16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Torrent had held it together well in front of Cecilia today. She’d been through so much, and he’d hoped taking her to the shop would be a way for her to relax a little. Instead, it had given her time to think, which was good because for the first time, he felt like they might have a lead.
He drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for Gunner to join them.
“You good?” Dragon asked.
“Not even close,” Torrent admitted flatly.
He wasn’t going to lie to his President.
Dragon needed all the information because right now, if Useless came back early from his trip, his brothers would need to hold him off, or he might stuff Useless in the crematorium before he had his life snuffed out.
“I’m here,” Gunner announced, joining them at the table. The Prospect outside the door closed it, and Dragon called them to order.
“Catch everyone up,” Dragon directed, motioning at Gunner.
“Cauldron had me check Calliope’s backpack because it seemed strange that Judith tracked them here. I found two tracking devices sewn into Calliope’s backpack,” Gunner disclosed.
“Who’s tracking her? Judith?” Fury asked.
“I can’t tell who is tracking. I mean, technically, if we were in the right place at the right time and the tracker was sending out a signal, we might be able to triangulate where they were, but it’s not something I can do now,” Gunner explained.
“So what are we going to do?” Bravo prompted.
“I vote for sending the trackers on an excursion. What about if we send it to St. Louis where Cecilia still has an apartment? It’s possible someone might think that the girls went home,” Fury suggested.
Torrent wasn’t sure what they should do, but he didn’t want the trackers where Cecilia and Calliope were.
“That’s a good possibility. Let’s wait to make a decision until everyone gets back tonight. I’d like to know what Mammoth’s contacts said. Is there a way to make the trackers disappear completely for a while?” Dragon wondered.
“Sure. I have a signal-blocking bag. What about we have someone ride it over to Cecilia and Calliope’s home? Leave it active for five minutes, then slide it in the signal-blocking bag. It would be interesting to see who shows up at the house,” Gunner proposed.
“Do that. Confusion right now would be good,” Torrent agreed.
“On another note, it’s Saturday, and everyone is going to want to party. Are little eyes and ears going to be kept from the main room?” Cauldron asked.
Dragon rolled his eyes. “Of course, we’ll still have the party, but no newcomers—only people we’ve vetted before. Calliope can do the same thing that Willow used to have to do when she was little: hang out in her room,” Dragon instructed.
“The animals could keep her company,” Mav said.
Torrent was on board with that. He’d like to see how Cecilia did at one of their parties. He hoped she’d enjoy them because they were a way of life with the club, and for some reason, he cared what his newly acquired spouse thought about his life.
Marrying Cecilia was meant to be a protection for the club, but the more time he spent with her, the more he seemed to care what she thought.
He didn’t understand it because he loved his brothers, and he loved Dragon, Sally, and Willow.
What he felt for Cecilia was different—almost uncomfortable when he worried about her.
Maybe he should ask Sally, because he didn’t like this feeling of not knowing and being unsettled.
“We’ve got a plan—let’s get this done. Send the Prospects for some food. I’m thinking I want to grill steaks and maybe some brats tonight. Let’s kick back, relax,” Dragon concluded.
Torrent was ready for a little relaxation, but he wasn’t going to count on it. The club had fought tooth and nail for what they had, and they’d do it again and again to ensure their way of life continued.
Cecilia was sitting in the corner booth with Sally and Willow.
They’d had a scrumptious meal of steaks, potato salad, rolls, and coleslaw.
For the first time since it had happened, she’d been genuinely hungry.
She’d cleaned her plate and taken a second roll.
Calliope was hanging upstairs with most of the animals.
Monster hadn’t been willing to stay up there, so he’d come down with Cecilia, lying under the table with his head on her foot.
Harley had offered to hang out with Calliope, and she’d happily accepted.
The Whisper who had come to their room and told Cecilia to leave was glaring again from across the room.
“So, how’s club life?” Willow asked.
“I feel safe here,” Cecilia offered, moving over as Torrent slid into the seat beside her and Maverick slid in beside Willow.
“That’s good. How’s it hanging, Daisy Mae?” Maverick teased, grabbing a cookie off the plate in front of Willow.
“Seriously? My name is Willow,” Willow snapped.
