Torched: Afterburn (Iron Serpents Motorcycle Club Book 2) Read online

  For the next few minutes, I sat back and kept an eye on things. The drones were light and under four feet wide, but we didn’t want to tip off FTX to the robbery right away, so the guys had to carefully pluck and rearrange. One by one, they set four drones by the door. The override code switched over just as they grabbed a fifth.

  As if on cue, trouble showed up.

  “Shit,” I muttered, spotting a black SUV at the gate. I’d only planned for the security already inside the gates, not coming in from the outside. Not once in the past four weeks had anyone showed up after midnight.

  “What?” Torch asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, as calmly as possible to avoid making him panic. “The inside code is now 1134, the outside door is 4509, the gate’s 9965. Memorize it… 1134, 4509, 9965. You guys need to hurry, we have company out here.”

  “Babe, distract and move,” he ordered.

  I switched a single exterior camera that was pointing at me back to a live shot, but hid the feed to the control room so the men inside wouldn’t see it quite yet. There had to be footage of what happened next, or they’d find out they were watching loops. “They’re coming in from the road, not the building, they’ll spot the van in twenty seconds from that direction. Just move. I got it.”

  “Liv, don’t—”

  “Torch, shut the fuck up and trust me,” I barked. “Get those drones out to the van.”

  I grabbed a flashbang grenade and Molotov cocktail I’d set on the passenger side floor earlier and stepped outside my door. As soon as the SUV’s headlights came into view, I lit the cloth on the Molotov to get it going and threw the flashbang as far to the opposite direction of the guys as I could. As soon as it went off, I tossed the burning bottle in the same direction.

  The SUV instantly sped by me, following the fire. “What’s happening over there?” I asked.

  “We’ve got two loaded,” Torch replied. “Get out.”

  “No, they’ll see you guys. The video’s still looping, we don’t have to worry about the inside team. I have an idea, just keep moving.”

  “Liv, get the fuck out!” he yelled.

  Ignoring him, I turned on my ignition and headlights and drove out from my hiding spot. I headed straight for the SUV, hoping the driver saw me.

  He did.

  As the vehicle made a quick u-turn, I hit the gas and turned on my brights to blind the driver.

  “Liv, go! We’re loaded up,” Torch confirmed.

  “Don’t move yet, hang on,” I muttered, concentrating all of my attention on the game of chicken I was about to play.

  “Fuck! What are you doing?”

  “Just wait,” I hissed.

  I floored the accelerator and braced myself for a possible impact.

  “Liv!”

  With less than a few feet to spare, the SUV swerved out of my way, sending it rolling away in the dirt. I spun the steering wheel with my palm, factoring enough of a turn radius to avoid flipping over too, and went around it. Then I did it again.

  “Biff, step on it!” I ordered. “I’m right behind you.”

  “Jesus Christ!” I heard Torch roar. “What are you doing? Biff, go back.”

  “No, don’t fuck this up,” I urged. “Let me know when you’re close to the gate.”

  Bullets started ricocheting off my truck, but I kept driving in circles around the SUV, kicking up as much dry, sandy dirt as I could. After six or seven laps, the shooting stopped and it was almost impossible to see anything in the brown cloud I’d created. Thank fuck it hadn’t rained in days.

  “We’re fifty feet out,” Biff said.

  I switched my lights off, made one last half-circle so I could head in the right direction, and floored it again.

  “Heading your way,” I told him. “Slow down when you hit the entrance so the gate doesn’t close on me.”

  Moments later, I spotted the back of the van and laid off the gas to avoid slamming into it. “On your ass, Biff. Move.”

  He went through, but the gate started to swing closed. I sped up again and made it just as the door scraped my back bumper.

  Loud, raucous cheers erupted in my earpiece, damn near rendering me deaf.

  “Holy shit!” Grimm hollered. “That was bad ass!”

  “Goddamn, that was fucking close,” Squid muttered. “That SUV saw you, they’re gonna find out the video was looped.”

