Torin (Warrior Saints, #1)

Chapter One

The Hang Out bar was finally quiet as Torin dried the last glass in the dishwasher. He sighed heavily as he stacked it with the others on the back counter. It had been a busy night and he tried to get as much done before the last call. Now, the cleanup was finally over and he could go home soon.

He shook his head as he remembered the party tonight. A bunch of factory workers were celebrating one of their own crew’s promotions and had gotten a little rowdy. But his brothers Callum and Archer had settled them all down after they had gotten out of hand while breaking bottles and talking shit.

Callum mentioned the more bottles they wasted by breaking, the bigger the final bill would be.

The workers all looked surprised that they would be charged for the breakage.

So, when the final call came Callum took their bill to them. The workers grumbled and growled about it but Callum stood right there until everyone ponied up the final amount. With his size and look the men didn't argue. Then Callum said if they couldn’t behave themselves they couldn’t return.

Out of nowhere, another man stepped in, he’d been sitting there watching them and when they made a scene at the end of the night, he told them he’d never been more embarrassed by them. He also added that their jobs might be affected by their bad behavior.

From the bar, Torin had watched all of this for himself. He might need to back his brother up.

Then the five men sitting at the table suddenly shaped up. They left quietly after that.

The other man watched as they filed out of the bar. He must have been a boss at their company. Then he laid a huge tip on the table.

Callum nodded at him politely. Then he continued his clean up, bussing their table.

Twenty minutes later...

Torrin shook his head as he was still here and his brother had gone home. Just a few swipes with a mop and he would be free to go.

Suddenly, he heard a crash of some kind from the basement where they had their extra cases of beer in the bottle stored. He dropped the mop and grabbed the shotgun from under the bar.

The bar was set up with a short hall leading to the basement door. The hall was behind and to the right of the bar.

When he got to the doorway leading down, he listened carefully at the door but he didn’t hear any movement on the other side. If it was a critter they would still be moving around but he didn’t hear any movement. He carefully reached for the doorknob and twisted it slowly.

Torin gripped the shotgun tightly as he descended the steps quietly. When he reached the bottom, he scanned the room carefully. The distinct smell of beer made him wrinkle his nose. He reached out and pulled on the cord to the light at the bottom of the steps. The light lit up the space now.

He discovered what the crash had been and the scent of spilled beer was a case of beer bottles that had been knocked over.

Beer seemed to be puddled in the far corner, but something else was also in the pool of amber gold.

When he stepped closer he knelt a bit and saw the bright red of blood swirling in it.

He gripped the shotgun tighter in his hands and stood again.

“I don’t want to shoot you so make yourself known,” he growled.

“Stand in the light and hold your hands up,” he called out in a voice loud enough that his words echoed in the stillness and vastness of the room.

No other sound came for a few seconds, then a whimper could be heard along with footsteps from the very back of the room. Suddenly, a small voice called out, “I’m coming out, please don’t shoot me. I’m unarmed.”

Torin waited while still gripping the shotgun.

Then she stepped out of the shadows.

Torin paused when he saw her, she looked like a child as small as she was.

She was lucky if she was all of five feet tall.

She might have been small but she was a woman full grown.

Her full curves were prominent under her oversized jacket.

She stopped almost right below the light Torin had snapped on.

Her jeans were well worn and slightly ragged.

She wore a t-shirt under a dusty and stained covered jacket.

Her hair had been pulled back and hidden under a cap that shadowed her eyes.

It was her feet that posed the biggest surprise.

They were dusty and dirty and she was wearing flip flops.

Her pink nail polished toes could be seen as she flexed them under his scrutiny.

Finally, he spotted the blood staining her right foot. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” Torin growled.

“Look, I had no choice, they were hunting me. I just needed a safe place to hide for a few hours.” She motioned toward the liquid mess on the floor. “Sorry about the case of beer. It was too dark down here to see where I was going. I can pay for it.”

Torin ignored the payment offer as he glared at her and asked, “You said something about someone hunting you? What did you mean by that?”

She didn’t say anything as she pressed her lips tightly together then she said, “I won’t bring trouble to your door, I promise. Just let me stay for a little while then I’ll leave.” She stumbled to lean against the nearest stack of beer cases and lowered her head. “I just need to rest for a bit.”

Torin slowly shook his head as she looked to be in a bad way. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “Not yet but I will be, I have to be. If they catch me now, I won’t survive.”

Felling impatient, Torin set the shotgun aside and walked over to her.

She watched him come close and she looked about ready to flee if he got too close. Looking fierce, she took a step back. “That’s close enough, buddy.”

Torin grinned. “No it really isn’t, now talk. How the hell did you even get inside the bar? We closed almost an hour ago.”

She glanced away for a few seconds then looked back at him.

He still couldn’t see her eyes and he growled as he reached for her cap.

