Jealousy pours through me. She uses his nickname? I expected her to be terrified of him. We kept warning her away, but here she is, looking at him in amusement and calling him D. Standing, I draw her attention to me, trying to ignore my own foolish feelings. “Good, let’s go,” I order, beginning to stride away.

I stop next to her, lowering my head, unable to help myself. “You look good enough to eat.”

She blinks in shock as I walk off, checking my weapons at the door as I wait for the others. She looks around at us, checking our guns and knives, and doesn’t seem surprised as she tracks where we holster them. “Can I have my gun?”

“No,” I almost snarl. “You don’t need it, we’ll look after you.”

“Can I have my bat? I promise not to use it on Garrett’s junk again,” she offers sweetly, making him snort.

“No,” he replies.

She sighs dramatically but then smiles. “One sec.” With that, she dashes off to her room before coming back a minute later, tossing a knife in the air.

Where the hell did she get that?

Diesel laughs. “That’s my girl. Come on, Little Bird, it’s time to play.” He drapes his arm across her shoulders as she tucks it into her jacket pocket and looks to me. I can’t move, though, too busy staring at them—at how close their bodies are, at how comfortable they seem.

It’s worse than I thought.

What am I going to do? Nothing for now, we have other things to deal with, but I need to make a decision later on—before Roxxane gets in too deep and has the power to crumble all we have worked for.

“Let’s go.” Ripping open the door, I stomp away, aware I’m acting irrational, so I push all those emotions down, using the time we wait for the elevator to become cold again, wrapping a layer of unfeeling ice across me. When the ding sounds and the doors open, I’m me again.

Since my car was wrecked and I’m waiting on a replacement, I decide to take the SUV. We can all fit. Garrett climbs into the driver’s seat while I get in the passenger side. Kenzo and Diesel slide in and trap Roxxane into the middle seat, not that she seems to mind. She relaxes back, but threatens to stab Kenzo if he touches her thigh again.

He only laughs. Sometimes, others wonder how Kenzo fits with us, while I don’t—he hides his crazy well.

“Where to?” Garrett asks in general, not looking at Roxxane, so I peer over my shoulder at her.

“Head south, go past the theater area and into the slums. Stop us at Deckly Bridge, you can’t miss it. There’s graffiti all over the side right next to an abandoned steel mill,” she explains.

Turning forward, I pull out my phone, ignoring them all as I catch up on emails and messages. I could have our guards meet us at the location, but with all four of us, there’s no point. Roxxane must be thinking along the same line. “Do you four have bodyguards? You’re worth a lot of money, right?”

“We have security,” I murmur distractedly. “Over seventy-five personal, spread across the city, our assets, and homes. We instructed them not to let you see them. Usually, they would be coming with us, but when all four of us go out, these three act as security. No one knows they are in charge, since I’m the face of the operation, so it makes sense I would bring security.”

“Why act like security?” she inquires.

“That way, only Ryder has to worry about being the main target. They don’t care about us, we’re just fodder. Means we hear more as well,” Kenzo answers.

“Wow, doesn’t that make you worry about having a target on your back all the time?” she asks, leaning forward as we pull from the underground parking structure.

“No, it’s my job,” I reply, thumbing out a response to an email before pocketing my phone. “Sit back, seatbelt on,” I order.

“So, this man we’re going to see?” Kenzo starts.

“Just let me do the talking, okay? He hates outsiders and is a rude bastard.”

“Even to you?” he questions.

“Especially to me. It’s his way of showing he likes you. Plus, if you haven’t noticed, I’m a rude bitch. We get along famously.” She laughs.

“Want me to kill him?” Diesel queries cheerfully.

I look back in time to see her roll her eyes and pat his chest. “No, and if I wanted him dead, I would kill him myself.”

“That’s hot.” He nods seriously. “Can I watch?”

Rubbing my temples, I sigh loudly, knowing it’s going to be a long day. Luckily, we manage to avoid a lot of traffic, and other than Diesel’s loud, off key singing, they are quiet the rest of the drive. Pulling up outside the bridge, I slip from the car, checking my piece before looking around. The others flip to security mode straightaway, eyes sharp and bodies tense as they look around.

Garrett goes first, me and Roxxane behind him, and Kenzo and Diesel in the rear. You can never be too careful, after all. Placing a palm on Roxxane’s back, I guide her along as we walk. “Where now?”

“Side alley, there’s a steel door,” she informs us seriously, obviously sensing the tension. Outside of our house, this is how we have to be, we can only relax there. The stakes are too high to let our guard down, even for one moment.

We head that way, ignoring the homeless and the needles scattered everywhere. After all, we came from these streets, we’re as comfortable here as we are in penthouses and mansions, probably more so. Not that Roxanne knows that.

She pushes past us and Garrett, who tries to grab her, before leaping up two stairs and hammering on the solid steel door. “Hey, asshat, it’s your favourite bitch. Open up!” she hollers.

I raise my eyebrows, but a few minutes later, a latch opens in the door, revealing two bright blue eyes. “The fuck do you want, shit face?”

She pops out her hip, rolling her eyes. “To screw your brains out, obviously,” she deadpans, and all of us ruffle. “Now let me in, wankstain.”

I hear him chuckle before the latch slams shut and the door is ripped open. I gotta say, the guy who steps out is not what I was expecting. He’s massive, as big as Garrett, with arms to crush skulls. His head is shaved and covered in tattoos, his shirt stretching across his chest. He glances at us and narrows his eyes, his voice deep and rumbling as he questions, “Who are they?”

“Friends, for now. Are you going to let us in, or am I going to have to stand here while you fuckers measure each other’s cocks?” she taunts.

He sighs, a smile curling his lips as he looks down at her. She’s tiny in comparison, but you wouldn’t know from her attitude. “You know mine is bigger than yours, we measured last time.”

“Yeah, yeah, well, you cheated, Tiny, so let me in.” She pushes past him, and he follows after her. Garrett looks back at me, so I nod.

We troop inside, and as I slam the door shut behind me, I see her waiting at the bottom of some industrial stairs. The room is small, just a landing, and when I glance back, I realise there are cameras here, an automatic locking system, and a huge shotgun resting next to the door.

Satisfied we’re following, she starts up the stairs. We trail behind her, my eyes locked on her peachy ass as she takes the steps two at a time. She seems to know where she’s going, and when we get to the next story, she heads to the left through another door and into the warehouse.