Chapter 16
16
ZARINA
I didn’t know whether Ashe was supposed to make it known that he was following me or not, but for the next few days I could feel his eyes on me wherever I went. He was either a terrible stalker, or making himself known to scare me.
Maybe I should’ve continued seeing my therapist, because I didn’t feel scared at all. If anything, I was constantly fucking turned on by knowing that he was following me.
I could barely focus on anything at work because my mind kept running away with scenarios of what he might have done if he happened to catch me alone.
Not that Theo would ever let that happen.
While I had softened to him a little bit after our talk, his constant presence was still irritating. Like a fly buzzing around your face day after day.
I kept waiting for Ashe to show up in my apartment again, but he never did. Instead, he was just constantly in my peripherals. Across the street from BoredHeaux. A few paces behind me on the highway. Hiding in shadows in alleys and hallways.
I never let him know that I knew, though, for fear of ruining our game.
Larissa was putting through a customer’s sale when Theo got a phone call on a slow Friday morning. I continued to fix the hangers on the display rack, but my ears perked up and listened in.
“No, I haven’t seen any.” Theo turned away, heading to the corner of the store as if that would prevent me from hearing his conversation.
A long pause.
“I’ll be there in ten.”
I smiled to myself, but quickly composed it before Theo headed back onto the main floor and approached me, stuffing his phone into his jean pocket. His eyes darted round, and I noted that he must have been checking the function of the security cameras.
The customer left, lips pursed after the less-than-friendly interaction with Larissa, but a bag full of goodies regardless. After the shop was empty and the door swung closed behind her, Theo cleared his throat.
“Mmm?” I hummed, acting uninterested.
“I need to head out for a bit. Your brother is holding an emergency meeting and needs everyone there.”
“Okay,” I shrugged.
I was doing an amazing job at appearing casual, but I was already reeling with excitement.
Theo had obviously not spotted Ashe’s bike three blocks down on our way to work that morning, and had also not noticed the hooded figure in the bright white sneakers that seemed to pace up and down the street across the road every now and again.
But I had.
“You’ll be okay for a while?” He asked with a concerned frown which was kind of cute.
“Yes,” I groaned. “I’m not gonna die anytime soon. Go.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.
Instead, he nodded once more and quickly strode from the shop. I idly wondered what could’ve been so urgent that Toni was calling everyone in for a meeting, but I knew that no one would tell me even if I did ask. So instead, I let my mind get carried away with my own plans.
I continued tidying and organising the stock on display for a few moments longer, until Larissa was once again engrossed in her phone.
“God,” I sighed. “I’ve got the biggest craving for a steak or something, you know?”
Larissa chuckled, not looking up from her screen. “You must be getting your period.”
“Maybe,” I hummed to myself.
“There’s Rare BBQ just down the road, you know,” she gestured down the street with her head. “Go pick something up.”
“Ew,” I scrunched up my face. “Takeaway steak is never good and you know it. They mix it in with everything.”
Larissa looked up at me for the first time since our conversation began. Her face, as usual, was a blank slate of disinterest. I knew her well enough, though, to know that it meant that she was deep in thought.
As long as it was thoughts about herself, and not my mediocre set up for a chance to sneak out alone for the first time since Theo had dragged me out of the pub.
Eventually she dropped her attention back to her phone and I let the topic go, continuing to stay busy for a little longer before I headed to the back and grabbed my bag.
“Fuck it,” I sighed as I headed for the door. “I’m going for an early lunch. Want anything?”
Again, Larissa didn’t even lift her head as she shook her head no.
“Okie, I’ll be back soon.”
I headed out onto the street and fought to contain my smile. The weight that had been hanging around me ever since Theo arrived had lifted, and I felt some semblance of normality again.
Only a few weeks ago, I could stroll down the street at any time of day or night, not answer to anyone, and certainly not have a large, broody man invading my personal space all the time.
