Page 49 of Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SKEETER

I was positive Slash was trying to keep me busy so I didn’t have time for Rory. After our guys had been attacked last night while selling guns, Slash had held a meeting at the Shed and then kept me back even later to catch up on fucking paperwork.

I’d intended on going back to the party to see Rory, and the asshole knew it.

Now it was seven in the morning, and he was already sitting at my damn dining table going over more unnecessary shit that could’ve waited for me to get to later in the day.

“We’ve been over this already,” I bit out, angrily putting my cigarette out in the ashtray before grabbing my second coffee for the morning. “If we sell guns to the Reapers, they’ll likely shoot us with them. You know I don’t like doing business with them.”

“They pay good money,” Slash answered with a grunt. “Who do you suggest we do business with then? We need these guns moved soon. We’ve had them for too long.”

“Literally anyone else.”

“Give me names then,” he snapped, smacking his fist down on the table. “Why are you being so fucking difficult?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’ve run me into the ground all week out of spite.”

“You’re pissy because I cockblocked you last night?”

“I’m tired, man. I’ve barely slept. The fact you keep getting in the way of me getting my dick wet is just the icing on the cake.”

“Admit it. You like that cunt. You could’ve stuck your dick in one of the crew whores this week, but instead, you sat around sulking. Maybe I should take her for a ride to see how magical her pussy is.”

“Go for it. She’ll never accept your invitation to jump on your dick, and I know you won’t force her.”

I felt like a bit of a dick for not messaging Rory all week, but I was trying to distance myself from her to prove that I could and that I didn’t care about her. The problem was, after a couple of days, I caught myself missing her.

I never got attached to pussy, but there was something about her that made me crave more. She was way more timid than the usual girls I chased, but I’d seen the way her eyes had lit up when I’d cut her. She was just as sick and twisted as me, and I could’ve had so much fun with her.

I knew I’d hurt her last night when I’d been so dismissive of her in front of Slash, but I was pissed at him for dragging me away from her and I’d taken it out on her by being a cunt.

Slash glared at me, tapping his fingers on the table and pissing me off even more.

“She’s a distraction.”

“No, you just don’t like that she doesn’t kiss your fucking feet. This is about you, not me,” I argued, sipping my coffee.

“You think I want her? You’re delusional. I just want to understand why you’re so tied up over her. Does she honestly fuck that good?”

“Just drop it.”

“No. I want to know why my right-hand is acting so heartbroken over a piece of ass who’s fucking half of Ashburn Valley,” he barked, and I shoved back from the table with frustration.

“She’s not. Mind your own business. I don’t ask who you’re fucking.”

“That’s because I don’t know, they don’t have faces to me.

I was hoping you’d fuck her out of your head, but it’s only getting worse.

Let me tell you what happens to girls like her.

They love the bad boy, get too involved, and then they get scared or killed.

You talk too much in front of her, she could get us all thrown in prison if she’s interrogated.

Do you honestly think she won’t rat us out to save her own ass? ”

I’d thought about that a lot this week, and I kept coming up with the same answer. She wouldn’t say shit, she had too much Heights in her.

“I trust her.”

“Then you’re a fucking idiot. Let’s say you’re right and she’s tight-lipped.

You’ll relax more around her, get careless, and she’ll end up in the firing line.

Can you sleep at night knowing you’re going to get her killed?

We’ve been down this road before with Diesel, and you saw what the outcome was.

Seriously, think about it, Skeet. You’ve got a seventeen-year-old girl lusting after you.

She doesn’t listen to instructions, she’s reckless, and more fucking stubborn than you,” he said calmly, eyeing me as I took my half-finished coffee over to the sink and tipped it out before I could throw the damn thing across the room.

“I don’t like her, but I don’t think she realizes what it means to get involved with you.

I’m not a complete asshole, I don’t want to see the girl dead. ”

“The only threat to her right now is you.”

“If I have to be the bad guy to scare her off, then so be it,” he shrugged, getting to his feet and facing off with me, sensing me getting closer to swinging at him.

“You don’t scare her.”

