Page 151 of Shattered Pieces

“I didn’t know,” he mumbled, his eyes not leaving her throat.

“Sounds like a you problem,” Hunter said bluntly as he walked over, giving Diesel a nod. “All sorted. You’d better get back before your boss shows up and I kill him.”

“Get in line,” Diesel muttered, stopping Rory when she went to take his jacket off. “Keep it today. I’ll see you later.”

“If you’re sure,” she croaked out, and he reached over to zip it up to her neck.

“Keep icing your neck too. Stay out of trouble.”

“Can’t promise that,” she teased, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss.

He shot her a knowing look but motioned to Brick that it was time to leave, and Hunter moved around the bar to grab fresh ice packs once they were gone.

“You heard him. More ice,” he instructed, pressing them against her throat with a firm look. “And stay out of trouble.” Then he turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get drunker or I’ll throw you out.”

“Aw, man. You’re no fun,” I grumbled, leaning on the bar.

“Water. I mean it,” he stated, turning his attention to Caden. “If you’re an ass, I’ll break your nose.”

Caden surprisingly just nodded, and hope filled me that maybe he’d make an effort to actually talk to Rory now.

Hunter moved closer to Rory and murmured something to her that we couldn’t hear, then he walked back upstairs to the office, leaving us with Faris.

Rory sat on the bar stool, and Faris grinned at me. “You should’ve seen your girl. She was putting Ortega on his ass in the cage earlier.”

“What did he do to deserve that?” I joked, making Rory huff.

“We were training. He was showing me some moves to take down bigger guys.”

“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Faris teased, laughing as she flipped him off. “Be nice to me or I won’t sneak you out later to the party.”

“What party?” I asked curiously.

“There’s one happening in Lake Rowland. That’s where some of the guys are right now. You want to go too?” he offered, looking at Rory to find her nodding at me.

“Sounds fun. I’m down,” I smirked, moving closer to Rory to kiss her cheek. “Good thing you didn’t promise to stay out of trouble.”

She laughed, her eyes moving to Caden. “You want to come too?”

She was way too nice to him after how much of a dick he’d been lately, but hopefully, offering the olive branch would help.

“Shouldn’t you be resting or something?” he asked, not seeming convinced it was a good idea.

“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t sing,” she joked, and I could tell she was trying not to get too excited about the fact he was talking to her.

“I could probably come for a little bit,” he mumbled, not looking comfortable in the slightest. She started coughing, and Faris sighed as he grabbed her some water.

“Shut up for five minutes before you hurt yourself,” he ordered, and she flipped him off again but took the water.

“What time’s the party?” Caden asked, and Faris shrugged.

“It’s technically already started, but we can head there in a few hours. Why?”

“I need to run home first. I’ll be back soon,” he replied, giving me a nod. He seemed serious about coming back, so I didn’t question it, deciding he obviously needed a second to wrap his head around things.

Caden

The image of Rory’s throat being black and blue was burned into my mind, and I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Skeeter had failed to mention seeing her, but it must have been common knowledge if everyone seemed to know.