Pretty Lies (Watch Me Burn Book 1)

by R. E. Bond

  Tyler shot me a lazy smirk as he lit up a joint.

  “You’ll be tender in the morning. We weren’t too rough, were we?”

  “Nah, it was fine, might have to do it again later,” I teased, earning a groan from both of them in response.

  It was going to be a long fucking night, and you bet your ass we fucked again before going to sleep.

  Take that, Tristan Holloway.

  Tyler

  “Do you think we did the wrong thing?” I mumbled as I watched Caden run his fingers through Rory’s hair as she slept between us later that night.

  We’d scared her a little in the second round, but once we slowed it down, she seemed okay again.

  I felt like fucking shit for freaking her out, but she’d insisted she was fine to keep going.

  Caden glanced up at me, a mix of emotions on his face as he spoke quietly.

  “It’s what she wanted. Better us, than some fucker who doesn’t give a shit about her.”

  I had to agree, but I hoped she wouldn’t hate us in the morning for it.

  She was pretty fucked up on powder and whisky, after all.

  She looked peaceful as she slept, and I couldn’t help but brush the hair from her face and smile.

  “She’s pretty fucking great, isn’t she? Do you think she’ll get over everything that’s happened? The shit with us, and the shit with your dad and Max?”

  He snorted, shuffling closer to her back and curling himself around her protectively.

  “She’ll never get over it, Ty. She’ll eventually learn to live with it, but it won’t just go away.”

  “I know, but do you think she’ll be okay, for real?” I mumbled, a pained sigh leaving him.

  “I honestly don’t know. I’m just happy to have her back here where she belongs. Do you think Jense and Lukas are going to strangle us?”

  “Oh, one hundred percent,” I chuckled, watching a soft smile take over his face.

  “Totally worth it.”

  It was weird seeing him like that.

  He fell asleep long before I did, but watching my best friend wrapped around Rory soothed something inside of me.

  She was putting us together again, piece by piece, and there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

  Chapter thirteen

  Rory

  “Pancakes, babe?” Jensen offered, as I stumbled into Tyler’s kitchen the next morning.

  Pyro by Shinedown was already cranking, and I rubbed my head with a wince.

  “Seriously? It’s not even fucking lunchtime yet. Why are you having a one-man party down here?”

  “Not a one-man party,” Lukas chuckled as he wandered into the room, already sipping on a fucking beer as he plonked down at the table.

  I rolled my eyes as I walked across the room, surprising him as I sat on his lap.

  As much as my night with Caden and Tyler had been amazing, I needed my best friend to anchor me again.

  The cuddle was nice.

  Jensen finished cooking, before bringing everything over to the table for us.

  “So, where’s your prince charming’s at?”

  “Sleeping, I wore them out,” I joked, moving to climb off Lukas’s lap so he could eat properly, but his arm went around my middle to keep me there.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him with question, receiving an affectionate smile in return.

  “You can stay there, Rory. I can still eat with you on my lap.”

  I gave him a nod, stuffing a pancake into my mouth, causing them both to snort.

  I wasn’t known to eat like a lady, not that they had a problem with it.

  Too bad if they did, because I was fucking hungry.

  Apparently, it was nice to have a girl around that wasn’t high maintenance.

  Jensen had told me so.

  Once I’d eaten my share of breakfast, I leaned back against Lukas’s chest, sighing contently.

  “What are we up to today?”

  Jensen mumbled around his food as he finished his plate.

  “Probably just hang around here, then we’ll take you to the shed tonight. Why?”

  “I’m going to the shed by myself,” I replied bluntly, earning a dirty look in response.

  “Like hell, you are.”

  I raised an eyebrow, getting sick of the fucking conversation already.

  “I can handle myself fine there.”

  “I know, but I don’t like any of it.”

  “Do you know what he wanted me to do?” I asked curiously, watching him shrug.

  “Could be anything with Slash. They do a lot more than run the shed. I don’t like the idea of you meeting him there when Skeet’s away, either.”

