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

  With most of Jan’s twenty grand already allotted for necessities, the club’s reserves were still running low. Between five operational businesses and twenty-five members to take care of through payroll or emergencies, I could see why finances were complicated and they couldn’t risk going broke.

  I’d offered to lend them the money to float whatever bills needed to be paid until business picked up, but as expected, they—Buddha and Torch in particular—were vehemently opposed. You know, manly egos and all that shit. But hey, if they wanted to work their asses off for an extra few grand just to keep their “self-respect” intact, more power to them. I had plenty to do anyway.

  I’d called up my old hacking sidekick, Milo, and set up a lunch date to reconnect and figure out just how much I’d missed while locked up. With Torch gone until the next night, I planned on taking advantage of the alone time to do some catching up. I couldn’t wait to start poking around my old online stomping grounds.

  I wasn’t in a huge hurry to give Silas an answer to his job offer, but I did want to get back to what I did best, even if it meant just playing around for the fun and familiarity of it. In a sense, my work was just about all I had left over from my old life of running and hiding. I’d moved into Torch’s house, been taken in by his family, and had even given in to his preferred brand of motorcycle. I adored him and cherished every minute of my new life, but going from one extreme to the other was a shock to the system, to say the least.

  I turned on my tablet, logged into Skype, and called my best girl.

  Lexi’s beaming face popped up on my screen. “Hey, sexy bitch! Where the hell have you been?”

  “Oh, you know, running guns and robbing banks,” I joked.

  “You better not be. I think I had a harder time getting through the last year than you did. Here, hold on.” She disappeared from the screen and a few seconds later my phone beeped.

  I checked my inbox and opened up a picture she’d sent of herself, her face contorted to look like she was wailing. “Did you just flick water on yourself to make it look like you’re crying?” I groaned.

  She reappeared on the screen. “You put that as a wallpaper on your phone,” she ordered. “Every time you think of doing something crazy, look at that ugly cry-face and ask yourself if you wanna do that to your best friend.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I miss the crap out of you.”

  “I miss you too, babycakes. How was the honeymoon?”

  “Beautiful,” I replied, deciding to leave the whole cop chase ending to myself.

  “That’s it? I don’t get any juicy details?”

  “I’m trying to be a lady.”

  “Psh, when have you ever been a fucking lady?”

  A crash and some cute giggles rang out from her end. “Chloe, what the hell are you doing?” Lex yelled. “Come over here and say hi to your aunt.”

  In a flash, Chloe’s smiling face popped up next to her mom’s. “Hi, Auntie Livie!” she squealed.

  “Hey, lovebug. Are you tearing up the house again?”

  “I’m catching fairies!”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be at some kind of kindergarten summer camp?” I asked.

  “Oh, she was,” Lex piped up. “Tell Auntie Livie why you’re not there today.”

  Chloe tucked her head down sheepishly. “I got in trouble.”

  “Uh oh. What happened?” I asked.

  “A boy was being mean to me so I kicked him.”

  “Straight in the boy parts,” Lex added.

  I busted out laughing but covered my mouth when Lex shot me a scowl. “Sorry.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known this would happen when we named her after you.”

  “Whatever, that’s your DNA she’s working with,” I argued. “But good for you, Chloe Bear. Don’t ever let boys be mean to you.”

  The munchkin frowned. “Mrs. Chandler says it means he likes me. But if he likes me, why would he be mean? Boys are so stupid and lame. And they have cooties. Yuck.”

  “Mrs. Chandler sounds stupid too, don’t listen to her,” I replied. “If a boy really likes you, he’ll be nice and make sure everybody else is nice to you too.”

  “That’s what I said!” she exclaimed. “Maybe you should talk to Mrs. Chandler.”

  “Yeah, let’s not go that route,” Lex interceded. “You’ll just get her 86’ed from the school altogether and I’m not starting the process of looking for a new one again.”

  “Oh, come on,” I goaded. “Let me have a go.”

  “Yeah… No.”

