by R. E. Bond
“I consented!” I exclaimed, his hand going up to silence me.
“Doesn’t mean shit. If they think he’s dangerous for you, they’ll arrest him. He’s also second in charge of the Bloody Psychos, so they’d throw away the key.”
“He’s the only thing between my sanity and a jail cell, Lukas,” I said softly, both of them frowning and looking at me with confusion.
After a moment of silence, Jensen spoke gently.
“What do you mean by that, baby? Talk to us, remember?”
I sighed, leaning back in my chair.
I’d been trying to get my shit together so we could avoid the subject entirely.
I just had to open my stupid big mouth.
“I have to keep fighting and working out to control myself and not lose my shit. Skeet doesn’t want me near Slash because he knows I wanna help out with jobs, and Slash is happy for me to help. It’s why I spend so much time working out or swimming at home and at school. I need to keep burning myself out, or I’m going to snap. It’s why Skeet and I work so well in bed together. We both have demons to drown, or in our case, suffocate.”
Jensen turned concerned eyes towards Lukas, who raised an eyebrow at me.
“So, were you and Slash just talking about a job in the bathroom last night while getting high, or what? Caden said he walked in on you two, and he thinks you’re lying about Slash not touching you.”
That instantly put me on the defence.
“He thinks I’m fucking Slash? Why would I? I literally fucked all of you guys yesterday, so I have a full fucking schedule.”
Jensen gave me a warm smile as he pushed some mouth-watering pancakes in front of me.
“No, he’s worried that Slash was getting too pushy with you and you want to deal with him yourself. Caden trusts you, he’s just worried about you.”
I relaxed, picking at one of my pancakes with a sigh.
“He didn’t touch me.”
“But?” Jensen prompt, making me cringe, knowing it was likely to start an argument.
“But he talked about it,” I mumbled, stuffing some pancake into my mouth as his piercing blue eyes narrowed on me.
“Talked about it? He seriously asked you to fuck him?”
“Who did?” Skeeter asked as he wandered in, stretching his arms above his head before placing a kiss on my cheek on his way towards the coffee machine.
Jensen snorted. “Slash did.”
Skeeter’s eyes landed on mine instantly as he crossed his arms tightly, raising an eyebrow.
I could tell he was fuming, despite the calm vibe he was giving off.
“Oh, really? And when did he manage to do that?”
I shrugged, giving him a filthy look as his fist hit the bench in front of me.
When at first you don’t get an answer, intimidate and initiate violence, apparently.
“Don’t give me that shit. Answer my fucking question!” He shouted, all control going out the window.
I pushed my pancakes back and glared at him, my own control wavering.
“He just brought it up when we had lines last night. He didn’t actually try anything.”
Caden snorted, walking in like king ding-a-ling and late to the party as always.
“Didn’t look like that from where I was standing.”
“He didn’t fucking touch me!” I insisted angrily, jumping as Skeeter grabbed my chin hard, forcing me look at him as his fingers dug painfully into my skin.
“I don’t give a fuck if he touched you or not, he shouldn’t have even brought up the idea of fucking you. You’re spoken for.”
“His point was that I’m sleeping with the five of you, so one more wouldn’t matter. I told him it did matter, and that was the end of it.”
“Only because Holloway walked in. You were getting high with him, Donovan. He could have taken advantage of you.”
“I won’t pass out from a few lines of fucking powder, and Slash isn’t a fucking rapist,” I shot back, his green eyes turning dark as he spoke in a low voice.
“You think he just kills people for a living? When you need revenge on someone, usually raping their fucking wife or someone close to them is enough to break them. I personally don’t agree with the method, so I’ve never done it and won’t ever do it, but Slash doesn’t give a fuck. You guys have gotten too fucking close, so he won’t see it as rape, he’ll see it as you just playing hard to get. Stay the fuck away from him, I mean it.”
He let me go and I stumbled back from my chair with a sneer, my nails biting into my palms as my fists clenched, mixed emotions racing through me.
“You’re really part of a crew that takes part in that kind of shit? You’re just as bad as my fucking dad.”
“Doubt it, babe,” he said bluntly, lazily leaning against the table to watch me as if calculating his next move.
He never knew how to handle me, because the threat of violence always made me worse.
“Listen to yourself! You let him fucking rape people? Someone’s wife? Someone’s daughter? Fuck that, Skeeter. Your crew or me.”
He held my gaze, his voice surprisingly calm as he answered me.
“Rory, checking out of the crew isn’t like cancelling a library card. It’s a process, and the Psychos are my family. I won’t turn my back on them.”
Hot tears prickled my eyes as I looked away from him completely, my heart breaking as I fought hard to keep the shake out of my voice.
“Get out.”
“You really want me to walk away from them? That fucking crew has been my life for as long as I can remember. It’s not like boy scouts where you can just come and go without problems. You can end up dead for walking away from it,” he tried to explain, but I wasn’t going to listen to it.
“Leave, Skeeter. Fuck you for keeping that shit from me.”
“You know I’m not supposed to talk about crew business. You’re seriously throwing me out?” He asked in disbelief, caution in his voice as if his slight change in tone would change my mind.
