Thirty-Three
R eacher glared at me, and grabbed my arm in an almost bruising grip, pointing to the chair he’d vacated.
“Sit down and shut the fuck up.”
I moved into the seat, even as I tried to figure out what to say to Grace, to try and make up for my hasty words, and to try and push that look from her face. She looked like I’d kicked her. Again.
“I-”
“Pretty sure I just told you to shut it, Torch. Listen here, you don’t throw away a woman like this, and you sure as fuck don’t reject her and hurt her, when she’s only trying to fucking help you. Also, you don’t take out your anger on your old lady, ever.” What? He pointed at the dried blood on her face, from however the fuck she got injured during my tantrum in my room.
“Did you do that to her? Did you hit your fucking old lady, Torch? Are you really that guy?” How fucking dare he? I rose up out of that chair, a finger jabbing the air in his direction.
“Who the fuck do you think you are, asking me that? Do I look like the kind of guy who would hurt a fucking woman?”
Reacher opened his mouth, and I just fucking knew he was about to agree with me, and say yeah, of course, the biker asshole, with the tattooed fucking head, looks like a wifebeater or something, but Grace interrupted.
“Of course you don’t, and Reacher, he didn’t do this. I bumped it when I fell on the bed, so please don’t blame him for that. Look, Torch, I was going to leave like you wanted-”
“I don’t fucking want that, babe. I was being a prick, and I think we both know that’s kinda my thing, but I’m gonna try not to be like that so much. Just please don’t leave me right now. I’m so fucking confused, and angry, right now, but you’re the only one who can make me feel normal again. Please, babe.”
I dragged her up from her seat and pulled her against my chest, even though I should be waiting for her response, so I’m not pressuring her into something she doesn’t want. I just couldn’t help it, because touching her was like the salve to ease my fucking soul.
She didn’t hold back, hugging me as hard as I hugged her, and I wondered if that meant that she just fucking got it, and I wouldn’t have to grovel as much as I expected. Reacher cleared his throat, and Grace pulled back from my arms to glare at me.
“I’m not hearing a real apology here, Mr North,” she sniped, and fuck me, I swear my balls just filled up, ready to empty into her. So fucking hot.
“Baby, I’ll get on my fucking knees, if that’s what you want. I couldn’t be more sorry for being such an asshole, and I hate that you saw me lose my shit like that. I’m sorry for that too. I’m sorry for all kinds of shit I’ll probably do wrong tomorrow, or the day after. I’m probably going to fuck up a lot over the decades you’ll be stuck with me, so I apologise for everything I’ll do in the future to piss you off. Just don’t leave me, babe. I don’t think I can fucking live without you now.”
Whoa. I feel like I literally just detached my balls and handed them to her, but it didn’t scare me like I expected it would. I’d let her handle my balls anytime.
“Okay, great, now both of you get the fuck out of my office, and get some sleep. Tomorrow we have all kinds of decisions to make, so I’m calling Church at eleven. Don’t fucking miss it, Torch.” Ouch, as if I’ve ever fucking missed Church. As we walked back up to our room though, I realised the point he was making. Don’t take that as an opportunity to go visit Micro, because it won’t fucking work.
Of course, when I went to Church, the last thing I expected was to see Micro there. What the fuck.
Grace
W hen we went back to Torch’s room, we pretty much just stripped off, climbed into bed together, and fell asleep. I think it was almost light outside at that point already, and we were exhausted.
The next morning, someone thumped a fist against the door and yelled out something about a ‘one hour warning’, so Torch reluctantly got up, showered and dressed, and I made coffee for us.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be down there, but Church is basically a biker meeting, and it’s private, so no old ladies allowed.”
“Wow. The misogyny is strong in biker clubs, huh?”
He rolled his eyes, as he drained his coffee in a few gulps, breathing out hard, and fanning his tongue with his hand, after. Idiot.
“It’s not like that, babe. It’s a members only thing, you wanna ride and wear a cut, and be a member, you can be in them, but not until then.”
“Oh wow, you have female members in the club?”
Torch snorted, his eyes shifting to the side briefly.
“Well, no, but it’s not in the bylaws that we won’t allow it. Funnily enough, no women have wanted to. Are you saying you wanna be a patched club member?”
