Torched Read online

  “I see that. Why don’t you ask your friends to go sit at the bar for a few minutes so we can get this over with.”

  Masters shot forward in his seat, getting dangerously close to the face of man he really didn’t want to fuck with. “They’re clients, I’m not going to ask them to leave the table. Call my office.”

  Buddha broke out in a patronizing laugh. “Who the fuck do you think you are, shithead? Do we look like we’re in the mood to make a goddamn appointment? We’re about to have a conversation, so if you don’t want your clients to know what kind of underhanded fucker they’re dealing with, you should probably ask that they give us a minute.”

  Masters’ facade finally crumbled under the wide-eyed stares of his dining companions.

  “I apologize,” he mumbled to one of them. “There’s clearly been some kind of misunderstanding with these gentlemen. Would you mind giving us a few minutes?”

  All three men jumped to their feet.

  “Looks like you have some more pressing business,” one of them replied. “We have another meeting to get to. We’ll be in touch.”

  Masters gave him a curt nod and watched them walk away. “What the fuck is your problem?” he snapped at Buddha as soon as they were out of earshot. “Do you know how much money you just cost me? Who are you people?”

  Grimm reached out and shoved Masters back in his seat with one arm. “Watch it, asshole.”

  “I don’t know,” Buddha snickered. “Was it more than you would’ve made bringing a goddamn drug factory into our town? Black Zombie of all shit. You really are an idiot.”

  Masters’ eyebrows furled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Listen, you piece of shit. We know all about your fucked-up little plan. All you’re doing by denying it is wasting our time and pissing us off. And as a handful of dead Serbs would tell you if they could, we’re not the best people to piss off. You following so far?”

  Masters’ jaw tensed but he kept his mouth shut.

  “Good,” Buddha continued. “Now, you’re gonna tell us who your investor is, since that seems to be who came up with this idiotic plan you went along with. Or we’ll be costing you a hell of a lot more.”

  “I have plenty of money,” he argued defiantly, “and you’re not going to hurt me. Your little gang will be the prime suspects after this public show. I think we’re done here.”

  Grimm’s arm shot out again and kept his ass in the chair. “Does anybody in this fine establishment look like they’re gonna talk to the cops?”

  “I hear Seattle’s beautiful,” Torch thought out loud. “Plenty of hot and easy women too, especially at UW…Your daughter goes there doesn’t she?”

  Mace licked his lips. “Yeah, I think you’re right, man. Little Jessica is all grown up now. What is she, nineteen? Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for a taste of those young tits and tight ass.”

  Masters jerked under Grimm’s arm. “You leave my kid out of this,” he ordered. “I don’t give a shit who you are, you don’t threaten my goddamn family.”

  Torch shrugged. “Just saying you should probably talk to your kid about the dangers of drinking herself stupid. Or next time she might wake up confused in a biker clubhouse instead of a frat party like the other night. Come to think of it, our northern brothers could probably teach her a thing or two. She might even like it.”

  “You biker trash make me sick,” Masters snarled, as the implication of Buddha’s words set in.

  “The feeling’s mutual, man,” Zed chimed in. “So cut the bullshit and answer our questions. Or the very last thing you’ll see before we kill you is that little princess getting assfucked by a trashy biker. Or thirty.”

  “Jesus,” Masters moaned and hung his head. “What the hell do you want from me? I don’t have anything useful, I’ve been cut out. I’m lucky they were more pissed about Maric blowing it or I’d be dead.”

  “We’ll decide what’s useful,” Buddha growled impatiently as he leaned forward on the table. “Who’s they?”

  “I… Uh…” he hesitated.

  Grimm ran out of patience and grabbed at his Armani-shrouded crotch. Judging by the pained yelp Masters let out, he squeezed that motherfucker’s balls pretty hard.

  “Fuck, Stop!” Masters’ squealed like a pig. Unfortunately for him, Grimm had quite the grip. His cries were drowned out by everyone at the table laughing. “Fine, stop, I’ll tell you!”

