Page 15 of Prince of Pain

My family had a lot of illegal business tied in with the crews, but they also owned a lot of legal establishments and real estate.

I quickly called Hunter, his voice tired as he answered. “Hey, Ry. What’s up?”

“Can you pick me up on your way home? I don’t have my car.” I thought I sounded sober, but apparently not.

“Good, because if you’d driven home drunk, I’d have crushed your fucking Hellcat. Where are you?”

“Blackwater.”

“The hell are you doing there?” he demanded, making me frown.

“I was at a party, why?”

“Doing what?”

“Drinking and fucking. What’s with the questions? Can you pick me up or not?” I bit out. “I’m not fucking high if that’s your concern.”

“I worry about you, sue me. I know how hard it can be to stay clean when you’re around that stuff. Marco still struggles with it, and it’s been a long fucking time since he was hooked. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Send me the address since you keep turning your location off. I love you, you little shit.”

“Love you too,” I grunted before hanging up and texting him the address then stumbling out front to wait.

I had messages from Beckett and Maddox, both of them threatening me for giving Jett a black eye. My mind was foggy, but I remembered us arguing at Wet Dreams.

I didn’t remember hitting him though.

I had a cigarette and checked my social media accounts until Hunter arrived, his critical eyes on me as I climbed into the Lamborghini and fumbled with the seat belt. I closed my eyes once he started driving, but his voice made me look at him in the dark.

“You know you can talk to us, right? About anything? We try to give you space, but it’s hard to watch you drown yourself while hoping you get out the other side.”

“I’m fine. Sometimes I struggle with the drugs, but I just leave parties when that happens.”

“I don’t just mean about the drugs, Ry. Drugs became a way for you to cope, so we want to make sure you’re coping. Whether it’s girls, family, or something else, we’re always here for you to vent to. Turn to us when you need a crutch, not the drugs. You might be doing an awesome job at keeping clean, and we’re really proud of you for it, but you’re still drunk most days.”

“I like to party.”

“We’re terrified of losing you. We already lost one son, and we’ll never move on from the pain that caused, but to lose you too? We couldn’t prevent Lloyd’s death, but we can prevent yours. Talk to us.”

My chest ached as he glanced at me, the moonlight hitting his eyes and showing me just how worried he was. I didn’t want them stressing about me, but I wasn’t going to kill myself or anything.

“I honestly just like getting drunk and having fun. I’m not trying to end up dead.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” He reached over and patted my knee. “No matter what you need, you have us.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He wouldn’t understand my need to hurt people, so I dropped the conversation and put the radio on, looking forward to getting into bed.

Chapter Three

Tempest

Iwoke up, the night a blur as I tried to remember it. Mason was snoring on one side of me, and I glanced on my other side to find Wolfe.

“Beer?” Channing mumbled from the doorway, waving a bottle at me. “It’s cold.”

“Thanks,” I yawned, climbing out of bed and padding naked towards him, taking a long drink. He gave me a once-over before glancing at his friends.

“When did you guys go to bed?”

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