by R. E. Bond
I honestly didn’t understand Rory.
She might have spent most of her life as my best friend, but I still didn’t fucking understand her.
Dating Skeeter was the fucking weirdest part because she was full of anxiety issues, and Skeeter was the reason anxiety was fucking invented.
He was reckless, unpredictable, and an actual fucking killing machine.
How he and Rory even got talking was beyond me.
Then she walked off to fuck a stranger?
That didn’t make sense.
Jensen wandered over, leaning closer so no one else could hear him.
“Is she okay? What did she want?”
He’d been sucking up my ass ever since they’d pulled that stunt on her at school, and I didn’t mind him grovelling in the slightest.
He was spending heaps of time at my place all of a sudden, basically begging me for forgiveness.
I’d always forgive him because he was my best friend, but I liked the effort he was putting in, so I let him sweat a bit.
I rolled my eyes, moving back slightly.
“Skeet gave her a hall pass for the night and she just left with some guy to get laid. I’d say she’s fucking fantastic.”
His eyes went wide and he shook his head, his hand going to my shoulder.
“Who was he? You just let her go with him?”
“Let her? Have you tried telling her what to do? Especially after fucking her over like we did. She’d be likely to stab me if I tried to keep her here. I’ve never seen him before, but Skeet told her to get laid, so that’s on him,” I snorted, hating that my insides churned at my words.
She was high as fuck, so fuck knows how with it she actually was.
Tyler walked over with a scowl on his face, motioning to the people around us.
“I’m already tired of us hosting this shit tonight. I say we shut it down and go run amuck.”
Last time we agreed to run amuck, he set some assholes car on fire.
Not happening.
“Not tonight, Ty. I’m not in the mood to bail you out of jail,” I muttered, making him frown.
“What’s up your ass?”
Jensen cringed. “Ah, Skeet told Rory to find someone to fuck, so she left with some guy a little while ago.”
His eyes narrowed on me, his voice low.
“You didn’t think to mention that before? We could have stopped her.”
I laughed, moving back from both of them.
“You could have tried, but she’d pull a fucking knife on you or some shit, and you know it. We fucked up with her, guys. She’s never going to trust us again. We fucking blew it,” then I stalked off, needing my own space.
The party suddenly fucking sucked.
Tyler
Since Caden had started to come to realize that Rory was fucking important in our lives after all, he’d started to become a fucking mess.
It was usually me writing myself off, but he had his head in the toilet by midnight, babbling about being a fuck up.
I mean, we were all fuck ups, but that wasn’t the point.
I was just glad that he was starting to see the truth.
He needed her, we all did.
I slid down the wall beside the toilet, bringing my knees up and watching him heave painfully into the toilet.
“You ain’t looking too good, man.”
“Thanks for your input, Captain Obvious,” he mumbled, coughing before sitting back against the other side of the wall to meet my gaze. “Have you heard from her?”
“You’re stupid if you think she’d get hold of any of us. If she wanted to make a scene about it, she would have just taken him upstairs to her room. She’s doing this for her, Caden. Not to piss anyone off.”
“Something’s wrong, I can feel it,” he insisted, and I couldn’t hold back my chuckle.
“What, you two have some soul connecting shit going on? She’s fine. You, on the other hand, are a fucking mess. Let’s get you to bed, alright? I’ll crash here to make sure you don’t choke on your fucking vomit in your sleep.”
“Kind of you,” he mumbled before turning and throwing up in the toilet again.
I personally thought he was being selfish for having a pity party.
It was what he wanted, after all.
I could still see her face as her fucking heart shattered into pieces as she stared at me that day.
I thought I could go through with it easily, but I’d struggled to keep my shit to myself.
She saw the truth in my eyes, but she never fought me on it.
She was used to being let down, so I wasn’t surprised when she put that big ass wall back up around her heart and stood her ground.
Caden broke her with the information about his father, and he was lucky I didn’t knock him the fuck out in front of everyone.
People didn’t even know they were laughing about someone being raped as a kid, but they fucking laughed anyways.
Being kings of the castle sucked ass sometimes, and it was honestly getting old.
We always ran riot at school, doing as we fucking pleased to kill the time, but having Rory there made the days enjoyable, and it felt weird without her being with us now.
Nothing went back to normal like Caden thought it would, and he knew we all blamed him for the rift that was between us all.
Jensen and Lukas seemed alright, but I knew Lukas hated all of us for the first few days.
Hell, I fucking hated us for the first few days.
Hearing her tell us that Tristan Holloway raped her on the regular ripped my fucking heart out, and I knew it played on Caden’s mind.
I helped my best friend into bed, watching him sleep for a good hour before deciding it would be safe to go to sleep on the couch in the corner.
Turned out, I was fucking wrong.
I should have gone looking for Rory after all.
Skeeter slammed the bedroom door open midmorning, a murderous glint in his eyes that actually made me think he was going to kill us this time.
He hauled me off the couch, getting in my face and yelling as if I were deaf.