  Grimm released his grip and waved a waitress over to the table. “Sweetheart, do you have a bag of frozen peas or something back there for our friend? I think he sprained a muscle.”

  The girl didn’t even look at poor Masters, she was all sorts of high on Grimm. “I’ll get him an ice pack,” she cooed before scurrying off.

  Torch shook his head. He’d bet a hundred bucks that she’d end up at their clubhouse soon.

  “Enough playing,” Buddha said tersely. “Talk.”

  “I don’t know much,” Masters groaned, still squirming. “My contact called himself Hess, but I only met him a couple times at cash drops he arranged. He called someone to tell them it was done both times. It was all very anonymous and off the grid. My only part was getting the money from Hess and passing it along to Maric. That’s it. You have to believe me.”

  “How much?” Buddha asked.

  “Money? A hundred grand both times. Ten in it for me.”

  “Write down a description and the number Hess called you from,” Zed demanded, sliding over a napkin and pen. “And the dates, times, and locations of the drops.”

  Masters complied and slid it back over. “That won’t get you anywhere, he disconnected over the weekend.” He pulled out a flip phone from his pocket and dropped in on the table. “Here’s the phone I used to talk to him. It was sent to me by courier in an envelope four months ago. I don’t know what else I can offer. Just leave Jessie out of this. Please.”

  Zed snatched the phone and tucked it into his cut. “Good man.”

  “What else?” Buddha pushed.

  Masters looked like he was about to shit his pants, his face contorting in fear. “I swear, I don’t know anything else. I really didn’t want to ask too many questions. Sometimes it’s just better to be in the dark. Plausible deniability and all that.”

  Torch smirked at his stupidity. “See, that’s why pussies like you shouldn’t try to play with the big boys. Plausible deniability won’t keep your ass alive or out of the pen. You’re a fucking idiot.”

  “I know,” Masters murmured and dropped his head. “Can I go?”

  Buddha looked around the table at each of them, waiting for unanimous nods of approval before standing up from his chair. He waved at the door. “It’s a free country. Have a nice day.”

  Masters sighed in relief, but Mace decided to fuck with him one more time for good measure. He dialed a number in his phone and talked loud enough for him to hear. “Hey Boom, what you got?…. She made it to class today? Good.” Mace let out a pervy laugh. “Yeah, I love those college bitches too, brother. You should send me a pic… Alright, later.”

  Masters face flushed and jaw tensed. A huge vein in his forehead looked like it was about to explode. “I gave you what wanted. What the fuck?”

  Mace grinned at him. “Unlike you, I know the rules of the game. You think we’re just gonna take your word for shit and leave it at that? You better hope we don’t find out there’s more you haven’t told us. In the meantime, we’ll just keep an eye on your boozy offspring. Plenty of fucked-up predators out there, you know.”

  “I told you the truth,” he hissed through gritting teeth.

  “Good, then consider it a complimentary security detail. Our gift to you.”

  Their business done, they left the restaurant and mounted their bikes.

  “Where the fuck is G?” Buddha asked, looking around.

  “Right here!” Grimm called out. “Had to get that hot bitch’s number.” He gave Torch a slap on the back. “You may be prettier than me, but I’m irresis
tible. One of these days I’ll teach you how it’s done.”

  He knocked Grimm’s hand away. “Asshole, you just had that hand on another man’s junk. Get the fuck away from me.”

  : : : :

  Back at the clubhouse, Buddha pulled Torch aside after tasking Biff with finding out what he could about Hess.

  “I need you to do the St. Louis protection run tonight, son. Biff was supposed to, but he’s got his hands full tracking down Hess and Brennan’s nephew. I don’t think you and me should be hitting the road together until the threat’s gone. We don’t know who we’re dealing with and Maric might be looking for his own payback if he’s still alive.”

  “I’m with you,” Torch agreed. “Who’s going?”

