Rowan
He had a lot on his plate lately, and she tried to tell herself that was why he was avoiding her, but that was only partially true.
Torque admitted that he was afraid of hurting her or worse, getting her killed, and that had everything to do with the war that was brewing between the Vipers and the Saints.
She knew the name that haunted Torque—The Saints, and she had a sinking feeling that they were going to cost her the man she loved.
She moved through the clubhouse, keeping her head up, shoulders back.
Brothers nodded as she passed—respectful, protective.
Not because she belonged to them, but because she belonged to their Prez.
Even if he had never touched her the way that she wanted him to, she was still his in their eyes because he announced that she was his Ol’lady.
She was hands off, and the rest of the Vipers respected that.
It was fine with her, really. She liked that the rest of the guys left her alone since she moved into the clubhouse and was staying in one of the apartments over the bar.
They were reserved for the bikers who needed a place to crash for the night, but Torque had insisted that she take one of them after the war had started with the Saints.
She gave up on her cup of cold coffee and found her way into the main clubhouse, trying to decide what she wanted to do for the day.
The possibilities were few since Torque had given the guys the order to keep her close and under lock and key.
She was beginning to feel like a damn prisoner, even though he promised her that she wasn’t.
She almost stopped dead when she found Torque standing near the front door, helmet in hand, with his phone pressed to his ear.
His posture was rigid, jaw locked so tight she could see the muscle jumping beneath his beard.
Whatever he was hearing on the other end of that call was something that he didn’t like.
Rowan stopped a few feet away, waiting for him to finish.
She hoped that if he saw her there waiting to talk to him, he’d actually pay some attention to her—especially with the rest of the guys watching the two of them.
Torque ended the call and turned, his eyes finding her instantly.
The look on his face shifted—just slightly.
It was enough that she knew he was trying to shield her from whatever bad news that he had just gotten.
She wanted to tell him that never worked with her because she knew him too well, but telling him that now would be like yelling at a brick wall.
She could see that he had put his walls back in place and that getting any answers from him would be impossible.
“You were up early,” she said quietly. She wouldn’t admit to him that she had heard him roaming the halls before dawn or that she had spied on him through her cracked door. He already looked mad enough to spit nails, and poking the bear when he was like this was a bad idea.
“Didn’t mean to wake you,” he replied, voice rough.
“You didn’t,” she lied, studying him. The tension rolling off him was almost visible. “They’re back, aren’t they?” Torque’s eyes darkened, and she had her answer, even if he didn’t want to say it out loud.
Rowan’s stomach dropped. “The Saints,” she continued before he could deflect. “This isn’t just club noise. I can feel it in my gut. They are back, aren’t they?”
Torque stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You shouldn’t be down here.”
She hated the way that her traitorous body leaned into him. “That’s not an answer,” she whispered back to him. His jaw flexed, the silence stretched between them—heavy and loaded.
“They made a move,” he finally said. “They hit one of our own.”
Rowan’s breath caught. “Is he—”
“Yes,” Torque said quickly. Then, more carefully, so none of the other guys could hear him. “He’s dead.” Rowan swallowed, forcing herself to stay steady. Fear wouldn’t help. Panic wouldn’t protect anyone. She had learned that the hard way.
“They’re sending a message,” he said.
“To you?” she asked.
“To us,” Torque corrected. “To every Iron Viper, and their families. They want us all dead, and they’re letting us know it.”
Rowan looked around the clubhouse—the walls, the patches, the men who lived and breathed this life. “You won last time you fought them,” she reminded.
Torque’s mouth twisted into an evil grin, which was never a good sign.
“I didn’t finish it—not like I should have.
” The honesty in that admission sent a chill down her spine.
She stepped closer, placing her hand on his chest, right over his heart.
It was pounding hard and fast—a controlled fury barely leashed.
“What happens now?” she asked.
Torque covered her hand with his. “Now I end it—for good this time.”
Rowan met his gaze, refusing to look away.
“And what about me?” For a split second, the ruthless Prez disappeared—and the man beneath him showed through.
Seeing Torque like this reminded her of the boy that she had once known.
She had seen less and less of him lately, but when she did, he was so damn beautiful.
“You stay here and let us protect you,” he said. “You don’t go anywhere alone. You don’t leave Viper territory without me knowing. And if I say move, you move.”
Rowan nodded. “Then you need to stop shutting me out, Torque.” He hesitated, and she tightened her fingers against his chest. “I won’t be a weakness. But I won’t blindly follow you either. I’m not one of your members, Torque. You’re going to have to stop ignoring me and let me in at some point.”
Something shifted in his eyes—respect, maybe, or acceptance. “All right,” he said quietly. “I’ll keep you in the loop, Rowan, but that’s all I can promise you right now. Anything more might end up getting you killed.”
The sound of engines roaring to life outside broke the moment before she could protest. Church was forming. War was gearing up, and every bad feeling that she had had earlier that morning came roaring to life.
Torque took her hand from his chest and gently squeezed it into his own. “This is going to get ugly.”
Rowan didn’t flinch. “Then we survive it—together,” she insisted.
Torque pulled back from her, releasing her hand, eyes hard again, the Prez back in place.
He grabbed his helmet and turned toward the doors, effectively ignoring her again.
Rowan watched him walk away from her, her chest tight, and her heart breaking.
He wasn’t going to let her back into his life, and that was going to be a problem for her because she wasn’t going to stick around the Iron Vipers without him.
She didn’t need him to make her pretty promises, but completely shutting her out wasn’t going to work for her.
The Saints weren’t just coming for the Iron Vipers. They were coming for everything Torque loved. She just hoped like hell that meant they were coming for her, too. It might be the only way to get his attention again—for better or worse.