  “I switched that one camera back to the live feed before we tangoed,” I assured him. “No worries, guys, the box van was out of view, it’ll just look like somebody was lurking around outside. You put the fence back how you found it, right?”

  “Yeah, they’d have to look real close to see it was cut,” Mace piped up. “Liv, you’re something else. Let’s do it again tomorrow!”

  I laughed, enjoying the adrenaline coursing through me. Close was right, but fuck if I hadn’t loved every second. When the noise died down and we were back on the main road, a lone remaining voice I hadn’t heard yet spoke up.

  “Babe,” Torch growled, “I’m gonna fucking strangle you.”

  “No, he won’t, I can see his fucking boner from here,” Zed crowed. Another thump. “Ow! Goddamn it, quit trying to give me brain damage, asshole.”

  : 22 :

  | LIVIA |

  Despite threats of strangulation, hostage taking, and ass ripping, I woke up the next morning alive and well in Torch’s arms. Men were so damn easily distracted from their anger if there was pussy to be had. It was just amazing they kept falling for it.

  Then again, I wasn’t entirely convinced he’d been all that pissed in the first place, the hard-on Zed mentioned was still making its presence known when Torch yanked me out of the truck back at the clubhouse. He may have been trying to save alpha face in front of everyone else, but the man’s dick was always a pillar of honesty. Literally.

  Careful not to move too much, I pulled away just a little and looked up at Torch’s peaceful, sleeping face. I almost always woke up first, sometimes several times throughout the night, but it didn’t bother me. Quite the opposite actually, I cherished these few minutes before his eyes opened, there was something inexplicably mesmerizing and beautiful about him in his slumber. It was the only time he ever really looked like he had his guard down.

  I slipped my hand under the comforter and down to his shaft. Conscious or not, that particular organ was always on full alert. Slowly uncurling myself from Torch’s arm, I started a trail of soft kisses on his chest and worked my way down. He moaned in his sleep as my tongue took over, licking his upright cock from the base to the tip, then circling the ridge and guiding the entire thing into my mouth.

  “Shit,” he murmured, his fingers reflexively burying themselves in my hair before his eyes even opened.

  I glanced up and sucked him in deeper, relishing in the smile spreading across his face as he finally came to and realized what was happening.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he croaked.

  “Morning, handsome,” I hummed through obstructed lips.

  He gripped my hair tighter as I took him all the way in again. “Fuck, baby, you know it doesn’t take much in the morning.”

  I knew.

  I pulled my head away and ducked down, taking one of his balls in my mouth. As I wrapped my fingers around his shaft and started stroking up and down, I wrapped my lips around the other one. Back and forth I went, running my tongue between them every once in a while before squeezing them together and licking back up the underside of his cock.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, hooking his arms under mine and pulling me up. He flipped over on top of me and pinned me down. As he glided his dick up and down my slit, he murmured, “I wanna come in this sweet, sweet pussy.”

  I wrapped my leg around his back and lifted my hips. “Have at it.”

  He reached down and pushed my thigh away, thrusting inside as I spread wide open. Still swollen and sensitive from a few hours earlier, every stroke felt more amazing than the last. Morning breath be damned
, I grabbed the back of his head with one hand and dug the other into his upper back, pulling him closer and guiding his lips to my neck. He growled and bit down, sending me spiraling toward the edge.

  “God, baby, almost there,” I breathed.

  “Me too,” he grunted, his breathing becoming hitched and strained. He upped his tempo and started slamming into my core. In seconds, I felt the heat of imminent release come over me. And seconds after that, my walls clenched so hard that my eyes rolled up in the back of my head as I held onto him for dear life.

  “Fuck!” we both yelled out at the same time. Apparently, I hadn’t drained him the night before. Or maybe he had a lot in reserve. Either way, his warm and milky cum seeped out from around his cock as it filled me up and then some.

  I practically melted into the bed as he collapsed down and blanketed my body, his groin still twitching inside my tight passage.

  “You’re gonna break my dick one of these days,” he muttered.

