Rory whimpered as Hunter carefully took her hand for comfort, letting the doctor finish examining her, despite being in serious pain.
She was stronger than most chicks I’d met, I’d give her that.
I hated the majority of the female race with a fucking passion, but I guessed Rory and I were friends now, so I hated seeing her so badly beaten and broken.
I hated being so helpless, and I wished I could take some of the pain from her.
I just hoped she’d hold on long enough for us to try and put her back together again.
Rory
I’d convinced Hunter to take me home the next morning, since miraculously nothing was broken.
He’d argued with me for hours until finally giving in and driving me there, knowing it would be a losing battle.
He’d only just left when the door opened and Razor strolled in, a big grin on his stupid fucking face.
“Well, fuck. That’s not a good look, babe. You should’ve just stayed down the first time.”
I snorted, downing some pain meds that Marco had given me, with a beer.
“You know I don’t back down. If you think I’m going to offer you a fucking beer and something for lunch, you’ll be sorely mistaken. I don’t want you here right now.”
He shrugged, leaning against the wall.
“I don’t really care what you want. So, Psychos finally done with you I see? Pretty sad when another crew has to help you because yours turned you away.”
“My crew? I don’t have a fucking crew because of you. I wouldn’t have helped me either, you dick head,” I hissed, downing more of the beer while glaring at him.
“So, Hunter must have been more than a good fuck if he took you in for the night. We watched his right-hand man with you. He looked a little panicked at the state you were in. You fucking him too?” He questioned, narrowing his eyes at me as if I’d been keeping secrets from him.
I rubbed my temples, willing the pain meds to kick in as my body burned with the movement.
“He and I fucked once, that’s it. We’d just become friends before you fucked it all up for me. I had a family, you piece of shit, then you took it from me and left me with nothing.”
The bastard actually laughed.
“What am I? Chopped liver? You’ve got me, stop complaining.”
“I’d prefer to hang out with chopped liver over you,” I snapped, making him grin cruelly.
“Touchy today, aren’t you? I will admit, I’m impressed. You can take a hit, babe.”
I tossed my beer across the room angrily, listening to it shatter.
“Don’t fucking babe me. Get out of my fucking house, I’m done with this conversation!”
“I don’t give a shit in all honesty. I own your ass, Donovan. Don’t you fucking forget it. Do I have to put one of your boys in the ground to remind you? Do I start with Lukas? Maybe your favorite, Caden?” He threatened, anger simmering in his eyes at my attitude.
I clenched my fists, despite them burning from the fights.
“Don’t fucking touch them, or all bets are off.”
“Fall in line then,” he demanded before turning and leaving without another word.
I fought the urge to throw a punch at his stupid face, but a noise upstairs made me tense up and forget all about Razor.
Who the fuck was in my house?
I crept up the hallway, grabbing my gun from the kitchen bench and holding it in front of myself, but the moment I kicked the bedroom door open, my jaw dropped.
“Bryant?”
Lexi Bryant smirked, wiggling a tattooed finger at me.
“The fuck were you going to do with that, you crazy bitch?”
I was silent for a moment before worry crept in.
“Lex, you can’t fucking be here. You need to go,” I hissed, tucking the gun into the back of my pants.
She snorted, rolling her eyes.
“Because of Razor? He isn’t shit, Donovan.”
“Damnit, Lex. He’s dangerous,” I growled, earning a blank look from her.
“Get away from him then. Just tell Caden and the crews that he’s blackmailing you, like you should have from the start,” she replied bluntly, eyeing me with disappointment.
“How much did you fucking hear?” I bit out, but she shrugged casually, leaning back on my bed and making herself comfortable.
“All of it.”
Fucking hell, not good.
“Lexi, for fuck’s sake…”
She glared at me, cutting me off angrily.
“Why the fuck haven’t you told Hunter’s or Skeeter’s crews the truth? You know they’d help sort it out. Stop fighting all your battles alone, I fucking told you that you can’t keep doing that.”
I ignored the pain that rolled through my body as I threw my hands up in the air.
“Because, it’s the only way that no one will fucking die! I’m trying to keep everyone safe!”
“Oh, really? So, what happens when all three crews have a shoot-out over it? Your guys need their heads screwed on when it happens, or you could lose a bunch of them anyway and your plan would have all been for nothing.”
I sat on my bed, putting my head in my hands.
“I’m hoping they hate me enough that they’ll stop caring and won’t bother the Soldiers at all,” I whispered, knowing it was a stupid thing to hope for.
“They could want you dead, but they’d still go to war over the concept, babe. Crews hate to lose, and by the sounds of it, you’re a big deal between the Psychos and the Devils,” she said almost proudly, her eyes glancing over the bruises.
I hadn’t had a chance to look at the damage, but from the guys reactions, I assumed it was pretty bad.
My phone rang and I scowled, answering it angrily.
“What?”
Diesel sighed. “Good morning to you too, babe.”
“D, not now.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’m just checking up on you since you gave me a fucking heart attack last night. Are you okay?” He asked, his voice coming out strained.
I tried to calm down, but I was still bitter about the whole thing.
“I look just like I did last night, thanks for reminding me.”
“Rory, you know I wanted to help you, right?” He begged softly, and I instantly felt bad for snapping at him.
He’d tried to help after all.
It wasn’t his fault his boss wouldn’t let him, it was mine.
“I know. It’s okay, you’ve got to listen to the boss, regardless if he’s being an ass. I don’t blame him for it, either. You and I are cool, okay? You still need to stay away from me though. Promise me you’ll stay away,” I demanded, but there was no bite to my tone.
I was too emotionally weakened to handle him.
I just wanted him to come over and make it all better, but it wasn’t worth the risk of Razor retaliating and killing someone to prove a point.
Diesel sounded tired, his voice going tight.
“If that’s what you want, then I’ll do as you ask.”
“It is,” I said firmly, and he stayed quiet for a moment before answering.
“Alright, take care,” then he hung up without argument.
Lexi wiggled a finger at me again, a thoughtful expression on her face.