Rowan felt it—that prickle at the back of her neck that told her that something was about to go sideways.
The sensation of being watched didn’t fade, no matter how many steady breaths she took.
She slowed her steps, the grocery bag cutting into her fingers as she crossed the small parking lot behind the local market—still inside Viper territory, which was still supposed to be safe. Supposed to be.
Her truck sat where she’d left it, sun glinting off the windshield.
Nothing looked wrong or out of the ordinary, and that was the problem.
Rowan paused with her keys dangling from her fingers and glanced at the darkened windows of the building across the street.
There were too many reflections and too many places for someone to hide.
Don’t panic, she told herself. Panic was what usually got women killed.
She took a deep breath and unlocked the truck to slide inside, locking the doors immediately.
Her pulse was loud in her ears as she started the engine.
The moment she pulled out of the lot, headlights flared to life behind her. First, one vehicle, and then another.
Rowan’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Coincidence, she tried to tell herself. She took a sharp right turn—one she didn’t need to make, and the headlights followed.
Her breath hitched as she checked her mirrors.
Her heart felt as though it was slamming against her ribcage.
The vehicles stayed back, not aggressive, not rushing her, just there.
It was as though they were watching or tracking her.
Rowan reached for her phone with one hand and hit Torque’s number. It rang once, twice, and then she heard his voice. “Rowan?” His voice came through as a rough growl.
“I think I’m being followed,” she said, keeping her tone calm even as fear crawled up her spine. “Two cars followed me out of the grocery store’s parking lot. But I’m still in Vipers’ territory. I know that I shouldn’t have gone out alone, but I just needed a few things.”
“We can discuss all of that later,” he said. “Where are you now?” he asked.
She rattled off the street names as they passed by, her eyes flicking between mirrors. “They haven’t made a move yet. They seem to be hanging back, but every turn I’ve made, they’ve followed.”
“They’re probably just trying to scare you,” Torque said grimly. “Stay on the main roads. Don’t stop for anyone or anything. I’ve got some of the guys rolling your way now. If it’s the Saints, they’ll see the Vipers and want to get the hell out of our territory before all hell breaks loose.”
The call cut off suddenly. “No—” Rowan stared at her phone.
No signal. Her chest tightened as she tossed her phone onto the seat next to her.
She was on her own, and that thought scared the hell out of her.
She just had to keep going until the Vipers showed up—just like Torque had ordered, and then, she’d be fine. She had to be.
The lead car surged forward without warning, swerving into her lane and slamming on its brakes. Rowan screamed as she jerked the wheel, tires screeching as she fishtailed into an alley she hadn’t meant to take. Trash cans exploded out of the way as she slammed her foot on the gas pedal.
The second vehicle blocked the exit as men poured out of the vehicle—three of them, if she had counted correctly.
Rowan didn’t think; she just moved. She shoved the truck into reverse, slamming into something solid behind her.
Metal crunched as the impact jolted her teeth together, pain flashing through her shoulder.
The world around her felt fuzzy, and she knew that if she didn’t do something fast, she wasn’t going to get out of that alley alive.
Hands grabbed the door handle as someone shattered the passenger window.
Rowan kicked the door open on the driver’s side and bolted, sprinting down the alley, as her boots pounded concrete.
Her lungs burned as she ran, fear fueling her legs.
A hand caught her ponytail, yanking her back hard enough to steal her breath, but she still fought.
Rowan kicked, screamed, and elbowed the man behind her, catching him in the ribs.
“Feisty bitch,” a man snarled as his arms locked around her.
A cloth came down over her mouth, and she tried not to breathe.
Rowan thrashed, rage surging through the fear.
She bit down hard on his hand, earning a curse and a sharp blow to her ribs that knocked the air from her lungs.
She wanted to scream and fight, but whatever they had poured on the cloth the man was holding was starting to make her sleepy.
No, she couldn’t give up, not now. She just hoped like hell that the Vipers would somehow find her before the Saints were able to finish the job—or worse, drag her away.
She knew that they were human traffickers, but she’d die before she’d let them or anyone else use her body.
She had been saving herself for Torque, and there was no way that she’d let anyone else have her.
She was losing hope when she heard gunshots ring out through the night. They were close and loud. The man’s grip on her loosened as chaos erupted around them. Men were shouting and scrambling as more shots rang out, echoing down the alley.
Rowan dropped to her knees, coughing, her vision blurring as a familiar roar cut through the noise.
“ROWAN!” It was Torque. She barely had time to look up before he was there—blood on his knuckles, eyes wild, with a gun in his hand.
Brothers fanned out behind him, Iron Vipers swarming the alley like hell unleashed.
Torque dropped to his knees in front of her, hands on her face, checking her over frantically. “Talk to me. Are you hit?”
“I’m—” She sucked in a breath, willing herself to talk. “I’m okay.” His forehead pressed to hers; his breath ragged with fury barely contained.
One of the brothers approached. “Prez, they left something.” Torque looked up slowly. The man held out a small object wrapped in cloth. It was a Saint’s patch, stained with blood.
Torque stood, pulling Rowan with him and tucking her against his chest, one arm wrapped around her protectively.
His voice was low and deadly. “They just signed their death warrants.” Rowan clung to him, shaking now that the adrenaline was fading.
She looked past his shoulder at the patch, at the proof that this was no longer a warning.
It was a promise, and the Saints had just declared open season on her and the Iron Vipers.
Til Death Do Us Part (Iron Vipers Book 2) (14 Days of Love and Lust Bikers and Mobsters) Universal Link-> Coming soon!
What’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey? Ruby (Royal Harlots Huntsville Chapter Book 9) is coming in February 2026! This one is going to be a Valentine’s Novella!!