  “God, I hope not. I don’t know how we’d explain that in the ER.”

  He chuckled and rolled onto his back. “What time is it?”

  I reached over to the nightstand and checked my phone. “Almost eight.”

  “What time did I tell the guys we’re doing church? I think you fucked me into amnesia last night.”

  “Ten. You don’t remember what we did last night?”

  “Oh, I remember everything we did last night, you nasty girl. It’s the other shit that’s fuzzy.”

  “There really wasn’t much else,” I laughed. “You pulled me out of the truck, grabbed a bottle from the bar, and dragged my ass in here.”

  He smirked and pulled me to his chest. “Sounds about right. Wanna squeeze in a quick ride? It’s gonna be a long day of planning and I could go for pancakes and bacon.”

  Like he even had to ask. “A ride and some carbs? Uh, yeah, I’m so in.”

  : : : :

  After waffles and a quick ride around town, just to get some air before planning for the club’s attack on the militia commenced, Torch had left me to my own devices at the clubhouse while he and the table met for church. It was likely they’d be calling in another chapter or two to help, so I’d decided to pick up some groceries to feed them and swing by Buddha’s house.

  Knowing he was probably low on strength, I rang his doorbell and waited patiently for him to answer. A full minute later, the door opened and I got my first look at him since the day he’d asked me to help him die. Torch had stopped by a few times, but Buddha’s doctor had warned him to avoid too many visitors because the chemo was destroying his immune system, so I’d only spoken to him on the phone.

  I tried my best to avoid letting my face do the talking, but it was really fucking hard not to be taken aback by how downhill his appearance had gone in such a short span of time. His flannel pajamas hung loose, his skin was dry and leathery, and his big brown eyes had lost all of their usual sparkle.

  It was even harder to get past the guilt of knowing I was partly to blame. I was the one who’d convinced him to keep going with treatment he hadn’t really wanted, and with lab results still being processed, my time was almost up with nothing except his misery to show for it. Still, I refused to lose hope that one of those cheek swabs would come back a match.

  “Hi, sweet girl,” he greeted, his voice strained and scratchy. “What brings you by?”

  I held up the bags in my hands. “Just wanted to check on you and bring some things you might need.”

  “You didn’t have to do that, but come on in.”

  I stepped inside and took a look around, happy to see the place looking spotless. “Have the girls been here to clean?”

  “Yeah, Rox came last week and Mo yesterday. Thank you for asking them to do that, I’m lucky to have the energy to take a shower most days.”

  “It’s important to keep it clean, we don’t need you catching a bug on top of everything. Don’t ever hesitate to call one of us, okay? It’s not a big deal at all.”

  “I only have a few days left to keep my promise to you,” he pointed out. “It’ll be better after that, even if it’s just for a couple months.”

  I sighed and rubbed his arm. “Don’t start doubting me now, the results should be in any minute.”

  “Liv—”

  “Let’s go to the kitchen so I can set this stuff down,” I cut him off. I just didn’t want to fucking hear it, not yet.

  Resigned, he gave me a nod and followed.

  I dropped the bags on his counter and started pulling out containers of food and putting them away in the fridge. “I know you probably don’t have the stomach to eat much, but I brought some take-out you can just reheat if you want to. I swung by a few places so there’s Chinese, Mexican, and Italian in here.”

  He smiled and sat down at the breakfast table. “That’s way too much, but thank you.”

  “Anything for you, Buddha. I also have some echinacea tea for your immune system, ginger pills for nausea, and epsom salt you can pour into the tub and soak in. I know it’s not very manly to take a bath, but nobody’s around and it’ll help with muscle aches.”

  “You think of everything, don’t you?”

  “I try. Is there anything else you can think of? I can make another run.”

  “No, sweetheart, that’s more than enough.” He held his hand out. “Come sit with me.”

  I pulled out a chair, sat down, and took his hand. It was cold and clammy, so I grabbed the other and cupped them both in mine. “Have you talked to Torch today?” I asked.

