Leaving The Way: Book Two (The Way Trilogy), стр. 22

He chuckles in return, and I take my first sip and oh my gawd, where have you been all my life? I’m not sure what’s in this but the flavors are explosive. I can definitely taste the alcohol, but it’s mostly masked by orange juice and something else fruity and sweet.

Luke laughs again as my eyes go wide, and I go in for a second swig. “Whoa, whoa, slow down, Little Minx. These may taste sweet, but you’ll be drunk before that glass is empty.”

I nod my head in understanding, but that doesn’t stop me from taking another sip as I hear Mateo slurring my name.

“Annn-aaaa!” He throws his arm around my shoulders, nodding at Luke as the rest of our group joins us.

Before long Luke and I sit at a table with Cody and Chase on my left, Tommy and Easton on Luke’s other side, and then Mateo, Brea, Daniel, and Camila across the table from us. Everyone has had quite a bit to drink and now we’re all laughing at Easton’s expense. He just asked a very cute girl if she wanted to go out with him, and she promptly turned him down, flipping her hair over her shoulder, calling him something most likely mean in Spanish, and walking away. Everyone had immediately busted out in a full fit of laughter while Luke had to explain to me what going out meant, and then I too laughed so hard my eyes filled with tears. I almost feel sorry for Easton as he sits a few spaces down, rolling his eyes at our antics.

“Okay, okay. Seriously, that was the best thing that’s ever happened,” Mateo bellows, slamming his drink back down on the table after taking a big swig. “But let’s get serious.”

Brea tries to put her serious face on, but then she and I both lose it, keeling over once again. Did I mention I’m getting drunk every night? This is the shit!

“Girls,” he reprimands, turning to both of us before continuing, “Now let’s talk about the Church of The Way.”

Well, that sobered me right up, and as I will my head to clear of the giggles and the alcohol, I immediately feel bad. Here I am, having one of the best nights of my life and my best friend is probably being beaten and tortured. God, I’m a horrible person.

Luke seems to notice my change in mood as he scoots closer, slipping his hand under my sweater on my lower back and rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. Leaning into his side, I look back to Mateo and wait for him to continue.

“There was another attack today, on the supply run between Titan territory and Bonham.”

With Mateo’s claim, Luke sucks in a deep breath through clenched teeth, his hand flinching on my back. I move my hand over and squeeze his thigh, letting him know I’m here.

“I’ve tried to stay out of this, but they’re leaving me no choice. Something has to be done, damn it.” Mateo’s last words are said on a yell as he slams his fist on the table, and the people at the surrounding tables turn to look.

“What do you suggest?” Luke asks, leaning in closer as the rest of the group follows suit.

“I think we need to call a meeting of the council,” he says much lower.

I assumed it would be Luke who responded first, but instead its Easton. “You can’t be serious. The council hasn’t met in ten years, and you know what happened last time.”

I look back and forth between the two, hoping one of them will elaborate but neither do. Instead, it’s Brea who stands, leaning across the table filling me in as the men continue to talk in rushed voices.

“Mateo’s uncle led Diablo before him. He was the last one to call a meeting of the council,” she whispers.

She opens her mouth to continue but I have way too many questions so I interrupt. “Wait, start from the beginning and dumb it down for me. Who’s the council?”

Leaning back and picking up her drink, she scoots her chair back and nods for me to follow. The two of us make our way a couple tables over from the group where it’s a little quieter and we won’t interrupt the boys heated discussion. We take two empty seats, settling in.

“The council is made up of all the legitimate gang lords. And when I say legitimate, I just mean pretty much any gang that’s established with more than fifty members who takes care of their territory rather than terrorizing the people in it. Trust me, there’ve been a few over the years that were an issue.” She pauses to take a drink. “One of those gangs is actually the reason the council met last time. There was a group, less than fifty people, led by a psychopath. I don’t remember what they called themselves, I was pretty young then. Anyway, Mateo’s uncle who led Diablo at the time, found out this group had been running around north of here, attacking towns. They were stealing anything they could get their hands on, raping the woman, beating or killing anyone who tried to stop them. It was bad.” She shakes her head, letting out a pained sigh. “This group had a lot of guns, that was their preferred weapon, so Ben, that’s his Uncle, he called the council to a meeting. Eight gang lords showed, but it ended in a blood bath. They couldn’t agree on anything, everyone wanted to be in charge. The fighting and killing went on for two days before they finally put an end to it. Eventually the Titans agreed to help Ben, and they went after and took down the rogue gang, but the council hasn’t met since.” She finishes, leaning back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other before casting a quick glance over her shoulder at Mateo. She looks worried.

“You’re worried about him,” I comment. It isn’t a question, because the look