Page 160 of Reckless Vengeance

“He’s at home drunk. It’s the anniversary of Sasha’s death,” he said quickly, his sad face not really believable. “He takes it pretty hard.”

“That explains the drunk rambled message then,” I winced, pulling out my phone. “Where does he live? He’s not answering my calls after he texted me, and I’m worried.”

“You’ll go check on him? He doesn’t like us being nosey, but he talks to you, doesn't he?” Matteo asked seriously.

“Of course. I told Skeet he shouldn’t be alone on days like this anyway.”

He fired off the address and the map showed it was a cabin in the middle of Pine Valley.

“This isn’t a trap, right? It’s really his house?” I asked carefully, glancing at Samuel, who sighed.

“Yeah. You’ll see the truck parked out front, it doesn’t have a garage or anything. You can see it from the road.”

“Thank you,” I answered, jogging back outside to the Corvette and putting my phone on the stand as I brought the map up.

It didn’t take long to hit the road, traffic not being too bad as I reached the turnoff that took me into Pine Valley. I kept an eye out for trouble, slowing when I approached the road Diesel’s cabin was supposed to be on.

I spotted the pickup truck easily like Samuel had said I would, turning into the driveway and parking behind the truck.

He didn’t come out to greet me, so I climbed out and walked towards the cabin, knocking on the door. The lack of an answer had my worry rising.

Had he hurt himself? What if he’d fallen and hit his head? How drunk was he?

I tried the handle, finding it unlocked, and I stepped inside to try and see if I could spot him.

“D? You here?” I called out, jumping back when a gunshot sounded and a bullet whizzed past me.

“Who the fuck is it?” Diesel hollered back, the slurring telling me he was stupid drunk.

“It’s Rory. Can you maybe not shoot me?” I laughed lightly, taking another step inside so I could close the door. “I’m just checking on you.”

“Shit, did I get you?” he asked as he appeared, tripping over himself as he stumbled into me. “Let me look.”

“You missed. Come sit down,” I encouraged, helping him back into the living room where I assumed he’d been sitting on the couch. Beer bottles were scattered all over the place, cigarette butts filled the two ashtrays on the coffee table, and there was a Sasha shrine in the corner.

That was what it looked like, anyway. Photos were all over it, little things like mugs and necklaces that I assumed had been hers, and I watched as Diesel dropped back on the couch, his eyes instantly going to it.

“I don’t want to leave you alone, but Skeet said you prefer it. Will you be okay? You didn’t answer the phone, so I got worried,” I murmured, but his hand snaked out to snag my wrist.

“Stay.”

“I can do that.” I sat beside him, accepting the beer he offered as he cracked one for himself.

“You came to check on me? Sorry, I can’t find my phone,” he mumbled, digging around the couch cushions.

“It’s fine. You sent me a gibberish text, that’s all. Do you remember what you sent?”

He frowned, shaking his head. “No. What time is it?”

“Bit after four.”

“I should cook dinner,” he muttered to himself, and I winced. He was in no state to cook, but my cooking would burn his house down.

“Want me to order pizza? We can have a pizza party. Sasha would like pizza, right? What kind did she like?”

A soft smile tugged at his mouth, and as much as he was looking at me, he was in a memory.

“She liked pepperoni with a cheesy crust. She could eat a whole one by herself, you know? It was kind of hot. She wasn’t afraid to eat in front of me.”