“Like I even know what that means. I’m just curious what goes on in these meetings, that’s all. I’m used to being in meetings at the hospital, and they’re usually fairly dry and repetitive.”
Torch got up and refilled his coffee, and mine, from the jug. His coffee maker was old and basic, but it did the trick, still, I missed my own top-of-the-range one, with all the fancy features, and its milk steamer.
“Yeah, biker meetings can be a bit dull at times, but this one’ll be about Micro, and what the fuck we do about him. I don’t know what I want the outcome to be, and that’s fucking with my head a bit, but at least Tommy’s safe, right? Everyone else is present and accounted for, including old ladies, so it’s really just about his punishment.”
He grimaced as he said that word, and I knew it must be so hard for him.
“Is killing him the only likely outcome?”
He shrugged, lifting a hand and scrubbing it over his scalp, which looked freshly shaved, his darkly inked skull tattoo bared to all.
“It’s not like we’ve been in this situation before, at least not since I’ve been here. I have no idea what the plan is. I’d imagine they won’t want to let him live, and I can see why, but we’re not really that kinda club anymore, so I don’t know.”
I followed him to the door as he started walking, pausing with his palm pressed against the wall.
“Jesus. I have no idea what’s about to happen, babe.”
“What would the old club have done? The club he apparently wishes this still was?”
Torch banged his forehead against the wall too.
“They’d torture and kill him for sure. Maybe that’s what he’s hoping for, so he can say he rebuilt the club the way it should be. Fucking asshole. This shouldn’t be happening. Normally I’d walk into the fucking meetings with him, so him not being there is going to be so fucking weird.”
He left the room a moment later, and I sat back down on the bed, and stared at my phone. I’d had to move shifts around to cover for not being at home, and used the ‘burglary’ of my place as an excuse, but now I really should be getting back into working and even revisit the house. Having left there in such bad circumstances, the idea of returning was freaking me out a little, but that was probably normal, right?
A knock on the door distracted me from my thoughts, and when I answered it, I found Lissa standing there with another woman I vaguely recognised, who re-introduced herself as Cammy. I remembered meeting her at the clinic, but so much had happened that we’d barely interacted.
“I thought you might like some company while they’re all busy with Church,” Lissa said, as Cammy headed for the kitchen and switched the kettle on.
“Oh, actually I-”
“We’re intruding, right? I said to Lissa we should message first. Stitch said it could go on for a while, because of the fact that it’s about Micro.”
I nodded, waving a hand at Lissa when she hesitated. “I was about to say that actually I was wondering what to do with myself. Really I should be getting back home, or back to work, but I think I’m a little nervous about doing that. I have no idea why, but yeah, the last few weeks have been the most intense of my life, and that’s saying something, after what I went through with my ex.”
“Do you need to talk to Lissa alone? I can get lost and do something else with myself if so,” Cammy offered, even as she made coffee for all three of us. I gestured to her to sit down, accepting my coffee with thanks. We doctors were used to having to take in large amounts of caffeine to keep up with our shifts and long hours, so I could drink it all day without issues.
“I guess I just have to bite the bullet, but I’m finding it hard to take that first step. Last night Torch told me to leave, and I just… if Reacher hadn’t stopped me, I think I’d still be dithering in the doorway.”
“He told you to leave?” They both looked horrified, leaning forward in their seats like they wanted to reach out to me.
“You don’t have to tell us,” Lissa said, with a gentle smile, “but if it will help to talk it out, we’re here for you.”
“He’s pretty devastated about Micro, what with them being so close, and he lashed out, I guess. Trashed this room, then told me to leave, but I think it was more about protecting me from him, than it was about wanting me to go.”
Lissa nodded. “These guys are really good people, deep down inside, but dealing with emotions and reacting correctly, or the way society would expect, at least, is difficult for them. They’re far more likely to lash out, or force people out of their lives, than actually just suck it up and deal with what’s happening at any point in their lives. I think they expected the club to be more insular, and safer from things happening that were out of their control. It’s been a shock to them.”
“I always thought Micro was a little creepy, if I’m honest,” Cammy said then, chewing her lip warily. “I mean, he hit on me a few times when I first started visiting here, and even when I was with Stitch. He’s not the type of guy who backs off when you ask him to, so I’m not entirely surprised he turned out to be the rapist and killer.”
“Wait. Rapist?”