Dissolving Prejudice (Bad Inceptions #5)

Chapter 1

Diesel

“A re you lost?” I crouched down and reached my hand forward, waiting for the stray kitten to make the next move. The little one didn’t hesitate and, with a soft meow, moved to rub against my hand. The puss immediately purred, the soft sound putting an easy smile on my face.

This kitten seemed to be no more than a few weeks old, and I chuckled as it moved between my legs while rubbing its gray fur against my pants. “I have a kitten just like you waiting for me to come home.” I spoke quietly, eyes focused on the cat while my thoughts swayed me a thousand miles away. “Although he’s not as friendly but definitely as spoiled.” I scratched behind its ear. “To be honest, I haven’t seen him for over four years, so I doubt he even remembers me.”

The puss stopped purring and instead looked at me with its big green eyes. Fuck . Even stray cats realized I was too damn pathetic for my own good.

Speaking to some random cat was just further proof that I was losing my sanity, so with a grunt, I rose back up and looked around the empty ally. My job was to scan the ground and not to make friends with a fucking cat. Ready to go back and meet up with the rest of the guys, I turned around, but as I took a few steps, the cat followed me.

“You need to stay here,” I told it in vain as it continued to tag along.

I paused, scratched my jaw, and poked the inner side of my cheek with my tongue before daring to glance back at the kitten. It looked so tiny and fragile, gazing up at me with big eyes full of curiosity. Will it survive on its own? Probably not, but I couldn’t adopt a stray cat. Right ? I’d just returned to LA after months of being away. My apartment was rather small, and I was hardly ever home, so it wouldn’t be fair. And yet, my heart clenched with the thought of leaving it behind, all alone, in this cruel fucking world.

“Where the fuck you been?” Gale, Dion’s second-in-command, hissed the minute he saw me.

The man followed Dion everywhere, protecting him from all harm. Good at his job, with a questionable background, Gale was one hell of a tough fucker. From what I knew, he and Dion went way back and had been close since Dion took the position of the gang’s leader. Gale was a true professional who would slit a man’s throat with his teeth if needed and had a face I wouldn’t want to meet in my worst nightmares. He wasn’t some ugly monster, not at all, but he looked tough as fuck with sharp eyes that seemed almost yellow and a deep scar that stretched along the right side of his face. I had nothing against scars and even found them sexy… but not on him. I snorted, highly doubtful that anything could be sexy on this six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-five-pound man.

“I had to go back to the car,” I hissed, hating that I needed to report my actions to him like some child, then pulled out my phone to check the message I’d just received.

“You better not slack while on the job,” he warned, not that I cared.

Gale had hated my ass from the moment Dion “ promoted ” me from being a hooker to one of his men. In Gale’s opinion, I’d forever be unqualified for any job. During the first few months I worked in the Venetian, I had the pleasure of not meeting Gale because the guy was handling Dion’s drug shipments on the East Coast. Sadly, the jerk didn’t stay there.

While Gale went on for a bit more about what a useless idiot I apparently was, I focused my attention on the text I’d just received, an uneasy feeling twisting my guts.

Oro: When are you coming to see me? I miss you 3 3 3.

I huffed some air, then pocketed my phone without bothering to respond. I didn’t have time for this shit. Not right now.

“Who’s he meeting midday in such a busy place?” I asked Gale while popping some gum into my mouth. Since quitting smoking, I’d been chewing on those cherry-flavored gum whenever my mouth needed a distraction. And fuck me, was it often.

“His lawyer.”

“Which one?” I asked, already feeling a knot forming in my stomach.

Gale grunted under his breath, clearly annoyed by all my questions.

“The only one he bothers to meet in person,” he said with a sigh, making me sound like an idiot for even asking.

And I was an idiot, considering how Dion only ever bothered himself to meet one out of his many lawyers. The only one he truly trusted— Soren Dane.

The same guy who’d saved my ass from spending the rest of my life in a federal prison. A pretentious bastard who, as of three years ago, was married to Chief. So, while I wasn’t shocked Dion sat for lunch with him, I was irritated that he’d asked me to tag along. The French fucker knew I’d cut all ties with my past after he helped me vanish. And yet, today, he suddenly wanted me there? My insides roiled, and I glanced back at the restaurant, wondering what he was up to because it couldn’t be a coincidence .

I fucking loathe this man.

“Why am I here, then?” I rasped.

Gale glared at me, his jaw tensed. “Because that’s where I wanted you to be.”

“You know I can’t meet this lawyer,” I growled, earning myself a pissed-off look from him.

“And why’s that?” He tsked, chin raised. “Think you deserve special treatment just ’cause you’re Dion’s favorite pup?”

His mockery danced on my nerves, and I fisted my hands, anger twisting my guts at the bullshit he was spitting. If this had happened four years ago, I probably would have already punched him in the face. Only since then, I’d had no choice but to learn to contain my anger, so instead of beating him, as he deserved over that comment, I spat out my gum.

“I’m going to scan the back again.”

“I already have three other guys doing it. You stay here,” he ordered, and I swore under my breath.

