Page 55 of Reckless Vengeance

“Thanks,” I muttered, not moving until I’d watched them walk back to their bikes and made sure they’d left, then I trekked back to Skeeter.

“What did they want?” he asked, his eyes on Rage and his guys as they walked back to their cars too.

“To pay their respects from a distance, nothing else,” I answered, crossing my arms. “Marco claims he’s calling you later.”

He snorted, shaking his head a little. “I hope he knows I won’t fucking answer.”

The thing that pissed me off was Marco was right. Skeeter would answer because when the world was dark and he was under Savage’s iron fist, Marco and Hunter were the breath of fresh air he needed to feel human.

If he hadn’t blocked Marco again, he’d definitely pick up, no matter what I’d said to Marco.

Skeeter didn’t have a lot of weaknesses, but Marco and Hunter would always be two of them.

Hunter

“I’ll meet you at the warehouse,” I said through my comms system, hearing Marco sigh.

“She’s with the guys, Hunt. Leave her be.”

“I’ll be there soon,” I said as if I hadn’t heard him, seeing him shake his head at me as I turned off to head towards Newhaven.

I’d checked my tracking app and Rory was in the last place I thought she’d be, but a part of me hoped it was because something I’d said had gotten through to her.

I parked beside the Corvette in the parking lot before heading into the movie theater, scanning the list of movies playing and comparing it to the timestamp of when her phone had first pinged here.

I took a wild guess and chose an action movie that had started around the same time and slipped past security while they were checking someone’s tickets, sneaking into the theater room and making my way along the back wall.

My eyes adjusted as I kept looking for her, slowing my steps when I spotted her in the back on the left side, sitting in the middle of the row. She was the only one in that section, the screen illuminating her face as something exploded in the movie, and my heart broke for her as the tear tracks reflected from the light.

Skeeter needed to rein his boys in if she couldn’t even attend a fucking funeral without them losing their minds and gunning her down. What kind of respect had they had for Slash if they couldn’t push past their anger for one damn day?

I headed towards her and dropped into the seat beside hers, her broken eyes moving to mine as I gave her a small smile. I didn’t say anything as I turned my eyes to the movie to let her grieve in peace as I kept an eye out for trouble.

I wanted to touch her, to let her know she could find some comfort in me, but that wasn't why I was here. I just didn’t want her grieving alone when she should have been grieving with Skeeter, Diesel, and the other guys.

She quietly sniffled through the rest of the movie, her hand finding mine in the dark after twenty minutes. I pushed the arm rest up so I could shuffle a little closer, and I was surprised when she curled into me and buried her face in my shirt.

It was a risk, but I lifted my arm and slid it around her back, her body sagging from the touch and pissing me the fuck off.

She should have been by Skeeter’s side today, not mine. My crew did as they were told, I couldn’t imagine them arguing with me over much at all. Especially something like this.

Slash would have wanted her there, I was sure of it.

A quiet sob left her and I tightened my arm around her, shushing her softly. I was glad I’d come after her now because anyone could have snuck up on her in this state when the grief was consuming her.

She didn’t move back until the movie was over and the lights flicked on, her tears gone and her mask back in place as she cleared her throat.

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you weren’t allowed to go, so I wanted to come and find you. It’s a good spot to be vulnerable where no one can watch you,” I murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Who told you I couldn’t go?”

“Diesel, when I crashed the funeral.” Her eyes widened and I chuckled. “Well, I was there at a distance to pay my respects. I didn’t cause a scene. Rage showed up though.”

“He’s in Ashburn?” she asked, and I nodded.

“Yep. He’s just trying to make himself known, but you need to be careful. Who knows what he has planned,” I answered as I stood, motioning for her to follow me.