I headed towards the steakhouse that was only a block away, taking my time and enjoying my short-lived freedom. Also, I knew I had to keep it steady so that Ashe could catch up.
He had been around the corner smoking a cigarette on a bench when I left, so I knew that if I walked too quickly that he might not have noticed where I went.
I spoke to the server out the front and was quickly seated after requesting a table on the back terrace, where no passersby could see me through the window from the street.
It wasn’t quite lunchtime, so the restaurant wasn’t particularly busy yet. It only took a few minutes to and order my drinks and food. I continued to scan the menu while I waited, when I heard the chair beside me move with a scrape.
“I wasn’t quite sure how you like your steak, so I went for medium rare,” I said, not looking up from the drinks list.
Ashe plopped into the chair with a sigh, pulling his hoodie down and smirking at me with that heart-stopping grin.
“You knew I was coming?” he asked with a quirk of his brow.
“Like I’ve said previously, you’re a shitty stalker.”
“Mmm.”
The server returned with a hint of a confused look, placing my steak and salad in front of me, and the second serve in front of Ashe. I wasn’t actually hungry, but I made myself nibble at the meal since I was already here.
Ashe had hesitated too, almost like he wasn’t sure if he should stay or go.
“So, should I expect your surveillance indefinitely now, or is it a short-term thing?”
He relaxed at that, sinking a little more comfortably into the chair and unravelling the provided cutlery from the napkin.
“Who knows?” he shrugged after chewing his first bite of steak. “The visit we got from your buddies the other day has Princey a little understandably shaken.”
“My buddies ?” I raised my brows.
“The cops showed up to the studio last week after you and I…” he trailed off, obviously hinting at the night we spent together after Theo had showed up at the pub.
“So?”
“So, they were sending a message. A ‘friend of the station’ was a little concerned that the Redliners might be getting involved with someone we should be staying away from.”
“You think Toni sent the cops to warn you to stay away from me?” I blinked at him.
He nodded once.
I scoffed a laugh, shaking my head and continuing to eat.
Ashe leaned in closer. “What’s funny?”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
His eyes grew curious, still looking at me as I put my fork down and slumped back into my chair, crossing my arms over myself.
“You truly believe that after all that has gone on between The Family and the Redliners over the past few years, that now, Toni would chose to go to the fucking cops to send some petty little threat rather than just killing you himself ?”
Ashe pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair and mimicking my posture.
“We know that The Santinos have the police in their pocket.”
“Congratulations!” I smiled wide in mock enthusiasm. “You and everyone else in the state of Victoria.”
He pressed his lips together and I could tell he was suppressing a laugh.
“Of course they have the police under control. You think that he can just do the things that he does and get away with it without having to pay a price to make the police look the other way? He doesn’t use them to scare people. Doesn’t need to. He came home with a bullet in his leg the other night instead of going to the hospital. Does that sound like the kind of guy who’s gonna run to the cops for a cry?”
The slight smile on his face disappeared.
“Toni got shot?”
I nodded once, looking back down at my plate.
“They were supposed to be meeting with a new buyer but it was an ambush. Two guys on motorcycles pulled guns and one of them got Toni in the leg. They weren’t prepared for a fight.”
Ashe frowned, and I could see the way that the thoughts flew through his head at a million miles a minute.
“So they think it was us?” He asked finally.
I nodded.
“Zar, I promise you, that wasn’t Redliners.”
“I know,” I shrugged.
Ashe arched a brow, the surprise plain on his face.
“You really believe me?”
I shrugged again.
“It’s not about believing you. It’s common sense. It’s patterns. The Redliners have never shied away from a gun fight. These guys ran as soon as they were spotted, like they were there just to be seen. They apparently had red lettering on their vests?—”
“Cuts,” Ashe corrected, and I rolled my eyes.
“And none of you guys have anything on your cuts . They’re just plain.”
“Wearing colours is illegal here,” he shrugged. “It’s like having a giant fucking target on your back.”