  “Yeah, this morning. I know what’s going on.”

  “You’re okay with it?”

  “Your old man’s following code and doing everything I would, I’m not worried about the club. Or you, for that matter. He told me he pulled you in.”

  “And you’re good with that too?”

  “If it was any other woman, I wouldn’t be. But you? Yeah, I’m good with it. You’re special, Livia. You have the strength of a lion, the loyalty of a Serpent, and a heart of gold. The life’s gonna try to grind you down, don’t let it.”

  I squeezed his hands. “I won’t, you have my word.”

  “You remember giving me your word on something else, right?”

  Of course I did, that didn’t mean I wanted to talk about it until I had to. I looked down.

  Buddha pulled one of his hands away and nudged my chin up. “You promised, Liv. You know I’d do it myself, but the bylaws—”

  “I know. I told you I’d do it, nothing’s changed. But let’s wait until the tests come back before we start planning your funeral, okay?”

  He sighed. “Okay. I’m not holding my breath though.”

  I squeezed his hand again, leaned over to kiss his cheek, and stood up. “That’s fine, I’ll hold out enough hope for the both of us. I need to get back to the clubhouse, call if you need anything.”

  “Thank you again.”

  “Thank me when we get you better. It’ll happen.”

  : 23 :

  | LIVIA |

  My trunk full of new laptops and packages, I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot and saw at least a dozen unfamiliar motorcycles taking up the spots closest to the front door. I parked next to them, hoping one of the boys would give me a hand once they saw how much shit I had to carry in. Over in the courtyard, I spotted three Serpents cuts with Kansas City bottom rockers. The reinforcements were here, ready to back the Linwood chapter against their militia enemies.

  Torch had spent the majority of the last two days playing Commander-in-Chief, mostly at the table discussing plans for the club’s attack. Now that he knew who the MC was dealing with, he’d also been making calls to associates and had sent some of his brothers to pay personal visits for more detailed intel.

  Apparently, the militia wasn’t as covert or closed-off as they wanted to think. By getting off track from their original goals and turning into more of a criminal organization than an actual militia, they’d gotten greedy. And greed didn’t
exactly inspire loyalty. They’d upped their numbers for the dues new members brought in, but now had a few chatty rats in their midst. Bad for them, but great for the club.

  As for some of the other guys, they were busy running around for parts and materials. Stinger and Hench had gone out and found two used pickups; Lump and Bird were tracking down as many ATV’s as they could; Toto and Jet were scouring the plains for affordable cargo vans; and Elf, Chew, and Monk were individually off buying up all the ammo they could. All in all, Cora’s refund had definitely come in handy.

  Aside from me, ladies had been temporarily banned from the clubhouse so they wouldn’t see or hear anything they didn’t need to. The five drones we’d snagged from FTX were more technologically advanced than your average remote-controlled toy, and I was the only one who could teach the guys how to operate them once I loaded the laptops and got some practice in myself. As with every other client, I’d built a backdoor into FTX’s system and had access to both the software and schematics. On top of that, I was also the most limber and could sit in a tree for hours, a necessity for daytime recon and counting heads from a distance. I was due to head over to the compound shortly and would spend the afternoon doing just that.

  To Torch’s chagrin, the table had voted to let me be part of the attack—from the sidelines, of course—in case they ran into technical difficulties with the drones. Apparently, shooting a guy in the head, helping them steal weapons, and my strong stomach for amputations had earned me some professional respect. Well, that or they really couldn’t be worried about me ratting now that my hands were as dirty as theirs. Either way, I’d take it. I had every intention of working for Silas again and since he’d eventually figure out what I’d done, returning the drones in working condition was probably the way to go.

  I popped the trunk of my car and picked up the first of many boxes. It was big and heavy, but I didn’t have to take more than a few steps before a couple of the Kansas City fellas rushed over to help.

  An older guy with a mohawk took the box out of my hands. “Let me get that, darlin’. You must be Torch’s old lady.” His name patch identified him as Link.