Chapter 1 #2
I emerged clutching Skeeter’s jacket that I’d wiped clean, tightening my hold on it when he tried to take it from me. He thankfully lowered himself onto the couch beside Marco, backing off without argument.
I felt way too exposed now that I was standing in front of both of them in nothing but a shirt, especially when Marco’s eyes slowly ran up my bare legs.
“I’ve put some water and granola bars on the bedside table just in case you want them if you wake up through the night.
Your gun and knife are in my safe because no offense, I don’t want you armed in my house when I’m sleeping.
My room is just through that door if you want to go to bed.
Door locks,” Hunter said around his cigarette as he lit it.
“Can I have one?” I asked, and he motioned for me to help myself.
They shuffled over so I could sit on the edge of the couch to light one with shaky hands. I was probably shaky because I hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
“What do the Soldiers want with you?” Marco asked curiously, smoking his own cigarette as he watched me.
“Why did you come looking for me?” I scoffed, making Hunter sigh.
“This is Max’s fault?”
“It’s always his fucking fault. I don’t know why they want me, but they made it obvious they’re going to do some fucked up shit to piss off Skeet in the process.”
“Razor and his boys are real pieces of shit. Some aren’t so bad, but most are monsters. They’d make you beg for death,” Marco stated, leaning forward to flick ash in the empty beer bottle on the coffee table.
“The good news is they’ll scuttle into hiding for a while now,” Hunter added, making me frown.
“Why?”
“I’d bet money on them being here to cause trouble for the Kings. If anyone was going to take out Slash Russo, it would’ve been Rage. He won’t be happy with them.”
“Rage would kill his own brother?” I asked, wondering if their family connection was a secret from the way Hunter looked at me with surprise.
“You know about him and Rage?”
“It was new information to me. I guess if he’d take out the rest of the family, what’s one more brother?” I said dryly.
“Basically. Either way, Rage will lose his shit at the Soldiers and they’ll be in hiding to lick their wounds. It gives us time to figure out how to get them off your back.”
Marco gave him a dirty look, saying what I was thinking. “What do you mean by us? You helped her tonight, so let Skeet handle his shit tomorrow.”
“I’m not arguing with you about this tonight,” Hunter answered sharply, motioning to the bedroom door and looking back at me. “There’s an ashtray in there if you want to be alone. Here.”
He handed me a couple more cigarettes and a lighter, and I wasn’t going to sit out here being glared at by Marco any longer, so I said good night and headed to bed.
Once I made sure the door locked like Hunter promised, I turned on the lamp and switched off the main light so I could get into bed.
I wasn’t going to risk something happening to Skeeter’s jacket, so I tucked it into bed beside me out of view.
Exhaustion took hold and I butted out the rest of my cigarette, deciding to leave the lamp on so nothing could hide in the shadows, then I burrowed into the pillows and fell asleep almost instantly.
Skeeter
“Skeet?”
“Hmm?” I glanced up from my desk to find Brick in front of me.
“I asked if you’re ready to head home. Most of the guys have left. It’s almost three,” he stated, and I shook my head.
“I still have a few things to do. You can go though,” I mumbled, scrubbing a hand over my face to wake myself up a little.
“You’ve done enough tonight, man. You need to sleep or you’ll be useless tomorrow. Need you sharp,” he answered and turned to leave.
“Brick?” I called out, making him pause to look back at me. “Thank you for this morning. You risked your life for her. I won’t forget that.”
“I know she ruffles some feathers, but I don’t think she’s that bad. Considering how she jumped into action to try and save Slash, I think my opinion of her is correct. I’ve got her back.”
That made one of them.
I’d gone through the footage to see what the fuck had gone wrong. Slash had unlocked the old bathroom door, but Matteo had locked himself inside and smashed the window out when bullets started flying.
The office being locked was just unfortunate.
I’d seen Brick shield Rory, as well as Diesel and Slash keeping her safe as they tried to get her out like I’d wanted.
I’d seen Slash kiss her too, but I wasn’t ready to face that. My emotions were too raw and angry right now, so I knew I wouldn’t make sense of whatever they’d had going on.
He’d loved her, but had she loved him? I was pretty sure that wasn’t their first kiss, so how long had they been doing that for?
Had they spent nights together? Was she vulnerable around him like she was with me?
Did he know what it felt like to sink inside her and make her come?
The bigger question was why the fuck hadn’t they told me?
The more I racked my brain for answers, the more questions appeared, and I was suddenly second-guessing all of their interactions.
The door closing had me glancing up, and Diesel moved towards me, Brick apparently gone.
“Sorry to be that guy, but I’m crashing with you tonight. Buddy system until we know there won't be a second attack,” he yawned, sitting on the edge of the desk. “Have you checked in with—”
“No. I can’t handle that tonight, and she’d be asleep. I’ll check in with her tomorrow,” I said, cutting him off.
