Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
SKEETER
“Skeet? You good?” Diesel asked, snapping me from my thoughts. It was Friday evening, and I still couldn’t get that look from Rory’s face out of my head. I hadn’t meant to keep it a secret about Marla, but shit kept happening and I just never got around to sitting her down to tell her.
Then I lost it about her and Hunter and figured she didn’t deserve to know.
I’d wanted to hurt her, but that look on her face burned me to the core.
Finding out Slash had raped her on her goddamn birthday really was the nail in the coffin, shorting out my anger to a point I felt numb. She hadn’t come to me, or any of the guys for that matter, but she’d told Hunter?
I was pretty sure I’d been very wrong about the situation and they’d just been friends, but seeing him stand up for her like that and Marco comforting her out the front of my house yesterday afternoon made me realize all I’d done was shove her at them.
I couldn’t take it back, my guys would eat her alive, so nothing between us could change now. We were done, end of story.
“I’m fine. Don’t you have a party to go to?” I muttered, glancing at the open office door to see a couple of the guys still lingering at the bar. We were all tired, the past few months of hell taking its toll on us.
I never thought we’d be burying someone else so soon after Slash, but Cliff’s funeral had hit hard. He was a piece of shit, but knowing my guys were dropping like flies made me nervous.
We still had to deal with Matteo too, but my crew was already weakened right now, and I couldn’t risk it getting worse. He was a rat, he had to go, but it never felt like the right time to deal with that either because everything kept crumbling down around me.
The Soldiers were pissing off every crew in all the surrounding towns, so how were they still standing? We’d taken out a bunch of them over Slash and Cliff’s deaths, but it was like more popped up every time we took one down.
I had no idea what the Devils were doing, but I knew they’d be retaliating for Rory. Hunter was loyal like that, and his crew would happily take shots at them for fun.
The Reapers hadn’t had too many issues with them, and the Kings had been concerningly quiet, but that didn’t mean war wasn’t brewing in the shadows. Archer and Rage only told us things if it benefited them, so if they were planning on something, we wouldn’t know.
Diesel shrugged, not looking too fazed. “Yeah, but with us not handling security or supplies, I don’t need to be there early.”
“I can’t believe Holloway switched like that. Hiring the Devils is an asshole move,” I grunted, earning the side-eye from Diesel.
“If I could choose Rivera over you assholes, I would too.”
“The fuck, D?”
“What? You know I want nothing to do with the crew, and your attitude sucks. I’m here because I have no choice,” he scoffed, and I hated how I’d lost grip of my guys like this. There were none here that had my back one hundred percent.
“If you really feel that way, then I think you should step down as my right-hand. I need someone who’s got their priorities straight,” I said bluntly, and he stared at me for a second before giving me a single nod.
“Fine. Brick’s got a level head and you can trust him around the drugs easily. I’d pick him, if I was you.”
Just like that. No argument, nothing.
“Sounds good to me,” I answered, standing from my desk and walking towards the door. “Yo, Brick. You’re second in command now.”
Brick looked at me from the bar with a frown, while Matteo chuckled.
“Got tired of that whiney asshole finally? Good. If Brick doesn’t want the job, I’d be happy to do it,” he offered, and I rolled my eyes.
“You’re the last person I’d choose. So, Brick, you good with that?” I asked, making Brick nod.
“I can do that. Do you need me tonight?”
“No. Everyone can go home. We have fights tomorrow night, so I want everyone here. We need good security, there’s too many problems walking around right now and I don’t want them in,” I warned, pointing to Matteo. “You’re on the door. If you see Holloway or any of Aurora’s guys, keep them out.”
“I can do that. Letting those assholes go is the best thing you’ve ever done, boss,” Matteo smirked, and as much as I was glad he’d stopped fighting me on things, he was still a rat and the biggest pain in my ass.
I hated how alone I felt.
Diesel brushed past me without a word, making me sigh.
He was going to get himself killed if he kept making it obvious to everyone that he wasn’t on our side.
I didn’t want to make that call, but the blatant disrespect wasn’t going unnoticed.
I’d have no choice but to handle it if someone brought it up.
Brick went home, letting me know he’d stop by my place in the morning to discuss things, while Matteo and Samuel stayed at the bar drinking.
Jonah was sparring in the cage with Damon, one of our new guys, and thankfully, the guy was working out. It was a tense time to bring in outsiders, but we needed the muscle. He was twenty-seven, had done five years inside with Yoyo, and came highly recommended when he was released a few weeks ago.