  “Okay, okay.” I winked at Chloe. “If that boy does it again, just make sure nobody’s watching and slap him in the head so there’s no evidence—”

  “Liv!” Lex screeched. “Don’t you dare slap anybody upside the head,” she warned her kid.

  “Who got slapped?” I heard Neil’s voice off-screen.

  “You in a minute,” Lex snapped. “Where have you been? I missed my nail appointment.”

  “Sorry, there was a pipe leaking at the club so I had to get a plumber over there. You want me to paint your nails, baby?” His grinning face looked over her shoulder, completing the family picture. “Oh hey, Liv, I was starting to wonder when Torch was gonna let you up for air.”

  “When are you and Uncle Torch coming to visit?” Chloe cut in. “Daddy says you can now.”

  “Oh, does he?” I asked. The thought had certainly crossed my mind. Despite all of the bad memories, Philly still held sentimental value for being the place I’d grown up. It wasn’t home anymore, but it was still my hometown, and now that the Henslow brothers were both rotting in the ground, it was finally safe to see my amazing friends on their own turf. I was sure Lex and Neil were both sick of having to travel to see me, they’d been doing it for years. “Tell you what, how about fall break?” I offered. “We can make a turkey and have Thanksgiving together. What do you think?”

  “And pie?” Chloe asked. “You can’t have turkey without pie.”

  “That goes without saying,” I assured her. “At least three different kinds and a big tub of ice cream.”

  “Oh god, the sugar high,” Lex groaned. “Maybe we should just send her to you for the holidays. Who do you think is better for shipping small children, FedEx or UPS?”

  Chloe scowled up at her. “You can’t send me in a box, mommy.”

  Neil reached down and patted her head. “You’re not going anywhere in a box. We’ll just make you sleep in the guest room with your aunt and uncle.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Appreciate it, Neil.”

  “Payback’s a bitch, baby,” he said with a wink.

  “Fair enough,” I laughed. “Listen, I need to get going. Love you guys lots.”

  “Love you too,” they all said at the same time, leaving Chloe in giggles again.

  “I still want details,” Lex added. “Call me soon.”

  “Will do. Kisses,” I replied.

  All three kissed their hands and blew. Fuck, I missed them all like crazy. I’d have to make a game plan for Thanksgiving. Maybe they could be convinced to move to Colorado, Neil could open a strip club and start an underground poker ring here too. I blew back a kiss and tapped the screen to hang up.

  Checking the time, I realized I was running late for my meeting with Milo. I jumped off the bed, stuffed my tablet and laptop in a backpack, and walked out of the room.

  I’d just made it out into the rec area and noticed Biff stocking the bar, when two thumps and the muffled yells of extremely pissed-off women echoed out from the hallway behind me. Biff and I glanced at each other and took off sprinting, following the sounds to Grimm’s room.

  “You fucking cunt!” I heard Lulu—a seasoned crawler—scream as he opened the door.

  “Shit! Knock it off,” he barked, ducking inside.

  Looking in, I saw him pulling Lulu off none other than Sadie, but the girl apparently had some balls and lurched back towards them. I jumped in the middle and yanked Sadie back by the
waist, her flailing sending us both to the floor. Fuck, for a tiny thing, she had some power in those scrawny legs. I rolled on top of her and pinned her down, looking back over at a seething Lulu shooting her a death stare.

  “What the fuck’s wrong with you two?” I hissed.

  “I’m sick of her being a bitch to me for no reason!” Sadie shouted. “I was just trying to clean up and she came in here and tried to push me out the door.”

  Lulu tried to break away from Biff, but he held her back. “I take care of Grimm’s room!”

  “Are you bitches serious right now?” he bellowed. “You’re pulling each other’s hair out over who gets to clean up after that shithead? Jesus, what the fuck?”

  I had no idea why the hell he was glaring at me while chastising them. “If you’re waiting for an explanation, don’t look at me,” I grumbled. “I’ve seen some stupid chick fights but this one takes the cake.”