  “Hench, Squid, and Beanie. Either Grimm or Mace’ll have to stay here too, so I’ll call Jet. Everybody else has other shit going on and I think the six of you should be fine.”

  “Alright, man. I’m gonna swing by the house and grab some essentials. Maybe take a quick nap. Back here at four?”

  “At the latest. The shipment’s coming through around five.”

  “I’ll be here,” Torch assured him.

  “You know, Biff could get information a hell of a lot faster if he knew how to break into cameras and computers like someone we know.”

  Fuck. No.

  The suggestion was preposterous at best, especially coming from Buddha, who was always shooting off at the mouth about watching what they said around women and outsiders. She was both. What the fuck was with the sudden willingness to bend?

  Buddha was nothing if not predictable most of the time, but every once in a while he got a wild hair up his ass. It looked like this particular hair was black and shiny.

  Torch shook his head. “If you’re talking about Liv, forget it. You think I’m gonna get her involved with all this shit going on?”

  “She’s already involved and it seems like the lady’s smart enough to make her own decisions. I’m not saying she should get any inside access, just that she could teach our boy a thing or two so he can do it himself. She said she’d be happy to help.”

  Of course she had.

  “Christ, Buddha. Leave her alone. She was just being polite. Don’t you think she’s stuck her ass out enough for a bunch of assholes she doesn’t even know?”

  His president eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you so protective of this broad?”

  “I’m protective of this club—”

  “Who are you talking to? No one’s questioning that—”

  “So why give our enemies another target? This isn’t her goddamn problem.”

  No one could question that a big part of protecting the club was keeping their messes from spilling on civilians. Torch figured that was the most effective angle to go with here.

  Too bad Buddha wasn’t a fool. “Bullshit. If that was true, you wouldn’t have invited her to May Fair. Or given her a ride home out in the open.”

  Intent on ending the conversation before it got heated, he squared off. “Giving her a ride and talking at a park full of hundreds of people isn’t the same as her being a regular around here. So fucking drop it. If Biff needs some new skills, we’ll find somebody else. She’s not the only one who knows how to use a damn computer. End of fucking discussion.”

  Buddha’s eyes narrowed and gave him the once over. “Well, I’ll be damned... You really do have a thing for this broad.” He smirked. “Does the Weather Channel show a forecast for Hell? Because I’m pretty sure it just fucking froze over.”

  Torch scowled. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  With that, he turned and walked away, grateful that Buddha wasn’t going on the run. Four days of that shit would get really old, really fucking fast.

  : : : :

  “Can you come with us, Auntie Livie?” Chloe pleaded.

  “No, baby, I have to stay here,” I said apologetically, pulling her in for a snuggle. “But we’ll see each other again real soon, okay?”

  “Okay,” she sighed with a sad pout.

  Every time the Levine’s had to say goodbye, it was the same conversation with poor Chloe. She was just too young to understand why I was always in a different place whenever they visited, or why that place couldn’t ever be Philly.

  I squeezed her a little tighter. How was one little half-person so good at making me feel like total shit?

  Thankfully, Neil came down the stairs just then. “You got a minute?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I put Chloe down on the couch. “Just gonna go talk to daddy for a minute, okay?”

  She nodded and set her attention on the TV, immediately over our little moment.

  I followed him into the kitchen, a little weary from his terse demeanor. Something was off. “Is Lex still packing?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she’s almost done,” he replied, running a hand through his hair like he was trying to figure out how to say something delicate.

  “What’s going on, Neil?”

  “Just got a call. Bastian wants out.”

  “The accountant? No way.”

  “Yup. Showed up at the strip club last night in bad shape and talked to Elroy. Didn’t say what happened, just that Mitch crossed a line and he was pissed as fuck.”

  Suddenly unsteady on my feet, I pulled out a barstool and sat down across from him. This was nothing short of a potential game changer. “Pissed enough to turn?”

  “Don’t know. By the time he sobered up, he’d decided to suck it up and begged El to keep his mouth shut. Guess he thinks he’s in too deep to make it out alive. Sound familiar?”

