Page 57 of Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn #1)

“Demons do awful things to our minds. We drink, we do drugs, we fight, and we fuck until nothing silences the ghosts of our past anymore and we look for an out. Hopefully, you’ll find strength in knowing you’re not alone, and you’ll come back swinging in no time,” he said softly, glancing away from me and clearing his throat.

My chest ached at the lost look on his face. He was hurting, and I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with me.

“Who’d you lose? This is personal to you.”

“No one that you need to worry about, it was a long time ago.” He faced me again, holding his hand out. “Give me your phone so I can put my number in it for you. I mean it, Donovan. Call me if you need to talk.”

“Thanks,” I said slowly as I handed it to him, waiting for him to hand it back before talking again. “Am I really banned from fighting? I need to beat someone up, but I’ll get arrested if I start a fight in public.”

He chuckled, amusement flickering in his gaze. “Yeah, you won’t get past the door. I can’t help you with that.”

“Can’t you talk to Skeet and convince him it’s the least he can fucking do? Sitting here getting angry isn’t good for anyone when I snap,” I bit out, only making him grin.

“It’s not Skeet that I’d have to convince, it’s Slash. He’s the boss.”

“Could've fooled me. Skeet does whatever the fuck he wants, and Slash lets him.”

“You don’t see them throwing hands like I do. I swear, all they’ve done these past few weeks is fight,” he scowled. “It’s like working with children.”

“I can knock some sense into them if you want?” I offered sweetly, and he snorted.

“It’s cute that you think you can take down two grown men that hold guns.”

“They wouldn’t shoot me.”

“Skeet probably wouldn’t at this point, but Slash would put three rounds in you and have you in a hole by dinnertime. He’s tense at the moment, thanks to fighting with Skeet so much lately, so don’t push him,” he warned, glancing at his phone as it started ringing. “Ah, fuck.”

“What?” I asked, but he put his finger to his lips and gave me a stern look as he answered and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Yeah?” He listened for a moment before sighing, getting to his feet.

“I’m leaving now. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I know, man, I just needed to make sure she was alright.

Jesus, I’m coming!” he snapped before hanging up, snatching his jacket to slide his arms through the sleeves. “Sorry, I’ve gotta go.”

“It was nice of you to stop by,” I mumbled, giving him a small smile. “You can call me if you need to talk too, you know? I know everyone says guys don’t talk about their feelings and stuff, but you can always talk to me.”

“I’d like that. We’re friends, right?” he asked, and as much as I didn’t trust him, he seemed genuine.

“Yeah, we’re friends, D.”

He said goodbye before leaving the house, and Josie wandered into the kitchen with a dark look on her face.

“I really don’t like you hanging around those guys. They’re dangerous.”

“He was just checking in with me. Skeet and I had a bit of a falling out, so Diesel was making sure I was alright,” I said vaguely as I stood. “Besides, you don’t have to worry about it. My fallout with Skeet also got me banned from the Psychos’ Shed.”

“I hate to be relieved when it’s obviously important to you, but I can’t help it.

Those men are always in and out of prison and on the news as suspects to murders and gang violence.

They’re not good people,” she said gently, handing me a piece of paper.

“This is all I could find out about your mother. She was living at an address in Rosevale for a while after she left Max, but there’s not much more to it.

If she had a job, she was paid cash because there’s no records of her working in that time, but there were a handful of medical reports made a few months later. ”

I took the paper and ran my eyes over it, my eyes widening. “Wait, she was pregnant? I have a sibling? How far is Rosevale from here?”

“That’s what the reports say. There’s no birth registration anywhere though, so she definitely went into hiding with her baby if she didn’t miscarry.

She’s never been in the protection program, so my guess is that she found out she was pregnant and ran.

Rosevale is about four hours south. I called in a favor, and the Chief contacted the Rosevale Police Department to see if she’s there.

Apparently, lease records show she abandoned the place.

The neighbor said she had a boyfriend, but they didn’t give a name.

I’m sorry, it’s not much to go off,” she said apologetically, but I smiled.

I had a trail to follow now, and that was more than I’d ever had.

“Thank you, it’s plenty.”

“It’s okay to look for answers, but be careful,” she said slowly before glancing at her watch. “I have a meeting. No sneaking out without telling me, okay?”

“I’ll try not to,” I smirked, earning a huff before she went back upstairs, leaving me on my own.

I considered being lazy and going to bed to watch movies for the rest of the day, but I changed my mind on the way up the stairs and got changed into my workout clothes, heading back downstairs to the gym instead.

I really needed to burn some energy and hit something.

Skeeter

“I can’t believe he went to her house,” I gritted out once I’d hung up the phone to Diesel, a snort of amusement leaving Slash as he eyed me from his desk.

We’d been going over our finances at the Shed for hours when I’d taken a quick peek at Caden’s security footage, not expecting to find Diesel’s fucking truck parked in the driveway.

