Chapter 9 #2
“We all got close with her. Gave us all something warm and fuzzy that we’d never had before.
She was so much like you, but she baked cookies and shit.
We always came home to random treats waiting for us.
She was more girly than you. Loved her pink crap and sundresses.
She had fire though.” He swallowed, glancing over at me.
“Every time you get in someone’s face or push the rules, all I see are my memories of her, but they’re happening to you.
I’m glad you’re strong and not afraid to stand up for yourself, but the truth of it is, you have no hope among men like us.
My enemies are worse than what Savage ever was, and sometimes I wonder if any of my guys would go rogue.
Just because Slash wouldn’t drag you in the cage to assault you like that, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have you beaten.
I’m worried he’d allow you to be taken too. ”
“He’s not playing games with me, Skeet. I really believe he’s changed,” I murmured, his hand sliding onto my thigh.
“The one thing I can admit is that Slash will do whatever benefits him. Right now, playing nice works in his favor. Later though? That can switch. Give D some space too. I know you’ll want to check on him, but today rattled him.”
“You’re sure you won’t get in trouble for taking me today? Diesel should be resting, right?”
“He is. He’s gone home, I made sure of it.
Slash doesn’t want to make any moves today, so it’s fine.
I feel like an asshole, actually. I told you yesterday we’d go, and then got up this morning and sent you with D,” he replied, the Ashburn Valley sign vanishing behind us as we headed south through Briar Falls.
“It’s fine. We didn’t have to.”
“We did. Holloway said you sucked at hiding your feelings about it and were devastated not to be out looking. I’m sorry,” he said firmly, and I put killing Caden on my list of things to do because Skeeter was too busy to be doing this shit out of pity.
“So, what’s the plan? You want to stop for food on the way? Eat once we get there?”
“I’ve never been this way before. Do you know any nice places to eat?”
“If by nice you mean cheap, then sure. I come this way often since the prison is in Fairview. If you’d like, we can book somewhere to stay, dump our things, then go eat before exploring?”
I winced, knowing we really shouldn’t stay overnight when the Devils were making moves.
As if knowing my thoughts, he raised an eyebrow at me. “I promise the night away is fine. Search for a nice hotel in the area. Saint Maple is pretty flashy if Josie wants you safely in a non-cockroach infested place.”
“Skeet—”
“I know you don’t like using her money, but do it. She’ll freak out if you don’t, and honestly? I want to stay in a place with room service,” he grinned, reaching out to play with the radio. “It’s going to take almost four hours to get to Rosevale, so start hunting for a place to stay.”
Skeeter
“We can’t stay here. They’re going to call security on us,” Rory whisper-yelled as we walked through the doors of the hotel in Rosevale. I couldn’t lie, the place was ridiculously fancy, and she’d been quite vocal about not wanting to stay here when she saw the price tag.
“I literally parked a McLaren out front. They know we have money.”
“A McLaren they probably think you stole, gangster man,” she deadpanned, hurrying to keep pace with me as I approached the front desk.
The man behind the desk smiled at us, uneasiness in his eyes. “Welcome to the Golden Starling. How—”
“We need a room,” I said, cutting him off. “Just one night.”
“We’re currently booked out, but—”
“You have rooms available online,” I threw back, tapping my fingers on the desk impatiently. “Don’t make me pull a spoiled rich kid tactic and call her guardian. Josie Holloway would be horrified if you refused to give us somewhere safe to sleep.”
The second I mentioned Josie, his eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he started typing away at the keyboard nervously.
“I apologize. Oh, it seems we just had a cancellation.”
“Convenient timing,” I grunted, ignoring Rory as she muttered for me to shut up. “Aurora here is like a daughter to Josie, so make sure it's a nice room or you’ll be hearing from Josie personally.”
“Would the penthouse suffice?” he rambled, starting to sweat as I glared at him.
“Does that have room service with all the bells and whistles?”
“Yes, it has a private pool, multiple bedrooms, room service twenty-four-seven, and a bar. There’s—”
“We’ll take it. Aurora, give the man your card,” I ordered, making her scowl as she handed it over.
“This place is too expensive. I don’t like spending money like this.”
“Josie said she wanted a nice hotel. This is nice,” I informed her, the man at the desk motioning for someone to join us.
They tried to take my bags and I snarled, and Rory groaned. “Skeet, it’s part of the service. They take them to the room for you.”