Because of his rank in the organization, Gale was the only one other than Dion that I was forced to listen to. Without getting into the crap I’d done over the past few years, because that shit was dark as fuck, I’d say I was often a lone wolf who did his tasks on his own. It was only since I returned to California that I was sometimes teamed up with Gale. Today was one of those unfortunate occasions.

“That’s what we get for hiring hookers to do men’s jobs,” Gale muttered after I turned my back to him, and I had to stop myself from punching his stupid face.

Thankfully, he walked inside the restaurant before I gave in to my urges. Left alone to guard outside, I looked around the street. My phone kept buzzing, but I didn’t need to check to know it was Oro calling. Ever since I returned, he’d been all over me, to the point it was annoying. I assumed his constant need for attention was due to him being a twenty-year-old guy who had to sell his body for a living, but still. It was hard handling him at times. Oro was one of Dion’s Gatti working at the Venetian. Only he wasn’t just a nobody and was actually one of the boss’s favorites, hence why I was often tasked with keeping an eye on that brat’s ass. And while he’d grown attached to me, at the end of the day, I was just another one of the men who guarded him for a while.

Now that I’d returned here for good, he constantly sought my attention. Maybe he thought it was cute, but honestly, he was borderline annoying. Not to mention, his affection was just another reason for Dion to hate me. The last thing I needed was for that crazy asshole to think I was fucking one of his toys. Not only was I not interested, but I’d rather die than break my unspoken promise to Llorón. We might have been apart, but my heart was still his to hold, and I’d never cheat on him. Never .

The door to the restaurant opened, and I turned around to see a group of men walking out. The first in the line was Gale. Behind him was Dion, who was busy talking to—Soren.

Shit .

I bit the inside of my cheek and quickly turned around, hoping Soren might miss me, only he didn’t and instead called out my name in shock.

“Diesel?” he repeated.

I hissed a low fuck before slowly turning to face them.

While Soren’s brows nearly reached his hairline, Dion, who was right beside him, seemed awfully amused by the situation he’d caused.

Fucker .

“What on earth are you doing here?” Soren asked, studying me carefully.

I might have looked slightly different, with clothes I was forced to wear and a bit more ink on my neck, but I was still recognizable, so sadly, I couldn’t pretend to be someone else.

“Didn’t I tell you he was working for me?” Dion said before I could come up with something.

“No, you most definitely did not.” Soren’s voice was as cold and calculated as I recalled, and I stood still while his pale eyes continued to examine me.

Other than the initial shock that crossed his face the second he saw me, his cold expression gave up nothing, and it bothered me. It bothered me because it was a slight hint as to the welcome I’d get from the others when the time came.

“My mistake,” Dion chuckled, then took a few steps and stopped before me. “Because how could I have forgotten to mention I’ve taken on such an obedient dog?” As he spoke, he fixed the collar of my shirt, his fingers then sliding to my shoulders before he looked up to meet my furious gaze.

There was so much joy lurking behind his vengeful eyes that it made my blood boil with rage.

“What do you say, Camilo?” He patted my cheek. “Care to tell my lawyer what a good owner I am?”

I didn’t even have the time to get angry at his words before gunshots pierced the air. I moved on pure instinct, pushing Dion to the ground before covering him with my body. I didn’t want to keep this fucker alive, but I had no fucking choice. This was my damn job, and if I fucked it up, the outcome would be bad. And by bad, I mean Gale would send men to kill Shay-Lee. So even if I wished one of the bullets flying around us would blow up his brain like a fucking pinata, I kept shielding him with my entire body as if my life depended on it. Well, it did.

Everything happened in seconds, and I felt something scratching my arm right before the shooting ended and was replaced by shouting. In a quick move, Gale yanked me off Dion’s body before Dion ordered him to go after the assassin, who seemed to have escaped the place on a motorcycle.

The scene was a fucking mess, with people screaming and panicking. The windows to the restaurant were all shattered, and it looked like a few diners were out of luck as they took a bullet or two. Looking to my left, two of our men were down, and to my right— Oh shit .

Moving my ass, I ran toward where Soren’s body was tossed over the pavement like a wireless puppet and bent down beside him, my hands moving to the hole in the front of his jacket. Blood was already soaking through his clothes, turning the white fabric of his dress shirt red, but thankfully, it only came from the front. Meaning the bullet was still inside. He was grunting with pain, his body already going pale while blood continued to pour out, even though I tried stopping it by pushing on the wound with my hands.

“Fucking shit!” Dion swore before he joined me, trying to help Soren somehow. His fingers were shaking while he tried to hold Soren’s head straight, and I swore to God his voice shivered.

The care Dion showed for the lawyer took me by complete surprise, but I forced myself out of it and kept my attention on Soren’s face, which was turning paler by the minute.

“Just stay with us, Dane,” Dion warned him, eyes distressed.

Unable to speak, Soren groaned, then turned his eyes at me. The mere fear in them reminded me, once again, how fragile life could be and how, in a split second—or with the piercing of a bullet—everything could change.