If Yoyo said the man was good, I’d take his word for it.
I shut myself in the office to go over tomorrow night’s fights, and it was just after seven-thirty when my phone pinged with a security breach. It was one of our new warehouses that was currently empty in Blackwater, but I couldn’t see anything on the cameras.
It had pinged three days ago, thanks to a damn raccoon, so I sighed and got to my feet to go and check it out.
“I’m heading out. Warehouse pinged again,” I called out, Jonah wiping his sweaty brow and pausing the sparring session.
“Need backup?”
“I bet it’s that fucking raccoon again. I’ll be fine. Make sure you assholes lock up when you leave,” I said firmly before heading outside to my car, climbing in and driving off.
My phone pinged again, and this time when I pulled it up, flames were filling the warehouse.
“Goddammit!” I snapped, putting my foot down harder. Blackwater was full of asshole kids like the Heights, but I thought the warehouse was far enough on the outskirts that it would go unnoticed. Guess not.
It was on the border of Stoneleigh, right out in the middle of nowhere away from houses, so it was unlikely someone just stumbled across it unless they were looking for trouble.
The flames lit up the sky as I sped towards it, my foot easing off the gas as I reached it and saw a car leaving.
Rory was driving away in Jensen’s Lamborghini, her eyes meeting mine as she passed. She didn’t freak out about getting caught, she actually lifted her middle finger at me and kept driving.
It felt like slow motion, our eyes locking as we passed each other, and I cursed as I parked the McLaren and climbed out as she sped away, grabbing my phone to call the fire into my guys. It wasn’t salvageable, it was completely gone.
“Hey. The warehouse pinged and I came to check it out. It wasn’t a raccoon like I thought. The place is in flames,” I said the second Brick answered. “First job as my right-hand, get back to the Shed and get the guys all there. I’m on the way.”
“Do you know who—”
“Just get to the Shed!” I snapped, hanging up on him and shoving my phone deep into my pocket as if that was delaying me having to deal with this mess.
“Fucking pain in the ass!” I shouted into the cool night, trying to figure out what to do. If the guys found out it was Rory, they’d destroy her. Could I sit back and watch that happen? No, I really couldn’t. I was mad, but I’d deal with her myself.
“Fucking hell, Aurora,” I muttered, watching the flames as the roof caved in before I turned and climbed back into my car, leaving it to burn itself out.
That girl was going to be the death of me.
Rory
I pulled into the driveway, thankful that Caden made everyone at the party park on the street so I could get in the gate, and once the Lamborghini was safely in the garage, I headed inside. The house was booming, and I dodged people as I made my way through the house.
“Where were you?” Jensen asked when he noticed me trying to slip past them in the kitchen, his nose scrunching. “Why do you smell like smoke?”
Tyler studied me, his eyes lighting up a little. “You set something on fire?”
“I didn’t do anything. I’m going for a shower,” I scoffed, managing to get past them and up to my bedroom with ease. Not that I was alone for long before Jensen slipped into my room and found me in the bathroom.
“What did you burn? A little heads-up would be nice,” he said dryly, making me shrug as I washed my hair.
“Just making a point.”
“Is Skeet’s house on fire?” he asked, completely serious.
“His house? No.”
“Baby, what did you do?” he groaned, leaning back on the counter to watch me. “I know you’re upset with him right now, which is completely valid, but please don’t get us shot at this week.”
“I’ll shoot back if he does,” I bit out, scrubbing shampoo into my hair a little more aggressively than normal.
“We talked about this.”
“No, you talked and I pretended to listen,” I huffed, making him chuckle as he stood and started stripping.
“You’re infuriating sometimes, you know?” he said with a wry smile, joining me in the shower and pushing me back against the wall.
“Better teach me a lesson then,” I joked, sliding my arms around his neck to pull him down for a quick kiss.
“I don’t think your pussy could take it, and I don’t have a condom. With the luck we’re having lately, I’d definitely knock you up, and that’s the last thing we need right now,” he murmured, my stomach twisting at the memory of Skeeter coming inside me.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I replied lightly, nipping his bottom lip. “Wash my back for me. I need to get this smell off.”
He turned me around and rubbed body wash all over me, rinsing me off before doing it again to make sure I was clean. I did a second shampoo of my hair before conditioning it to make sure the smell was definitely gone.