  Biff smiled like he knew something I didn’t. “I’m waiting for you to tell me what you want me to do.”

  “How should I know? That’s your call.”

  “Dealing with petty female shit is your job when you’re at the clubhouse.”

  I scowled. “Says who?”

  “Buddha. You’re at the top of the lady food chain now.” He chuckled. “Welcome to the family, darlin’. For better or for worse, right?”

  And from the pan to the fire, apparently. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. Hurry up, this one bites.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “I really don’t have time for this, but fine… Sadie, stay and do whatever it is you do around here. Lulu, go home. You can come back tomorrow after you apologize to Sadie and promise not to start dumb shit again.”

  Lulu whined, “But she—”

  Biff covered her mouth. “You heard her, right?” He waited for her to nod before letting go.

  I got off Sadie and helped her up. “Don’t lower yourself to this shit,” I implored. “Save your battles for when they actually mean something. If you have a problem, walk away and come talk to me since it’s apparently”—I rolled my eyes at Biff—“my job.”

  He smiled and guided Lulu to the door. “Come on, Lu. Time to go.”

  She shot a snotty look back over her shoulder.

  “Hey,” Biff snapped, “that better not have been meant for Livia. You show her some fucking respect.”

  “It was for the other one,” she snarled.

  “Make it the day after tomorrow,” I told her.

  Ugh. Crazy bitches, all of them. Buddha and I would be having a discussion about this when they got back from their run.

  And great, now I was even more late. I texted Milo, grabbed my shit, and jogged out of the clubhouse before getting held up by some other pointless foolery.

  : 8 :

  | TORCH |

  A waitress carrying beer and tequila shots appeared at their table on the patio of a bar in Albuquerque. Torch was tired as shit, hot as shit, and annoyed as shit for not taking Liv up on her offer of floating the club some cash. As much as he loved long rides, following a slow flatbed down a not-so-scenic highway pretty much took the thrill out of it.

  Overdoing it the night before hadn’t helped much either, looking around he could tell he wasn’t the only one dragging ass. The fact that they were at a bar next to their motel instead of riding two blocks up to a titty bar spoke for itself. The only one who didn’t seem to mind was Gauge, which was probably because he’d driven the truck in air-conditioned comfort. Or maybe he was just happy to get away from his woman for a night, she seemed to be stressing him out a lot lately.

  Gauge slid him a shot and leaned back in his chair with a content sigh. “Enjoy the nonstop pussy and happy household while you can, brother. Trust me, one of these days you’ll live for these runs.”

  Torch slammed the tequila back and smirked. “Dana’s nipping at your balls again, huh?”

  “Man, she’s been driving me up the fucking wall. I have no clue what crawled up her ass this time.”

  “You’re obviously doing something wrong, dude,” Mace chimed in. “Torch’s old lady fucks him up against walls, the way it should be.” He looked back at Torch and grinned. “Speaking of, I heard Grimm caught you two in the act. How’s your ass, brother? I saw you squirming on the ride.”

  Gauge groaned. “Oh, come on, he’s fine. Liv probably held ice on it all night.”

  Torch lit a cigarette and chuckled. “She totally fucking did.”

  “Like I said, enjoy it.”

  “I plan to.” He looked over at Buddha, who was being way too quiet for comfort. The man looked like he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. “You good, man?”

  “Yeah,” he replied. “It’s just been too long of a day running on a couple hours of sleep. Think I’m gonna call it a night, boys. Gauge, you can head back with the truck whenever you feel like it in the morning. I was gonna swing by Santa Fe on the way back if the rest of you don’t mind. Just a quick stop. I’ve got a buddy there I haven’t seen in a while.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Torch agreed. “It’s what, sixty miles? Let’s take off around nine, we’ll grab some food while you go see your friend.”

  Buddha stood up and nodded. “Sounds good. Good night, brothers.”

  “Night,” they all answered.

  “Alright… What the fuck’s going on with him?” Gauge asked, as soon as the boss was out of earshot.