“That’s what you get for snooping. You must have been a real dick to her if D thought he needed to check on her.”

“You wanted her gone, so I had to make sure she didn’t come back. He’s going to fuck it up by drawing her back in,” I scowled, annoyed that he was finding this so funny.

“Are you mad about her being brought back, or the fact that D’s forming a friendship with her? I doubt you have to worry about him fucking her, but maybe she’s the cure to his misery?” he mused, laughing when I threw a pen at him.

“So you’re okay with him getting attached to her, but not me?”

“He won’t get attached to her because he won’t bring someone into this life again.

I hope he does fuck her so he smiles a little more, then he can toss her aside and get back to work.

You, on the other hand, were staring at her with starry eyes and forgetting to show up to things.

You were in too deep, Skeet. That’s why I wanted her gone.

She’s hot, I get it, but so are the crew whores. ”

The crew whores were boring and fake. They’d rehearsed fucking so much that their pornstar moans grated on my nerves and took the fun out of it. They were good if you just wanted to drain your balls, but Rory’s reactions were real and intriguing.

I liked that I could show her new things and make her scream for me without it all being an act. She had no real experience, and pushing her past her limits made my dick insanely hard.

“The crew whores are fake as fuck. I come just to get it over with,” I grunted, and Slash gave me a weird look.

“That’s the idea. You get off, so who gives a fuck how fast?”

“I do. I like the chase. Rory was curious but hesitant.”

“So she was inexperienced and bad at it? Good to know.”

“No, asshole. She rarely made the first move, but I could do almost anything I wanted to her, and she’d let me.

She let me cut her and her eyes lit up, the fear mixing with the curiosity, and she almost snapped my damn dick off with how tight her pussy got.

She’s like a blank canvas that I could mold into whatever I wanted,” I sighed, giving him the side-eye.

“It’s your fault my dick hurts all the time. ”

“It’s not my fault you’re whipped and won’t fuck anyone else. It’s not like you don’t have options,” he said dryly, going back to whatever the fuck he was doing and leaving me to glare at him.

It wouldn’t take long for Diesel to get back, so I headed out to the bar to wait for him. He was going to get her killed, and it defeated the purpose of me cutting her off.

I’d just finished a drink when he walked in, heading in my direction and already knowing I was going to have words with him.

“I’m not trying to fuck your girl,” he said quickly, making me raise an eyebrow.

“If I don’t need to worry about that, then why are you jumping to defend yourself? Sounds guilty to me.”

He scowled, dropping onto the bar stool beside me. “I don’t want her part of this shit at all, or I wouldn’t have given you such a big speech about letting her go to keep her safe. I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t push her over the fucking edge the other day.”

I eyed him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. “How is she?”

“I think she’s okay. Well, as much as one can be after what she’s been through.

The guys are giving her space. I thought she was still at Jensen’s, so I went there first. Holloway said she’s been a bit of a wreck about you bailing.

She didn’t get out of bed and reach straight for the whiskey today, which is good. ”

“I feel like such a piece of shit,” I grumbled, making him snort.

“You are. You could’ve just cut her off nicely and explained why you were doing it instead of making her feel like you think she’s dirty or something.”

“Have you met Rory? She’d stand her ground and insist she’d be fine. I wasn’t risking it,” I scoffed, pouring another glass of whiskey and taking a mouthful before adding, “Why do you care about her so much? You barely know her.”

“She’s so much like her,” he said quietly, making me nod.

“A little, yeah.” Not a lot though. Personality wise, sure, but Rory was so much stronger than Sasha. “You didn’t tell her I was full of shit, right? I don’t want her showing up at my house. If that happens, I’ll fuck her, and we’ll be right back to where we started.”

“No. I did warn her to stay away though or Slash will shoot her. She’s wanting to come and fight.”

“She can’t be here.”

“I know, and I told her she won’t get in the door.”

“I shouldn’t have cut her off from the fights, but I had no choice. She can’t be here,” I said firmly, more to myself than to Diesel, and he winced.

“I know. You did the right thing. The guys are looking out for her.”

“They’re not if she’s alone,” I muttered, but he just rolled his eyes.

“She needs space to process everything. I think now that she’s had a few days to break down, she’s realizing she’s getting too close to them again. I don’t think they’re going to win her back, man.”

That sounded good to me. They could keep an eye on her but keep their dicks away in the process. Not that I had the right to want that.

It wasn’t like she was mine, she never really was.

I should’ve wanted her to end up with someone like Caden because she’d want for nothing in life and be safe.

“I’m supposed to take Liam on the drug run tonight, but I’m taking you instead,” I said, changing the subject.

“Is that a good idea?” he asked, and I clapped him on the shoulder.

“Slash will only give a shit if the job’s not done. Liam can wash my car for all I care.”

“Fine, but I’m driving. Your driving makes me motion sick,” he said dryly as he stood, heading towards the office to most likely fill Slash in on the change of plans.