Page 152 of Shattered Pieces

I’d been at Skeeter’s house when I wasn’t at school, but I hadn’t been to the Shed the past couple of days. Had the crew made him do it?

I needed answers before throttling him.

The Shed was pretty quiet when I arrived, Diesel giving me a warning look as I stalked past the bar.

“Holloway,” he warned, but I ignored him and continued towards the office, yanking open the door. Skeeter was sitting at his desk talking to Brick, and I spoke before they could.

“How could you do that to her?” I spat, his eyes narrowing.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. I just saw Aurora. Her throat is black because you choked her!”

He sighed, not seeming too apologetic about the entire thing.

“I shot at her too. Fucking missed though.”

I saw red and dove at him, my fist slamming into his face, but he was ready and braced, throwing a fist right back at me. We ended up on the ground, and it wasn’t until I was yanked off him that we stopped.

“You took it too far!” I bit out, Diesel speaking in my ear.

“Chill out before you get yourself killed, idiot.”

“You’re okay with him trying to kill her?”

“You claimed to want her dead until now too. Maybe now you’ll realize words like that actually have meaning behind them here. No, I’m not okay with it, but me taking shots at my boss won’t just get me killed, but Rory too. Trust me, if I could shoot him, I would’ve by now,” he hissed, and Skeeter got to his feet, giving Diesel a dirty look.

“Watch it.”

“No, you fucking watch it. Sulk all you like, but you put hands on her. The only thing saving you from my fists is the fact that the crew would take it out on her. It wasn’t that long ago that you were threatening to kill Slash to keep her safe, just remember that,” Diesel warned, pulling me back further.

“Both of you need to get out of my face. Holloway, you’d better not be at my place when I get home. You’re done,” he gritted out, and I shoved Diesel off me and took a few steps back myself to show I wasn’t going to keep fighting.

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Brick sighed as I left, and I heard them all snapping at each other a little more before Diesel jogged after me.

“You’re lucky no one else was here to see that,” he warned, falling into step beside me.

“I don’t give a fuck. Intimidating someone is one thing, but you know how I feel about physically hurting women like that. I watched my dad choke Mom out regularly. She was terrified in her own home. If he’s pissed, he can be an asshole all he likes, but I won’t tolerate him touching her like that,” I growled, suddenly feeling like the biggest idiot.

Why the fuck had I listened to him?

“Are you going to have a panic attack?” Diesel asked slowly, and I shook my head as I opened the car door.

“I’m fine. I’m going back to the warehouse. Do you trust Hunter and Marco with her? Honestly?”

He sighed, crossing his arms and eyeing me. “I trust them to keep her safe.”

“But?”

“But they keep her safe because they want her. Lines haven’t been crossed, but I sense there’s more there. You can’t just hug it out with her, you know? You really fucking hurt her by not visiting the prison and cutting her off like she never meant a thing to you. As much as I hate to say it, you can’t be mad at her for getting closer to them after you abandoned her.”

I winced, knowing he was right. “I really thought she’d gone behind our backs.”

“Grovel like your life depends on it. That’s the second time you’ve turned on her for no goddamn reason. You won’t get a third chance,” he said seriously, and I had a feeling he meant it. “I’m heading home. You said you were going to the warehouse?”

“Yeah. Faris is sneaking Rory and Ty out to a party later and they invited me. I only left to punch Skeet,” I shrugged, a small smile tugging at his mouth.