Page 97 of Diesel's Perseverance
She walked over to the window and watched the ocean’s movement; it was calming and mesmerizing.Poor Diesel. I know this is tearing him up.
“How’s the view?”
The sound of his deep voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket. She couldn’t imagine what she would’ve done without his presence and support.
“Not bad,” she said over her shoulder.
“Is the water calm?”
“Yes.”
It was strange to hear him try and engage in small talk when she knew he didn’t give a shit about the movement of the ocean.
“Freddy was at Hotel Perla. I saw it on the news.”
The muscles in his arms grew taut, and his eyes narrowed. “Do you know the hotel?”
“No. We never stayed there. They said it’s downtown on Front Street. I think you’ll have to deal with the cops”—she raised a hand to stop him from interrupting her—“even though you don’t want to because you’ll have to tell them you’re his brother. Also, don’t you want to bring him home?”
Diesel blew out a long, audible breath. “Fuck, I hate dealing with the damn badges.”
“I could do it.”
“No,” he said sharply. “I don’t want you involved in this. They’ll be all over you about Freddy’s life, business, Cano… you name it, and they’ll interrogate you. They’ll wonder why you didn’t report him missing and accuse you of being an accessory after the fact and all that other fuckin’ legal bullshit. Once the damn badges got you, they don’t like letting go of their hold. I’ll take care of it.”
“Aren’t you going to tell themanything?”
“Nope. Just say I was in town for this rally, and my brother called me saying he was in town too. I made sure the badges wouldn’t find shit at your house. Is the place in both your names?”
“Just Freddy’s.”
“That’s good.”
“Won’t the cops wonder why you didn’t get together with him in San Diego?”
“They’ll wonder a whole lot of shit, but I don’t give a fuck. I’ll just say we were gonna hang out later today. Then I saw the story on the news.”
“So you’ll tell them you knew where he was staying?”
“Yeah. That I found out this morning. I’m not sure if his burner phone was taken by the fucker who killed him, but in case it wasn’t, my number will be in there, so I have to keep my story consistent.”
“I don’t know,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Don’t worry, I got this. I know how to deal with the fuckin’ badges. I’ll be back.”
“No way I’m staying here alone. I want to come with you. I can wait in a coffee shop nearby, but I can’t stay here by myself. And don’t say I’m safer here. Peter Cano is long gone. Anyway, he doesn’t need me anymore. He found Freddy.”
“But you know about his brother.”
“Cano handled his brother’s death without the police. He’s not going to expose more of his illegal activities now.”
“True, but you’re still a loose thread that I’m sure he doesn’t want in the background. I know I wouldn’t. You could go to the damn badges anytime down the road.”
“I didn’t think about that, but I’m positive I’m not in danger at this moment.” She locked gazes with him. “I’m going with you, and that’s that.”
“Whatever. I’m not gonna stand here and argue with you, woman.” A bemused smile played on his lips. “We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.” He walked over to the dresser and rummaged through a drawer.
His gruff tone didn’t fool her. She caught his smile, which had warmed her heart. There was no way she’d let him deal with all of this alone. Even though he was an outlaw biker and came off as being harsh and perhaps brutal in certain situations, Myla knew he was a generous, kind man who loved his little brother. And whether he admitted it or not, she was pretty sure he was glad she was coming along.