“Yes. I never want to fucking see you again either,” I gritted out, refusing to look at him as he slammed his fist into the bench beside me before stalking past without a word, slamming the door on the way out.
His McLaren screeched up the street as he pulled away from the house, signalling his departure.
The room was quiet, and I jerked my arm away as someone wrapped their fingers around my bicep.
Jensen slowly offered me his hand for comfort, but I shook my head.
He was gone.
Skeeter was fucking gone.
“I’ve got to go.”
“Where are you going?” He asked softly, his simple question causing anger to rip through me.
“Does it matter?” I snapped, his face softening more and his voice remaining calm.
“I just want to make sure you’ll be okay. I don’t like you driving when you’re upset.”
I felt bad for snapping at him, and I sighed as I stepped closer to kiss his cheek.
“I just need to drive for a bit. I’ll be fine.”
“Hey, stay at mine tonight,” he replied, waiting for me to nod before moving so I could give the other two a kiss goodbye, snatching my keys from the bench on my way past.
I knew Tyler had ended up going home late after the party, so I headed to my Corvette without looking for him.
All Animal by Through Fire blasted from the speakers as I revved the engine and reversed out of the driveway, driving along the main road while I figured out where I was actually going.
I drove for an hour before ending up at my old house, parking in the driveway and shutting the engine off.
I wandered up to the porch and unlocked the door, walking into the kitchen and sitting on the bench to light a cigarette and relax.
I was able to move back in now that Max was dead and the house was in my name, but I felt more at home with the Holloway’s in their big ass mansion, especially since I’d discovered most of my life had been a lie.
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I reached up into the cupboard for the whisky, scowling when I couldn’t find it.
I always left one in there.
“Looking for something?” Tyler’s voice asked from close by, and I bit back a groan of frustration as I had a drag.
Fucking traitor.
“Where the fuck’s my whisky at, Ty? I’m not in the fucking mood for your games right now.”
He pulled himself up on the bench beside me, placing a kiss on my shoulder, despite the negative energy that was probably radiating out of me.
“Jensen was worried after you took off. I figured I’d wait for you here, because I know this is where you go when you want to think. Want to talk about it?”
I scowled. “No, I don’t. I want my whisky in my hand, and to be left alone.”
“Well, I want you driving sober, so sorry. I love you too much to see you hurt yourself.”
I wanted to hate him.
I wanted to tell him to fuck off and leave me alone to have my pity party, but I couldn’t.
Tyler was the reckless one out of all of the guys, so if he didn’t think it was a good idea, I knew it really wasn’t.
I pulled at my hair with frustration, suddenly exploding at him with all the bullshit in my head.
“He’s just so fucking stupid! How could he think I’d be okay dating someone who literally does what Max and Caden’s dad did? Did he just not fucking think, or what?”
He lit his own cigarette and sighed, leaning back on the bench to rest his back against the wall, his dark eyes watching me closely.
“I don’t know, babe. He’s not really supposed to talk about crew business with you, and you know that. You know a lot of the Psychos wanted you dead for knowing too much.”
“Yeah, until I killed Liam, Tristan, and then my own fucking dad. Slash…”
“Look, I’ve known Slash for a few years now, and I’m telling you that Skeet wasn’t wrong about him. Skeet won’t say it out loud because he’s a tough cunt and all, but he’s fucking scared of you.”
I doubted Skeeter Maddox was scared of me.
That didn’t even make sense.
I peered up at him and snorted in disbelief.
“How is he scared of me?”
“You’re the only person who can break his heart completely. Not to mention you’re too strong and brave for your own good. You’re a good target for any enemies they have, because you mean something to their leader and second in charge. You’d also do stupid shit in order to keep them safe. They could blackmail you into meeting them to save the others, and you’d go because you’re too fucking brave. Skeet is terrified of you getting hurt because of him, and he always has been. You became close to him knowing who he was and what type of life he led, so don’t ask him to change now. Either love him for who he is, or let him go. He won’t give the crew up, and to be honest, it’s selfish of you to even ask that of him.”
My eyes narrowed as his words slapped me in the face, his eyebrow raising as I fumed silently, his voice flat as he asked, “So, if Skeet told you to cut Caden off because he’s trouble, you’d do that, just because you love him?”
I paused before frowning.
As if.
“It’s different.”
“How so?”
“Because Caden and you guys are all I have. That’s not fair.”
He sighed, putting an arm around my shoulders and kissing the top of my head.
“The crew’s all he has. You didn’t ask him to give up one person, you asked him to cut off his entire family for you. You’d be upset about him asking you to cut Caden off, so imagine if he asked you to walk away from all of us for him. How would you feel?”
Fuck.
“Pissed off, and I’d probably stab him,” I mumbled, an impatient sigh leaving him again.
“Then admit you were wrong to ask him that. I love you, but get off your fucking high horse with him. He sees you less than any of us, and he doesn’t get upset or jealous, he just deals with it. So maybe you should just deal with the fact that he has a life that doesn’t revolve around you.”
