Torched: Afterburn (Iron Serpents Motorcycle Club Book 2) Page 20

  “That’s me,” I said with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “You want all this stuff inside?” another member named Pinky asked.

  “Yeah, that would be great.” I followed them into the clubhouse, where they set everything down on the bar.

  Torch had been looking at maps spread out on the pool table, but strolled over and gave me a kiss as soon as he saw me. “Did a little shopping, huh?”

  “Yeah, I picked up some equipment and swung by the post office. Can I borrow your knife?”

  He handed it to me and watched as I tore into the big brown box. “What’s in there?”

  I pushed aside the top layer of bubble wrap. “Tranquilizer rifles for the dogs. We can knock them out from fifty feet away.”

  He pulled one out and looked it over. “Perfect. We hadn’t figured out what to do about the Rottweilers yet, nobody wants to kill them. Where the hell did you get these?”

  I grabbed another box and sliced into that one too. “The darknet, you can buy pretty much anything anonymously on there. I also ordered a robotic claw, I was thinking we could attach it to one of the drones and drop food in a few spots along the fence so we can get them to come to us without barking. I might need you guys to help me with that though, hardware isn’t my specialty.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem, Zed’s really good with that kind of shit. He’s in the garage, I’ll have him get on it. These tranq guns can’t be traced to us, right?”

  I rolled my eyes at his lack of faith. “Babe, who are you talking to? I payed with bitcoins and had them sent to a PO box at a post office a couple towns over. I used one of my old fake identities to set it up.”

  He grinned at me. “You’re such a smart bitch.”

  “I know.”

  He smirked and looked inside the box again. “Where are the darts? I think we should test one out.”

  “On what?” I asked, opening up a smaller box containing the darts and drugs. I handed him an empty one.

  He winked and loaded. “Not what, who.”

  I followed the barrel as he pointed it across the room and took aim. “You wouldn’t—”

  Oh, he would. He shot an unsuspecting Grimm right in the fucking ass. Mine puckered just seeing it.

  “Goddamn it! What the fuck?!” Grimm roared. He looked back over his shoulder, yanked it out, and stared at it. “You asshole,” he raged, taking a run straight at Torch.

  Pinky and Link went to step in, but my man shook his head at them. He didn’t even take a step forward, he just waited for Grimm to get close and slammed a fist right into his nose, knocking him down to the floor.

  “That’s for bruising my ass for a week with a paintball, dickhead,” Torch crowed, standing over him with a grin.

  “How’s that even the same? You shot me with a needle meant for a fucking bear! That shit hurt, man!”

  Torch chuckled. “You need some stitches?”

  Grimm glared at him.

  “No? How about a band-aid?” he kept pushing. “Liv, could you run to the drugstore? He likes the teddy bear ones.”

  “Fuck off, I don’t need a band-aid,” Grimm huffed.

  “Well then quit being a bitch and shut up.” Torch poked him in the ribs with a boot. “Get your ass up and shake it off. You’ll live.”

  All I could do was roll my eyes at these two and their constant shenanigans. I had no idea where the rivalry came from, but it would probably never end.

  Grimm got up and scowled. “This ain’t over, I’ll be coming for you.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Torch said, holding his arms out. “Bring it, brother.”

  “For fuck’s sake,” I cut in. “You guys just need to hug it out or something.”

  “You need a hug, buddy?” Torch asked. Grinning, he tried to grab Grimm around the waist, but the latter was too quick and jumped away before bolting outside.

  Torch laughed and shook his head. “Pussy.”

  “Why do you hate each other?” I asked.

  “Oh, we don’t. It’s all brotherly love. Hey, somebody had to be the guinea pig, right?”

  “Grimm’s weird, he probably would’ve volunteered if you’d asked nicely,” I pointed out.

  “Where’s the fucking fun in that? Besides, that dickhead left a bruise on my ass that lasted for days, I just gave him a prick. He got off light.”

  I smirked. “You two need some couples counseling or something... Is the plan still the same?”

