was going through the kid’s head. Was he embarrassed Diego was there…or relieved?
Diego would have liked to deal with this carefully, but unfortunately, there wasn’t time to be subtle. Factoring in how long it had taken to find the kid, it was likely they only had another two or three minutes before this place was locked down.
The moment he reached Brandon’s side, he wrapped a hand around his arm. “We need to leave—now.”
The gangbanger eyed him with a mix of amusement and contempt. “Who’s this? Your daddy?”
Diego ignored the question, giving Brandon’s arm a tug. They didn’t get more than two steps before the gangbanger was in Diego’s face, pushing his hand away from Brandon’s arm, then putting a palm on Diego’s chest and trying to shove him back. It didn’t work, but it was still irritating as hell.
Diego wouldn’t normally worry about making a scene, but he’d been hoping to avoid it in this case. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to play nice.
The gangbanger reached for the gun in his waistband, but Diego was faster. Getting a grip on the front of the guy’s coat, he picked him up and slammed him back against the wall hard enough to make the guy’s head bounce. Dropping him to the floor, Diego turned to grab Brandon, only to spin back around at a warning from his inner wolf. A big, burly guy with a gang tattoo came at him fast, right hand scrambling at his waist for a gun.
Diego closed the distance between him and the man, latching a hand around the guy’s wrist before he could pull the gun. Diego squeezed, feeling bones crack beneath his grip as he wrapped his other hand around the gangbanger’s thick neck and slammed him to the floor.
The sound of the impact was loud enough to be heard over the music, and from the corner of his eye, Diego saw that other people in the club had definitely noticed the scuffle. Diego ignored them and reached out for Brandon, who was staring at the two unconscious gang members like he’d never seen anything like it.
“If we’re not out of here in the next thirty seconds, your life as you know it is over,” Diego growled. “So, move!”
He nudged Brandon toward the exit with one hand, practically having to carry Kevin with the other. Thankfully, neither kid fought him as they pushed their way through the crowd staring at them curiously. The older kid they’d been with simply stood there and watched them go.
Dion was nowhere to be seen, and there wasn’t a barricade of DPD patrol units outside when they shoved their way through the doors. Diego didn’t slow down but kept urging Brandon to move fast until they reached his truck.
“Get in!” he ordered Brandon as he shoved a fumbling, mumbling Kevin in the back seat and strapped the seat belt on him.
Diego had just pulled out of the parking lot onto Harry Hines when cop cars started pouring in. He had no doubt his fellow police officers had the back exit of the club blocked before the cavalry got there. Eyes wide, Brandon turned and looked out the back window, probably figuring out exactly what he’d avoided.
Brandon didn’t say anything as they drove across town. Neither did Diego. He didn’t trust himself to speak without growling yet, so he clenched his jaw and stayed quiet. Kevin passed out and started snoring a few blocks later.
“Did he only smoke weed or was it something else?” Diego asked brusquely. “Did he snort anything? Take any pills? Do I need to worry about him having something in his system that will kill him?”
Brandon flinched at his tone, and for a second, Diego thought the kid wouldn’t answer. Finally, he shook his head, lowering his gaze to stare at the floorboards. “Just weed…like me. I don’t think it was that much since I’m not feeling it at all.”
Diego breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn’t have to worry about Kevin overdosing. The kid had probably smoked marijuana with a high THC percentage. Well, higher than he was used to dealing with. Not that Diego was any happier knowing there’d been weed involved.
“Werewolves can’t get high from most drugs,” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could. “So, while you weren’t getting anything out of the experience, your best friend was getting blitzed to the point of passing out.”
“Oh,” Brandon said quietly.
Diego’s chest tightened until it was tough to breathe, and