I yanked back, going to snap something rude at her about hurting me, but Miranda held her hand up to silence me and headed towards her car before I could, grabbing a box and bringing it over to us.
“This is what was on my doorstep. I wrote my number on some paper in there in case you want to call me at any time. It was good to see you, Rory. Stay safe,” then she turned and left, not wanting to continue the conversation about how her niece was a whore now.
“Fuck, I really need a beer,” Diesel muttered before handing me the keys and climbing into the passenger seat like a good boy.
I almost came when I started the engine.
So fucking good.
“What the fuck?” Diesel growled as he snatched a piece of paper off the front door as we got to my place.
He scrunched it up straight away, making me scowl.
“Hey! What did it say?”
“Nothing,” he bit out, and I smacked his arm with annoyance.
It was obviously for me, because it was on my fucking door.
“Diesel!”
“What?” He snapped, turning to look at me, but his eyes blazed with worry, not anger.
I gently took his hand, uncurling his fingers from around the paper ball, before flattening it out and reading it.
I knew the Soldiers were still pissed at me, but reading threats from them made acid rise in my throat.
I scrunched it up again and threw it in the bin, then I let myself inside as I spoke over my shoulder as confidently as I could.
“Just ignore them, D. They…”
He was suddenly right behind me, channelling his inner Skeeter as anger lashed through his voice.
“You seriously want me to ignore the fact that another crew are literally threatening you? They don’t play games, Donovan. They fucking torture and kill people, as well as rape women. You’re a fucking woman, and I know it’s the first way they’ll try to break you!”
I wandered over to the fridge, grabbing him a beer and raising an eyebrow at him.
“I know I have a vagina, but thanks for clearing up any confusion I might have had. Right now, the Soldiers aren’t my problem.”
“How do you know they weren’t the ones in your fucking house? Can I go through the tapes for a look to see if I can find anything?” He asked as he took the beer from me, his eyes searching mine with complete fear.
I had all these scary tough guys breaking over my safety.
“Knock yourself out,” I replied, motioning to the door that lead to the small office.
I knew he’d know where it was, so I didn’t follow him.
He headed straight in, leaving me to grab my whisky and drink it in peace for a while, until I heard a tap on the window.
I frowned and walked up to it, noticing a piece of paper stuck to the outside with an address on it.
Weird.
I went outside but no one was around, so I grabbed the paper and placed it in my pocket.
I headed back inside and almost ran into Diesel who frowned, suspicion in his eyes.
He was frowning a lot lately.
“What are you doing?” He asked slowly, looking me over for damage.
I decided to give him a half-truth, but not all of it until I knew what was going on.
“Thought someone knocked, but I’m hearing shit because there’s no one outside. You already finished with the tapes?”
Damn, I was getting real smooth.
I moved around him and sat on the bench, his eyes trailing over me before he sighed.
“No, not yet. Just making sure you were where I fucking left you. You have a tendency of running off when someone’s back is turned,” he said lightly as if he was joking, but I heard the seriousness in his tone.
I flipped him off and he smirked before he went back to the room, leaving me alone again.
Quietly, I pulled the piece of paper from my pocket and looked at the address.
It was only half an hour out of town if I drove quick enough.
Curiosity killed the fucking cat, but luckily they had nine lives.
I know it was stupid to go anywhere alone.
It was obviously a trap, but I wanted to sort my problems out without any help.
The guys didn’t need to stress over the Soldiers hurting me if I could talk sense into them.
I just knew Razor was behind the note, so that convinced me to go to the address before I could change my mind.
I silently headed out the front door and tucked my gun into the back of my pants, making sure I didn’t rev the car as I drove off in the direction of the address.
I kept my eyes peeled as I drove down the quiet road, slowing as I found the right house in the middle of nowhere.
There were no cars visible, but I saw the curtain move, alerting me to the fact that someone was there.
I left the Corvette by the road in case I needed to get out quickly, then I walked up to the door cautiously.
I felt for my gun to make sure it was secure, just in case I needed it.
Before I could knock, the door opened and the leader of the Soldiers grinned at me, a cigarette in his hand and a cruel twinkle in his eye.
“That was quick, I’m impressed.”
Creep.
I shrugged and tried to act relaxed, despite anxiety flaring up and spreading through my body.
Razor was feared for good reasons, and it was no wonder he lead one of the most brutal crews around.
The man was impulsive and rarely asked questions before putting bullets in people.
I kept my voice level as I answered, trying to sound tougher than I was.
“I aim to please. So, what’s this about?”
He motioned me inside, and I worried as he shut the door behind us, not that I’d let him know that.
You never show your enemy your fear.
Rule number one in Skeeter’s crash course that he’d given me a while ago.
He leaned back in a chair when we got to the kitchen, and he sighed as he met my eye.
“You’ve caused me a lot of problems, you know? I have a deal for you.”
I leaned against the bench with my good side and cocked my head at his amusing attempt of control.
Was he fucking serious?
“I don’t make deals with the devil,” I replied as I acted bored, hoping I pulled it off.
Razor grinned, dragging on his cigarette and blowing it in my direction.
He honestly didn’t seem much older than me, but the years of living rough had taken its toll on him.
The permanent scowl on his face didn’t usually help, but the grin was kind of creepy too.
“No? Seems you do deals with the Devil’s Armada? What’s one more deal hurt?”
“Hunter’s a good friend of mine and so are his crew. I don’t like you, and you don’t like me, so why the fuck would I cut a deal with you?” I asked and cross my arms tightly, a bit annoyed that he thought he was on the same playing field as the Devils.
He chuckled, not fazed by my irritation in the slightest.
“Because I always get what I want, Aurora Donovan.”
The way he said my name made me fight a cringe, needing him to see that he wasn’t affecting me.
“Well, start by telling me what this deal is, or I’ll go home. I have shit to do, Razor. A lot of my issues at the moment revolve around you, by the way.”
He put his feet up on the table, resting his hands behind his head lazily.
“You come to us, and you’re safe.”