  “Yeah,” he said, lighting up a cigarette. “We got confirmation the militia’s having one of their council meetings tomorrow night. Word is it’s only a dozen guys, including Scully, Mason, and the five who ambushed us, not the whole group.”

  “Is that good or bad?” I asked.

  “It’s good. Our beef’s with the ones who were involved, not the peons.”

  In all honesty, I was a little relieved to hear it. Trying to justify the murder of over thirty men to myself—when only some of them were directly involved with the ambush and hit-and-run—wouldn’t have been easy.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “we’ll have a cookout here during the day as a cover for nosy locals, then head over to the Eagle property around seven to get all the guns divided and loaded. The meeting goes from nine to eleven, so we’ll go in right as they’re finishing up. It’ll be total darkness by then.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good. Listen, I know you don’t like me being involved—”

  “I don’t want you getting hurt,” he clarified. “Just stay outside that fucking fence no matter what you see, alright?”

  “I will, I won’t do anything stupid.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I know, I trust you.”

  “I would hope so, you have just as much shit on me as I do on you at this point.”

  He frowned. “That better not be why you’re doing any of it. You know I’d fucking kill myself before I ever turned on you, right?”

  “I know, I was just pointing it out. And your secrets go to the grave with me too.”

  He caressed my cheek and looked over my face. “I love you, baby. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, you can back out until the last minute, okay? There’s gonna be some blood spilled tomorrow and it won’t be pretty. My brothers and I can handle this, I wouldn’t think any less of you.”

  “Torch, I have my flaws, but the one thing you can always count on is my honesty. Yeah, I get off on manipulating your dick but I don’t play games when the stakes are real. I told you back at the safe house that I’m in this for life, good or bad, and I meant it. I’m not backing out.”

  He smiled. “Okay, I hear you. Grab that claw thing and let’s go find Zed.”

  : : : :

  Zed took a step back from a table holding one of the drones and rubbed his chin. “I can attach the claw, but it’ll have to be wired to the weapon circuit to work right. I mean, I could try to split the connections, but I’d hate to accidentally fuck something up and down the whole thing. I don’t know what the added weight would do either.”

  “So either it shoots or it drops shit?” Torch asked.

  “Yeah. Well, no, I take that back. The heat sensor and camera housing can stay, so those would still work too.”

  “We have four other armed drones,” I reminded them. “I think getting past the dogs without tipping off the militia is just as important as anything else. Maybe more.”

  “I agree,” Torch said. “Go ahead and do it, Z. You think it’ll take long?”

  “Nah, maybe an hour. I’ll have Liv test it when I’m done.”

  Torch gave him a slap on the back. “Alright, man. I’ll—”

  I followed Torch’s line of sight to see what had stopped him mid-sentence and saw Dr. Clark walking into the garage.

  Trevor Clark—or just “Doc” to us—was an ER doctor at Linwood Memorial, but he was also the club’s on-call, under-the-table physician when someone needed a stab wound stitched or a bullet removed without the mandatory police report that came with such incidents. Out
of appreciation for everything he’d done to help while Torch was in a coma, he’d even been invited to our wedding.

  He also had access to hospital records and didn’t generally drop in unannounced, which was why my heart skipped a beat when I realized he was probably coming with news about a bone marrow match for Buddha. I scanned his face and body language, looking for a clue as to whether he was here with good news or bad, but like most doctors he had his poker face down pat.

  “Afternoon everyone,” Doc greeted. “Have any of you talked to Buddha? His oncologist’s been trying to get ahold of him but he’s not picking up.”

  “I just saw him an hour ago,” I replied. “He looked pretty tired, he might be taking a nap. Is there a match?”

  “We have results, but I think Buddha should call his doc—”

  “Don’t give us that shit,” Torch cut in. “It’s not like Buddha’s hiding anything and the same goes for the people who got tested. Tell us.”

  Doc briefly stared us down, but apparently rethought his position on patient confidentiality. “There’s a match.”

