Torque

by Gillian Archer

  Fliss cried in the background.

  “I need you to round up the troops. Grab Dylan from whatever hole he’s hiding in and have everyone at Aunt Wendy’s ASAP. Shit has hit the fan.”

  * * *

  When I rolled up to Aunt Wendy’s house, I could tell by the cars out front that most of my siblings were already there—except Dylan. Did he hitch a ride with Ryan, or was that fucker in the wind?

  I put my kickstand down and swung my leg off my bike as my gaze passed over the street. And Maddie’s childhood home. All the curtains were closed, but I could tell by the glow that they were home. Maddie was inside. Pissed at me. At Dylan.

  God, I just wanted to hold her and know that she was all right.

  I couldn’t even begin to make up all this with her, not to mention the ridiculous fight we had that led to the crazy scene on the I-5.

  Fuck me.

  I sighed and turned back to Aunt Wendy’s house, but the rumble of a motorcycle made me pause. The bike cruised around the corner before slowing and pulling into Wendy’s driveway right behind me.

  Dylan.

  Rage boiled through me. I couldn’t even think. I waited until he got off his bike and took off his helmet before I swung.

  Wham!

  My fist slammed into the side of his head and he hadn’t seen it coming.

  And I didn’t give a shit.

  “Oof!” Dylan’s hands came up to protect his face. “What the hell?”

  I swung again, plowing my fist into his stomach.

  “Omph.” Dylan hunched over. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong with me? She could’ve died tonight. Because of you!” I roared and swung again. I got about three more shots in before someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me away.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Ryan shouted in my ear. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Get off me!” I struggled in his arms. Rage clouded my vision. I wanted to make that fucker bleed. He had to hurt just as much as Maddie had tonight.

  But Ryan and someone else pulled me away no matter how much I struggled.

  All I could think about was Maddie. And how this asshole had put her life in danger. I had to punch him again. A few more times. Something to get this rage out of me. But the arms holding me back wouldn’t let me go.

  Dylan knelt on the driveway, holding his bleeding mouth with one hand and his ribs with the other. Sabrina hunched over him, talking softly, while Ryan and Logan asked questions I was too agitated to answer.

  A piercing whistle cut through the mayhem.

  “What the hell is going on?” Aunt Wendy shouted. “Someone wanna fill me in?”

  I just stared at Dylan, waiting for my moment.

  “I don’t know,” Ryan answered her. “Nathan called me to have everyone come over, and the second Dylan pulled up, Nathan started wailing on him.”

  “Nathan?” Aunt Wendy asked, coming to stand in front of me. “Nathan. Take a breath. In and out. And another. One more. That’s it. You ready to talk?”

  “I’d rather beat that asshole a few more times.” My teeth ground as the repressed rage bubbled under the surface.

  “Right. But how about we use our words instead?” Aunt Wendy raised her eyebrows. “So what’s going on?”

  “Apparently Dylan has gotten buddy-buddy with the West Coast Kings. Only he must owe them money or something because they came after Maddie.”

  “Maddie?” Dylan gasped as he stood upright. “What did they do to her? Is she all right?”

  “Like you give a fuck. Apparently, they’ve been threatening her for weeks. Are you seriously gonna play like you didn’t know?”

  Dylan swiped at his still bleeding mouth and looked away, guilt written all over his face.

  “Right.” I shook my head, so fucking disappointed and pissed. “You got my girlfriend to lie for you for weeks. She put her life on the line, and for what? What are you in with them for? Money? Drugs? What the fuck is going on, Dylan?”

  “Can we not do this here?” Dylan looked around like the neighbors were listening in.

  “I don’t give a fuck where we are!” I shouted, straining against the arms still holding me. “Tell me what’s going on!”

  “No, he’s right.” Aunt Wendy put her hand on my chest. “This isn’t the place for this conversation. Let’s all go inside. Dylan, is anything broken?”

  “Nah.” Dylan shook his head slightly. “Just sore and bleeding.”

