Page 65 of Kings & Corruption

Bear narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying he ran into your beer bottle?”

“I’m saying we don’t have any weapons, but feel free to frisk us if you want,” Rock said.

The man turned his attention to me, his eyes roving my body. “Maybe I should frisk your new toy.”

Before I knew what had happened, Neo had inserted himself between me and Bear. I couldn’t see Neo’s face, but I heard the threat in his voice. “Touch her and you die.”

I heard the man laugh. “This one must be special.”

My brain was misfiring. Neo Alinari threatening someone to keep me safe? Probably some kind of pissing contest where Neo wanted to prove that like everything at Aventine, I belonged to the Kings.

“You going to frisk us or not?” Neo asked. “I have to get ready.”

“Go ahead,” Bear said. “But don’t start any trouble. You’re already on thin ice.”

“Restitution is supposed to wipe the slate,” Oscar said, coming up on my other side. The camera around his neck did nothing to make him look less intimidating and a whole lot to make him look sexy af.

I was flanked by the Kings now — Neo in front of me, Rock still holding my arm on my left, Oscar on my right — and I have to say, it felt damn good. It felt safe, even though there was nothing about this situation, nothing about trusting the Kings, that was safe.

“It does,” Bear said. “On paper. In reality, you three are always a fucking hurricane.”

“Hurricanes are necessary,” Oscar said. “They clear the air.”

“Yeah? Well they also leave a fucking mess.” Bear stepped aside to let us pass and I watched as he looked at Neo. “Good luck.” His gaze swept to me. “And keep an eye on your pet. The other boys might want to play.”

He laughed as we continued past him and I resisted the urge to give him the finger. I was getting really fucking tired of being treated like some kind of trust fund princess when I’d faced more shit in the past five years than the Kings ever had.

I wasn’t a swollen giant, and I wasn’t packing heat, but I was fairly confident I could take care of myself if a situation went bad.

We continued down the hall, past the entrance to several old auditoriums. People came and went from them but we were clearly headed for the large double doors open at the end of the hall.

The music grew louder, a vibration I could feel in my feet and chest. We were almost to the doors when Neo peeled off.

“Where’s he going?” I shouted up at Rock.

“Change.”

I didn’t know if that meant he was going to get change or if he was going to change his clothes — under the circumstances, either scenario was weird — but the music was too loud to ask any more questions.

I was glad Rock still had my arm in his hand as we stepped through the door. I might have stopped in my tracks otherwise. As it was, I had no choice but to be propelled along by Rock’s momentum as I took in the massive theater.

The seats had all been removed, and people stood around in groups talking and drinking and dancing on the slightly sloped floor whileCasinoplayed on the screen at the front of the theater.

I knew it wasCasino, because I’d watched it with my mom more than once. She’d always laughed at the scene where Sharon Stone ties her kid to the bed so she can go party.

The volume on the movie was off, replaced by the ear-shattering music thumping from speakers next to a DJ booth next to the screen. As with the lobby, multicolored lights swung around the big space, and somehow a bar had been set up along one wall.

“What is this place?” I shouted up at Oscar.

He shook his head, indicating that he couldn’t hear me, and I gave up and soaked it all in as people came up to shake hands with him and Rock. The crowd was more varied than it had been in the lobby. There were still a bunch of biker dudes, but there were also quite a few people who looked like townies, and a handful I would have bet were students from Bellepoint or Aventine trying and failing to fit in.

I was scanning the room, taking it all in, when my gaze snagged on a guy leaning against the wall in the shadows. He was covered in ink, his muscled arms adorned with full sleeves, visible in his sleeveless black shirt. He had dark hair and high cheekbones, but his expression was completely blank.

And he was staring right at me.

He was gorgeous in an animalistic sort of way, but looking into his dark eyes left me cold.

I felt a ripple of fear and turned away, glad to be next to Rock and Oscar.

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