Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
RORY
The house was quiet when Skeeter dropped me off at home. Josie had apparently gone out with friends, and Caden’s car had been the only one in the driveway.
I headed upstairs to his bedroom once I’d washed the small smears of blood from my hands, finding him sprawled out with his face in his phone.
“Hey,” I murmured as I walked in, dropping down beside him and instantly getting pulled against his chest.
“Hey. Skeet said you were going out with Diesel, so I wasn’t expecting you home,” he replied, kissing my neck.
“We got ambushed. I’m fine, but Diesel has a nasty gash on his head.
Skeet brought me home so he could help Slash handle it,” I sighed, curling into him more.
“We were supposed to go to Rosevale today to see if we could find any information about Mom. Skeet must have forgotten and decided to go to the shooting range with Diesel instead.”
He frowned, sitting up to run his gaze over me. “What do you mean you got ambushed?”
“Devils showed up to take down Diesel and Skeet. Didn’t realize Skeet had let me go with Diesel instead. I’m honestly fine.”
“I’d feel better if you let me check anyway.”
“You sure you don’t just want me naked?” I teased, amusement flashing across his face.
“That’s just a bonus.”
I rolled my eyes and sat up to pull my shirt over my head, letting him tug my pants off so he could see me properly.
“See? Not even a bruise,” I stated, his fingers skimming down my legs as he inspected me.
“They let you go? I’m surprised they didn’t kidnap you to get to Skeet,” he mumbled with confusion, his fingers moving higher up my body to my ribs.
“Hunter’s not like that,” I shrugged, his eyes lifting to mine and making me add, “So I’ve been told.”
“Don’t rely on that being the case.”
“I know. I made him think I was siding with him, then when he was close enough, I stole his gun,” I grinned, fisting the front of his shirt to pull him up my body. “I think even he was impressed.”
“If you’re trying to turn me on, it’s kind of working,” he chuckled, bracing above me and leaning down to kiss me gently. I slid a hand into his hair and pulled, a groan leaving him as he thrust against me. “How sore are you right now?”
“Can you be gentle?”
“If that’s what you need. Don’t move,” he instructed, climbing off me to shut the door, and stripping naked on his way back to the bed. I admired his body as I removed my bra and panties, both of us freezing when we heard footsteps in the hallway.
Caden silently shoved my clothes back at me, both of us managing to get our shirts on in record time, and we’d just shoved our underwear on as the door opened and Josie poked her head in, narrowing her eyes on us.
“You’re home early,” Caden blurted out awkwardly, making her snort.
“Apparently.” Her attention moved to me, her expression softening slightly. “Has your father contacted you?”
“No, why?” I asked slowly, a wince taking over her face.
“One of my friends saw him in town yesterday. Just wanted you to know he’s still hanging around if you didn’t know. Be careful.”
“Thanks.”
“Rory? Please put pants on when you’re in my son’s bedroom,” she said seriously, my face heating.
“Uh, sure. Sorry,” I mumbled, and she stood there waiting, my brain catching up to what she wanted as I grabbed my pants and pulled them on.
“Mom, we’re adults,” Caden grumbled, putting his pants back on too.
“Under this roof you’re both celibate,” she said dryly, pushing the door open wide before walking away, and Caden sighed.
“There goes that, I guess.”
“Do you want to help me go over some maps to find what stores and cafes are around where my mom might have gone to? I can make a list for when Skeet has time to take me,” I suggested, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “That way when he has time, I’ll have a plan.”
He leaned closer to kiss my temple, giving my thigh a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, we can do that.”
We ended up in the kitchen at the table with a laptop and notebook, finding the address and searching the area for places to check.
He helped me find a couple of photos from old articles of events my parents had gone to back when I was younger, printing some out so I had some for myself, but also so we could show people what she looked like.
I traced her face with my finger, not realizing I was deep in thought until Josie placed a plate of sandwiches in front of me.
“Found anything new?” she asked hopefully, giving me a look of pity when I shook my head. “I’m sorry, honey. Something will pop up eventually. Do you want me to show her photo around too?”
“It’s been a long time since she was in Ashburn or we would have found something by now.”
“Doesn’t mean someone hasn’t stayed in touch and could point you in the right direction.”
“That would be great then,” I smiled, handing her a photo. “Why did I have to get my looks from Max?”
