Page 19 of Shattered Pieces

“There’s been a few fights, but one of the other girls tipped fresh hot tea down her back at dinner tonight. She’s got a burn, but it’s nothing that needed the hospital. One of the girls in particular really fucking hates her, which I’d be more worried about if it was someone big in there. It’s a junkie that everyone hates, so she should be able to handle her. I’m going to visit Lexi tomorrow to find out more since I only know what the guards know.”

“Why can’t Lexi protect her? I know she’s not Rory’s biggest fan, but isn’t there some kind of girl code? Or best friend card you could pull on Lexi?” Jensen asked, making Marco huff out a laugh.

“You think prison has a girl code? Most of the women would shiv each other for a candy bar. Being locked up changes a person, especially if they get put in the hole. Isolation messes with your head.”

“She’s going to get killed in there,” I bit out, but Hunter narrowed his eyes.

“Is it ideal that she’s in there? No, but have some faith in her, man. She’s not a defenseless princess, she’s one tough bitch with a mean right hook. She can handle it.”

“She shouldn’t fucking have to! How did the cops even find out so fast? Did you set her up or something?”

One second, Hunter was glaring at me from the couch, the next, he had his hand around my throat as he hauled me to my feet. The smoke from the cigarette between his lips burned my eyes a little, but I tried not to let it get to me.

“You calling me a rat?”

“I’m calling you a piece of shit. You lured her in and now she’s paying for it!”

“Hey! Let him go!” Jensen demanded as he tried to get between us, but Hunter only tightened his hold until I couldn’t breathe.

“You listen to me,” he said in a dark voice, the tone chilling. “I would set the world on fire and let myself burn if it meant keeping her safe. We don’t know what went wrong, but we’re spending every waking hour trying to find out. Whoever the witness is won’t live to see another day once I find out who the fuck they are.”

He let me go with a shove, and I sucked in air as I landed on the couch again, glaring up at him.

“You guys can hate us all you want,” Marco said in a bored tone. “But who does she have to turn to for help because you’re all fucking useless? I stayed at the scene to wait for the cleanup crew while Hunter took her home. No one else entered that house, and none of our guys are rats.”

“Then explain how there’s a goddamn witness,” Jensen scoffed, tucking me against him as I caught my breath.

“That’s what we’re working on. What are you doing to help her? Nothing, because you fucking can’t,” Marco replied sharply, and Tyler winced, knowing this wasn’t going well.

“Guys, don’t fight. We need to stick together to help her. We can visit her this week, right?” he asked hopefully.

“If she stays out of the hole,” Marco muttered, not seeming convinced that she would.

“She won’t risk it,” I said firmly, earning an amused look from him.

“You’d be surprised at the things you’d do behind those walls. When you’re in survival mode, sometimes you don’t get a choice to not take risks.”

The thought made me sick. She was already having problems in there, so how long until she had to beat the shit out of someone to save herself?

“I’m visiting Rory on Wednesday. I’ll be able to find out if there’s major issues happening,” Hunter confirmed, seeming lost in thought as he put his cigarette out in the ashtray on the coffee table. “I need to find someone else on the inside that will bring her into their crew.”

“How many crews are in there?” Jensen asked calmly.

“Lots. They’re not like us, they’re just groups of women who stick together until they get out. It’s more like a prison safety club than anything. Lexi has her girls, and I know there’s a few others that are bigger in there too. Lexi might be at the top, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t come along and shiv her to take over. It’s messy in there.”

“Tell me the truth. Were you fucking Rory?” I asked, Hunter staring at me for a moment before snorting.

“How about you put some trust in her? You really think she’d do that?”

“She did with Slash,” I pointed out, and he shook his head slightly.

“Trust me, that’s different. We might have some kind of friendship, but she’s never once crossed a line. She was in my bed when she was arrested, sure, but that was because she’d just killed her dad, and as usual, Skeet was nowhere to be seen. She needed him that night, and neither him or Diesel answered their phones. I think it was the realization that he’ll never be there for her that got to her that night and she finally broke. I wasn’t going to just shut the door and leave her be,” he said with annoyance. “If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at Skeet. Where the fuck was he? What if I hadn’t been there to help? She would’ve been stranded with a dead body and a crime scene. I’ll always have her back, whether you like it or not.”

“She’s still not going to fuck you,” Marco said dryly, not helping the thoughts in my head. “It’s embarrassing how much you try though.”

“Says you. You basically hump her leg when she walks through the door,” Hunter deadpanned.

“Hey, my new buddy said I could,” Marco smirked as he motioned to Tyler, both Jensen and I glaring at him.