  “Good.” Aunt Wendy gave me a shove toward the house and turned to Dylan. “There’s no reason to avoid coming inside and answering every single question Nathan has for you. But we’re going to use our words and not our fists. Right, boys?”

  Dylan nodded.

  But I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t going to make a promise I might not keep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Still Nathan

  We all filed into Aunt Wendy’s house, Ryan and Logan steering me toward the sofa on the opposite side of the living room. I stared stonily as the rest of the crew trooped in. Sabrina, Rachel, and Aunt Wendy hovered over Dylan before pushing him toward the bathroom to get cleaned up. Sabrina’s father, Brian, and Austin pulled in chairs from the kitchen. They set them up across from me and sat. Everyone watched me, like I was the asshole here.

  I know Austin was trying to get me to break and say something, but I wouldn’t.

  Finally, Dylan entered the room, his bottom lip noticeably swollen but not bleeding. Pity. I hadn’t hit him hard enough.

  “All right,” Aunt Wendy said from her perch next to Brian and across from me. “Now, someone tell me what’s going on.”

  No one said a word.

  Aunt Wendy raise her eyebrows. “Nathan?”

  “Dylan’s the one who needs to speak up.”

  “Me? All I did was roll up. I barely had time to get off my bike before you were wailing on me.”

  “Because you almost got Maddie killed!” I shouted, clenching my fists.

  “Children. Children.” Aunt Wendy yelled with her hands raised. “Because that’s what you all are acting like. Children. So if someone wants to use their words and fill us in on what’s happening, I’d appreciate it. And by appreciate I really mean demand it. Nathan, you start.”

  I clenched my jaw. It physically hurt me to use words at the moment. All I really wanted to do was punch that smirking fucker’s face in. I glared at him instead. “Apparently Maddie and Dylan had an argument or something because she came over to my place tonight all upset. We had some words, and she decided she wanted to sleep elsewhere so she left. I was worried about her driving when she was so upset, so I followed her on my bike. Just before the I-80 interchange, a King pulled up beside her, checked out her car, pulled out in front of her, and flung a huge fucking chain into her windshield.”

  Everyone gasped. I paused, and that roiling feeling of fear and helplessness came back, remembering the sound of exploding glass and seeing Maddie’s car careening onto the shoulder. Fuck.

  Worst moment of my life ever.

  “Is she okay?” Sabrina had tears in her eyes.

  I nodded tightly. “She had some scratches from the glass, but she kept her cool. Better than I did. She didn’t crash. I don’t know how she kept that fucking car on the road.” I shook my head as my eyes burned. “And the fucker got away. I lost him in all the traffic at the interchange.”

  “You went after the King?” Ryan asked.

  Sabrina gasped. “And left Maddie alone on the side of the road?”

  “Yeah, I went after the fucking King. After I stopped and checked on her.”

  “Oh Nathan.” Aunt Wendy shook her head. “We are definitely going to be talking about that later. But why do you think this has anything to do with Dylan? He wasn’t even there. Was he?”

  “No, he wasn’t. But maybe you need to be asking Dylan what he’s been up to lately. And the shitty situation he put Maddie in.”

  Dylan hung his head, avoiding all our g
azes.

  “Dylan?” Aunt Wendy prompted.

  Finally, Dylan raised his head, tears streaming down his face. “You promise she’s okay? That they didn’t hurt her?”

  Some of my anger drained away at the naked fear in his eyes. I sighed. “She’s pretty shaken up, but she only has a few cuts, maybe some bruising from the seatbelt, but the airbag didn’t even deploy.”

  “Thank god.” Dylan closed his eyes for a moment, sighed, and opened them. “What Nathan said is true. I’m in deep with the West Coast Kings.”

  Austin sighed. “For what? Money? Drugs?”

  “I uh, used to mule for them back in high school.” Dylan sat back in his seat as if to brace himself. “They’d give me a package and tell me where to deliver it and I did.”

  “That’s where all your money in high school came from?” Austin frowned.

  “You guys were trying to start your shop. I wanted to help. I didn’t want to get left behind. Again.” Dylan swiped at his tears. “So I pestered one of my buddies in homeroom whose brother was a King, and he got me in.”

