Page 11 of Reckless Vengeance

“Hey, baby girl,” Skeeter said softly as he walked towards me, putting an arm out to pull me against him. I breathed him in, a sense of calmness washing over me, despite the guilt at knowing his enemy’s clothes were currently hidden in my bedroom.

“Anything new?” I asked, and he sighed.

“Not really. I was at the Shed until three this morning, going over everything with the guys. It’s going to take a few meetings to handle it, I think. Can you come and stay with me tonight? We need to talk.”

“If you’re going to push me away again to⁠—”

“I’m not,” he cut in, brushing his fingers through my hair. “We need to put a lot on the table and talk things over though.”

I knew he wanted to talk about Slash. He’d heard Slash’s confession in the van, so he knew something was going on between us.

“You guys go. We’re all crashing here tonight, so you can come find us if you need to,” Caden offered, tugging me towards him to give me a kiss. “Please be safe.”

“You too,” Skeeter said seriously in response. “Don’t wander off alone. It’s not safe.”

“We know, we’re not going anywhere,” Caden nodded, and I quickly went upstairs to say goodbye to the guys and grab Skeeter’s jacket for him before following him outside.

I went to get in my car once I’d handed the jacket over, but he stopped me.

“I know you like an escape route, but I don’t want you driving alone right now. I’m not starting a fight with you, so I promise I can bring you home if you need me to.”

The thought of not having my own car made me a little uncomfortable, but I abandoned my idea of bringing it and climbed into the McLaren, barely leaving the driveway before he spoke again without looking at me.

“How long?”

I knew exactly what he was asking, and I swallowed nervously.

“Around my birthday. We’d planned on telling you guys yesterday now that midterms are over.”

“How did it start? You fucking hated each other.”

I couldn’t tell him. Knowing his best friend had assaulted me would’ve killed him, and the last thing I wanted to do was make him angry at Slash now that he was gone.

“Heated argument that got a little carried away,” I said vaguely, a snort leaving him.

“So it wasn’t just feelings involved? You’ve been fucking since your birthday?”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out, knowing what we’d done was wrong. “I know we’re not all officially together, but I’ve felt so fucking guilty.”

“Then why the fuck didn’t either of you tell me, Aurora? You’ve both been lying to me. I’m pissed off that I didn’t see it, but I’m more pissed off that my best friend never told me he’d fallen in love with my girl, and now I can’t punch him for it because he’s fucking gone,” he bit out, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. “How the hell did you even manage to sneak around? You were always with one of us. Did someone else know? Were they covering for you?”

“Skeet—”

He glanced at me, a dry chuckle leaving him. “It was fucking Ty, wasn’t it? Did you three just have orgies together whenever you stayed at Ty’s? Did the others know? Am I the only idiot that didn’t?”

“No, the guys didn’t know until this morning when I told them. Please don’t be angry at Ty. He found out the night we were hanging out at your place and you went to get more beer. I asked him to keep it to himself.”

“You waited for me to leave my own house before fucking my best friend? Did you screw him in my bed?” he barked, my hand reaching out to brace against the dashboard when he jerked the car off the road and slammed on the brakes.

When I looked at him, he didn’t look angry, he looked defeated.

“It wasn’t like that,” I assured him, my voice weak. “We never planned it, and no, we didn’t fuck in your house. We messed around in the bathroom though.”

“Did you love him?”

“Yes.” Admitting that out loud almost made me tear up again. Slash would never get to hear me say it, all because I insisted I’d tell him later when he was better.

“Do you love me?” he asked in a low voice, his eyes burning into me patiently as he awaited my answer.