Page 122 of Shattered Pieces

“I mean, I’d be sad if you broke it, but I can always replace it. I’d just like to know you’re not a human crayon on the road.”

I revved the bike a little, giving him a small nod before easing it forward to the road and taking off.

It took a little bit to get used to, but once I was on the main road heading towards Ashburn Valley, I felt more comfortable. At least my feet reached the ground. That had been my main concern about a bike this big and heavy.

I somehow made it home without dying, taking the keys and helmet inside and almost getting knocked over by Josie as she hugged me.

“Oh my goodness, you’re here. I thought Hunter was picking you up in his car?” she exclaimed, eyeing the helmet and jacket as she stepped back. “Did you ride here?”

“Hunter did pick me up in the car. We were at his house filling each other in on a few things, which ended in a fight. Marco let me take his bike before I killed them,” I said dryly, earning a flat look in return.

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking,” I scowled, running my hands through my hair to get the knots out. “I need a long shower before anything else.”

“Of course, honey. You go and relax. Karl has promised to make you whatever you want for dinner tonight, and I’ve warned the boys to give you some space if you need it. I’ve also told Caden his attitude isn’t welcome, so he might not be here. Don’t let it get to you, okay?”

It was easier said than done. I hadn’t seen him or Skeeter in almost two months, and as much as it had been easier to ignore while locked up, it was really difficult now that I was out and could potentially run into them.

Maybe they’d calm down now that we could talk?

“He can fight with me tomorrow. Tonight, I’m just looking forward to sleeping in a comfy bed and having Karl’s cooking again,” I smiled, giving her another hug. “Thank you for the lawyer.”

“I’ve always got you. Go enjoy being home,” she murmured, letting me go so I could head up to my room.

I powered my phone on and waited for it to wake up before texting Marco, knowing he’d probably already hacked the security system to check that I was okay anyway, but I had told him I’d let him know.

Rory: Your bike survived.

I tossed the phone aside now that I’d messaged him, and then I shrugged the jacket off to place it on the chair in the corner with the helmet before hiding the key in the bedside drawers, ending up having a long soak in the tub with my arms out of the water to keep my tattoos dry. It was bliss.

Once my skin resembled a prune, I showered, washed my hair, and cleaned my tattoos before pulling on some sweats and a tank before climbing into bed to take a nap to kill a few hours. My bed was so comfortable, I never wanted to get out of it again.

My bedroom door clicking shut woke me up some time later, my eyes flashing open like I hadn’t even gone to sleep. Prison habits.

“Sorry, just me,” Diesel murmured, my heartbeat slowing when I realized it wasn’t an inmate sneaking in to shiv me.

“Hey,” I said with a small smile, reaching a hand out for him to come closer. He hesitated but kicked his shoes off and placed his jacket on the chair before moving to lie down beside me. His arms wrapped around me and I snuggled into his chest, grateful to not have a guard yelling at us to step back.

“You got prison ink? It looks really good,” he stated, his finger brushing the healing ink on one of my arms.

“Lexi has proper equipment and convinced me to let her do one sleeve. It turned into both,” I said dryly.

“Lexi’s always been pretty talented with a tattoo gun. She does a lot of the Reapers’ ink. Do you have ointment for it?”

“Not here. Lexi had some in prison, but I’ll need to buy some now I’m out.”

“I’ll bring you some from home, I have loads,” he promised, tightening his hold on me.

“I didn’t expect to see you today,” I mumbled after a few minutes of silence, hearing him sigh.

“Me either, to be honest. Shit’s been hectic. Skeet’s in a mood and sent everyone home.”

“What about?” I asked then winced, peering up at him. “You don’t have to tell me. Forget I asked.”

“He’s brooding about some shit with Matteo, that’s all. We need to bring it to the table to handle, and it’s going to blow up. He wants to get current meetings and deals out of the way first so we have time to handle it. Is Marco here? His bike’s out front.”

“No. I was at Hunter’s talking things over that we hadn’t been able to bring up at the prison, and it went to shit. To stop them from dying, Marco gave me his keys so I could leave,” I scoffed, making him frown.