Page 50 of Piper's Pyro

“Oh, mercy.” I shook my head, but not too upset. Every girl fantasizes about hooking up with her favorite rock idol. I would’ve done anything to be Slash’s play toy for a night.” Not like anything would’ve come from it… like marriage. Not for most, anyway.

The girls glanced at each other like they’d never heard of Slash.

Jeez, the youth of today. “Y’know the guitarist, Slash, from Guns N’ Roses.”

“Oooh,” they said simultaneously.

“I thought the name sounded familiar,” Karma laughed. “Just couldn’t place him at first.

“Right.” I winked. “Please continue, Reign.”

“Okay… Things had gotten weird. Spectre beat up Pyro. Piper was angry at Spectre and cleaned up Pyro’s face. It was a mess. Later, Buff and I walked Piper to her room and left her there. That’s all I know.”

“Hmm. I don’t know what to make of this information. Does Piper like Flint or Pyro?”

“Maybe both?” Karma shrugged.

“That could be a problem.” I handed Cherish to Hope. My arms were tired, and my sweet grandbaby gave me hot flashes. Or maybe it was the alcohol. Who knew. Menopause sucked.

“So a drummer is going to save the day?” Destiny asked with a look of concern.

“Not just a drummer, but a backup drummer who I think is a drug addict.” Hope’s gaze met mine. “Levi mentioned something about it this morning.”

“Reign, pour me another before I lose my shit.”

16

Piper

“Please, Forrest. Don’t hurt me. If you love me, you won’t do this,” I begged in a pathetic, weak voice. The last few minutes had been unpredictable. I’d probably aged ten years as I tried to predict his next move.

He’d gone from pacing the room with his head between his hands to groping me as if doing so would prepare me for what he wanted to do next.

I cried and moved my hips so he couldn’t remove my underwear. He could have overpowered me, but he seemed to enjoy tormenting me.

When he started to cry, it gave me a smidge of hope that he hadn’t lost all his humanity. I would use his uncertainty about what to do next to my advantage. I needed to do something to help Stitch and to get us out of this godawful situation. Still, I needed to tread carefully because Forrest was unpredictable and could snap at any moment.

“Stop saying please!” he yelled, making me flinch. “It would’ve never come to this if you’d just been with me from the start.”

“I know. I’m so sorry I was insensitive.” Gag me. “I didn’t know what a good guy you were and how lucky I was that you wanted to be with me.”

Stitch shot me a face of disgust.

“I am a good guy. You should’ve known that.”

I bobbed my head. “I was a fool.”

Stitch rolled his languid eyes. It was a miracle he hadn’t passed out from the blood loss.

Forrest stared out of the window. “I hated you for hurting me. Hated your brothers for keeping you from me. I wanted to hurt all of you.”

“Oh, Forrest. They didn’t keep you from me. It was all me. I was a stupid college kid.” My brothers would be livid that I took the blame for this lunatic’s actions. But maybe I had genuinely broken his heart.

He turned to face me. “So what are you going to do to compensate me for your stupidity?” His question enraged me, but I couldn’t show it.

“I’m willing to try to make it work with you.” May lightning strike me down.

He considered me for a long second. “For real?”

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