“They’re not touching my things,” I said sharply, the man stepping back.
They hurried to get it all processed and gave the card back, handing over fancy room keys and showing us to the elevator, trying hard to get me the fuck away from their front desk.
I was probably scaring potential clients away.
Once in the elevator, Rory glared at me. “This room is twenty grand a night.”
“I know, I heard them tell us,” I grinned, nudging her with my hip. “C’mon, you never spend her money. Enjoy it.”
“Twenty grand could feed me for years. This is—”
“I don’t want to hear it. For the next twenty-four hours, you’re a rich bitch with no budget.
We’re going to eat, drink, and enjoy everything this town has to offer.
Josie wants you to stop stressing about money, so let loose just this once,” I said as I watched the elevator climb the floors.
“When we get to our room, message Josie and let her know we’re here. ”
She grumbled but didn’t argue, and I couldn’t lie, the second we reached the penthouse and stepped out, my jaw almost hit the floor.
There were water fountains in the entry, the marble floors so clean you could eat off them, and I grinned when I saw the large windows that looked out across the whole town.
“I’m so fucking you against those later.”
She followed me through the rooms to the master bedroom, placing the bags on the floor and taking it all in.
“This is more ridiculous than Holloway’s place,” I chuckled, eyeing the massive bed and thinking of all the things we could do on it.
She texted, who I assumed was Josie, before giving me a glance.
“We dumped our stuff, so let's go eat somewhere,” Rory huffed as she grabbed my hand, tugging me towards the door.
“There’s a nice restaurant—”
“We wouldn't get in with the dress code. Let’s just go to a diner or something,” she begged, and I studied her face, noticing how uncomfortable she was.
“Burgers?” I asked, her entire body relaxing.
“That would be good. There’s a place near the lake that serves burgers.”
“Let’s head there then. Maybe we can have an ice cream while we’re there,” I offered, her face softening.
“Sounds good.”
We walked for a while, deciding to check the town out on the way, and I could see Rory studying every single person we passed. If her mom was still around here, we probably would’ve found a trace of her by now.
The walk took half an hour, and thankfully, Burgers and Beats was a casual business with a bunch of teenagers hanging around. It seemed to be the popular place on the block, and no one batted an eye at us as we walked inside to sit down.
I slid into the booth beside Rory, draping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. She looked at me like I was crazy, making me feel like an ass.
“Does this count as a date?” I tried to joke, making her scoff.
“Don’t hurt yourself on my account. I won’t tell anyone you brought me here.”
“Wait,” I sighed, keeping hold of her when she tried to slide away. “Can it be a date? I’d like it to be.”
“You want it to be?” she echoed, seeming confused.
I felt stupid and way out of my element. I’d never done this shit before, and I was making a dick out of myself.
“I like you.”
“I’m aware.”
“I don’t do the girlfriend thing, but I kind of like it with you,” I explained, her eyes widening a fraction before she looked down at the table to avoid my gaze.
“We don’t have to change anything, Skeet. We can hang out and sleep together without anything fancy,” she said tightly, making me frown.
It stung a little that she was brushing it off, and memories of a similar conversation hit me like a train. It was just for fun, nothing serious. We were never supposed to be in a relationship outside the bedroom.
Why had I thought Rory would be any different?
“You scare me, you know?” she murmured, going quiet when the waitress came over to take our order. We got the house burger and a Coke each, and once the waitress walked away, Rory glanced at me. “What do you see in your future?”
“You,” I said honestly. “My crew, and those idiots you insist on keeping around. I’ve only tried dating once, and it didn’t work out. I was the only one committed, and I got my heart broken over it.”
“I won’t leave the guys, Skeet.”
“Monogomy wouldn’t work with us. I mean, we’d lose the rich boy perks,” I joked.
“I need to work through some things still.”
“Like what?”
Her face blanked out her emotions, and she shook her head.
“I don’t want to talk about it here. Can we focus on Mom, then talk about us later?”
“Sure.” Deep down, I wanted to shake it out of her so I understood what was holding her back, but it wouldn’t change anything. “Maybe we can try the cafe next door when we’re done. It looks like a nice place your mom would’ve gone to.”
She relaxed at the subject change, pulling out her piece of paper to go over the local places, and I took one of the photos from her when the waitress returned, showing it to her.