Reckless Vengeance (Watch Me Burn #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

RORY

The cool night air had seeped into my bones, shivers racking my body to the point my teeth chattered. I had no idea how long I’d been sitting here, staring out into the night from the Hawthorne Heights High’s roof.

The day’s events played through my mind on repeat, coming to the same heartbreaking conclusion.

Slash was dead.

I should’ve felt guilty for sneaking out and leaving home on foot without my phone, but I’d left a note. Caden and the guys were dealing with Tyler, his need for company completely opposite to my need to be alone all day.

I’d lied a little, claiming I’d gone to Mule’s for the night, but I couldn’t sit in that house and act like everything was okay.

My hands shook as I held them up in the moonlight, Slash’s dried blood cracking and falling off my skin as I tried to flex my fingers. Caden had put me in the bathroom for a shower hours ago, but I couldn’t.

How did you erase the last piece of a person that you had? No matter how morbid it seemed?

It had been around twelve hours since he’d been pronounced dead, but it felt like time hadn’t passed at all.

The guys would freak out if they knew I was here, especially now that the Soldiers had made a move and outright said they’d come to town for me.

Was it stupid to wander around alone? Probably, but I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.

“Rory?” I heard behind me, the sound seeming further away than what it probably was. Like it was under water.

I didn’t move, continuing to stare at my hands and hoping he’d go away if I pretended he wasn’t there.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“What’s wrong with her?” someone else said, and I glanced over to find Hunter squatting beside me with a frown on his face. The shaking got worse as I focused on how cold I was, and Marco appeared in my vision next. “Hey, Princess. Who’d you kill? Daddy dearest?”

“Shut up, man,” Hunter huffed, carefully reaching out to take my hands in his. I flinched back, almost falling off the damn roof, and he put his hands up to show he wouldn’t touch me. “You’re fine, I won’t touch. Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, making him blow out a breath of relief.

“Whose blood is on you?” Marco tried again, wincing as tears sprang to my eyes and trailed down my cheeks.

“Babe, talk to me. Let me help. You want me to call Skeet? He might kill me, but I’ll do it if you need me to,” Hunter offered seriously, sitting back on his heels to study me.

“Slash,” I managed to get out, my throat tight from the hours of crying I’d done.

“You want me to call Slash?” he asked as he got his phone out, and I held his gaze as I choked on my next few words.

“Slash is dead.”

“What?” he murmured, looking up from his phone with confusion before flicking his eyes to the blood on my hands again.

“The Soldiers came for me. He jumped in front of the bullets to save me,” I whispered, the guys having a silent conversation with their eyes before Marco vanished, leaving Hunter alone with me.

“Where’s Skeet?” Hunter asked, not coming closer.

“I don’t know. He stormed off from the hospital and told me to go home.”

“So why are you here?”

“How can I sit in that big house with the fancy shower and soft bedsheets when Slash is cold in the morgue?” I bit out angrily as more tears fell, not being able to fight him even if I’d wanted to when he shuffled closer and tucked me under his arm.

“You’re freezing,” he sighed, not seeming to care when my bloodied hands slid under his jacket for warmth. He actually reached down to where my hands were and moved them from between his shirt and hoodie to his heated skin, letting me soak in his body heat.

My hands burned from how hot he felt in comparison to me, the shivering getting worse.

“Can I take you home? You’re going to get sick out here,” he stated when I curled into him more.

“I can’t.” I wished I could stop crying but I couldn’t help it.

“You can’t stay out here all night. Tell me where to take you.”

“I just—”

“You want to crash at mine? You can clean up and have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch,” he offered, and I looked up at him through blurry eyes.

“That’s a bad idea.”

“If Skeet really wants to flip out, I can handle him. I’m not leaving you here alone. Not like this,” he replied, his hand rubbing up and down my spine to try and thaw me out. “Can you hold onto me on the bike? I can give you my helmet, but I can’t hold you to keep you on it.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I answered quietly, and he got to his feet, pulling me up with him.

“Tonight, you come with me. The rest, we can deal with tomorrow. C’mon.”

He led me back through the school and out to the parking lot, where Marco was waiting on his bike with his phone pressed to his ear, ending his conversation abruptly when we approached.

He eyed me like he wanted to break me and fix me at the same time, kind of like how Skeeter did when I pissed him off.

