Page 23 of Pearl
The Arizona heat has fried her fucking brain because I’m not about to kill her. “I wouldn’t have given you a weapon if I intended to kill you.”
“No, I know, but that’s how they work. They’re not going to let this go unpunished. I killed one of their own. And I am not going to lie about it. They know it’s my knife, and I’m not denying it. I’ll ask them to let the Harlots go, and I would ask them to let you go too, but I’m afraid you’ve sealed your fate by agreeing to work for them. They’ll ask you to prove your loyalty, me or them. I want you to pick them, otherwise, they will kill us both.”
It takes my mind a minute to catch up. She may not be wrong, but that’s not how this is going to play out. “I agreed towork for them to save you, but I was already considering it even before that. That’s why I went to talk with them.”
“Why would you do that? I thought we had something. Something real, that would make you want to stay near me?”
“That’s exactly why, baby. I can work for them and be in Phoenix, but I sealed the deal because they agreed to get me on a plane after they got word that you had been taken. That’s the only reason that Capone, Ryker and I got here so fast. You might be dead otherwise. That’s the reason you’re alive.”
She nodsas though understanding the situation, but something has changed. It’s like she’s already resigned to her fate, accepted it, as though she’s known it’s been coming for years, and I don’t like it one fucking bit.
“I should tell you something,” she says, “you know, before it’s too late.”
“I’m all ears.” I’m half expecting to hear the story about the cousin she killed but that’s not what’s on her mind.
“I’ve never said this to one other living person in the world, except for my dad. I love you, Carver. Whatever happens, know that I love you.”
She turns away and walks toward the Harlots. I track the movement of Ryker and Capone, keeping a close eye on her movements without making it too fucking obvious, not concerned that she’s a flight risk as she stands talking to her next in command and doesn’t make a move to mount a bike.
If they knew what was running through her mind, they might be.
I walk toward Hawg, who meets me halfway. “Things are about to go south. The Larussios are on their way. The big guys. Apparently, Pearl killed one of their cousins a long time ago, Idon’t know the details, but I’m not letting them kill and bury her in the desert.”
His jaw tightens. “Fuck. We’ve got no beef with the Larussios. We have a strong alliance with the Rivalry, but if push comes to shove, we owe the Royal Bastards. Even the Harlots are under their protection, meaning ours by extension. You give the word, and we will light this mother fucking desert on fire to save her or go down trying.”
Something tightens in my chest. Years and years of being alone on the trails, fighting my own battles with little to no help, no one to lean on when times were hard, and Hawg and the rest of the Phoenix Crew have not only had my back but are willing to put their lives and reputation with the Larussios on the line. It’s hard now not to understand the appeal of being part of a group, a club, a brotherhood where everyone protects everyone, and their families too.
But it’s too late now. I’ve made my promise to the Larussios and as long as they don’t try to hurt Pearl, I’ll work for them. Because no matter what else I am, I am a man of my word, and if I promise you I’m going to do something, you best believe that I’m going to keep that fucking promise.
Somehow, though, I’ll find a way forward for Pearl because I’m not willing to let her go. And when a black SUV carrying the two notorious cousins of the Larussio crime family, the capos no one in their right mind wants to double cross, pulls up, knowing they may be coming to avenge a family death, my chest tightens like a vice closing off the very air that I breathe.
Chapter 21
Pearl
The Larussios step out of the car in their black suits and polished leather shoes. The blood pounds in my veins as I meet their dark intense eyes, so much like the cousin who I killed that it would make my blood run cold if we weren’t in the middle of a heat wave in the desert.
I glance around, one last time, but don’t let my eyes come anywhere near Carver’s or directly into the eyes of any of my crew. One look, and I won’t be able to go through with it. “Stay close,” Carver growls as I start to move.
But my mind is already made up. I’m the one who got myself into the situation so many years ago, I’m the one who made the decision to end him and run, and I am the one who needs to come clean and shelter Carver and my team from any of the backlash sure to come. I made my peace with the fact my actions may be the reason for my demise years ago. It’s been pure luck or divine intervention that’s kept the mafia from finding me for so long.
Years that I didn’t plan to have, years that I made the most of, and years that were well spent. Whatever happens next, I had a good life. No matter that the thought of spending more time inCarver’s arms pulls at my heart. I won’t allow him or anyone to be hurt at my expense, and so I keep moving, until I’m at arm’s length with the notorious capos of the Larussio crew.
The powerful men walk toward me, and I don’t see so much as sense the Rival presidents, Capone and Ryker, sliding in beside me, one on either side as though walking me to slaughter and ensuring I don’t run. I suck in a deep breath of courage hoping that Onyx conveys my wishes to the crew. She and only she knew this day would come, when I may have to pay retribution for that night in a dark alley so many years ago.
Renzo, the one I met at the bar, assesses me with designer frame sunglasses sitting on his head, his eyes piercing and deep, as Carver joins us. “So, you’re the one.”
He wants me to admit to it, but not without reassurances. “There’s two sides to every story, but whatever I’ve done, they were my actions alone. Not that of my crew, Carver, the Phoenix Crew or your men here beside me. Mine alone.”
Matteo remains expressionless, as Renzo continues to stare at me. “Your knife is one of a kind. We traced it by the description of the carving to a pawn shop years ago, but while the owner remembered hearing about one like it, the shop had changed hands and records weren’t kept and cash was a must.”
The lump in the back of my throat is hard to swallow, past fear and all the emotions of the gift from my father and how I needed it to save my life. “It’s saved my life a few times over the years.”
Renzo’s eyes raise, so much like the man years ago.
Somehow I manage to get past the dryness in my throat. “I didn’t mean to kill your cousin. I didn’t know he was a Larussio. I was young, heading home through a dark alley that I wouldn’t dare walk today, and he attacked me. I was defending myself. He was drunk and…” My voice chokes.
He pulls out a picture and hands it to me. “Is this the man you remember?”
