Page 138 of Shattered Pieces

She seemed serious about not betraying me, but how could I believe it? I wanted to, it was easier that way, but that damaged part inside of me screamed that she’d done it to break me. That her love had been a lie from the beginning, just like Marco’s.

How could I want her dead but want to hug her at the same time?

My cock was happy to see her, that much I knew.

I sat there for two hours fuming to myself before Brick called to check in with me since I hadn’t shown up for the gun trade deal at twelve. A quick glance at the time showed it was almost one, and I cursed before getting to my feet.

“Sorry. I’m heading to the Shed now. Need anything?” I asked, deciding to clean up the mess later. I’d have to pay out of my own pocket to fix the bullet holes. That was on me.

“No rush. D surprisingly got here on time, so he’s had it handled.”

“Why is that a surprise?” I grunted, wishing I hadn’t asked.

“He’s been with Donovan all morning. Kind of thought he’d bail on us,” he replied before letting out a sigh. “I’ll see you soon. Samuel and Matteo just got back and they’re arguing.”

He hung up before I could reply, and I cursed about Rory the entire drive there, walking into mayhem, as usual.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Matteo spat, waving a hand in my direction. “Where the fuck were you? That bitch is with Rivera again. I was going to⁠—”

I zoned out of the rest of his speech, pissed off all over again that she’d run straight to him. Then again, I couldn’t really blame her for it. I’d strangled her and almost shot her in the fucking face.

“I don’t want to hear about it,” I scoffed, ending Matteo’s rant. “She’s probably just crying to him because we had it out this morning.”

Diesel’s eyes swung to me from the bar, but I ignored him.

“You put her in her place?” Matteo asked with surprise, and I shrugged.

“She showed up at Slash’s while I was there. I helped her back out of it. I don’t think she’ll try again,” I replied, Diesel rapidly texting on his phone. “Hey. She’s fucking fine. I left her breathing.”

His eyes lifted to mine and he scowled. “What did you do to her?”

“She can’t be too bad or she’d have called. Unless she wanted it kept a secret about being with Rivera,” I said lightly, frowning when he replied.

“I knew she was with him. She texted earlier. She didn’t mention you though. What the fuck did you do to my girlfriend?”

It was slightly jarring hearing him refer to her like that so casually.

“Run along and check on her if you’re that worried. Be back here by four though,” I warned, barely getting the sentence out before he was heading towards the door.

“Why did you let him go?” Samuel huffed, eyeing Diesel’s retreating back as the door closed behind him.

“I’m not going to be the reason he offs himself. Let him run off to her and see how cozy she is with Rivera. He’ll either crawl back with his heart broken, or we’ll eventually need a new second in charge,” I said bluntly. “Fill me in on the gun deal, Brick. Sorry I missed it.”

The guys seemed at ease now they knew I was definitely not giving a shit about Rory, but it was hard to focus when I started wondering if I’d crushed her windpipe or something.

Why had she gone to Hunter and not home? Had I managed to scare her? Or actually hurt her?

She hadn’t been bleeding, so I was pretty sure none of the bullets had bounced back and hit her.

I reminded myself I didn’t care, not wanting to miss anything Brick was saying, but it was hard when I knew I was lying to myself.

Hunter

Rory was asleep as a movie played in the background, her body wrapped in the blanket and her head on my lap. I’d been getting her to ice her throat every hour for twenty minutes to try and stop the swelling, and I couldn’t help it as I kept running my fingers through her hair.

Which was how Diesel found us when Marco let him in.

“What did he do?” he asked immediately, approaching the couch and squatting in front of her to try and inspect her. He brushed her hair from her face, trying to find the damage.