“Where the fuck is she? She’s been missing all night and the burner phone I gave her was dumped down at the fucking docks. So tell me, Ty, who the fuck did my girlfriend leave with last night?”
Shit.
Skeeter
I was ready to kill someone.
It had been three days since someone had kidnapped Rory.
Three fucking days.
I’d even reached out to the fucking Reapers of Chaos Crew down at the docks to see if they’d seen anything that night, but it was a busy night for business at their establishment, meaning there were dodgy people everywhere.
We didn’t deal with other crews unless we had to, so whoever had my girl, had better pray that I didn’t get my fucking hands on them.
Slash nudged me, pushing a beer towards me.
“Hey, we’ll find her. Want me to reach out to the Devils?”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” I snapped, a loud snort coming from him.
“You wanna find her, or not?”
“They made their bed with us, so now they can lie in it. Don’t fucking call them. Reapers don’t know shit, and the phone was found in their territory. She must still be local, surely.”
He watched me for a moment before scowling.
“See, women make us fucking weak, brother. You’re here wounded, while someone could be planning a hit on us and take you out. Get your head in the fucking game. She probably just fucked off with her old man, anyways.”
I lit a cigarette and ignored his comment.
We’d already fucking talked about that, and I knew for a fact that she wouldn’t just take off with that sad excuse for a fucking father.
I glared across the room at one of the new guys, not at all surprised that he didn’t even flinch.
“Slash, seriously. I don’t trust that guy.”
“Liam? C’mon, brother. I checked his s
hit and he’s cool. Why do you think he’s bad news?” he asked, watching as I sipped on my beer with a shrug.
“Look, I just don’t like him. He’s too cocky for starters, but he’s too eager to please. Look into him more, okay?”
He scowled about him being in charge, but he didn’t bother to argue with me.
He knew fucking better than to push my buttons right now.
I had to find Rory.
I just had to.
Chapter ten
Rory
For five fucking days, I’d been strapped inside a box on my back with my waist and legs sticking out a hole at the end, my legs braced apart.
I’d seen those sorts of things in porn, but never in real life.
I was starting to wonder if Skeeter even noticed I was gone and was even going to rescue me.
I hated being the damsel in distress type, but I had no other choice but to wait.
After days of not knowing who’d been raping me, I was starting to think I never would.
The hands that had been touching me for what felt like hours were rough, so I knew it wasn’t the guy who I’d left the house with.
This guy never said a word, and after that first night, I’d stopped shouting at whoever it was to not touch me.
It wasn’t like I could stop them anyways.
I shivered as I was hit with the hose for my daily hose down, washing me off once he’d removed himself from me, and for the first time since being there, I heard his voice.
“Aurora Donovan, what the fuck did you do to make your father cut me another deal?”
I was going to be fucking sick.
I swallowed down the bile as he chuckled and jammed two fingers inside me.
“Looks like you’re into some crazy shit, so maybe I need to make you like it a little more, eh? Do you like fire play? Or just the knives?”
“Don’t fucking touch me, Tristan,” I finally bit out, hearing him laugh just as something hot burned into my inner thigh.
I gritted my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing my pain, but he just tsked and jammed his fingers even deeper.
“No one likes a tough fucker, Aurora.”
“Do you even know who my fucking boyfriend is, you piece of shit?” I snapped, causing him to hesitate before answering.
I hated using the Psychos name like that, but what choice did I have.
I was running on survival mode.
“Boyfriend, eh? But you left the party with someone I paid? So, who’s this boyfriend you so willingly cheated on?”
“I didn’t cheat on him, he told me to get laid. You’d know Skeeter Maddox, right? From the Bloody Psychos?”
I heard him curse before he left the room angrily, slamming the door behind him, his big bad attitude suddenly extinguished.
Even a stupid piece of shit like Tristan Holloway knew he wasn’t going to be excused from the Psychos revenge if they got their hands on him.
I’d just started to relax when I heard him yelling upstairs, grinding my teeth with irritation.
Fucking obnoxious bastard.
I zoned him out, not realizing I’d drifted off to sleep until I heard the door creak open quietly.
I held my breath, waiting for the unwanted touch, but it never came.
I heard a small snort from somewhere in the room, and then they muttered, “Jesus, Dad. A fucking sex dungeon?”
My ears pricked up, too many emotions washing through me at the familiar voice as
I manage to rasp out, “Caden?”
It was silent for a second before footsteps moved quickly towards me, the side of the box yanking open, causing me to blink against the sudden bright light.
Caden’s eyes went wide when he saw me.
“Rory? What the fuck?”
Hot tears slid down my face as I reached for him, taking his hands and holding them for comfort.
“Get me the fuck out of here.”
“Hang on, baby. I’ve got you,” he said softly, unlatching the box properly before helping me sit up on the edge.
I winced, his eyes roaming over the damage his father had inflicted on me.
“Jesus, Rory. Dad did this?”
“Can we just go?” I sobbed, not even knowing when I’d started crying.
I was numb.
So. Fucking. Numb.