“Thanks, Ty.”
“For what?”
I glanced up at him with a timid smile.
“For knocking me off my high horse.”
“You want to go apologize to Skeet then?” He asked bluntly, earning a snort from me.
“Not particularly.”
“But you will anyways,” he replied, jumping off the bench and helping me down, being sure to lock up before walking towards my car.
He leaned on my open window once I was behind the wheel, his tone sounding annoyed at me, but calm.
“He’ll be at the shed, the afternoon fights start in an hour. Don’t be a bitch to him.”
“Alright. You want to meet me there?” I asked softly, his face becoming soft almost instantly as he leaned in the window and gave me a kiss.
“Of course I can. Drive safely.”
I waited until he’d walked down the block to his BMW Roadster, then I followed him to the Psycho’s shed.
I could be such a bitch sometimes.
No wonder Skeeter lost his temper on the regular with me.
Skeeter
My fist connected with the wall, one of my guys silently ducking out of the shed’s office to leave me in peace.
My peace didn’t fucking last long though.
Slash strolled through the door, giving me an amused smirk.
“Well, good morning to you too, brother. Your girl not fuck you right, or what?”
I spun around, shoving him back into the wall hard.
“Don’t fucking talk about her!”
His eyes narrowed but his voice stayed calm, which was a fucking surprise.
“Fucking hell, Skeet. What’s up now?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, asshole.”
“Why am I the asshole? You’re the one storming in here and punching holes in the wall. C’mon, you’re my best friend. Well, you were before you let pussy get between us.”
I glared at him, chewing on one of my lip rings angrily as the fight started to leave me.
He was right.
I’d thrown so much hate towards him, and for what?
Nothing.
She’d decided I was too fucked up for her, knowing she could do better.
They always fucking did.
This was why I never fucked a chick more than once or twice before throwing them right back out the door.
Slash must have felt the defeat in me, because his hand patted my shoulder for comfort.
“Hey, talk to me. What’s got you so wild?”
“She threw me out,” I replied, his face scrunching up with confusion.
“So? You guys fight, fuck, and makeup all the time.”
“No, she literally threw me the fuck out. Of the house, and her fucking life.”
“She dumped you? What the fuck for?”
I wanted to laugh at the look on his face.
Yeah man, I was surprised as fuck too.
“Doesn’t matter. I need a beer in my hand and a bitch on my lap. I might even have a fight tonight, we’ll see.”
“Really? You haven’t had a cage fight in ages,” he frowned, absently grabbing some whisky from the cupboard and handing it to me.
“Yeah, well someone’s going to bleed, and it sure as shit isn’t going to be me.”
He chuckled, clapping me on the back with a nasty grin on his face.
“Sure thing, brother. She’s just a stuck-up bitch anyways. C’mon, kick back and enjoy the day here. Some of the guys are just hanging around until the real fights start tonight, so chill out with us, alright?”
Aurora Donovan wasn’t going to wreck me.
She wasn’t.
Rory
Tyler and I walked through the door at the shed, and Slash chuckled in his usual sarcastic manor the moment he spotted us.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Killer? You know Skeet will try and slit my throat if I le
t you fight.”
“I’m not here to fight, unless it gets out of hand with Skeet and I again,” I shrugged, one of his eyebrows lifting in what appeared to be some kind of challenge.
I really didn’t understand him.
“Why? Are you two fighting?”
“We split up, but I need to apologize. I was a bitch unnecessarily,” I mumbled, Slash hooting with laughter.
“Hurt his feelings, eh? Listen, Skeet’s in the back, but you need to realize that he’s in a mood.”
“So?” I snorted, a cruel grin stretching across his face.
“What do you do when you’re in a mood?”
“Fight and fuck usually,” I shrugged, staring at him when he kept watching me with amusement.
I clenched my fists and got in his face without a second thought, despite knowing I was dead if he wanted me to be.
“Who the fuck is she?”
He smirked, leaning back on his heels with pure joy on his face for upsetting me.
“That bitch he fucked last time. The one you nearly killed in the cage.”
“No nearly about it this time,” I gritted out, snatching his gun as I spotted it poking out of his pants, before stalking towards the office once I had it firmly in my hand.
“Damnit, Donovan. Get the fuck back here!” He snapped angrily, but I blocked him out as I kicked the door open, anger racing through me as I found the bitch riding Skeeter on the chair, his fist in her hair as he thrust up into her.
She gave me a smug grin over her shoulder, but Skeeter’s eyebrows shot up, actually seeming nervous.
“Rory? What are you doing here?”
I snorted, waving the gun at them, his eyes zoning in on the weapon as I spoke.
“Turns out, I owe you a fucking apology for being a bitch.”
He halted the girl’s movements, sarcasm lacing his tone as he glared at me.
“So, you kick the door in and wave a fucking gun at me? You’re right, I fucking forgive you.”
“I’m not waving it at you, but keep going Skeet, and I might just miss her,” I snapped, narrowing my eyes as the girl laughed.
She actually fucking laughed at me.
I kept the gun aimed at her, my voice low.