“Yes, I do. You’ve got her thinking she’s safe, and that ends now. I’ll fucking prove to her that she doesn’t belong, and you’ll stay out of my way so both of you learn a lesson. You’ll see that she’s weak, and she’ll realize her insults and tiny ass knife won’t do shit to keep her safe.”

I swung, but he was ready and blocked the hit, slamming his fist into my stomach and taking my breath for a second. I swung with my other fist, clipping him in the jaw before he landed a hit to my ribs and another to my face.

“You really want to draw blood over a fucking girl? I’m your best friend and she’s nothing!” he snarled, my heart beating faster. She wasn’t just some random girl, and I was stupid for trying to keep her at arm’s length.

I wanted her, and Slash wasn’t going to stop me.

“I’m done with this conversation. You’ve kept me busy all week, so you can deal with me being gone for a few hours so I can see her. Stay the fuck away from her,” I warned, making him grin.

“You won’t have to worry about me staying away from her because that bitch will come to me. She’s lonely and desperate to prove herself. It won’t be hard to draw her in.”

I slammed my fist into his cheek, knocking the big asshole back a step.

“If you do anything to her, I’ll fucking kill you. I mean it.”

“Glad to see where your loyalty stands. Keep going rogue over pussy and I’ll be needing a new right-hand. I hope she’s worth it, brother.” He stalked out, slamming the door behind him, and I went in search of my keys and shoes.

I’d keep her safe, he could choke on my dick.

I drove straight over to Caden’s and pounded on the door, knowing he was probably asleep but not giving a fuck. It took a few minutes, but he finally opened the door, his bloodshot eyes glaring at me.

“What the fuck, dude? It’s early as fuck.”

“I need to see Rory. Move.”

“She’s not here,” he grunted, opening the door wider to let me in. I followed him into the kitchen, giving him a dirty look.

“Where is she then?”

“She left with some asshole last night when we weren’t looking,” he yawned, wincing as I slammed my fist down on the counter. “Can you be quiet? I’m hungover as hell.”

“Who did she leave with?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t see her leave. She spent most of the night dancing with him to piss me off, and I’m not ashamed to say it worked. I feel like death today.”

“You just let her leave with some random guy?”

“I didn’t let her do anything. I went to get a drink and came back to her gone.

One of the girls said she left with him.

What’s the big deal? You’re only playing with her anyway, it’s not like you give a shit about her,” he scoffed, starting to make coffee as Tyler wandered in looking bright and cheery.

“Check the cameras. I might be able to track down his details from his license plate,” I said calmly, clenching my fists as Tyler cringed.

“Cameras are off so Josie couldn’t check in on us. She told us no parties while she was gone. Rory will stumble through the door after lunch, feel free to wait around for her if you’re that worried.”

“How drunk was she? It’s not like her to just climb into bed with someone she just met on a dance floor.” I knew that she technically didn’t know me well either, but she’d spent time with me prior to taking that next step.

She was too nervous to introduce herself then get naked on the same day.

“Absolutely hammered,” Caden huffed, pressing his fingers to his temples. “It feels like a sledgehammer is going off inside my head.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your hangover,” I bit out, stalking from the room and heading outside, hoping she was just passed out in the garden somewhere. We’d all been there at some point in our lives.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and called her, pausing when I heard music close by. It didn’t take long for me to follow the sound and find her phone lying on the ground by the garden, my stomach twisting as I picked it up.

She could’ve just dropped it, drunk people always lost their belongings, but something didn’t feel right.

“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked as he moved towards me, his eyes dropping to Rory’s phone in my hand. “Is that Rory’s?”

“Yeah, it is. I don’t think she’d leave it behind,” I mumbled, scanning the yard for any other sign of her.

“She was wasted, man. She probably just dropped it.”

“Rory’s many things, but she always likes an escape plan. Leaving her phone behind is strange. I’m going to go looking for her.”

“She’ll be curled up in someone’s bed. It’s unlikely you’ll find her just walking the street,” he pointed out, making me curse.

“I know that, but something doesn’t feel right.”

“She’s just being a spiteful cunt,” Caden muttered from close by, making me snap.

I spun around and punched him right on the cheek with my fist, causing him to stumble with a wince. I probably rattled his damn hungover brain.

“What the fuck, Skeet?” he snarled, rubbing his cheek.