Twenty-Nine
T he smug look on Micro’s face when we stepped back into the room was exactly what I’d expected. He was controlling us. Playing games with us, and we were just bending over and letting him.
His words kept replaying in my head from earlier though. Back then he’d looked sincere. Back then he’d looked like a guy who’d got in over his head, and had no way out, but that he maybe regretted some of his actions.
“I said I’d talk to that pussy, I didn’t say I’d do it with you here too,” Micro muttered to Stitch, who shrugged.
“It’s not like you actually have any power here. We’re humouring you, man. We’re letting you think you’re calling the shots, but really we can just get Torch doing what he does, and you’ll soon be fucking singing just to avoid the pain.” Fuck .
Please don’t make me do that. Not to him. Even though I’m pissed as hell at him, I saw a hint of the man I knew earlier, and I needed to know if he was really still in there, before I could do that.
“Fine. There are tunnels under the clubhouse, running to various points on the outside. Part of the club’s old drug running days. I’ve been using those mostly. The fence was a decoy, and a bit of fun. Tommy’s in the tunnels.”
“And where are these fucking tunnels, asshole? How do we get to them?”
Has wasn’t speaking, just watching Micro as he spoke.
“Why Elise, man? Why not just take me out instead? Why not go for Stitch, like a real man? You went for her?!”
I groaned, knowing Has wasn’t going to let this go, and why should he? I wanted to scream the same things about him coming after Grace, only I knew he’d had a real hard on for Elise.
Micro sighed. “Tommy needs you right now, brother, don’t you think you should focus on him?”
“I’m not your fucking brother!”
We both caught Has as he lunged at Micro, and held him back, but shit, it was hard. Fuelled by his anger, he was a strong bastard. Wiry as fuck, and yet I was struggling with him, just like Stitch was.
“Tunnels can be accessed through the storage room. There’s a row of metal shelves you have to move away from the wall. Can’t believe you losers hadn’t already found that. I mean, it’s so fucking obvious.”
Stitch and Has both started moving for the door, but I hesitated.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
Stitch fixed me with a glare.
“Not a good idea, man. You’re too close to him.”
“I’m hardly gonna release him, VP. Unlike him, I’m not a traitor.”
“Oooh burn…” Micro murmured, but we all ignored him. Stitch shot me a warning look at he opened the door.
“He also needs to be alive when you finish with him. We’re not done with him yet.” I rolled my eyes, because not only did I think I’d struggle to torture him, but I’d also struggle to kill him.
“Sure thing, VP. I’ll only kill him a little bit.”
Once the door was closed behind him, I grabbed the bottle of water from the corner and brought it over to Micro, lifting it in question. He nodded, tilting his head at me.
“You’re actually going to let me drink some?”
I opened the bottle and lifted it to his lips, letting him take a few large gulps.
“Go easy, because I’m not holding it if you need to take a leak.” Micro snorted, clearing his throat a few times.
“Thanks, man.”
I dumped the bottle back by the wall and turned to face him once more, arms folded, mostly so he wouldn’t see my fists clenching and unclenching.
“So… something you want? I gave up Tommy, didn’t I?”
“Be real with me, man. You were before, you know, until you had to front again with Stitch in the room. You singled out certain people for your little vendetta, and I don’t fully understand why.”
The man who’d been such a close friend for two years sighed, looking all at once completely exhausted, and a little lost.
“Jesus. I never expected to have to talk to you about this stuff, man. I guess I kinda figured if you guys ever caught on, I’d be dead right away. What do you want me to say?”
I groaned, sitting down on the cold hard floor, resting back against the wall.
“I just need to understand, because we rode together, we hung out, we drank together, we fucking held each other up through difficult times-”
“Difficult times? What about when my father was murdered in cold blood, huh? What about when his club, my fucking birthright, was destroyed, and this bullshit replaced it? Where were you then?!”
He knew I wasn’t around then, and I knew he wasn’t genuinely asking me that question, but it was his reminder that he’d been through shit too.
“I’m sorry that happened, man. I don’t think Reacher and Stitch are bad guys though, I mean, they’re kinda the opposite, right? Did you seriously think the club was better before? Do you know how hard we had to work to get any club girls back here? So many of them were brutalised by the old club, we had the kind of rep that meant women fucking avoided us. Even when the club was established for a few years, women were still staying away. That’s the club you were proud of?”