He yanked his hoodie over his head and helped me into it carefully, but when I went to stand, my legs wobbled from not using them in nearly a week.
He gently hooked his arm under them and one behind my back, cradling me against his chest without me even asking.
He knew I needed him, and for once I pushed my pride down and didn’t argue.
We’d just reached the front door when Tristan’s voice hit my ears, making me flinch on instinct.
“What the fuck are you doing, Caden?”
He met his father’s eyes with a sneer.
“I’m taking her fucking home, you dirty piece of fucking shit. She’s one of mine, so don’t…”
“One of yours? She’s a girl for starters but apparently she’s with Skeeter Maddox. Don’t try that bullshit with me, boy,” he ordered, but Caden shook his head, obviously restraining himself from beating the shit out of him.
“I know she’s a girl because I was fucking her for a while. For your information, Skeet’s a really good friend of mine, and I might just tell him where to fucking find you. I never want to see you again,” then he walked out the door, gently placing me in the passenger seat of the Challenger so we could leave.
I was shaking as I basically clung to him for most of the drive, terrified of him hurting me again, but also needing his familiar comfort that I knew he could give me.
I noticed we were at an unfamiliar house when he stopped the car, panic instantly rising inside me.
“Where the fuck are we, Caden? I…”
“It’s okay, we’re at one of Jensen’s places, he has a couple. I’ll call Skeet and get him to meet us here once I get you inside, okay?”
I let him carry me inside, despite the paralysing fear inside of me, and once he sat on the couch to cradle me I realized how much my body hurt.
I fucking ached everywhere, and my head thumped like someone had stomped on it repetitively.
I wanted a bath more than anything.
A bleach bath.
Caden called Skeeter to let him know I was with him, then hung up and continued to just hold me in silence, waiting for me to be the first to speak.
“Max cut him a deal. He wanted me gone, so he got your dad to take me,” I finally forced out, his body tensing beneath me.
“Mom kicked Max out the day we had the party.”
“So, he had me kidnapped and fucking raped for five fucking days as payback?” I snapped, calming as he rocked me, kissing the top of my head.
He knew I wasn’t angry at him.
“I don’t know. Slash thought maybe you’d bailed and gone with him, but we talked him into believing us that you’d never do that. Skeet’s been looking for you with the guys since the morning after you fucked off. I only stopped in at Dad’s today to raid through some of his paperwork and contacts. He knows a lot of dodgy people, so I wanted to hire someone to help find you. I had no idea you were even there,” he stated, his voice breaking.
It was in that moment that I realized he really did care about me.
I didn’t trust him in the slightest, but he cared.
We stayed like that for a while, until the door burst open and Skeeter stalked in, Jensen and the other two behind him.
The second he looked at my battered body, his light green eyes narrowed to slits.
“Where the fuck was she? What…”
“She’s been locked up in my dad’s fucking basement this whole time. Max cut him a deal to take her,” Caden explained through clenched teeth, not looking at anyone as he kept me tightly in his arms.
Jensen’s worried eyes landed on mine as he took a step forwards, slowly moving in my direction t
o ensure he didn’t scare me.
I knew what he was going to ask before he even asked it.
“Babe, did he…”
I nodded once, letting him know that his thoughts were correct, watching as he sank to the ground in front of me with his head in his hands.
He looked like he was in physical pain as he processed it, letting the truth sink in.
Skeeter’s hands were in fists as he stared at Caden, looking like he was ready to murder someone.
Chances were high that he intended on it.
“Your fucking dad’s had her all this time? Raping her? My fucking girlfriend?”
I lifted my head and reached for him, tucking myself against his chest as he lifted me from Caden’s lap as if I were a child.
I was in Skeeter’s arms again.
I was safe.
I kept my voice low as I spoke, not trusting myself to keep my emotions in check if I explained everything in detail.
“He had no idea I knew you. I told him about you today when I realized who he was, and he freaked out and left the room. Then Caden showed up.”
“You didn’t know who he was?” he asked, sounding confused.
“He had me in this box thing the whole time. He didn’t speak until today,” I whispered, his body vibrating with rage as I held on tighter.
“I’m going to kill him, Holloway. Your dad’s a fucking dead man. Get in my way, and I’ll fucking kill you too.”
Caden snorted, his eyes not straying from me in the slightest.
“Have at him. He’s no fucking father of mine.”
“Should we take her to the hospital?” Tyler asked uneasily from across the room, but I shook my head in panic.
That couldn’t happen.
Cops would get involved, and I was not okay with that.
“No! Take me to Skeet’s guy! I don’t want anything on record or…”
Skeeter nodded, running his hand down my back to comfort me.
“Sure thing, baby girl. I can get him to come here, if you want?”
I was too exhausted to go anywhere, so I nodded, letting him place me back on Caden’s lap while he went and made the call, fighting tears as I met Jensen’s gaze again.
Too many emotions swirled around inside me, and for a moment, I just wanted to go back to one of those days where me and Jensen just kicked back and joked around.