He tugged it off of her head and then was amazed as her hair flowed in a silky flash along her shoulders and down her back.

At first, he thought it was a whitish blonde or something but the longer he looked the more the true color showed under the lights as a golden blonde.

But damn, it was her eyes glaring at him now that surprised him the most.

They glittered a stormy grey and the rage in her body almost singed his soul.

She then snatched her cap back from him and muttered something under her breath.

Twisting her hair on the top of her head, she impatiently stuffed it all back into the hat.

Then she glared at him from beneath the bill of her cap. “Why the hell did you do that?”

Torin leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mainly because I wanted to see who the fuck I was talking too. Now I want to know who you’re running from and why you chose to come here to hide out?”

She took a step back and shook her head. “It's best if you don’t know any of it. I won’t bring my troubles here.”

Torin shook his head with a scoff. “You’ve already involved us. I just need to know who and why?”

She moved another step back. “No, you don’t understand. I will not put you in the line of fire. They are crazy and believe me when I say they have a lot of secrets they can’t afford the world to know. I’ll leave and you won’t have to see me anymore.”

“Lady, you aren’t going anywhere.” Torin growled. Reaching out to her, he grabbed her by the upper arms.

Suddenly, her fear seemed to disappear and she fully went all in to fight back as she tried to twist away from him.

Torin held onto her shoulders. He brought her closer to him in order to wrap his arms around her but she fought even harder.

She barely came up to his chest and Torin felt like he was indeed handling a doll-sized woman really.

He grinned at her. “Damn woman, just struggle all you want, but you aren’t going anywhere. ”

She growled in frustration but it sounded like a kitten growling and stomped on his foot then knocked her forehead into his solar plexus.

Torin lost his breath for a few seconds as he stepped back. Then he snapped at her, “What the hell?”

Before she could say anything, they both heard the whine of a motorcycle coming down the street.

She paled and reached for the light above her head, as the light went out, she tackled Torin to the floor.

Torin hit the floor hard as he wrapped his arms around her.

The bike roared as it got closer. Then it sounded like a couple more cycles had arrived too.

He was about to yell at her when she covered his mouth with her hand and looked toward the only window in the entire room.

Torin halted as he saw the light coming in from outside showing that her face had gone completely white.

Before he could move her, they both heard glass shattering as gunfire from the bikers broke out.

She scrambled off him and grabbing his hand, she scooted back into the shadows of the stacked beer cases.

Torin kept down and crawled after her as they both heard more glass shattering from inside the bar above their heads. When they got against the wall, Torin grabbed his phone and texted an SOS to his brothers.

A few minutes later, more engines could be heard coming toward them and the attacking bikers seemed to be leaving in a hurry. Some of the incoming bikes followed while some parked and came into the bar.

Heavy footsteps came rushing into the building above them. Then the sound of swearing and shouts of rage were coming down the stairway.

Torin got to his feet and called out that they were down in the basement.

Loud footsteps rushed to the stairs and three men came crashing down the steps. They all looked around the storage room and finally saw Torin as he stood there unhurt.

The oldest man in the room asked, “What the hell happened here, Torin? Who the fuck shot up the bar?” Pope asked his oldest son.

Torin just shook his head. “I don’t know, Dad. But I have a feeling our guest might know.”

Pope looked puzzled as he asked, “What the hell are you talking about? What guest? I don’t see anyone here but you.”

Torin walked back a few steps and growled as he had to literally pull her out of the shadows.

He dragged the woman he found earlier in the evening, forward.

“This girl decided to sneak in here. I don’t know her and I only found her down here because she tipped over a case of beer just as I was finishing up tonight.

” He turned to stare at her. “But I have a feeling she knows more about the shooting than we do. I asked her what her name was and she wouldn’t tell me.

” He snorted. “Kept saying she didn’t want to drag us into her mess.

But I think that’s a moot point now. They already shot up the place... Whoever they are.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Pope stared at her then dropped his gaze to her bleeding foot and blurted out, “Are you hurt?”

She just stood there and didn’t say a word as she stared at the other three men. She took a small step backward when she saw the glares they were giving her.

Torin paused at the look of terror on her face.

He glanced at the others then back at her.

She hadn’t been afraid of him before, but now she looked frightened out of her mind.

He turned to her completely and wrapped his arms around her trembling body.

“Look, you don’t have anything to fear from us,” he whispered in her ear. “No one here is going to hurt you.”

She looked up at him and whispered back in surprise and shock, “Y-you guys—are a-an MC?” Obvious fear rippled in her hesitant voice.

Torin cocked his head at her and asked, “Yeah, is that important?”

Swallowing hard, she glanced at him and gave him a barely there nod.

Torin noted that she was now shivering as if she were freezing cold.

While trembling, she swung her fright filled gaze back to the other men at the base of the steps. All she could do was stare at their cuts and shiver in the silence surrounding her.