Chapter 5 #2
“I can be a friend to you if you ask real nicely,” he murmured, finally taking his eyes off me to look around the room. “You look rich to me.”
“Not my house. I broke in too,” I joked, trying not to let him know that he was starting to freak me out. I had no idea if he was here to hurt me or not, and for all I knew, he was hired by Max to kidnap me or something. “What are you doing here? Who are you?”
“The real question is, who are you?” he chuckled, sliding his eyes back to mine. “And why didn’t you tell your guard dog that you knew I was here?”
“I don’t want this place turning into a bloodbath.”
“It won’t if you stay still.”
My eyes narrowed just as he darted forward to grab me, but I’d been expecting it. The second his fingers wrapped around my bicep, I swung my knife at him and got him in the shoulder.
He hissed out a breath, grabbing me by the hair and shoving me down on the table.
“I said to stay still!”
“Would you like me to take off my panties to save you some time?” I asked sarcastically to hide my panic, squirming as I felt him harden against my leg.
“What? No. I mean, you can fuck me if you really want, but I’m not here for that,” he growled, his hold tightening on me. Something sharp pricked my neck, and I managed to slice him on the forearm with my knife before he let me go, my hand going to my neck.
“What the fuck?” I spat, noticing the needle in his hand. “What did you inject me with?”
“It won’t kill you. If I wanted to do that, I’d have shot you and saved myself some time.” His gaze ran over me before he capped the needle and put it in his pocket, not seeming to notice that he was bleeding. “Trust me when I say I definitely want to see you again.”
“Are you seriously flirting with me?”
“I don’t make a habit of murdering hot girls, lucky for you,” he snickered as my vision dimmed. “I’ll be seeing you again soon, Princess.”
A gasp left me as I grabbed the counter to keep myself upright. “I’m not a fucking princess!”
Everything was spinning.
What the fuck had he injected me with?
“And this isn’t a palace, right?” he snorted, my body pitching forward as my legs gave out.
He caught me, and I blinked hard to try and stay awake as he easily tossed me over his shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” I forced out, my voice not sounding like my own as the drugs started pulling me under, staring at the floor as he started walking towards the stairs.
“Stop fighting it. I’m not here to touch you,” he replied, sounding far away.
He’d only just started walking up the stairs when I blacked out, my body going slack in his hold.
Slash
It took hours for the guys to get their shit together and agree that my plan was solid. Sending the fighter bitch into enemy territory was a win-win situation. She’d either get us intel, or she’d end up dead and not be my problem anymore.
She didn’t know shit about how we ran things, so there was no risk of her spilling secrets.
Hunter ran his crew with an iron fist, but he also had a conscience, which affected his decisions. Him and Skeeter had always balanced each other as kids, and as much as Hunter turning on us hadn’t seemed like such a big deal to the world, Skeeter had a lot of pain hidden from it.
Sometimes, I wondered if he’d ever thought of turning on us for them before it went to shit because as much as we were close and this was his family, Hunter and Marco had been his family too.
Thankfully, he’d stayed with us, but things could’ve easily gone differently.
The guys all mingled and had a beer once our meeting was finished, and I wasn’t surprised when Matteo approached me as I stood in the corner having a cigarette, assessing the room around me.
“Boss? Can I have a word?” I motioned for him to follow me into the office for privacy, and once we were sitting at my desk, he sighed. “Skeet’s in too deep with that girl.”
“I know. I’m working on it,” I answered.
“He won’t let you hurt her.”
“He doesn’t have to let me do anything, I’m the boss,” I grunted, leaning forward to blow smoke in his face. “Tell me, Matteo. Am I at risk of losing my position to Skeeter fucking Maddox if I make a play against him?”
“You’d really go against him? He’s your best friend,” he said slowly, but he looked relieved when I nodded.
“We all want her gone. She’s a target and a fucking distraction.
She’s already got Skeet chasing after her, but Diesel is focusing his worry on her way too much too.
He hung out with her to make sure she was safe when he should’ve been here at the meeting.
We know it’s probably just giving him flashbacks about Sasha, but we can’t let him continue to obsess over her safety.
If we told either of them to choose us or her, I think they’d turn on us. ”
“Like I said, I’m working on it. I’ll push her and she’ll run. She acts like she’s some kind of bad bitch from the Heights, but she’s a scared little girl with daddy issues.”
“She hasn’t run yet.”
“She will. I need to show Skeet that she’s not made for him in a way that won’t start a war within the crew. I could kill her, but he’d lose his shit. So, I’ll force him into seeing how wrong she is for him.”
I wasn’t exactly patient, but I had to let my emotions simmer about this girl and wait it out. That was why I was a leader and Skeeter wasn’t, his emotions controlled his every move, even when he claimed they didn’t.
Matteo didn’t seem convinced, but he slowly nodded. “She won’t be a problem anymore?”
“I just need some time. Donovan will run out of bravery eventually, and as much as I hate to admit it, the Devils are a higher priority right now. Maybe they’ll kill her for me,” I joked, and Matteo scrunched his nose with annoyance.
“As much as that would be great, we have to stand as a united front. If Skeet’s going to claim some kind of ownership, they can’t know we’re having an internal falling out over her. We can’t let them kill her and disrespect our crew like that.”
“When Skeet gets killed because of that bitch, I’m making you my right-hand. You use your brain,” I grunted, turning my eyes to the computer monitor and glaring at the footage of Skeeter and Diesel talking at the bar. I knew they were talking about Rory, they had to be.