“Make sure you do. I know you’re busy, but she’s really worried about you, and you should be more worried about her. She was in shock.”
“I could’ve lost her tonight too, D.” I might have already lost her to a dead man, but I couldn’t think about that.
“But you didn’t. You can’t cut her off now, and you know it.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I bit out defensively, and he gave me a stern look.
“Good. I know things are about to get messy around here, but please check in with her tomorrow. How are you doing?”
“I don’t know what to do, man,” I admitted, my eyes sliding to Slash’s vacant desk.
“We rest, plan, and get payback,” he said simply, drawing my attention.
“They’re going to keep coming for Rory. Do you think they’d make a move on her at the Holloways’?”
“I think for now they won’t be a problem, but we definitely need to keep an eye on her. I don’t think they’d risk getting involved with Josie due to her status, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. For now, we need to head to bed and get some sleep.”
I knew he was right, so I shut down the computer and got to my feet, following him out into the main room.
The cops had spent hours here today, my eyes catching on the blood stains by the door. They’d almost made it outside before getting hit.
I was always going to lose one of them tonight, no matter how much I played the what-if game in my head.
If he hadn’t jumped in front of the bullet, it would’ve hit Rory instead.
I’d found the McLaren keys on the ground earlier where Rory must have dropped them, not that I really gave a fuck if she still had them. I would've left the car here overnight and gotten a ride with Diesel.
He said he’d follow me, so I headed towards my car and climbed inside, taking a moment to soak in the silence before starting the engine.
I checked my phone, opening my tracker app to see where Rory was. Her phone pinged at home, and hadn't moved since being sent home from the hospital.
Hopefully, she’d slept most of the day away and wasn’t beating herself up too badly.
For a second, I considered stopping by to check on her, just in case, but I reminded myself that she had her other guys, and me showing up would just wake her.
My house was eerily quiet when we arrived, a deep sigh leaving me as I tossed my keys on the table. I needed to get out of my own head, but it was hard.
Running the crew meant facing it all head-on.
“Heads up, I’m picking a fight with Matteo in the morning,” I stated, making Diesel groan.
“What for?”
“He locked himself in the bathroom when the bullets started flying. If he hadn’t, Rory would’ve gotten out and Slash wouldn’t—” I couldn’t say it. It meant he was really gone if I did.
Diesel sat at the table to have a cigarette, his eyes on me.
“You need to tread carefully with him. He’ll find a way to pin all this shit on Rory. The last thing you need right now is them turning on her again.”
“What the fuck was he doing then?”
“I don’t know, ask him. I highly suggest digging into it before you blow up at him.
You’re the boss now, Skeet. You need to work hard to prove you have the crew’s best interests in mind.
If they push you out, God knows what they could do.
Someone like Matteo being in charge would destroy everything you and Slash worked hard to build.
Everyone’s nerves are fried right now, so take a breath before pointing fingers at anyone. ”
“You should’ve been Slash’s right-hand, you know?” I chuckled lightly, and he gave me a wry smile.
“I would've been if I wasn’t a junkie. Can’t have me handling the drugs without supervision.”
“Hey, you got sober. Don’t make light of that. You worked your ass off.”
“I know, but it can never erase the fact I have a permanent addiction that won’t ever go away completely,” he mumbled.
“You come to me,” I said firmly. “If this shit pushes you over the edge, tell me. I’ll back whatever you need, even if that means stepping back from crew—”
“You need me more than ever right now. Hell, I need this more than ever too.”
“That doesn’t mean you ignore the signs, D. I can’t bring him back, but I can make sure you stay here. Understand? If you struggle, I want to know straight away,” I argued, waiting for him to nod. “Good.”
He was quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice low. “You can talk to me too. I know you like to compress your feelings and shit, but you need to be honest with me.”
“We need to watch each other’s backs,” I confirmed, holding out my fist for him to bump knuckles with me. “You were a big help today. Thank you. You’re one of the only ones I trust one hundred percent. You’ll stay on as my right-hand, right?”
He blinked at me like it was a surprise, but it shouldn’t have been.
“Of course. Are you sure though? The drugs—”
“I can handle it or send Brick. We’ll figure it out, but I need you. There’s no one else I’d rather have beside me,” I yawned, scrubbing a hand over my face. “We need some sleep. Blankets are in the hallway closet.”
“Night,” Diesel replied, finishing his cigarette while I headed to my bedroom.
I face-planted the pillow the second I stripped down to my boxers, Rory’s scent filling my senses instantly. Her blood was still on the bed from when I’d cut her, and part of me wished I’d sent her here so she was here when I got home.
My eyes closed without much effort, and I was already dreading waking up in a few hours.
I knew everything would feel real once I’d slept.