“Technically, it isn’t. It’s Daisy Mae,” Mav insisted, shrugging his shoulders.
“You’re annoying. If you all get road names, then I do too. You should be nicer. You know that a Princess in the club should be treated well,” Willow threatened.
Mav shivered dramatically. “Oh, I’m so scared.”
Willow raised her hand, motioning Dragon over from the bar. Cecilia waited to see what would happen. She and Calliope were so far apart in age that she hadn’t had the sibling bickering growing up.
“Daddy, Mav’s making fun of me,” Willow said, pouting.
Dragon frowned at Maverick. “What are you doing to your sister?”
“Why do you always assume it’s me?” Maverick whined.
“Experience,” Torrent muttered before Dragon could answer.
Dragon pointed at Torrent, nodding. “What he said.”
“Fine, I’m sorry, Willow. Now did you bring me any special brownies, gummies, or joints?” Mav asked.
Cecilia hid a smile at his expectant look, like a kid at Christmas.
“Will you be nice?” Willow countered, motioning to a case that was sitting by the booth. Mav’s eyes lit, and he placed it on the table, rubbing his hands together.
Cecilia tapped Torrent’s arm, “What’s in the bag?”
“Willow’s farm grows pot and other stuff,” Torrent told her.
Cecilia hadn’t tried marijuana. She didn’t have anything against it or people using it.
It was legal in Missouri, so there wasn’t even an issue with that, but her hospital still had the right to test for it and could even fire an employee for testing positive.
Cecilia had been a rule follower and wouldn’t have considered it.
She could see the benefit of a gummy or a brownie because then it wouldn’t stink up the area.
Weed being smoked smelled like skunk to Cecilia.
She knew it didn’t for everyone but to her, it bothered her nose.
“Oh, I’ll take a couple of these,” Mav grinned, holding up a bag of gummies.
“Be careful. Those are my new strain, Willow’s Wish, and it’s stronger than some others,” Willow cautioned.
“Oh, I have a strong constitution,” Mav said, popping three in his mouth and heading toward the pool table.
“Cecilia, if you see brownies lying around, make sure you check with someone first. We try to keep them separated, but the guys aren’t good about leaving the lid on that denotes if they are special brownies or not,” Sally advised.
“Noted. I wouldn’t want Calliope to have any,” Cecilia said.
Music was playing, and everyone seemed to be relaxing. Torrent had cautioned her things might get wild, but so far, she hadn’t seen anything that surprised her.
When Mustang Sally came on, Dragon held his hand out and led Sally onto the area near the stage with a pole on it, pulling her into his arms. She could see the love they had for each other in everything they did. Her parents had that kind of love where she could feel it in the room.
Torrent tapped the table to the beat of the music. Maverick had left the pool table and was dancing around his parents. When Cecilia came on, Mav grinned and came over to the table.
“C’mon, Cecilia, dance with me,” Mav entreated.
She shook her head. She loved to dance, but she didn’t think she could handle Mav’s hands touching her in any way.
“Dance?” Torrent asked softly.
No extra words, but she knew what he meant.
With Torrent, she thought she could. She nodded and took his hand as he slid out of the booth, taking her onto the open area.
He kept her hand and started moving. She let herself feel the music and let go.
Torrent held her hand, spinning her around and dancing with her.
She smiled because dancing with him made her happy. Mav had pulled the glaring Whisper to dance with him. Cecilia ignored her and let the music take her away.
The music changed to a slow song. It was the pretty song she’d heard on the radio last week, Calum Scott’s You Are The Reason.
Torrent held her hand and cocked his eyebrow. She nodded because she wanted to forget everything and enjoy the moment. He tugged her closer, holding her hand and moving her other to his shoulder. This close, she could breathe in his scent. The one that she’d come to associate with safety and home.
She’d been at the Grave Prowlers MC clubhouse for almost a week, but when she thought of home, here was the only place that came to mind.
Her parents’ house would always be the scene of what she’d endured, and her apartment had only been a place where she slept and existed.
Here she’d found people who had her back and were making sure she and Calliope were safe.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Torrent’s shoulder as he led her around the floor. She couldn’t see the Whisper’s glaring eyes or anything else. For now, she was in Torrent’s arms, and her skin wasn’t crawling.