Thirty-Five
I don’t know why it suddenly seemed like the only possible course of action, but as soon as Lissa and Cammy left me alone, and Torch hadn’t yet returned, I pulled out my mobile phone and dialled the police. Two things had been rolling around my mind, and making me more panicked by the second.
Firstly that Micro had raped and murdered at least one woman attached to the club, and he’d attacked several others, including me. Secondly, that if Reacher and Stitch demanded that Torch be the one to torture and kill Micro, it might just destroy him. I couldn’t let that happen, and I didn’t think they’d listen to me, because I wasn’t even an old lady yet, and I was so new here.
The place became a flurry of activity, and it happened a few minutes before the police cars started pouring in through gates that were suddenly open, and allowing them through. It was as if the club knew they were coming, and I had no idea how that was possible, because I hadn’t told anyone what I’d done.
I knew it was a risky thing to do, but my priority was Torch and his safety, including his mental and emotional health, because if he was forced to do anything to Micro, he’d never recover from it.
Fists banged on doors in the hallway, and I shoved my phone in my pocket and answered Torch’s, door to a group of uniformed officers, who deposited me in the hallway, and went in to search his room.
“Get the fuck out of my room!” Torch yelled, charging in after them, and almost knocking me over in his haste. I tried to grab him, but it was impossible with how fast he was moving. Oh god, was there something in his room that could get him in trouble? I hadn’t even considered that when I made that stupid phone call.
The police returned very quickly, advising Torch that they were only authorised to search for the suspect in their case, and kept going. Apparently whatever order or warrant they had, that allowed them to search the clubhouse, was literally only for a manhunt.
“Why do you think he’s the one? Who called this in?” Torch persisted, following them to the next room, while I stayed out of the way. How angry would he be, if he found out I did this? Was it something I should keep secret, because… if he knew, would I lose him? Was it enough of a betrayal to him, that he’d never be able to trust me again? Especially right now?
Oh god, what have I done? If he found out, there was no way he’d forgive me for this. I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life, and I have no idea how to fix it.
“Come on, babe, let’s stay out of their fucking way,” Torch suddenly reappeared, dragging me back into his room, and slamming the door so hard, I yelped and pressed a hand against my chest, right over my racing heart.
“Sorry,” he said, grabbing me and holding me against his chest, offering me comfort I definitely didn’t deserve from him right now, maybe ever. I could hear his heart thudding just as rapidly and heavily as mine, and I knew this was a big shock for all of them.
“They’re looking for Micro,” I said slowly, not making it a question, because I couldn’t lie so blatantly to him, even though I didn’t want to admit to what I’d done. Was I just being selfish, or was it better for him to not experience any further betrayals right now? Probably both.
“Yeah, that’s what it said,” he replied, while I wondered what the hell that even meant. Who was he referring to as ‘it’?
“Did… did they say how they knew about him?”
He shrugged. “I only know what Ice’s hacks on their system told us, when we got the heads up. We had minutes to prepare before they showed up, and Micro was in fucking Church with us at the time.” Oh god.
“So… so why didn’t they find him straight away?”
“We hid him in the tunnels, babe. This isn’t going down this way, with him getting banged up somewhere, instead of paying his retribution directly to the club.” He sounded more confident about that right now, so I wondered if something more happened, that had pushed him further into this mindset. What if I’d just screwed things up, when he’d finally become clear on what had to happen, and maybe even reconciled it in his own mind?
“I-”
“Bigger issue here is who the fuck snitched to the cops, babe. That’s not the kind of crap we forgive, so that fucker is the next one to get retribution, especially on the back of all this Micro stuff.”
Oh my god! I hadn’t considered the fact that my betrayal might put me in danger too! I’d made such a mess of everything.
“What the fuck?” Torch yelled suddenly, backing away from me like he’d heard my thoughts, and suddenly realised I was behind everything. He had his phone in his hand though, and yelled the word ‘Fuck!’ as he headed for the door, and I ran after him.
“What’s going on? Did they find him?”
He turned as he pulled the door open.
“No, the fucker got away somehow, and he’s managed to steal the club van. We’re gonna chase him down, and fucking kill him for this.”
“What about the police?” Please, please, leave it to the police. I didn’t want him getting killed in a ridiculous bikes-versus-van chase now.
“They can try and get in our way, but this is our fucking business, not theirs.”
The door slammed again, and I slumped against the wall, staring at my trembling hands, as I realised that whatever happened now, it was more my fault than anyone else’s, and if they figured out what part I’d had in it, I’d be the next one in that chair downstairs, wouldn’t I?
