Page 4 of Ruled By Wizard

“Sorry to drag you away from having such a good time.” Wizard let sarcasm drip from his voice. “It’s not like I have anything better to do than wait for you to quit playing around.”

His sarcasm rolled off Rider.

“I always look forward to you coming by, Wizard.”

“I’m sure you look forward to me leaving even more.”

Rider didn’t deny it.

“So, why did you come to Treepoint? Viper said he didn’t send for you.”

Rider backed up the truck and turned toward the road. Wizard’s gaze shifted to the side mirror, catching one last glimpse of the hill where Dena was buried.

“I came to see Knox.”

CHAPTER 1

THE REVEAL

Life was a motherfucker. Wizard had learned that hard truth at the age of seven. It was one fucking hurdle after another, each one waiting to take your ass out. And as if life weren’t hard enough, it had to throw women into the mix.

Blowing a steady stream of smoke through pursed lips, Wizard gazed grimly at the van parked in front of him. Spotting it outside a café on his way back to the club from The Last Riders’ factory had nearly caused him to rear-end the car ahead of him.

It wasn’t as if the fucking vehicle were easy to miss. Mama Spaghetti’s logo was emblazoned across the side.

He had meant to drive past. Instead, he found himself circling the block and parking his motorcycle in the empty space behind the delivery van.

Wizard sat there for a moment, telling himself to leave. He was dead tired after pulling a twelve-hour shift at the factory, and he had shit to deal with when he returned to the club before he could go to bed. He didn’t need the aggravation of seeing a woman who wouldn’t spit on him if his ass were on fucking fire. Hell, she would probably pour gasoline on the flames.

He didn’t even know if Natalia, the Italian restaurant’s owner, was the one who had parked the van.

“Fuck,” he growled under his breath.

Getting off his motorcycle, he tossed his cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath the heel of his boot. He strode toward the café and opened the door, then took off his sunglasses and hooked them onto the collar of his T-shirt as he stepped inside.

He automatically surveyed the tables as he walked toward the counter and spotted the bane of his existence.

Sitting just a few feet away, Natalia occupied a small table with some fucker dressed as if he had stepped out of a fucking Rake magazine.

“Hello. Welcome to the Brew Nook,” a young woman greeted him eagerly, as if her entire day depended on him giving her a good review. “I’m excited to take your order.”

As he walked closer to the counter, Wizard saw the barista eyeing him from beneath overly mascaraed lashes. Judging her to be in her early twenties rather than the teenager she sounded like, he gave her an aloof nod. Her welcoming smile wobbled at his indifference.

“I’ll take a black coffee.”

“Name?”

“Wizard.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman whose van had lured him inside turn her head in his direction.

Natalia Amato—Mama Spaghetti herself—quickly returned her attention to the stuck-up prick sitting across from her when Wizard glanced her way.

After paying for his coffee, he ambled over to her table while the barista prepared his order.

“Natalia, good to see you again,” he greeted her cordially, as if they were friends.

If he hadn’t been so pissed to see her sitting with another man, he would have laughed at the expression crossing her face when he stopped beside their table.