Chapter 25 #2
“Sounds like a you problem,” Hunter said bluntly as he walked over, giving Diesel a nod. “All sorted. You’d better get back before your boss shows up and I kill him.”
“Get in line,” Diesel muttered, stopping Rory when she went to take his jacket off. “Keep it today. I’ll see you later.”
“If you’re sure,” she croaked out, and he reached over to zip it up to her neck.
“Keep icing your neck too. Stay out of trouble.”
“Can’t promise that,” she teased, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss.
He shot her a knowing look but motioned to Brick that it was time to leave, and Hunter moved around the bar to grab fresh ice packs once they were gone.
“You heard him. More ice,” he instructed, pressing them against her throat with a firm look. “And stay out of trouble.” Then he turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get drunker or I’ll throw you out.”
“Aw, man. You’re no fun,” I grumbled, leaning on the bar.
“Water. I mean it,” he stated, turning his attention to Caden. “If you’re an ass, I’ll break your nose.”
Caden surprisingly just nodded, and hope filled me that maybe he’d make an effort to actually talk to Rory now.
Hunter moved closer to Rory and murmured something to her that we couldn’t hear, then he walked back upstairs to the office, leaving us with Faris.
Rory sat on the bar stool, and Faris grinned at me. “You should’ve seen your girl. She was putting Ortega on his ass in the cage earlier.”
“What did he do to deserve that?” I joked, making Rory huff.
“We were training. He was showing me some moves to take down bigger guys.”
“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Faris teased, laughing as she flipped him off. “Be nice to me or I won’t sneak you out later to the party.”
“What party?” I asked curiously.
“There’s one happening in Lake Rowland. That’s where some of the guys are right now. You want to go too?” he offered, looking at Rory to find her nodding at me.
“Sounds fun. I’m down,” I smirked, moving closer to Rory to kiss her cheek. “Good thing you didn’t promise to stay out of trouble.”
She laughed, her eyes moving to Caden. “You want to come too?”
She was way too nice to him after how much of a dick he’d been lately, but hopefully, offering the olive branch would help.
“Shouldn’t you be resting or something?” he asked, not seeming convinced it was a good idea.
“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t sing,” she joked, and I could tell she was trying not to get too excited about the fact he was talking to her.
“I could probably come for a little bit,” he mumbled, not looking comfortable in the slightest. She started coughing, and Faris sighed as he grabbed her some water.
“Shut up for five minutes before you hurt yourself,” he ordered, and she flipped him off again but took the water.
“What time’s the party?” Caden asked, and Faris shrugged.
“It’s technically already started, but we can head there in a few hours. Why?”
“I need to run home first. I’ll be back soon,” he replied, giving me a nod. He seemed serious about coming back, so I didn’t question it, deciding he obviously needed a second to wrap his head around things.
Caden
The image of Rory’s throat being black and blue was burned into my mind, and I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Skeeter had failed to mention seeing her, but it must have been common knowledge if everyone seemed to know.
I’d been at Skeeter’s house when I wasn’t at school, but I hadn’t been to the Shed the past couple of days. Had the crew made him do it?
I needed answers before throttling him.
The Shed was pretty quiet when I arrived, Diesel giving me a warning look as I stalked past the bar.
“Holloway,” he warned, but I ignored him and continued towards the office, yanking open the door. Skeeter was sitting at his desk talking to Brick, and I spoke before they could.
“How could you do that to her?” I spat, his eyes narrowing.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. I just saw Aurora. Her throat is black because you choked her!”
He sighed, not seeming too apologetic about the entire thing.
“I shot at her too. Fucking missed though.”
I saw red and dove at him, my fist slamming into his face, but he was ready and braced, throwing a fist right back at me. We ended up on the ground, and it wasn’t until I was yanked off him that we stopped.
“You took it too far!” I bit out, Diesel speaking in my ear.
“Chill out before you get yourself killed, idiot.”
“You’re okay with him trying to kill her?”
“You claimed to want her dead until now too. Maybe now you’ll realize words like that actually have meaning behind them here.
No, I’m not okay with it, but me taking shots at my boss won’t just get me killed, but Rory too.
Trust me, if I could shoot him, I would’ve by now,” he hissed, and Skeeter got to his feet, giving Diesel a dirty look.
“Watch it.”
“No, you fucking watch it. Sulk all you like, but you put hands on her. The only thing saving you from my fists is the fact that the crew would take it out on her. It wasn’t that long ago that you were threatening to kill Slash to keep her safe, just remember that,” Diesel warned, pulling me back further.
“Both of you need to get out of my face. Holloway, you’d better not be at my place when I get home. You’re done,” he gritted out, and I shoved Diesel off me and took a few steps back myself to show I wasn’t going to keep fighting.
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
Brick sighed as I left, and I heard them all snapping at each other a little more before Diesel jogged after me.
“You’re lucky no one else was here to see that,” he warned, falling into step beside me.
“I don’t give a fuck. Intimidating someone is one thing, but you know how I feel about physically hurting women like that.
I watched my dad choke Mom out regularly.
She was terrified in her own home. If he’s pissed, he can be an asshole all he likes, but I won’t tolerate him touching her like that,” I growled, suddenly feeling like the biggest idiot.
Why the fuck had I listened to him?
“Are you going to have a panic attack?” Diesel asked slowly, and I shook my head as I opened the car door.
“I’m fine. I’m going back to the warehouse. Do you trust Hunter and Marco with her? Honestly?”
He sighed, crossing his arms and eyeing me. “I trust them to keep her safe.”
“But?”