  “And how long were you a mule for them?” Aunt Wendy asked with a frown.

  “Just six months or so.” Dylan shrugged. “They had plenty of people I guess, so my jobs kinda dried up, and I never really pushed them for more. Maybe they had people they didn’t have to pay? I dunno.”

  “And what’s that gotta do with what happened to Maddie?” Sabrina asked with a furrowed brow. “I’m lost.”

  “You know that when Dad got out, he got tied up with the Kings? I guess he owed them for some um, product, and once he was back in prison, he couldn’t pay them.”

  “How was he paying them before that?” Ryan asked. “The fucker couldn’t hold down a job to save his life.”

  Dylan groaned. “I paid them. I paid them when Dad was out and losing jobs left and right. I paid them when he went back into prison because they said they’d hurt my family if I didn’t. Then they started blackmailing me.”

  I blinked. “With what?”

  “I guess one time I went and picked up Dad and took him somewhere, it was a job. Which he recorded for them. They have me on video picking up and delivering drugs. Recently.” Dylan’s eyes slid to side. “More than once.”

  “Christ.” Ryan shook his head. “Just when you think that bastard can’t screw up our lives anymore, he pops up again like Michael in Halloween. That fucker never dies.”

  “I know, okay? I’m sorry.” Dylan’s eyes welled with tears. “I’m sorry I ever testified on his behalf. I’m sorry I burned so many bridges trying to get that fucker a job. I’ve spent so much money I’ll never get back, and for what? He was an asshole twenty-seven years ago, and he’s worse now. All I wanted was… Fuck. It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake. So many fucking mistakes that I don’t know how to make right. And now Maddie—” His voice broke.

  “Why didn’t you tell us any of this?” Sabrina asked.

  “How the hell could I do that? Every mistake turned into another even bigger one. I was ashamed. I know what you all thought of me when I testified at his parole hearing. I figured this was penance for my mistakes.” Dylan exhaled. “Only it never ended. It got worse and worse until I couldn’t keep my head above water.”

  “You still could’ve come to us, Dyl.” Austin’s eyes shined. “We’re family, bro. We’ll always be here for you. No matter what.”

  Dylan jerked his chin in a tight nod. “So what do I do now?”

  “Now we call a lawyer.” I leaned forward. “And use what we know about the Kings against them.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Austin nodded. “I’ll call Evan. See who he recommends for a criminal lawyer.”

  “Wait.” Sabrina waved a hand. “Are we seriously gonna gloss over the part where Nathan is dating Maddie?”

  “I already knew.” Aunt Wendy raised her hand.

  “Me too,” Ryan said.

  Austin hitched a shoulder as he tapped away on his cell. “And me.”

  “I just found out today.” Dylan shrugged. “And I take back everything I said earlier about the two of you. I was deflecting and kinda took out my shit on Maddie. I’m really sorry, Nathan.”

  “Thanks, bro. I appreciate it. And for what it’s worth,” I gestured toward his busted lip. “I was aiming for your eye.”

  “Right.” Dylan laughed, shaking his head.

  “Why am I always last to know everything around here?” Sabrina asked the room.

  “If it helps, I think the only person we explicitly told was Hope and that was only this afternoon. Maddie wanted to make sure we would work as a couple before telling everyone. She was worried things would be awkward if we broke up since she sees you all as family, too.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess we’ll see now how awkward it gets.”

  Sabrina leaned forward. “She broke up with you? Over Dylan?”

  Dylan winced but didn’t say anything.

  I scrubbed my hands over my face. My rage had simmered down, but I still felt so damn helpless. “I don’t know. She doesn’t want to see me. We kinda had words before the whole freeway incident. She was pissed at me before she left. I don’t know where we stand.”

  I looked up and found most of my family looking back at me sympathetically. Except for Ryan and Austin—they’d stepped out of the room to talk to the lawyer. And Dylan was avoiding any form of eye contact.

  “What’s that look for?” I asked him.

  “What look?”