“Want me to stage a home invasion? Break some shit and scare her?” Matteo offered as he took a swig of his beer. “I don’t mind smacking her around a little.”
“She’d just run crying to Skeet and D. It’s not worth the tantrum.
Not to mention, the Holloways have high tech security and fancy lawyers.
I think it’s best we avoid dragging them into anything if we can help it,” I pointed out, tapping the screen with my finger.
“These idiots will soon see how weak she is. All women are. Diesel learned that lesson a long time ago, so he’d push her away to keep her safe, but Skeet?
It’s going to take a lot of convincing.”
“If you need anything, let me know. My loyalty is to you and the crew, not Skeet’s weird obsession with that girl,” he said seriously, getting to his feet. “If I hear Skeet or Diesel plotting anything, I’ll let you know.”
“I appreciate it,” I nodded, dismissing him as I returned my attention to the screen.
Some of the guys were in the cage beating each other up, which was normal, and I wasn’t surprised when Skeeter joined them. It was good for the guys to get their aggression towards each other out, and it seemed that Skeeter had a few takers.
I had to get my focus off his bullshit and back onto rival crew problems, so I pulled up some photos that had been taken from local security footage. It was definitely Hunter and one of his guys.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and found Hunter’s name, and it only rang twice before the smug bastard answered.
“What an honor. A phone call from Slash Russo himself.”
“Cut the shit, Rivera. Were you going to stop by and tell us why you’re in our town? You were taking too long to make an appearance, so I thought I’d call,” I snapped, his chuckle grating on my nerves.
“Your town?”
“It has been ever since we ran you out of it.”
“There were enough crews in Ashburn Valley, we wanted our own territory. Mount Mercer has been peaceful away from your bullshit,” he said dryly, the sound of a lighter flicking close by as he lit a cigarette. “So, how’s everyone been?”
“Peachy. Why are you here?”
“Someone owes me money and is making me chase them, but I also heard some gossip and wanted to check it out. You know how much I love gossip.”
“Is the gossip worth getting shot over?” I deadpanned, laughter leaving him.
“This gossip? Definitely. You guys doing any protection jobs?”
“We’re more in the market of hurting people than keeping them safe. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering. It’s been a while. Maybe we should sit down with a beer and talk. We’ll be in and out of town for a while, and I’d prefer it if we could keep the shooting to a minimum,” he said with a yawn. “Is Skeet there? I’d love to say hi.”
Chances were high that he was here to save the Reapers’ bitch from their feud with the Demons. Fat load of help it would be when she was the root cause of it all.
Crews going to war over women was ridiculous, and if Hunter knew what was good for him, he’d stay out of it and let them all kill each other off.
Instead, he’d become besties with the stripper slut, much to Archer’s frustration.
The fact Hunter had been tapping that and hadn’t been killed yet was almost amusing. No one touched Archer’s obsession and got away with it.
“Fuck off, Rivera. The last thing I need is Skeet running off to shoot you. Which he will if you show up here,” I warned, making him tsk.
“Temper, temper, Russo. You saying you can’t control your men?”
“I’m saying Skeet has a right to shoot you. Rich of you to want to avoid bullets flying when you’re usually the first to pull the trigger,” I scoffed, my eyes flicking to the door as Diesel let himself in. “Unless you want to discuss business, I’m hanging up.”
Diesel shut the door behind him before dropping down into the chair opposite me, questions in his eyes.
Hunter just chuckled, his voice low. “I’ll see you soon. By the way, who’s the pretty girl?”
I hung up before he could say anything else, tossing my phone down on the desk with a growl, knowing exactly who he was talking about. “That cunt is a pain in the ass.”
“Who?”
“Rivera,” I gritted out, my eyes flashing up to his. “I don’t know why he’s hanging around, but I think it’s got something to do with that walking target with tits you and Skeet like so much, or the Reapers’ slut.”
“He knows about Donovan? How?” he asked with alarm, a bark of laughter leaving me.
“The same way everyone else knows about her. She’s been driving around in Skeeter’s goddamn car, riding his fucking cock, and fighting in our cage. I said that girl was going to be a problem, and now look. We have rival crews showing up wanting to get a good look at her.”
“That’s hardly her fault.”
“No, it’s Skeeter’s for getting attached to that pussy in the first place. Hunter’s going to show up any day now.”
“Should I keep an eye on Rory’s house?” he offered, and if the desk wasn’t between us, I would’ve put my fist through his face.
“No! Fuck the academy brat, keep your eyes open for an attack against your crew!” I spat, his eyes narrowing.
“Look, whatever pissing contest you and Skeet have going on has nothing to do with me. I thought I’d offer since you sent me to take her home earlier.”
“I needed Skeet here and knew he’d run off if someone else didn’t get her home. She’s home in her fancy mansion with high-end security, so stop worrying. No one will get to her in there,” I muttered, giving him the side-eye. “Did you come in here for a reason, or just to bother me?”
“I got a call from our weapon’s client in Kingslake. He wants to meet. Do you want me to take a bunch of guys over tonight or organize it for another day?” he asked as he leaned back in his seat to watch me. I relaxed at the subject change, thankful that he was obviously still focused on business.
“Set it up for tonight. Take Skeet, Matteo, and Sam,” I said firmly, expecting him to argue, but he nodded without question and called our client to give him a time and place, the rest of my muscles relaxing at his obedience.
I’ve never had to question Diesel’s loyalty before, but lately, I swore it was all I’d been doing.