I stood still as Hunter eased his helmet over my head and did up the straps, then he put the pegs out on the bike before swinging a leg over and putting the kickstand up, starting the bike.

I hesitated, starting to think I should rethink this idea, but he put his gloves on and held out a hand, giving me a small smile. “C’mon, hop on.”

I flicked my gaze to Marco, but he was focused on his own bike, so I took Hunter’s hand and swung on behind him, sliding my arms around his middle to get comfortable.

It had been a while since I was on a bike, and I felt a little unbalanced.

He directed my hands under his jacket and shirt again, encouraging me to hold on before he started to inch forward, the engine purring under us as he picked up enough speed to lift his feet from the ground and turned onto the road towards Mount Mercer.

Marco trailed behind, and I appreciated their slower pace than normal. I was shivering too much and would probably fall off if they went too fast.

I clung to Hunter’s back, finding it almost impossible to see through the tinted visor. It must have been after midnight now, the grass becoming frosty as the morning air started changing with the new day.

My hair whipped around the helmet, and for a few minutes, I could cry in peace without witnesses. Hunter’s hand kept returning to the top of my hands over the jacket, so I knew he probably felt me shaking still, but it wasn’t like he could keep stopping to check on me.

I was taking a huge risk right now. If anyone saw us, I’d be fucked. I was still wearing Skeeter’s Psychos jacket, so being seen on the back of Hunter’s bike wasn’t a good idea.

Marco rode up beside us, his head constantly on a swivel for danger, and I swore I felt it every time his eyes landed on me, even though I couldn’t see properly.

We approached Hunter’s garage and Marco climbed off his bike to put the door up so Hunter could ride straight in, and Marco pushed his bike the rest of the way before shutting the door again, closing us off from prying eyes.

I pulled back a little when Marco reached out to help me with my helmet, his firm hands holding me still to stop me from escaping until he eased it off my head.

I climbed off the bike and felt like my legs were going to give out from under me, the shaking getting worse somehow.

Hunter pulled his gloves off and put the kickstand down, putting his things on the counter close by before moving towards me.

“Shower, food, bed,” he instructed, and I wanted to gag at the thought of food.

“I’m not hungry,” I exclaimed as he guided me through the internal access door into his house.

“I know, but you need something.”

“I’d skip the food. If she’s still in a state of shock, it could do her more harm than good. She can eat in the morning,” Marco stated, dropping down on the couch.

“She seems better.”

“Fine, but if she chokes on her food—”

“Alright, no food,” Hunter grumbled, leading me towards the bathroom and shutting the door.

He turned on the taps and told me to help myself to whatever I needed, walking towards the door to give me privacy.

I stared at the shower, not realizing I’d zoned out until Hunter appeared beside me again as he pulled his jacket off and kicked off his shoes.

“You’re going to drown in there alone, aren’t you?” He helped me out of Skeeter’s jacket before bending down to help with my shoes, sighing as he stood upright again. “Don’t hit me. I’m just helping you in the shower. No funny business.”

I took a step towards the shower and slipped, confirming that I would indeed die in there.

I was already just in my bra and pants, since I’d used my shirt to try and stop the bleeding for Slash.

I let Hunter take my gun from the back of my pants and my knife from my bra, his fingers brushing the cut on my lower back, but he didn’t say anything as he helped strip the rest of my clothes before encouraging me under the hot spray.

He climbed in fully clothed with me, silently squirting his body wash into his hands and starting to scrub the blood from my skin.

The trembling slowed the longer I stood under the heat, and I let what was left of my tears out while he washed me. I didn’t have the energy.

He washed my hair, making sure I was clean before helping me out and wrapping me in a towel.

“Stay there for a second. I’ll get you a shirt,” he murmured before peeling his wet socks off and not caring about his dripping clothes as he slipped from the room, returning with a fresh shirt in hand a moment later.

When he went to help dry me, I jerked back, my brain catching up a little now that I wasn’t so damn cold.

I was naked in the enemy’s fucking bathroom.

“Hair dryer’s in the cabinet. Come out when you’re ready,” he said with ease, placing the shirt on the counter and leaving again, knowing I could handle it myself now.

I stood there for a few minutes before loosening the towel and drying myself, sliding his large shirt over my head, then finding the hair dryer.