  Too familiar.

  “Where is he now?” I asked.

  “Back at work. El put eyes on him.”

  I blew out a long, deep, drawn-out breath. “You know what this could mean, right?”

  “That my wife’s gonna cut off my dick if she realizes I’m encouraging your demented plan? I already had to hide all the knives when she found out that you launder for me.”

  I grinned up at him. “Yeah, but imagine the grateful pussy you’ll get when this is over and she doesn’t have to worry about me anymore.”

  “You have a point. But—”

  I reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know what I’m doing. ”

  “I know you do,” he sighed. “You’re smart, tough, and levelheaded. Just don’t get too excited and throw all that out the window.”

  “I won’t,” I assured him. “This is too big of a break to blow.”

  He nodded. “How do you want me to play this?”

  “Slow. Find out what happened, how deep it runs. I’m not exposing myself to a double-cross over a misunderstanding or something. But if he’s serious, we might be able to help each other out.”

  “Yeah, alright. I’ll keep you posted… Listen, I know we’ve been giving you shit, but the Serpents—”

  “Nope,” I cut him off. “Not going there, Neil. This doesn’t touch them. So get that shit out of your head.”

  Undeterred, he ignored me and continued. “I looked into them, they have a chapter in Pittsburgh. Could be mutually beneficial to team up.”

  “Team up?” I smirked. “Torch had a problem with me just planting a surveillance camera. How do you think that conversation would go?”

  “Well, if you’d tell him the whole story—”

  “Right. He’ll just throw out club code,” I sneered. “I’ll tell you what’ll happen. He’ll decide it’s his problem to fix, leave me out of the conversation, and go after Mitch with guns blazing… Blind, because they won’t have the information I’m patiently trying to gather. And then what? The Serpents have an assload of new enemies to unnecessarily deal with, somebody else just picks up where Mitch left off, and I’m still looking over my fucking shoulder. No... Anyway, I haven’t even heard from him since Saturday. We both got what we wanted. Done and done.”

  I could hear Lexi starting to drag a suitcase down the stairs. Neil eyed the kitchen entrance and flashed his hands in surrender. “Okay. I g
et what you’re saying. We’ll talk more later.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Lexi cheerfully asked as she walked in.

  “Just shootin’ the shit, baby,” Neil quickly replied

  “Are you all packed?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I hate this part but we should probably get going so we don’t miss the flight.” She pulled me into a tight hug and sighed.

  “I hate this part too, sweetie,” I whispered into her golden hair. “One of these days we’ll be able to see each other a lot more.”

  “I hope so.”

  I had a hard time letting her go, a sense of dread washing over me. I had an ominous feeling that we wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while. Hopefully, it was just my paranoid brain being its usual self.

  Hugs were exchanged all around, the most painful one coming from Chloe.

  A few minutes later, they were all gone, and I suddenly felt empty again.

  : 19 :

  It was mid-afternoon by the time Torch rode through the clubhouse gates again, having gone home first to take a shower and decompress from their run. He’d been distracted the entire fucking time and was pissed at himself for it. This wasn’t him, business always took priority over whatever other bullshit he was dealing with.

  But no matter how hard he’d tried to stay focused over the past few days, his head was in Colorado.

  Backing his bike into its usual spot, he almost dropped the fucking thing as a black Infinity in the lot caught his attention.

  Buddha, that son of a bitch.

  Biff came jogging out of the garage and cut him off as he stalked toward the building. “Hang on, brother.”

  With no one else in sight, Torch turned his anger on him. “You wanna tell me why Liv’s car’s here? I fucking told Buddha—”

  “Pres didn’t call her, I did. Our invoice software crashed again.”

  “Why is it that all of a sudden this club can’t do shit without her?” he seethed. “Jesus Christ.”

  Biff let the tension roll off his back. “I’ve got some information for you. About Liv.” He jerked his head in the direction of the shop, motioning for him to follow.