Torch
H ow the fuck did Micro overpower two fucking guys, especially Ry and Rocket, right? Well as it turns out, he didn’t. He fucking worked the ropes loose, when they were rushing him back to the tunnels, then he shoved free of them, and legged it.
By the time they caught up with him, he was in the van and, because we keep the keys in the glove box for emergencies, it was no trouble for him to get it started, and get the fuck out of the compound, what with the gates being open, because of the police. What’s it they say? A perfect storm. All the right fucking elements in place for him to make his escape, and get away from his fate at the club. Fuck that.
At least seven of us got on our bikes, and headed out after him, including myself, Has, Ryder, Ice, and Stitch. There were several others behind us, but I was firmly fixed on that dark blue van, that was fast disappearing, because of the head start he had. There were sirens behind us, but here’s the thing about our club bikes.
We’re not usually in high speed pursuits, but our bikes were not only fast enough for cruising around, and heading to meets, but also for a fucking car chase. The cops couldn’t get past us, without risking knocking us off bikes, and causing more injuries, so there was a lot of criss crossing, as people tried to pass each other, but there was no way the fucking cops were getting to Micro before we could. Then we left them in the fucking dirt, as we gained on him.
I’d been on the fence about killing him, but that moment had passed, because I had a whole new fucking betrayal to worry about now, and that had taken the edge off of the way I felt about Micro’s actions. Hurt the club, pay the price, those are the rules, right?
Now the fucker thought he was going to make a break for it, and escape retribution, and there was no fucking way I’d allow that. He was driving like a fucking prick too, taking bends too fast, and almost hitting a couple of pedestrians at a crossing, but it was when he took the road up dead man’s hill that I realised he was being more than reckless. He was taking his fate into his own hands, and stealing justice from us. He wasn’t planning to let us finish him off, any more than he was planning to spend the rest of his life in a jail cell. He was taking the coward’s way out.
Stitch yelled something from beside me, and yeah, as the VP, I should be riding behind him, but this wasn’t a normal situation, and the rules were fucking out the window right now. The uphill ride was slowing us all down a little, and the cops were starting to gain on us, but as we rounded the next bend, we just saw the van disappearing, and when we all got off our bikes to peer over the steep side of the hill, we saw the van rolling, crashing into the hillside over and over, and then it finally stilled right at the bottom. Police cars were already turning and heading back down the hill, but we all stood there and stared.
Micro just deliberately took a fucking nosedive off the local equivalent of a cliff, all to escape his brothers, and his fate, at our hands.
“Fuck!” I yelled, but Stitch was more focused on what else might have happened.
“You, you, and you, fan out that way, and you three the other way. If that fucker jumped out before he trashed our van, find him.” Jesus, that had never even occurred to me, because as I watched that van bouncing over and over, all I could think was if that didn’t kill him, nothing would.
I was in shock, I think, as I moved closer to the edge, peering over it, and watching police cars swarming down the twisting road towards the van. Smoke was rising from it now, like maybe there was fire somewhere, but I couldn’t see flames from so far away. A tight grip on my arm tugged me back a few steps.
“Don’t go joining him, brother. If he was in there, he’s dead.”
Micro dead? He was alive just seconds ago, so how can he suddenly just be dead? Wasn’t that how it always happened though? People were usually alive seconds before they died, right?
“I’m sorry, Torch. Hey, brother, look at me. This isn’t what any of us wanted, okay?” Stitch looked as shocked and horrified as I felt.
“We all wanted to catch the culprit, and when it turned out to be him, it threw us all. We’ve all had to deal with how it felt to have a brother we all knew and liked sitting in that fucking chair, waiting for death at our hands. I know he did this to take control back, and choose his own fate, but maybe he did us a favour too, especially you. He knew it’d kill you to be involved in killing him.”
“Wasn’t I, though?” I pointed back down the steep drop beside me. “I was part of the fucking hunt for him, chasing him down, and fuck… yeah, I wanted… no, I knew he had to die, but I didn’t expect it to happen like this. I feel like someone just changed channels, and I don’t know what show we’re watching anymore.”
I stared over the cliff again, and yes, that was definitely a fucking fire. If he hadn’t died in the crash, he’d burn to death before anyone reached him. The police were closer, but they had no firefighters with them, so once it was on fire, they’d have to stay back, right? They’d just stand and watch him burn. Did he deserve that? Weren’t we just standing here watching his demise too?
“Let’s get back to the clubhouse, brother. This is done with now. We’ll have to get a new van, but that’s hardly a priority right now. Get back to your old lady, and let her offer you some support tonight.”
Support. Comfort? Fuck, just seeing her would help soothe my fucking pain right now.