Page 27 of Roses Are Dead
And Jackson didn’t fuck around with any preliminary warnings or that shit. He went directly to murder.
Skinner’s comment deserved a response, however. And it wouldn’t be one he liked because I had to walk the tightrope of doubt. What if Roishin was a plant? What if Carl and her were working together, and this was all an act to see how we operate? I’d basically just outed us, if that were the case.
“And when that month’s over and you go back to Carl and tell him everything about us…” I shot my gaze to Skinner.
His face changed from a scowl to enlightenment.
In contrast, Roishin’s expression went stone-faced. Interesting. “…you’re still gonna be in one piece. I promise that. But I will do everything I can to protect my club from whatever bullshit he’s got planned, or any fallout from what you may or may not have seen or heard. Understood?”
As I looked directly into Roishin’s eyes, her face fell. Then, her head moved, denying something in my statement.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long for her to cut me.
“Carl’s bullshit? It’ll take you down. There’s no way you’re prepared for what he can do.”
“He’s one man,” Skinner noted. Then, he made a finger gun and pulled the trigger. His eyes glittered as he did it.
Roishin studied us. “You can’t kill him.”
Both Skinner and I laughed at that. “Try us,” I said.
“No. You can’t. I’ll abide by whatever rules you have. And I’ll hold up my part of this bargain.” She took a shaky breath and stared into space. “But when the month’s over? I can’t protect you anymore.”
It was almost as if she’d said something else. The skin on my neck prickled. In my mind, I heard different words. Maybe it was her expression, or maybe Freya herself had just whispered to me.
But I heard, “I can’t protect myself anymore.”
7
Roishin
Carl knew what he was doing, sending me off with Bear. Instead of just one man to deal with, there were many. As I listened to their whispers and the names dropped, I realized that where you saw one Destroyer, there were many more behind the scenes eager to help.
And they all were armed and dangerous. Even Skinner, who didn’t seem intimidating at first, was quick to threaten me.
Bear? He’d done nothing but threaten me. I had no illusions that these men weren’t deadly.
And yet… I felt safer with them than Carl. And they truly didn’t know how far Carl would go to prove a point. He adhered to one thing, his vow. And he’d vowed to make me obey him. But it wasn’t the obeying he wanted. It was something darker. He wanted to break my will, destroy my sense of identity, and reform me in his image. That was his goal.
I realized that about him a bit too late.
“May I make that phone call?” I had to warn John that Carl was probably going to come after him or the children now that I wasn’t there to distract him.
Skinner was easy to read. He silently warned Bear that this was not a good idea.
Bear shot him a glare meant to intimidate and handed me a cell phone. “Remember my rules?”
“Completely.”
“What are they?”
I rattled off all the demands he made by counting on my fingers ending with, “You’ll be listening in. Did I get everything?”
He frowned.
Skinner, however, paid attention. He should never play poker because his eyes spoke volumes. Most of the expression was one of dumbfounded shock. But there was admiration in there, as well as anger. I’d managed to prove to him that I was a threat.
Bear, however?