  “Oh my god,” I breathed, wrapping my arm around Torch’s waist to steady myself as those three amazing words hit me. I heard Zed exhale in relief behind me. “Who?”

  The good doctor hesitated again.

  “Fucking spill it, Doc,” Torch growled. “Is it one of us in Linwood?”

  “The match came back to Nadia Roth.”

  “Nadia?” Torch asked, completely taken aback. “What are you talking about? She didn’t get tested.”

  I squeezed his waist. “She wanted to help but didn’t wanna cause drama, so I had her do it at the hospital.”

  Doc smiled at us. “And it’s a good thing she did. We still need to do more comprehensive blood tests and tissue typing to see just how well they match and make sure Ms. Roth is in good health, but this is very good news.”

  Not only was I counting my lucky stars for making sure Nadia had been staying clean, but more importantly, I had to wonder whether fate—which I’d never been much of a believer in—had stepped in and brought her back to town in the first place. I rested my head against Torch and closed my eyes, trying not to become so overwhelmed with emotion that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from crying out of sheer joy. I felt Zed come around and squeeze my hand.

  “Livia, I actually came here to talk to you too,” Doc said.

  I opened my eyes and frowned. “Me?”

  “Yes, you matched a patient on the registry as well. A little girl battling leukemia. She’s from Wyoming but being treated at the children’s hospital in Denver. Her doctors have been looking for a donor to do a stem cell transplant.”

  “How does that work?” Torch asked.

  “It’s basically just donating blood, but the process is more complex. Again, we’d have to do some more tests on Liv, but if she is a good match, we’d start her on a round of daily injections with a drug that’ll increase the number of stem cells in her blood. It’s only for five days. After that, she’d do the procedure, which simply entails sitting in a chair for a few hours while they draw blood from one arm, run it through a machine to collect the stem cells, and then put it back in the other. It can cause some fatigue, but nothing serious. Nadia will have a rougher time, I believe Buddha’s oncologist wants to harvest actual marrow.” Doc looked back at me. “Would you be willing to consider donating?”

  What was there to consider? Of course I’d give up a little time and energy to save someone’s life, especially a child. “Yeah, absolutely. Just tell me what to do and where to go.”

  “Wonderful,” he exclaimed. “Somebody from Memorial will be in touch, you can do the injections in town. The procedure can likely be done at Memorial as well, but since the patient is so close, would you be willing to go to Denver to do it so they can save transportation time?”

  “That’s not a problem at all,” I assured him. “Like I said, just let me know.”

  “Perfect. I’m sure the family will be elated, they’ve been looking for a while. One of the parents is a match, but they have an autoimmune disease which precludes them from donating. I’ll be on my way, but if any of you talk to Buddha, please tell him to call his doctor.”

  Torch uncurled his arm from around me and reached out to shake Doc’s hand. “Thanks, man. You just made our fucking day.”

  Zed and I did the same.

  As soon as he was gone, Torch exhaled and combed his fingers through his hair. “Goddamn. Who the fuck would’ve thought? I’m gonna go swing by Buddha’s and wake his ass up. Zed, brother, go pick up Nadia from the store and swing by her place to grab some clothes. If I gotta kick somebody outta their room, I’ll do it. With all the shit we’ve got going on, I want her under protection here. We’re not losing our one shot of saving Buddha’s life.”

  “On it,” Zed agreed. “I’ll work on the drone when I get back.”

  The two of them hugged it out, before Torch turned to me and pulled me in for our own celebratory embrace.

  “Breathe easy, baby,” I whispered. “He’s got a chance now.”

  : 24 :

  | LIVIA |

  Being nosy had served me extremely well over the years, both personally and professionally. Hackers were inquisitive by nature—a job requirement, really—and women on the run had to stay informed to stay ahead. Hell, if it hadn’t been for me butting my nose in a client’s business and uncovering a plot against the club, I probably never would have seen Torch again.