  Mace frowned. “No idea but he looks like hell. Torch, has he said anything to you?”

  He shook his head. “I tried talking to him about it a couple days ago, just said he hasn’t been sleeping much.”

  “You buying it?” Gauge asked.

  “Not really.”

  Mace swirled his beer and furrowed his brow. “Maybe he’s just stressed about finances.”

  “Could be,” Torch mumbled, though he knew there was more to it. Well, he didn’t really know, but he did have a pretty strong gut feeling—the sinking kind—and his intuition had always worked to his advantage. As soon as they got home, he was getting to the bottom of whatever was eating at Buddha. Whether the man liked it or not, he was the president, and the right to keep personal shit to himself went away the minute it started affecting the club. At the rate Buddha was going with the constant exhaustion, spending less and less time at the clubhouse, and his mind obviously somewhere else, that was bound to happen at any minute.

  : : : :

  An overcast sky provided some much-needed relief from the heat on their way back to Colorado. They’d left Gauge behind with the truck in Albuquerque—he wasn’t exactly in a hurry to get home—and made a stop in Santa Fe for Buddha to go see his buddy. For somebody who’d gone to bed before nine the night before, he didn’t look any more rested than he had at the bar.

  Torch was getting more worried by the hour, the more he thought about it, the less sense Buddha’s excuses made. Insomnia? He doubted it. The truth was the man looked sick, and it would be just like Buddha to keep a health issue from the rest of the club so they wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

  Along with cooler temperatures, the freedom to go over the speed limit was making for a much more enjoyable ride, not to mention what was waiting for him at home. This had been his first overnight run away from Liv, the first time he could experience what it was like to have a reason to hurry back. He didn’t give a shit if it made him sound like a pussy-whipped bitch, the feeling was fucking fantastic. Sore ass and all.

  Light drops of rain started hitting his face just south of the New Mexico-Colorado state line. He looked up at the sky and over his shoulder. The dark clouds behind them looked vicious, so he signaled for Buddha and Mace to speed up. Traffic was light in both directions of the four-lane highway, and he soon fell into a comfortable groove by keeping his mind on his woman instead of his president.

  Noticing a white van up ahead on the shoulder, he signaled again and switched over to the left lane in case it pulled out without seeing them.

&
nbsp; It did pull out, but not until they passed, at which point the fucking thing turned into a speed demon and rode up on their asses.

  What the fuck?

  Buddha scowled over at him. They hit their throttles and moved back over to the right lane to get out of the way. You never knew what was going through a cager’s head and it wasn’t worth getting hit over a pissing contest. He was hoping the van would speed by so they could see the asshole driver’s face, but no luck. It swerved over and pulled up on them again.

  Shit, this was obviously more than a pissing contest.

  He looked back and saw Mace trying to slow down the van and create a distance between them. But instead of staying behind him, it pulled next to his bike and started moving back over the line, damn near sideswiping his ass.

  Fuck, what the hell was he doing?

  Mace swerved out of the way and sped up, narrowly avoiding hitting the gravel shoulder. He caught up to Torch and Buddha in seconds.

  “Get off at the side road!” Buddha yelled out, referring to an unmarked utility road up ahead.

  When the van followed them onto the unpaved road and there wasn’t a doubt left that they were under some kind of attack, Torch downshifted and reached into his cut to pull out his piece. He moved over to the right to let Mace pass and started shooting at the tires to slow down whoever the fuck it was. Unfortunately, he also had to focus on not letting the bike slide out from under him on the dirt, so none of the shots hit their target.

  Buddha and Mace pulled their guns and started shooting too.

  Next thing he knew, loud pops started coming from the other direction and it was his tire that blew, sending the bike spinning and him to the ground.

  Buddha and Mace hit their brakes and flipped around, now shooting at the van’s windshield and shattering it. Torch hurriedly swapped magazines and bolted over to his bike, staying as low to the ground as his frame allowed. His downed Harley wouldn’t be much of a shield, but it was better than nothing.