She chuckled, patting my shoulder. “You’re a lot prettier, I promise. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”
The front door opened and closed, both me and Josie frowning when Skeeter walked in.
“Why does Skeeter have the codes?” she asked, looking right at me, but Caden snorted.
“Because he was breaking in all the time so I gave them to him when we upgraded security. He’d find another way in if I didn’t.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked Skeeter as he approached, leaning over the back of my chair to give me a quick kiss.
“I told you we were going to Rosevale today and Holloway reminded me. Sorry.”
“You guys are busy,” I said carefully, not needing Josie to know about this morning’s issue.
“Slash has it handled. C’mon, Caden said you have a list of places to check out. We’d better leave soon or we’ll be back super late.”
Josie eyed him, still frowning. “If it gets too late, let me know and I’ll pay for a hotel for you both. I don’t want you driving that far in the middle of the night.”
“I do it regularly,” he promised, and she shook her head.
“Not with Rory, you don’t. I don’t want to be lying awake worried about her. Or you, since it’s obvious you mean something to her. Take your time, don’t rush, and keep her safe.”
I wanted to be mad at her for telling us what to do, but my chest heated at her concern, and I gave her a small smile.
“We’ll be careful. I have that card you gave me if we get stuck.” Not that I wanted to use it, but I wasn’t going to call her to bail us out either.
“I have money, believe it or not,” Skeeter said dryly, making her sigh.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather you stayed in a hotel with high security over a cheap motel. You’ll come back with bedbug bites or in a body bag.”
“Kind of taking it the wrong way,” Skeeter grumbled, eyeing me. “Pack a bag just in case.”
“Remember your pill,” Josie said firmly, pointing at Skeeter. “And you. Make sure she eats.”
“Yes, ma’am. I need her to keep her energy levels up,” he said with a sweet smile that looked weird as fuck on him.
She gave him a dirty look for what he was referring to, before patting my arm and leaving the room, calling over her shoulder. “Pills, Rory. Don’t forget.”
“I won’t,” I groaned, grabbing a sandwich and taking a bite. “How embarrassing.”
Skeeter snickered, but Caden shrugged. “You get used to it. Do you want me to come too?”
“No,” Skeeter answered bluntly, helping himself to a sandwich too.
“What if you run into trouble?”
“We’d have more trouble with you tagging along. You’d be a great hostage for a ransom,” he deadpanned, and I got to my feet, wanting to get going.
“You two behave while I get ready,” I warned, not that they really listened as they started bickering about Caden’s chances of being a liability.
I packed fast, waving my pills at Josie on my way past her office, and once Caden had given me all the things we’d found online, Skeeter led me out to the McLaren and we hit the road.
“How’s D?” I asked once we’d left the driveway.
“He’s had worse, he’ll live. He told you about Sasha?”
“Yeah. You saw what happened to her?”
“Yes. I was fourteen," he answered in a soft tone. “I saw a lot as a kid that I really shouldn't have. If I was older, I would’ve been expected to participate in the punishment. Savage hated her. Not just because she stood up to him and didn’t listen, but because she was making Diesel soft. Making him want more out of life than what he’d been forced into. Hurting her meant Diesel would stay in line because if he went rogue or tried to run, he knew what Savage would do.”
“Why couldn’t he let him go?”
“Once you’re in, that’s it. The only way out is death.
Those rules still apply to this day. Diesel owed the Psychos for sparing his life.
He was supposed to die that night when he was caught stealing our drugs, but I convinced Savage to bring him in.
If he could get past our security and hack our shit, he was an asset to us.
Savage didn’t spare him because I asked, he spared him because I convinced him that Diesel was a tool we could use.
Some days I wonder if I should’ve just let them kill him.
That man has suffered more than any of us, and I blame myself for a lot of it. ”
“You did the right thing. You saved him,” I insisted, making him chuckle dryly.
“He was given a life sentence with us. A lot of us chose this life, but he didn’t.
Sure, we got him clean, but it wasn’t pretty.
He was locked in a basement for months to get there, and it wasn’t like he escaped punishment for what he’d done.
He was beaten regularly, sometimes starved.
Meeting Sasha saved him from himself. I was always waiting for him to take his own life, but she gave him a reason to stay and be better.
He was pulling away from us, and Savage didn’t like it.
So, he showed Diesel that pretty things didn’t belong in our world, and that she was weak when she killed herself. ”
I studied him as he drove, his jaw tight. “You were friends with her?”