  “He’s away?”

  “Yeah, he is. Slash tolerated you hanging around the shed because you were Skeet’s girl, and Skeet was always around to keep an eye on things. Now, you’re not his girl and Skeet’s not there, I don’t know where Slash’s loyalties will lie. Can you take one of us, at least?” he asked, a look of hope in his eye, making me feel bad as I let out a sigh.

  I didn’t want them involved, regardless of what it was that Slash fucking wanted.

  “I’d prefer you guys to stay out of it in all honesty. Trust me, okay?”

  Lukas snorted, his arm tightening slightly around me.

  “We trust you just fine, it’s Slash and the Bloody Psychos we don’t trust.”

  “Well, I trust them.”

  “You don’t trust anyone, and you know it. Don’t lie to us,” he muttered, kissing my shoulder softly.

  Jensen stood, cleaning up from breakfast and letting me and Lukas argue for a while, but I finally sighed after a few minutes, wanting the argument to stop.

  “Well, it’s not until tonight anyways, so I’m going to head home and probably nap for a few hours. Tell the other two I’ll see them later.”

  Jensen gave me a look that stated he knew I was full of shit, but I ignored it.

  Lukas on the other hand nodded.

  “Yeah, sure. You okay to drive? You were pretty fucked up last night.”

  I stood and stretched, kissing his cheek with a smile.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I sweat it all out of my system before bed.”

  He rolled his eyes, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

  “Maybe use the gym next time? Drive safely.”

  Warmth spread though my chest at his concern for me, and I gave him a nod before kissing Jensen’s cheek on my way out to my car.

  God, I’d never get enough of my Corvette.

  I mean, Skeeter bought it for a good price, which I took to mean it was dodgy as fuck, but I wasn’t going to question it.

  I drove until I passed my old house and drove through the run-down neighbourhood, turning off at the end of the road and parking out the front of the Psycho’s shed.

  I walked up to the door and strolled inside like I always did, not wanting to stand outside knocking forever.

  It was too early for people to be there for any cage fights, so it was pretty empty.

  Slash’s head popped out of the office, apparently spotting my arrival on his cameras, giving me a scowl.

  “You’re early. Like, all fucking day early.”

  I shrugged as I continued to walk towards him, starting to wonder why I’d even decided to show up.

  All he did was piss me off, and I honestly didn’t like him one bit.

  “Jensen and Lukas were hounding me about it, so I told them I was heading home then came here instead. Figured you might not want them here for whatever the job is.”

  He smirked, opening the door wide to let me pass.

  “They’ll show up anyways, those boys aren’t stupid. I have a proposition for you, Donovan.” That didn’t sound good, in my opinion.

  I sat at the desk and helped myself to his whisky without bothering to ask.

  Fuck him.

  “Go on, I’m listening.”

  He sat opposite me and chuckled, eyeing the drink as I drank straight from the bot
tle.

  “Thought you might be curious. While Skeet’s gone, I need some help dealing with some shit.”

  “Like, cleaning the shed kinda help? Or dead body kinda help? Need to be a little more fucking specific, boss man,” I snorted sarcastically, making him laugh as he leaned back and lit a cigarette.

  “Dead body kinda help, but if you wanna clean the shed, I won’t stop you, babe.”

  “I won’t go to jail, Slash. Does Skeet know about this? You know he doesn’t want blood on my hands. I’m not even meant to fucking be here.”

  He leaned forward, raising an eyebrow.

  “Actually, he told me to stay the fuck away from you, but since when do we listen to him, hmm?”

  “Sounds like trouble,” I sighed, his shoulders shrugging lazily.

  “He can fucking get over it. He seems to have forgotten that I’m in charge, not him. I let him have his way when it came to the cage fighting and his relationship with you, but he needs to learn to take a step back. You aren’t his girl anymore, so I don’t have to do shit that he asks. You’re lucky I actually like you, or I’d use you to remind him in some cruel fucking ways of his place here, but since we’re pals and shit, this will have to do. Besides, you like blood on your hands, so fuck him, right?”