Micro rolled his eyes at me. “You’re not such a boy scout, Torch. You talk like you’ve never pushed things too far with a woman, and I know that’s bullshit. There’s always that moment when you should probably step back, but you’re already in it and racing for the finish line.”
Fucker. “That’s called rape, asshole. I have never, and will never, push a woman past the fucking line of consent. If she says no, I will always stop. You saying you make a habit of ignoring them? Was Chrissy not the fucking first?”
Micro suddenly snarled at me.
“I never fucking raped her! I told you that! I wanted her, I wanted her so fucking badly, but she was always keeping me at arm’s length. That night, I just lost my temper. All she had to do was be nice.”
Grace
T he doc wasn’t in the infirmary like I suspected he might not be, because it was late and most people should be sleeping. I did take a quick look around, and it was rudimentary at best, but in most circumstances, the supplies there would be sufficient for most injuries that didn’t send the patient to the hospital.
I figured I’d go over that tomorrow with the doc, whoever the hell that was, so I returned to Torch’s room, and made a coffee and climbed into his bed alone. I felt weird about being naked in this place without him, so I kept my underwear on under a t-shirt of his from his drawer, and figured if he was pissed about it later, he could undress me.
I read through some articles, in medical journals online, until I felt tired enough to sleep, and when I was woken later, by a warm body wrapping itself around me, I rolled over to face into Torch’s chest, and fell asleep again, safe and protected in his arms.
I was woken again next, by something poking me in the back, and when I wriggled back against it, a low groan was my response, followed by a chuckle.
“I really fucking hope you’re awake, or I’m gonna have to try sleeping with a boner,” Torch whispered, his lips brushing against my ear and making me shiver.
“Nope, I’m asleep,” I whispered, being rewarded with another low chuckle.
“Maybe I’ll just see if I can sneak him inside you while you sleep then. You think people can orgasm in their sleep?”
I faked a snore, and he laughed, sliding his hands up under the t-shirt I wore.
“Thought I gave you pretty clear instructions about what to wear in bed, woman. What the fuck is this?”
Torch made short work of removing the t-shirt and my underwear, sliding his hands over my bare skin, his body heat practically scorching me, while simultaneously leaving goosebumps.
“How do you want me, babe?”
He wanted direction? I just wanted him to take what he wanted, maybe even what he needed, but I didn’t want to be the one making any decisions. Maybe he just needed a nudge into the right mindset, so he could feel comfortable taking what he wanted.
“If you can’t make that decision for yourself, Mr North, maybe you should get some sleep,” I said as tartly as I could, letting out a surprised squeak as I was pushed face down, and mounted by my big biker man.
“Fucking making a decision right now, slut, so how about you take my cock and shut up?” The fact that I was wet already was probably a good thing, because he didn’t hesitate, dragging his cock between my legs and pushing deep inside me, in one swift move. My breath rushed out of me as he pressed me down with his body weight, adjusting himself onto his elbows.
“Brace yourself, doc, I’m about to fuck you right into this mattress.”
He did too, he forcefully fucked me, with deep, almost painful thrusts, making me whimper each time he bottomed out, and he kept going for so long, I thought he’d never come. It was like he wasn’t getting there, even though he was fully invested in going the distance, and just when I thought he was going to give in, he groaned, shuddering as he filled me with his cum.
Something was wrong, and I think I sensed it before he realised. His breathing was too ragged, too shaky, and he suddenly pulled away from me, sitting on the side of the bed with his back to me.
“Torch?” His shoulders hunched, even as he gasped for breath.
“Fuck,” he hissed, rubbing at his face. “Sorry, babe… I… Jesus…” his voice cracked a little and he took a deep breath.
“Torch, it’s okay.”
“Need a… fuck … need a minute,” he said quietly, getting up and heading for the door, completely naked.
“Torch, stop! Don’t you walk out on me!”
He clenched his fists at his sides, his forehead thumping lightly against the door.
“Please,” he whispered, but I was up and wrapping myself around him as he lost control, those shudders returning, as he gasped for breath for a whole new reason.
“Let it out, Torch. It’s okay.”