Page 61 of Twisted Fate

“Well, the crew life’s messy for starters, but the way Hunter spoke of you and watched you, you have him interested.”

“Doubt it,” I snorted, but he kept his gaze on me, his voice serious.

“Skeet knows him better than anyone, so if he thinks Hunter has a boner for you, he’s right.”

I raised an eyebrow at how stupid it was becoming.

“So, Skeet’s upset because his ex-best friend thinks I’m interesting? That’s stupid.”

He rolled his eyes but chuckled.

It wasn’t funny.

“Babe, he and Hunter have always been rivals when it comes to women. They used to share women and party hard together, but it wouldn’t be the first time one of them tried to take the other one’s piece of ass, no offense. I know you aren’t a piece of ass to Skeet, but Hunter sees you as his latest way of pissing Skeet off. Not to mention he’d know that Skeet only fucks girls who fuck hard. Do yourself a favour and don’t find yourself alone with Hunter, alright? It won’t end well, and I don’t want bullets flying between them again. They’re so alike it’s scary, so watch Hunter’s charm and shit. Don’t believe a thing he says to you.”

I drank my beer in silence for a while as I sat deep in thought, until he cocked his head and gave me a warm smile.

“I’m Diesel Maverick by the way. You really want to be part of the crew?”

I glanced up at him with a half shrug.

“Never really thought about it to be honest. I didn’t handle the shit with Liam too well, but after Tristan and my dad, I guess I figured out the power behind taking control of situations myself. Caden thinks I can fight the urge away with a fist fight or two, but I’d just kill them on purpose. If I could bring Tristan and Max back to kill them all over again, I fucking would. I love the rush it brings, and I crave the power I felt.”

“Don’t blame you,” he grumbled, making me raise an eyebrow.

“Really? Because I know how things in the crew work with the women. Tell me, Diesel, have you raped someone’s girl to put her back in line?”

He seemed surprised by my question, but his eyes darkened as pure disgust rolled off him.

“No. It’s old school rules that some of the older members insist on keeping around, but most of us are from another generation. It’s why I don’t have a girlfriend. The last one I brought around years ago ended up raped, and I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone besides child molesters and rapists themselves. Once the older members leave, the rules will be removed from our ways of shit. Trust me, Slash and Skeet have been fighting them on it for years.”

I stared at him, my voice cracking with emotion.

“They raped your girlfriend?”

His hand clenched around his beer bottle, a frustrated growl leaving him.

“They fucking raped her in the cage in front of me. I couldn’t stop them, even though I tried. I ended up with a bullet in my shoulder for turning on one of the guys. They did it because I refused to beat her bloody after she picked a fight with our old leader. I can still hear her fucking screaming in my sleep all these years later.”

My heart broke as I watched the torment dance across his face.

“What happened to her?”

His expression changed, his voice softening so much I hardly heard him.

“She wanted to tell the cops, but I talked her out of it, telling her they’d just kill her. She killed herself two weeks later. I found her in our bathtub, wrists slit and empty pill bottles on the floor. She knew if one didn’t work, the other would. I was eighteen, Sasha was seventeen. We were just fucking kids, and she never got to find herself in the world like she’d always wanted. I swore I’d never bring another person into this life. This is the life I chose for myself, but I’d never have a family beside it. It can be lonely, but it’s my choice.”

I closed my eyes, only opening them when he spoke again.

“You want to see a picture of her?”

I nodded, smiling warmly as he pulled a photo out of his wallet and a pretty blonde girl stared back at me.

She was fucking stunning.

“She was beautiful.”

He cleared his throat, becoming emotional as he nodded and put it away.