  I was uneasy but gave him a confident shrug.

  I was actually starting to feel nervous as fuck.

  “Just tell me the deal and I’ll tell you if I think it’s stupid.”

  “Fine. For starters, we’ve got a body here that we need to get rid of without Skeet finding out. Fighters got rowdy last night, and one ended up dead. You know what he’s like about dead body problems here. Secondly, I need you to talk to one of our newbies. Skeet swears he’s up to no good, so since it’s crew business, I need to look into it. You’re hot as fuck, so if anyone can get information out of him, it would be you.”

  “What information am I looking for, and what do I have to do to convince him?”

  Not good.

  I sucked at that kind of shit.

  “Use your fucking imagination, Donovan. Fuck him if you have to. I need to know if he’ll tell you about any of our business. If he talks, he’s dead. Literally,” he snorted, instantly making me feel uncomfortable.

  I couldn’t pull that off, even if I needed to.

  Not after everything that had happened to me.

  I was struggling to be okay with Caden, Tyler, and Skeeter sleeping with me, so a stranger would freak me out.

  “You know what happened to me, right? I can’t just fuck random people.”

  “I know it seems like a cruel job to throw at you, but I really need this. If he’s a rat, he could bring us all down. To be honest, you’ll get dragged into it too, since you’re known to him. Skeet talks too much to you, and I know that, but the fact that you’re like a fucking vault of secrets means I know you’re fuck all of a threat. Lucky for you, or I’d have offed you by now,” he suddenly grinned, but it just confused me.

  Skeeter hardly ever spoke about crew business in front of me.

  “He hardly tells me shit,” I finally frowned, but he rolled his eyes and offered me his cigarettes.

  Of course I took one, it was fucking free.

  I lit it as he kept talking.

  “You lived with him for a little while. He trusted you, and he doesn’t trust anyone outside the crew, so I know he’s told you shit. Besides, between the shit here at the shed, and the guns and drugs you’ve witnessed, you know enough to bring us all down. Trust me when I say your name’s been at my table of concern by the others, and I’m the only thing standing between you and a shallow fucking grave.”

  I gave him an unamused glance as I sipped the whisky.

  Fuck he was a prick.

  I was secretly shitting my fucking pants though, I wouldn’t lie.

  “So basically, if I don’t help you, I’ll get to meet this shallow grave? Am I reading this right?”

  He chuckled, but it wasn’t very nice.

  “Smart girl. Not like you’re killing anyone for me, you’re just…”

  “I’m part of it, so I can’t talk about it without burying myself in the process?” I offered, his dark grey eyes holding mine for a moment before he nodded.

  “Bingo.”

  He glanced up as the door opened and one of his guys walked in without knocking.

  He was young, and I’d seen him at Skeeter’s house before.

  We’d picked up drugs from his place a few times too.

  He was one of the newbies, and by the way that Skeeter acted around him, I knew for a fact that he didn’t like him.

  “Ah, Liam. You know Donovan, yeah?” Slash grinned, motioning towards me.

  I could read Slash’s body language, instantly informing me that it was the problem newbie we’d been speaking about.

  I sat up straighter and forced a smile that I hoped looked convincing.

  “Good to see you again, Liam. Have you been working out more since I saw you last?”

  Gag.

  I hated girls who said shit like that.

  Slash raised an eyebrow at me, but Liam smirked and turned his attention completely towards me.

  Sucker.

  “Yeah, I have. I heard you aren’t fighting anymore. Why not?”

  I faked a pout, my skin crawling at the sound of my own voice.

  I could fucking kill Slash for this.

  “Skeet won’t let me now we’ve split up. He doesn’t like me here, but I’m naughty and never do as I’m told. I like it here too much to stay away.”

  He was eating it up as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, annoyance on his face.

  “I think he should just let you fucking fight. Everyone comes to see you.”

