Page 177 of Shattered Pieces

“I don’t even have a gun. The cops took mine, and the rest are still at home,” I reminded him as he moved to stand next to my chair.

His fingers brushed through my hair, his voice low. “If you think I’d let you go into enemy territory without one, you don’t know me too well. Go get ready.”

I was surprised but did as I was told, feeling Caden’s eyes burning into me as I walked towards Marco’s bedroom for a change of clothes. He’d been watching our exchange, and I could tell it annoyed him whenever I let Hunter touch me like that.

I had no idea what to do about Caden. I loved him, but there was no way I could just forget the fact that he’d turned his back on me. What was stopping him from doing it again the next time something went to shit?

My shower was fast, and all the guys were awake and drinking coffee by the time I was done, none of them looking happy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked dryly, taking a mug from Hunter.

“They’re not coming,” he answered simply, and Caden scowled.

“You should take more backup. I can shoot.”

“The plan is that no one shoots,” he said firmly, giving me a pointed look. “Please.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not that trigger-happy,” I huffed, downing half the scalding liquid in one go.

“You’re short-tempered and now know how to use a gun. I’m not taking chances,” he joked, sliding his Devils jacket on. Tyler eased me onto his lap, kissing my neck.

“Please behave. If Archer didn’t send anyone after you, don’t give him a reason to.”

“Are you guys staying here?”

“Yeah. We’ll wait here for you. We have the health check this afternoon at four too,” he reminded me as I had another sip of coffee.

“I know. We won’t be that long,” I promised, kissing his cheek. “I love you.”

His face softened, and I didn’t realize how tense he’d been until I’d said that and his body relaxed. Of course he was on edge. I’d just gotten out of prison and then went and killed a bunch of people. He’d probably thought he was losing me again.

“I love you too.”

“You want to sleep all together tonight?” I asked, his arms banding around me tightly.

“Absolutely.”

“Good. I’ll be back soon,” I replied, giving him one more kiss before draining my coffee and standing, giving Jensen and Lukas a quick kiss too. “Love you too.”

“Love you,” they both murmured, Caden looking awkward when I met his gaze. Saying I loved him felt wrong, we weren’t in that kind of place.

“Hey. Get a gun off Hunter and keep an eye out. Don’t get dead,” I ordered, his mouth twitching into the ghost of a smile.

“Don’t you get dead either.”

Hunter rolled his eyes at us but grabbed a gun out of a random cupboard, putting it on the table in front of Caden.

“If you have a problem, call Mark, he’s closer. Lock the door when we leave, and if you do run into trouble, barricade yourselves in Marco’s room where you can see both the door and window,” he instructed, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

I followed him outside to the car, knowing it was safer than the bike, and we didn’t talk much as we drove towards Ashburn Valley. After a few minutes, I looked at him.

“How can two crews run one town? Why didn’t the Reapers get their own territory?”

“They have their areas and stick to it. There were other crews around before our time, but they vanished over the years as others grew. It went from being street rats just being rivals, to organized crime. Crews got stronger, either killed or scared off rivals, and some even set up elsewhere. Reapers always stuck to the docks, and the Psychos rarely clash with them. They can be rivals but coexist,” he shrugged, glancing at me. “Why?”

“I’m just surprised one didn’t try to push the other out over territory.”

“We might not seem like it, but crews have a shared understanding for each other. There are rules and chains of command. It’s why we all have people in charge to handle meetings and disagreements. It’s rare it turns into war, but every so often, someone snaps.”