.”

I step past the threshold into the pigsty of a living room. But we’re not alone—Logan Cutler and his wife, Teysha, are over. I recognize both from the testimonies we had collected from members of the club and their spouses.

“We’ll talk to you later.” Logan Cutler grabs his wife’s hand on their way out.

I wait a few seconds once they leave before apologizing. “Sorry if that was important.”

“Wha…? Oh, don’t worry about that. They were, uh, just coming by to say hi. You hungry? Thirsty? Teysha made some eggs.”

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