Chapter 20
The end of the lunch rush had finally calmed down into something manageable. A few Royalla members stayed in their usual booth. Duke, Rocco, Ring, and two others she didn't know well. But not Baddy.
She hadn't seen him since he left her bed earlier that morning, before the sun came up.
Lydia forced herself to focus on the tables, on the orders Patty barked through the window, on the coffee pot that always seemed to empty the second she filled it. Anything to keep her mind from spiraling.
Lydia froze.
Her brain couldn't process why the window was suddenly gone, why customers were screaming, why the Royalla guys were on their feet.
Then something slammed into her.
Duke.
He tackled her to the floor, covering her with his body as another bang tore through the air.
"Stay down!" he shouted.
Her ears rang. Her heart hammered. She stared at the broken window, at the jagged edges.
"What...was...?" Why couldn't she hear her own voice clearly?
"Someone's shooting up the diner." Duke pressed her lower as another shot cracked outside.
Shooting?
Someone was shooting.
At them.
At her.
Her breath stuttered, panic clawing up her throat. Duke didn't move until the roaring of engines faded and the street quieted.
Only then did he haul her to her feet and shove her toward the kitchen. "Go. Now."
The second she stumbled through the swinging door, Hannah grabbed her arm. Madison slammed it shut behind them, her face pale.
"What the hell was that?" Madison whispered.
"Are the police coming?" asked Hannah.
"No," Patty snapped, already grabbing a broom. "The faster we clean this up, the less gossip spreads. I'm not letting this ruin my business."
Lydia stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "Patty, someone shot at us."
"And we'll deal with it," snapped Patty. "But we don't need the cops sniffing around. Not today."
Lydia's hands shook so badly she had to grip the counter to stay upright. Her legs were weak. Her ears still rang from the noise.
No one had to tell her that she brought trouble down on the diner. She had no idea who shot at the building, but knowing Sonny and the assholes he called brothers, she could see Cusclan Motorcycle Club doing something dangerous like trying to kill her, just so Baddy couldn't have her.
The kitchen door burst open.
Baddy stormed in, eyes wild, chest heaving like he'd sprinted the whole way from the compound. He didn't look at anyone else, only her.
"Lydia."
Her breath caught.
He crossed the room in three long strides, hands skimming her arms, her shoulders, her face, checking for blood, for wounds, for anything wrong.
"You okay?" His voice was rough, almost broken.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed.
He pulled her into his chest, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other gripping her waist like he was never going to let her go.
Lydia's hands trembled when Baddy loosened his hold enough to look her in the eyes. Guilt hit her harder than the gunshots had.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, voice cracking. "I should leave before anyone else gets hurt."
Baddy's brows snapped together. "Leave? You think going back to Sonny is gonna make you safe?"
She shook her head so fast her vision blurred. "No. I'm never going back to him. Ever. But I can't stay here and put everyone else in danger. Patty gave me a job, a place to sleep, and now look what happened."
Baddy opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the diner door swung open hard enough to rattle the frame.
Kodiak strode in, gaze scanning the room until they landed on Baddy—and then on her. "It was Cusclan," he announced. "Got them on the camera outside the compound. They rolled by in a Chevy pickup."
The floor tilted underneath her feet. She hung on to Baddy. There was no denying who was responsible. Sonny's club had come after her.
Her stomach dropped, heavy and sick. She sank lower against the counter, wishing she could disappear into the tile. Hannah put a hand on her shoulder, but Lydia barely registered the touch.
This was her fault. All of it. Someone could've died because of her.
If she hadn't come here, the diner would be fine. If she hadn't taken the job, the others wouldn't have been put in harm's way. If she hadn't let herself believe she could have something normal, her heart wouldn't be breaking.
The window wouldn't be shattered. Customers wouldn't have been screaming. Duke wouldn't have had to throw himself on top of her. The girls wouldn't be hiding in the kitchen.
And Baddy— she swallowed hard. Baddy wouldn't look like he was one breath away from tearing the world apart.
Her vision blurred. "This is my fault."
Baddy turned toward her sharply. She held on to him, making him listen.
"They're doing this because of me," she whispered. "And I won't put anyone else in danger because I stayed."