Too cold for my liking.
If Kai and his father were like blue fire, burning hot and taking up too much oxygen from any room they walked into, this man was arctic ice.
With dark hair only a centimeter shorter than Kai’s and a full beard, this man looked more like a robot than a human.
His face had remained stoic throughout the whole exchange, and though he was leaner than Dominic, he had him beat in height by at least two inches. And Dominic was already tall. I had him estimated to be about 6’3”, so that guy would have to come up to 6’4” or 6’5” at least.
What did Dominic call him?
Micah?
I swallowed, trying hard not to move and draw attention to myself.
It was ridiculous.
They weren’t going to hurt me when we were in a crowded restaurant, and if anything, they might hurt the men who were bad-mouthing them first, but there was just something so dangerous about this Micah guy that made me want to run away.
I realized the restaurant had been quiet for a while, everyone focusing their attention on the three men, and it wasn’t until the server came in, pale-faced, and walked up to them with a to-go bag that everyone seemed to move—slightly.
“Your food, Mr. Madden.”
“Thank you, doll,” Dominic said with a drawl.
He came up to the table with the three men, turned to me, and winked with a small smile, putting me only marginally at ease before rapping his knuckles on their table once.
They jumped.
He laughed. “Until we meet again.”
And then, the three men walked out the door.
It wasn’t until they disappeared from view did the restaurant come back to life.
It seemed everyone had been holding their breath, and now we all collectively took in one deep one.
The three men from the table silently stood and walked out of the restaurant without another word.
Someone from the other table nearby tsked at their retreating backs. “Stupid fuckers,” he said. “Talking shit about the King’s Men in their territory.”
I hadn’t realized Sacramento was theirs.
This city wasn’t too far from where my parents’ home was, and this city was also where my dad sat on the judge’s seat.
And this was their territory.
Fuck. No wonder my dad hated them.
My food was brought out after that, and everyone seemed to have gotten back to how things were.
I tried to find my appetite.
Yet, it felt like the whole energy in the room was thrown, and I went along with it.
I barely tasted the food and wondered what I was still doing here.
I should just go back to my apartment, but I was…
I was lonely.