  “I don’t think I’m the best fighter here,” I giggled, but he shot me a sly grin.

  “Oh, don’t you worry, babe. You fight good, but you’re hot as fucking sin, and that’s why people come to watch you. Skeet’s a fool for letting you go, if you ask me.”

  Slash snorted, despite his amusement.

  Bastard.

  “Ease up there, Liam. You’ll bust in your fucking pants.”

  Before he could respond, I held back another gag and winked at Slash.

  “Never you mind that, boss man, I’d help him clean up.”

  Liam’s eyes tracked my tongue as it ran across my lower lip and toyed with my lip rings.

  He was completely sucked in.

  Hook, line and fucking sinker.

  Slash was holding back a laugh as I stood, Liam’s interested gaze remaining on me as I sighed.

  “I’d better get going. I’d hate to get in the way of crew stuff. I know how busy you guys get.”

  Liam pushed off the wall before I’d even finished speaking.

  “Let me walk you to your car.”

  I battered my lashes at him, giving Slash a smile.

  “What a gentleman! You could learn something from him, Slash. I’ll see you later?”

  “You sure will,” he chuckled, watching Liam lead me out of the room and through the shed.

  He even opening the car door for me like the idiot he was.

  I went to get in, but he backed me against the side of the car, a lazy smirk on his face that made me uncomfortable.

  I swallowed down the fear that clawed at my insides, giving him a soft, fake giggle.

  “Liam! People will see!”

  “Like I give a fuck. It turns you on to know we might get caught this close, I can tell. What are you doing later, babe?”

  I faked that I was deep in thought for a moment, biting my lip and placing a hand on his chest.

  “I guess the thought of people thinking I’m fucking you does make me a bit excited. I mean, you’re so hot. I’m not up to much in a few hours, why?”

  He pressed against me, his breath hot on my neck, and I had to force myself to stand still.

  I was starting to feel bad for pulling him along, actually.

  Apart f
rom being a cocky prick, he didn’t seem to be a bad person.

  “I’m hoping you’ll be doing me later, to be honest,” he answered, so I faked concern.

  “You aren’t worried about Skeet finding out? I’d hate for him to hurt you.”

  Skeeter would fucking murder him.

  He smiled against my neck. “I can take Skeet on. He ain’t shit, trust me. You should see him out on the job. He stands back while we do the dirty work.”

  I hadn’t even gotten fucking naked and he was already blabbing what I wanted, so I giggled again for good measure.

  Also, if he thought he’d have it over Skeeter, he was on some seriously good crack.

  “Really? What a pussy. I bet you do lots of dirty work.”

  He hardened against my leg, so I arched into him slightly, making him groan.

  “Oh, I get super fucking dirty. Give me a few hours to finish this drug run with the guys, and I’ll meet up with you. Let’s say, in three hours we meet at mine. You know where that is, yeah?”

  “The brick place a few blocks from Skeet’s? With the hedge around the property?” I asked, knowing exactly where he lived.

  Skeeter scowled every time we drove past it, and like I said, we’d stopped in once or twice to grab drugs and shit.

  “That’s the one. Go and rest, you’ll need it,” he chuckled, giving my neck a sharp nip.

  I had to cement this shit in, so I bravely scruffed him by the shirt and pulled him down for a kiss, his hands clamping onto my waist as he thrust against me with another groan.

  He bit my lip harder than fucking necessary, moving back with a smirk.

  “Three hours, okay? Let yourself in if I’m not there yet. Key’s under the brick by the chair.”

  “Be careful,” I faked more concern, letting him kiss me again, earning a wink before he turned and walked back towards the shed, talking over his shoulder.

  “Trust me, babe. I’m untouchable.”

  I slipped into the Corvette and drove to my old house, not surprised in the slightest when Slash rang me.

  I never should have given him my number to sort cocaine deals out with him.

  “I watched you on the cameras, Donovan. You’ve got him eating out of your fucking hands already. You’re a natural,” he exclaimed with a hoot.