  I shook my head. “The one that tells me you’re hiding something. Again. What’s going on?”

  “Not a secret. I just…” Dylan sighed, and his eyes welled with tears again. “I have a lot to make up to Maddie. I put her in a shitty situation. I don’t even know how I’m going to make it up to her. To any of you. I asked her to lie for me. And I lied to her when I told her that I’d tell you guys what was going on. Those bastards went after her today because of me. I don’t know how I’m ever gonna make that right.”

  “Going to the police is the first step.” Aunt Wendy smiled sadly at him. “But this won’t be fixed overnight. And it might require you to make some tough sacrifices.”

  She didn’t outright say it, but we were all thinking it. There was a good chance that Dylan might spend some time in jail for what he’d done. We’d help him the best we could by getting him a good lawyer, but this was a hole he’d dug. It was up to him to get out of it.

  While the rest of the family strategized about lawyers and retainers, I pulled Sabrina aside.

  “Would you go over and see if you can see Maddie?” I asked her. “I’m so fucking worried about her. Just make sure she’s all right.”

  “Sure, Nathan.” Sabrina smiled sadly. “Any message you want me to give her?”

  “Just make sure she’s okay.”

  “Nathan, you don’t have to be that way. It’s okay to be vulnerable. And I don’t mind being your little Cyrano.”

  “Who?”

  “Cyrano? De Bergerac? You know the play where he falls in love with Roxane and—you know what? Never mind. I’ll just tell her you’re worried about her. Thinking about her? Love her?”

  I know Sabrina was trying to tease me, but I just felt so damn exhausted. From the argument to the assault to the freeway chase and the time spent in the precinct. And now all this Kings bullshit with Dylan. I’d had enough drama for a fucking lifetime. So I snapped.

  “Don’t tell her anything about me. Honestly, I’m pretty pissed at her right now, so don’t say shit.”

  “What? Why?” Sabrina frowned at me in bewilderment. “She was the one who was attacked today. Because of Dylan’s shit. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “She could’ve told someone. She could’ve told anyone what was going on. She lied to me because Dylan asked her to. Those sons of bitches threatened her. They showed up at her work and slit her tires. She didn’t tell me shit about that. She had so much time with me, and all she had to do was say a fucking word. But she didn’t. Wh
at kinda relationship can we have when she hides so much stuff from me?”

  “I, uh, I never thought about it like that.”

  “I had plenty of time to think about it while I was sitting in the police precinct today and on my ride home. So I guess I want some time to think about whether what we had is enough to overlook a huge breach of trust. Because she knows me. She should’ve trusted me.”

  “That’s not fair.” Dylan interjected as he came up behind us. “I asked her to not say anything. It was my business, and I wanted to handle it myself.”

  “It stopped being your business the second those fuckers got Maddie in their crosshairs.” I jabbed a finger at him. “And I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about the entire last month. That was a decision the two of you made. And I have to decide if I can live with it.”

  I turned around and walked away. I had to because if I kept standing next to him, I’d start swinging again.

  And Aunt Wendy hated it when we got blood on her carpet.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Maddie

  One week later

  “Maddie, honey, are you up?” Mom’s voice came through the door of my childhood bedroom with an annoyingly perky tone.

  I grumbled and pulled the quilt over my head.

  I’d spent the past week just going through the motions of living—except for the parts where I sobbed uncontrollably. I seesawed between pain and numbness. And really right now, all I wanted was to sleep.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  But apparently my mom had an agenda this morning.

  “I know you’re awake.” Mom sang through the door. “I can hear you grumbling.”

  “Fine!” I tossed the quilt off me and sat up. “I’m up. What do you want?”

  The door opened and my mom stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. “I’m going to ignore the attitude considering all that’s gone on, but just know you’re approaching thin ice.”

  I ducked my head and sighed. I had been acting like a moody teen all week. Maybe moving back home had been a bad idea. But what were my options? I couldn’t go back to my apartment, and I couldn’t stay with any of my friends since they were all Nathan’s family. I’d really screwed up in so many ways—I couldn’t even begin to catalogue them all.