“All these little letters, signs, situations, they just don’t feel like Redliner attacks to me. They’re too sophisticated.”
Ashe snorted a laugh. “Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean,” I sighed, pushing my plate away.
“Now that you mention it,” he scrubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve been getting the weird shit too. Threatening riddles and letters, black cars outside of the clubhouse. Assumed it was you guys.”
“Wasn’t The Family. As far as I know, anyway,” I mumbled.
It very well could have been, and I would have no idea.
It’s not like I was made privy to the goings on of my family or their businesses. But I was pretty confident that these little games were not something that my brother would waste his time with. It all seemed too petty, too underhanded, too trivial to be anything from a true outlaw.
The last time that the Redliners screwed with the Santinos, my family members spent weeks planting trackers and devices on their vehicles so that they could control their cars via a computer and make them crash themselves into fucking walls.
Leaving little notes with riddles? Not really the Santino style.
“What did they think? When you told them it wasn’t us?”
It was my turn to laugh out loud now.
“They don’t listen to me,” I chuckled. “They thought I was just trying to defend you.”
“Well, I’m listening,” Ashe sat up straighter, reaching over to my chair and pulling it towards him so that I was right by his side. “Tell me what you think is going on, Zar.”
I eyed him for a moment, trying to discern whether he seriously wanted my opinion or whether he was humouring me. Because if it was the latter, I was no longer interested in wasting my breath.
But Ashe’s eyebrows were pulled together in a serious frown, and his eyes never left my face. He waited patiently for me to speak, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table as he waited.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I breathed quietly, not quite sure what to make of this man while he looked at me like that. Like I was the most important person in the room, on the earth. Like whatever I would say would be interesting, like whatever I thought was worth hearing.
He shook his head slowly. “Tell me, Zarina.”
“Whoever it is, is trying to play you both against one another.”
His phone chimed in his pocket, but he stayed focused on me.
“I’d say it’s probably someone more like us, not like the club. With money and time, but with no experience.”
“Rich kids,” Ashe nodded.
“Probably.”
He hummed in thought, and quickly checked his phone and then sighed.
“What is it?”
“Your keeper is on his way back.”
I nodded. “I better head back to the shop.”
But Ashe’s hand clasped around my wrist as I stood. “Wait. Do you think you could try talking to Toni again?”
“Why?” I frowned.
“I’m giving him one more chance to listen to you.”
“Ashe—”
“Look, neither of us needs another war right now. I know that The Family wants it to be over just as badly as we do. But if they’re gonna be too stupid and stubborn to listen to you and try and figure out who’s really behind this, then we’re gonna have to take it into our own hands. We don’t need their blind retaliation right now for shit we didn’t even do. Prince is killing himself trying to fix the bullshit that King got the club into, and he can’t do it with this on his shoulders as well.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Talk to Toni. See if he will listen to reason.”
“If he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll pick you up later tonight and take you to the clubhouse. We will talk to Prince together before it all gets out of hand.”
“I—”
But I didn’t get to finish my sentence, because Ashe stood, reached out and tangled his hand into the hair at the nape of my neck and tugged me forward into a kiss.
My nervous refusal died on his lips, and I was left wordless and breathless when he finally pulled away and rushed out of the restaurant without another word.
* * *
It was rare that I was nervous to see my family.
My mother? Sure. My siblings? Never.
But that afternoon, I stood in Antoni’s driveway, wringing my hands together and looking up at the house instead of heading inside.
Theo had driven me here, of course, and had headed inside maybe five minutes ago. I even called ahead, letting Toni know that I needed to speak with him.
I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was confused and maybe a little suspicious, and I was sure he was probably assuming that I was coming to ask for money or a favour or for him to finally call off his guard dog.
But I never had to speak to him like this before. Not in a capacity that directly involved myself in his business, in The Family’s business. I wasn’t sure how to make him take me seriously, but I had also asked for Rome to be there, knowing that she would at least listen to what I had to say before flying off the handle at the fact that I had still been in contact with Ashe.
