Page 30 of Riding the Line
I held up my hands. “Hold up, if I spill, you guys gotta do the same.” I still had a job to do—I had to remember that. Part of me was feeling like I had a lot to make up for after the events of the weekend.
Holly raised an eyebrow. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Why isn’t Mac in charge? Where does Greyson run off to? Who the Saints are, who they want to be. I want to know everything about…”
I hesitated, and Maria placed an encouraging hand on my knee. “Tell us,hermana.”
I looked up at her, fighting the tears that suddenly came to my eyes. “I want to know everything about the men I think I may be falling for,” I whispered.
Maria placed her glass on the coffee table, and threw her arms around me. “It’s overdue. We’ll tell you everything we know—since those boys are taking their sweet time about it.”
Holly crossed her legs, settling further into the armchair. “And that’s a lot of shit too. Good thing we ordered two pizzas.”
I grabbed the afghan off the back of the couch, and wrapped myself in it. I truly did want to know more about Dalton and Mac. After the weekend, I knew my feelings for Dalton went way past friends with benefits. As for Mac, I really thought there could be something there. However, I wasn’t completely honest about my reasons for wanting this information. And embarking on this latest betrayal against the two women I had grown to love like sisters made me feel like absolute trash—the lowest of the low.
“So what do you want to know first?”
“Mm, I dunno. Maybe why Mac isn’t in charge when he clearly should be? Greyson is an ass, he’s never there, yet he wears the pres patch?”
Holly and Maria exchanged a glance before Maria said, “Girl, now that’s a story. See, Mac and Dalton’s old man was the president. Which should’ve made Mac next in line. But remember when we said their mom passed away? Afterwards, their dad just… checked out, you know? He stayed home. Barely ate, drank himself stupid. It wasn’t Hannah’s time. She was the glue that held everyone together. She didn’t take crap from anyone, and her boys adored her.”
I hadn’t read much about their mom, and curiosity got the better of me. “How did she die?”
Holly looked down, but not before I saw the tear slide down her cheek. “It was two years ago. Jackson and I had just moved in together. She was shopping for a housewarming gift—for me of all people—and someone gunned her down. We never did find out who.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “She didn’t deserve that. I mean, no one does, but certainly not Hannah. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but she was like a mom to me.”
My heart broke for the two men who had their motherstolen from them, and broke even more when I realized they might as well have lost two parents that day from what I’d heard.
“Wait, so Greyson just stepped in after she died?”
Maria shook her head. “Not quite. Like I said, their dad wasn’t able to move on. So, Mac stepped in for a time. Greyson was just a member of the Saints at that point. No one really liked him, but we all tolerated him ‘cos he and Mr. Mills grew up together. One day, Mac took him and a few other Saints on a supply run. Diego and Jackson were there. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from the hospital. There had been a gunfight. I had never been so scared in my life. I was pregnant with Diego Jr. at the time. When I got to the hospital, the place was swarming with cops. Jackson was in surgery but doing okay, and I found Diego pacing outside Mac’s room with his arm in a sling. Mac was in a coma, and they weren’t sure when—or if—he would wake up.”
The thought of Mac hurt made it harder to breathe than I cared to admit. To hide the tremor in my hand, I took a sip of wine.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Holly got up to get our pizzas. Maria was quiet, seemingly lost in her memories, but when Holly got back we all grabbed a slice, forgoing plates. After a few moments, she continued.
“Greyson was there, too. He had taken a bullet to the shoulder, and another went through his side. But, somehow, he made all the cops and questions justpoof.” She mimed that last word with her hands, and took a sip of wine. “Next thing we knew, he was giving orders while Mac was in that coma. The Saints… well, let’s just say I begged Diego to leave after a few months under Greyson’s charge. He started messing around with this one guy, Alexander DiAngelo. I met the guy once—an absolute douche, and he scared the shit out of me.”
“But Mac woke up, what, about six months ago, right?Why didn’t he take the reins back?” That was another piece of the puzzle that the file I had been given didn’t cover.
Holly grabbed another piece of pizza and said, “Trust me, we would all like to know.”
Maria was quiet again, and I glanced at her. She seemed determined to look anywhere but at me or Holly all of a sudden.
Holly noticed, too. “You know, don’t you? You know why. Figures—you’ve been mixed in with this group a lot longer than I have.”
Maria shook her head vehemently and bit her lip. “I’m really not supposed to say.”
Holly threw a piece of crust at her head. “Girl, we’re your bestie! Isn’t that right, Nicky?”
I made a general sound of agreement around a mouthful of food.
Maria sighed. “Fine. But you didn’t hear this from me. I only know ‘cos Diego is shit with secrets when he’s had tequila.”
Holly winked and said, “Pinky promise,” holding up her pinky finger. I followed suit.
“Well, supposedly, Dalton was there that night, too. I mean, wherever Mac went, Dalton followed. Greyson evidently pulled Mac out of the line of fire when he got hit, and saved Dalton too. They owe him a life debt. So, Greyson cashed in. Mac and Dalton could basically do whatever they wanted, as long as it didn’t interfere with Greyson’s business with the DiAngelo family. And he got to keep the pres patch.”
Holly said, “That’s some low, dirty shit. IknewI didn’t like that fucker. I’ll just add it to my list of reasons.”
