Page 43 of Deceptive Games

“It’s not like that. I didn’t want Caden to find me, so?—”

I fisted her hair, yanking her head back and nipping her throat. “I don’t give a fuck. If you have an itch to scratch, you call me.”

“I can’t run to you all the time,” she argued, pushing me back and slapping at my chest when I grabbed her throat again. “Get off me, asshole.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you run to me?” I demanded, getting in her face. “What the fuck can those rich pricks give you that I can’t?”

“They were there when you couldn’t be,” she said firmly, and this time, I let her push me back so she could slide off the hood. “You’re married to the crew, and that’s okay. I didn’t want to bother you when I knew you were busy.”

“I would’ve come if you’d needed me though,” I bit out, some of the anger leaving me as she gave me a sad smile.

“I know you would’ve. Which is the problem, right? I’ll see you later, Skeet.” She kissed my cheek before sliding into the car and closing the door firmly, frustration washing through me as I watched her back out of her parking spot and leave. The Corvette flew down the road as the bass kicked in with her music, and I raked a hand through my hair with a curse.

Why was she getting to me so badly?

“I think you handled that well considering she’s cheating on you,” Marco stated from behind me, and I didn’t waste time as I turned around and punched him right in the mouth. He was ready for it, laughing as he stumbled. “Feel better?”

They were cockier than usual. I’d only just noticed that they didn’t even have backup out here like I’d thought.

“Fuck off home, Mark. I mean it,” I snapped, jerking back as he tried to grab my wrist. “Touch me and I’ll stab you.”

“You need to get laid or something, man. Need me to bend over?” he joked, dancing out of the way as I swung at him again. “No need to get violent. You know I like it.”

“Don’t fucking turn on me then act like we’re friends. You’re a real piece of shit.”

“You’re the one being an asshole. I’m simply trying to make conversation,” he shrugged, grabbing his black helmet from his red 2023 Ducati Panigale V4 sports bike and pulling it over his head before flipping up the visor. “Your girl had no choice but to kill Liam, did she? She doesn’t exactly look like the murdering type. What did he do to her?”

I didn’t respond, stalking back inside to avoid beating the shit out of him. I’d been hit in the face by a bike helmet before, and it was something I didn’t want repeated.

Thankfully, Diesel and the others had already started on the cleanup of the skank on the floor.

Hunter emerged from the office, and he didn’t say anything as he walked past me, motioning for his other guy to follow him out. Derek and I had come to blows before in the past, the prick giving me a mock salute as they left.

Hopefully, that was all the drama for the day because I was close to killing someone.

Slash

The Devils’ visit put me on edge. Skeeter always behaved erratically when they were even mentioned, let alone when they were right in front of him. I saw him punch Marco on the cameras, but the fucker would’ve deserved it.

He was probably talking shit, as usual.

I waited until they all left before poking my head out of the office and calling Matteo in, ignoring the questioning look fromSkeeter. I needed a little bit more time before talking to him or he was getting shot.

I couldn’t believe that Rory showed up here unannounced, let alone opened her fucking mouth to give Hunter some shit. I needed to hurry up and make her disappear.

“Boss?” Matteo asked as he walked in and shut the door behind him, cutting us off from the noise in the main room.

“Rivera claims he’s just here for business then he’s leaving. I don’t believe him.”

“You going to do something about Donovan?” he asked bluntly, making me nod.

“Yeah, I’ve got something in mind that will scare her off. I need you and Brick to shake down that junkie prick in Rawson. We gave him the extra week and haven’t heard from him. He owes us another five percent for it being late. Tomorrow, it will be ten percent. If it gets to twenty percent, I’m taking my money’s worth of his personal items.”

“What do you have in mind for Donovan?” he asked, seeming more curious than distrusting. “Not a lot has scared her away yet.”

“Just trust me, I have a few things up my sleeve that will terrify her,” I smiled, clapping his shoulder. “I just need to find something to keep Skeet busy for a few hours, that’s all.”

He seemed to relax, giving me a nod and leaving, and I wasn’t surprised when Skeeter walked in a moment later.