My breath was shaky as I stepped through the door. The house was fairly empty for once, and only a few people littered the living area. But I headed straight upstairs for Toni’s office, knowing that he would be waiting for me there.
That made it worse, somehow, and I wished that we could’ve just sat around the kitchen table and chatted instead of feeling like this talk with my brother was official business—except, it was.
I knocked a few times before opening the door and forcing myself to head inside.
Toni was sitting behind his desk, gazing up at Rome who sat perched on the arm of his chair. All these years and that puppy dog look he watched her with still hadn’t faded. I hadn’t noticed Theo standing in the corner until he moved closer to me, pinning himself to my side.
I pretended not to notice.
“Zar,” Toni said by way of greeting. “What’s going on?”
I took in a deep breath to steady myself.
“Your phone call honestly worried me a little. Are you?—”
“I’m not in any trouble or anything,” I said quickly.
He nodded, indicating that I should continue.
Rome and Antoni both shifted so they were facing me straight on, and even Theo shifted a little to watch me expectantly. I learned at that moment that I did not like this type of attention.
“You’re wrong about the Redliners,” I word-vomited.
Toni’s face fell immediately.
“Zarina.”
“Just, hear me out. Please?”
He sighed, gesturing with his hand that I should continue and leaning back in his chair. Rome’s lips were pursed too, watching me carefully like she did with anyone while she tried to discern whether or not they could be trusted.
That stung a little.
Another deep breath.
“I believe that all these incidents that have happened over the past few weeks are coming from a new group trying to gain some sort of hold over Melbourne. The Redliners are receiving the same sort of warnings, letters and?—”
Toni held up a hand to cut me off. “And how do you know this?”
“Ashe– Henny told me.”
His jaw clicked before he shot a deathly glare at Theo. I didn’t realise until after I said the words that I had just outed the fact that Theo had failed at his job to keep me away from him.
“When?”
“I… ran into him today. While I was out to lunch.”
“Oh, what a coincidence!” Toni mock smiled at me.
“Tone, look?—”
“No. Zarina, I told you to stay away from him.”
“I know, but?—”
“No buts,” he brought a fist down on the table now that made me jump and Theo stand at attention.
Rome smacked him upside the head. “Do not speak to your sister that way.”
Toni ran a hand down his face and let out a slow breath.
“I’m sorry,” he looked at me with softer eyes now.
“If I may, Don Antoni,” Theo stepped forward. “Perhaps Zarina is onto something about the threat coming from a third party. But I will admit that all signs seem to point to the MC.”
Toni nodded, but kept his attention on me.
“But what if that is intentional?” I tried, pleading now. “What if they want you to think it’s the Redliners?”
“Okay, but who would do that, Zar?”
I shrugged. “It’s just… It’s just a thought I had.”
“Did Ashe perhaps guide you towards this thought?”
It was my turn to feel the red hot anger build now. He was still looking at me with that warm, brotherly concern, but his words sliced through me in a way he probably didn’t realise.
My heartbeat was loud in my ears, blood rushing to whatever part of the brain was responsible for murderous rage.
“I am capable of forming thoughts all by myself, Toni.”
“That’s not what I?—”
“You know what? Don’t worry about it.” I shook my head and headed for the door.
“Zar,” Rome called, but I had already slammed the door shut behind me and was sprinting for the stairs.
I didn’t know why I even bothered.
What a waste of my fucking time.
I knew that Theo would be hot on my heels, but I wouldn’t give him a chance to catch up—not with where I was going.
I didn’t stop until I was down the street, away from the house and winding through the familiar suburban streets. Ashe picked up on the first ring when I called him.
“Zarina,” he said like he was expecting to hear from me.
“Yeah. Can you come and get me?”
There were a few beats of silence where I thought he might refuse, or ask what happened, or just plain hang up on me.
“I’ll be there in 30 seconds.”
But I only got to the count of 20 by the time I heard the rumble of his bike approaching.