Free On the Edge by Mari Brown Page A

home of what support should look like. I understand why working for the Knights and becoming part of the family is so attractive to my brother. He has gained something the likes of which we never had. I find myself super fascinated with all of them because of how they just accept me. I hope that I always have them in my life.
    Seth and I spend three hours at the zoo checking out every exhibit possible. Rocco patiently follows us around. We stop in the gift shop on our way out, and Seth and I load up on souvenirs for his siblings and ourselves. As we walk back to the car, Seth complains about being hungry.
    “Rocco, can you find us a place to eat, please?” I ask.
    He nods and we head down the highway. When he sees big golden arches, Seth begins hollering for us to stop. Rocco doesn’t hesitate to pull in, and make our way into the dining room and walk to the counter.
    I look down at Seth. “What do you want to eat?”
    “Nuggets with chocolate milk,” he chirps.
    I give Rocco our order and then lead Seth over to a table where I get him settled. I sit down beside him, tickling him while we wait. He is giggling like crazy when a shadow crosses our table. When I glance up, Sal is standing there with another guy. The smile slowly drops off my face as I instinctively pull Seth in closer to me. My only thought is to keep him safe and oblivious to the possible danger. I look over to the counter and see that Rocco is already aware of what is going on. He heads straight towards us with the food and sets it down on the table in front of us.
    “I should have known Knight wouldn’t let his girl and lil brother out without some kind of guard,” Sal snaps out.
    “Dude, move on. Not in front of the kid,” Rocco states calmly.
    ‘I think I want to sit down and talk with the beautiful girl.” He pulls out the chair across from me and sits down. The guy with him stays silent and remains standing behind him. Rocco remains standing as well and I try to keep myself in check so I don’t scare Seth.
    “We have nothing to say to each other,” I say.
    “Oh, I think we can find plenty to talk about, beautiful.”
    I feel a tug on my arm and look down to see confused little eyes staring back at me. “Who is he?”
    “No one important,” I say to the sweet, innocent little boy. I glance over at Rocco and wonder what his plan is because he seems fairly calm. We sit there in tense silence for what seems like an eternity while I try to keep Seth busy eating his food.
    “Can you please just leave? I can’t eat with you sitting here ruining my appetite.” I tell Sal sarcastically.
    “No, I’m good. Just enjoying the view.”
    “Whatever, asshole,” I snap out.
    Rocco shakes his head, signaling for me to shut up. I scrunch my face in disgust, not happy that I’m in this situation. A few minutes pass, and then the whole atmosphere in the restaurant changes. It goes from a happy family environment to doom and gloom. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but Cole, Drew, Justin, and Pete walk into the dining area. The guy standing behind Sal tenses. I know it’s getting ready to get real up in here.
    “You aren’t supposed to be here, Cole,” Seth cries out upon seeing his older brother. I try to quiet him. Justin comes closest to us. “Hey buddy, why don’t you come with me for a minute?” Seth starts to protest, but I encourage him to go with Justin. Once they are out of range, it doesn’t take long for shit to get real.
    “What the fuck are you doing, Sal?” Cole bites out, anger clear in his tone. His posture is stiff and he is right in Sal’s face.
    “I was just enjoying a lovely afternoon until you showed up.” He smirks.
    “You need to stay away from my girl. You have enough problems without adding this to the mix.”
    People sitting around us begin clearing out. It’s not as if they don’t know who the Knights are in this town. Before long, the workers are the only ones left in the building besides