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“To whom?”

“To Wizard.”

Natalia took a moment to decide how she felt about Wizard being Diamond’s backup. “Did Knox say why?”

“Because Wizard rode to Treepoint during the winter to ask for a wedding band that belonged to Knox’s late mother. He told Knox he wanted to be prepared to get married as soon as the woman gave him the go-ahead.”

Natalia stared at the peanut in her hand. “Did Wizard say what her name was?”

“Natalia.”

Natalia glanced up, thinking Diamond was trying to draw her attention. “Yes?”

Diamond smiled. “That was the woman’s name. Natalia.”

“But I’ve only been seeing him for a couple of months …” She trailed off.

“He told Knox he fell in love with you at first sight. He said he’d been too slow with Tink, and Doom had stolen her from him. He didn’t want you to slip away, which is why he wanted the ring.”

Diamond was still leaning across the table. “Don’t worry. Wizard doesn’t have any unrequited feelings for Arden. He’s only disappointed because she knows how to fix everything. Bless his heart, Wizard really is a cheapskate.”

They dissolved into laughter so hard that their heads ended up on the table as they slapped its surface.

Suddenly, Diamond sat upright. “Shh … Stop laughing,” she whispered. “I promised to do something for someone, and I need to ask you before Wizard comes over here.”

Wiping her eyes, Natalia straightened in her seat. “What do you need?”

“Jesus wants to come back to Ohio.”

“Does he want me to ask Wizard to bring him back?”

“No!” Diamond hissed. “Don’t do that. You’ll make it worse.”

“I’m confused.”

“Wizard knows about the list you and Arden made. If you ask him to bring Jesus back, it will make things worse. Could you pretend someone else is at the top of your list?”

“If I do that, won’t he send that person to Treepoint?”

“Not if you pretend it’s a Last Rider who’s already in Treepoint.” Diamond hesitated. “Make sure it’s someone he likes, just in case. I don’t want to be responsible for telling you what’s going on with Jesus only for Wizard to make life difficult for someone in Treepoint.”

“Good idea. I’ll do that. I don’t know who he likes or dislikes in Treepoint. He doesn’t act as if he likes anyone here. He isn’t exactly Mr. Personality. Would you mind if I picked Knox?”

“Not at all,” Diamond assured her. “I know he won’t mess with Knox. Knox will sit on him if he gets mad.”

The two women burst into giggles, putting their heads back down, unaware of the man slipping out of the booth behind them.

“It’s a shame I can’t pick Puck. He’s getting on my last nerve. Wizard makes him watch my every move whenever he isn’t around because of the kidnapping.”

Diamond’s expression turned serious. “He’s being paranoid for good reason. Wizard and Viper put Lucia on a plane to her relatives’ hometown as a warning about what will happen if any further attempts are made on your or Rocco’s life.”

“I still don’t understand how the police attributed the fire and all those dead bodies to a gas explosion.”

Diamond arched her finely shaped eyebrows. “I’m going to let another secret slip. Not all The Last Riders are former military. Several are still active and perform select missions. A few of them called in favors, which they’ll have to repay, to cover it up. That’s also how all the negative publicity involving you and the restaurant was removed. It was a twofer.”

“I’d feel terrible if one of them were hurt during a mission because they helped me.”

“Don’t. At one time or another, all of us have needed their help. You get used to it.”