Page 171 of Shattered Pieces

“I was on the phone then everyone started coming in here. No one’s fucking,” she exclaimed, and Hunter nodded his agreement.

“Since we’re all here, I think we need to discuss a few things. The shit that Skeet did can’t slide.”

“Agreed,” Caden grumbled, looking conflicted. “I knew he was mad but⁠—”

“Told you. He doesn’t just throw tantrums like you rich fuckers. Skeet’s a monster, Savage made sure of it. Not only is he lashing out, but he has to prove to his guys that he’s on their side. We also have to deal with the Soldiers. I’ve tried bargaining with them and there’s nothing they want in exchange for Rory,” he said, Rory’s eyes narrowing. “Hey, claiming fake ownership of you for ten minutes would be worth you being free of them, trust me.”

“I was going to pay them,” Caden said, motioning to Rory. “But she said they’d only keep coming back.”

“They’d extort the hell out of you,” Marco snorted.

“What else can we do then?” I asked, making Hunter blow out a breath.

“Honestly? Gunfire is the only option. Creating a war means no one is safe though. Not your friends, family, no one. With the current media attention on Mandy’s murder, it means we also have to be super careful.”

“Are you going to tell us what happened? We know it was you guys,” Caden said dryly, but Hunter smirked.

“I’m not telling you a thing. You’re an emotional mess that keeps changing sides. It was an unfortunate situation between her and the Soldiers. That’s all.”

“You think because you came back to team Rory that we’re just cool with you now?” Marco asked dryly, getting to his feet to stretch.

“I think it’s good if we get along. I need new party dealers,” Caden replied, crossing his arms. “Do you deal in powder, or just pills?”

“If you want something, we can get it. I’m not giving you a discount though. Ty doesn’t even get one,” Hunter answered bluntly.

“That’s fine. We usually keep coke and pot stocked, but if you want to push your pills too, go for it.”

Hunter studied him for a moment before holding his hand out to shake, giving him a single nod.

“Done. You let us know when, and we should be able to do it.”

“Friday night?”

“Easy. Still don’t like you,” he said to make sure they were on the same page.

“Still don’t like you either,” Caden confirmed, glancing at us. “I’ve been keeping an eye on socials. Everyone’s saying Claire’s having a breakdown. The students might not want to be your best friend, but they also don’t want to be on your bad side either. I know you don’t think parties are important, but they are. Information is key, and pretending to play a role for a night while you get drunk is easy.”

As expected, Rory’s nose scrunched. “I’m not pretending to be their friend.”

“You’re not supposed to be their friend,” Jensen replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. “They’re scared of you. Let them think kissing your ass keeps them safe. They turn into little puppets.”

She glanced at Hunter, who shrugged. “I think it’s smart. It opens business with the academy kids and the Devils, you guys get to keep ruling the school and keeping everyone in line, and it also means getting drunk.”

“You’re not charging me for powder and pills, right?” she asked slyly, and Marco scoffed.

“You need to do more than rub my cock on your pussy for that. That’s definitely a balls deep kind of perk.”

“Keep your dirty cock away from her,” Jensen grumbled, and Marco waved a hand in Rory’s direction.

“Why does everyone think I’m the problem here? She’s the one banging people without protection. I always wrap it up, but she pulled my junk out of my pants and started rubbing it all over herself. I’m clean, but I’ll get tested and prove it to make you all feel better.”

“Do what you want. The five of us are all getting tested tomorrow after school, I already booked it in to stop everyone going back and forth about it,” Caden grunted, surprising me a little. I had no idea when he’d done that, but it was a good idea to just get it out of the way.

“Back to important things,” Hunter said before an argument could break out again. “The Psychos obviously want Aurora dead, and the Soldiers intend on taking her. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open, okay? I’ll make sure plenty of my guys are here for security on Friday too. The downfall of parties is that the Soldiers or Psychos could try to slip in. Most of the students wouldn’t recognize a Soldier, and they also don’t know the Psychos are a threat now. They’re used to them being here.”

“Speak to Diesel. He’d tell us if something was brewing,” I stated, worrying what this new deal between Caden and the Devils would mean for Diesel.

“It’s not always that simple, but I’ll talk to him,” Hunter confirmed, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I’ll keep checking for movement on the Soldiers’ end. You guys just focus on making Josie happy over dinner. She needs to know that Skeet’s no longer safe, but we can’t be honest about how we know.”