21. Lars

21

LARS

I storm into the carnival, fuming after my encounter with Alice.

How can she not see that we're meant to be together?

Her ordinary life is no match for the passion and excitement I can offer her.

"Whoa, easy there, killer," Colt calls out as I brush past him. "What's got your boxers in a twist?"

I shoot him a murderous glare, but Colt just chuckles, unfazed by my sour mood. Nash saunters over, that infuriating smirk playing on his lips.

"Let me guess," he drawls. "Your townie girl giving you a hard time?"

I clench my jaw, hating how transparent my frustration must be. "She's being stubborn."

"Well, can't say I'm surprised," Colt chimes in with a shrug. "She seems like the type who likes to play hard to get."

"She's not playing hard to get," I growl, my fists clenching at my sides. "She's mine. She just won't accept it yet."

Nash barks out a laugh. "You sound like a lovesick teenager, man. Get a grip."

"Shut the fuck up," I snarl, taking a step toward him. Nash holds his hands in mock surrender, but that shit-eating grin never leaves his face.

"All I'm saying is, if she's not ready to ditch her boring life and hit the road with you, maybe you're coming on too strong."

I open my mouth to retort, but Colt cuts me off. "Or maybe you're just not her type," he quips with a wink.

Before I can stop myself, I lunge at him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and slamming him against the nearest trailer. Colt's eyes widen in surprise, but he knows better than to fight back.

"Don't push me, Colt," I hiss, my face inches from his. "Alice is mine. It's only a matter of time before she realizes it, too. She'll be on the fucking bus at the end of the week, I guarantee that."

With a final shove, I release him and stalk off, leaving Colt and Nash in my wake. They don't understand. How could they? Alice and I are kindred spirits, two halves of the same twisted whole. She'll come around. She has to.

Heading toward my trailer, I need to get away from those idiots before I punch one of them in the throat or worse. My fists are still clenched, nails digging into my palms as I try to rein in my temper. Alice's stubbornness is really starting to piss me off.

Why can't she just accept what we have?

Lost in my heated thoughts, I don't notice Ty until I nearly plow right into him. He grabs my shoulders, steadying me with a worried look.

"Easy, Lars," he says, his brow furrowed with concern. "What's got you so riled up?"

I shake my head, taking a deep breath to compose myself. "It's Alice. She's being difficult about leaving with the carnival."

Ty lets out a sympathetic sigh. "Women, man. They'll drive you crazy if you let them." His attempt at humor falls flat as his expression turns serious again. "Actually, I'm kinda glad I ran into you. We've got a situation brewing that could get ugly real fast."

My anger is momentarily replaced by a spike of adrenaline. "What kind of situation?"

"This turf war between the Blackwood brothers and Carlo is heating up," Ty explains.

"What are you saying, Ty?" I ask, my anger overshadowed by this new development. "The Blackwoods and Carlo are at each other's throats?"

Ty nods grimly. "Apparently, there was an attack at one of the Blackwood warehouses in Ravenwood last night. Xavier is convinced it was Carlo's crew behind it."

"Shit," I mutter, taking my fingers through my hair. This could get really messy if those two start an all-out war, and we're caught in the middle. "What did Xavier do?"

"You know how he operates," Ty says. "He's pulled out all the stops, called in every trigger-happy guy in his arsenal to hit back twice as hard."

I can picture a bloody turf battle erupting in Bridgwater and Ravenwood. Innocent people getting caught in the crossfire of the Blackwoods' ruthless retaliation. It's exactly the heat we don't need while keeping our operations under wraps.

"So what do you want to do?" I ask, meeting Ty's gaze. "You want to lie low for a bit? Pause the dealings until this shit blows over?"

Ty shakes his head. "Can't afford to. The Blackwoods are our biggest clients. They'll take it as a sign of disloyalty if we back out. It'll be our heads on the chopping block next."

I grit my teeth. "Maybe we sweeten the deal for Carlo? Offer him a discount to make nice with the Blackwoods again?"

But Ty's already shaking his head. "You think he'll go for that after Xavier put a hit out on his guys? There's not a chance in hell, man. This has gone way too far."

A tense silence stretches between us as we grapple with the harsh reality. Getting stuck in a war between two crime syndicates is a death sentence waiting to happen.

"So what then?" I finally ask, my voice low. "We just keep our heads down and hope this shit blows over before it reaches us?"

The grim set of Ty's jaw tells me we're in treacherous waters now, and one wrong move could capsize us all.