  So, true to character, I’d instantly become curious about the little girl who needed my stem cells. As soon as Torch took off to pay Buddha a visit, I headed back to his clubhouse room, got comfortable on the bed, and flipped open my laptop.

  Over the next hour and a half, I followed a trail of information. From medical records to social media, looking at pictures and watching videos, I found myself wandering straight into what eventually turned out to be a fucking wormhole. And not the kind where you found yourself on a better side. No, this particular vortex didn’t send me forward into a happier time, it sent me hurling back to the darkest period I’d ever experienced.

  For once, I wished I hadn’t let my curiosity get the best of me.

  Hearing boots stomping my way, I wiped my wet cheeks and glanced up from my screen just as Torch came tearing in with Zed on his heels.

  “When’s the last time you talked to her?” he demanded.

  “What? Who?” I asked.

  “Nadia, she’s gone.” Getting a closer look at my face, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it in front of Zed. “Nothing. What do you mean she’s gone?”

  He paused and eyed me with a look of concern, but got back to the topic at hand. “Her phone’s off, her car’s gone from the motel, and Beanie says she took off the last two days of work. I knew she was gonna pull some shit like this.”

  “We don’t know if she’s pulled anything, man,” Zed argued. “Her clothes are still there, what little she’s got anyway. The manager let us in.”

  “I love how you guys can just ask and get in, so much for privacy.” I switched screens on my laptop. “Hold on, I’ll check the GPS on her car.” I was pretty sure he was freaking out about nothing, but it was understandable with her being Buddha’s last hope. Fuck, I hoped it was nothing or I’d kick her ass myself.

  “You tagged it?” Torch asked.

  “Of course I did. I have faith in her but I’m not a moron either.”

  He snickered. “What’s that you were saying about privacy?”

  “Shut up, I was protecting an investment,” I shot back. “Did you go tell Buddha?”

  “Yeah, he didn’t believe me. I thought I was gonna have to call an ambulance when he got ahold of the doctor and heard it from the horse’s mouth.”

  “I bet he’ll be getting the best sleep he’s had in a while tonight.” Finally logged into the GPS software, I immediately spotted Nadia’s car on the map. Though I’d had no re
ason to think she wasn’t still on the up and up, a sense of relief came over me. “Found it. She’s at the Denver Art Museum, that’s probably why her phone’s off.”

  “Why the hell would she be at a museum?” Torch asked.

  “She’s taking art classes at the community college at night,” Zed chimed in.

  Torch raised a brow and glanced over his shoulder. “There something else you wanna tell me?”

  “Yeah. Mind your own fucking business.”

  “It was part of our deal,” I spoke up, bringing Torch’s attention back to me. “I hate to say ‘I told you so’, but I fucking told you so. She’s been doing great, I think it’s time to get over your grudge.”

  “Yeah… I guess,” he conceded.

  “You guess? Babe, if she hadn’t swallowed her pride and come back to town, she wouldn’t have been around to get tested and Buddha would be as good as dead right now. Jesus, just admit defeat already.”

  Torch looked back over at Zed. “Go get Nad, the last thing we need is her wrecking in that piece of shit car on the way back.”

  “Trying to get rid of the witness, huh?” Zed smirked. “Alrighty then, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Later, asshole.” As soon as Zed closed the door, Torch walked over to the bed and sat down in front of me. “Okay, I’ll admit defeat this once. I’m glad you trusted you gut about Nadia and didn’t back down. Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, all I did was take up her cause. She’s the one who’s hopefully about to save Buddha’s life, I just hope his body doesn’t reject it.”

  He reached over and stroked my cheek. “One thing at a time. Now, you wanna tell me what’s going on? Why were you crying?”

  “I wasn’t cry—”

  “Baby, stop. It’s just us here, this shit’s gotta start working both ways. You don’t have to pretend something’s not bothering you just so you don’t look weak. I’ll never see you as anything but the strongest fucking woman I know. You trust me, don’t you?”

  I glanced down, my eyes starting to burn again. “With my life.”