by Naomi West
The empty lot the men had spoken of stretched out before them, a sea of broken asphalt. Chunks of concrete littered the edges, almost arranged like a fence. The sun blazed down and bounced off the black ground, creating a rippled effect in the air. Swimming in that ocean of air was a full contingent of the Bastards, who had somehow managed to get there before the members of Satan Seed. They had taken up one entire end of the lot, stacked in neat, alternating rows that meant everyone had a good shot. Satan Seed was just arriving, their bikes downshifting as they slowed.
“Looks like we’ve got the advantage!” cackled Rat. “Sit tight, little darling. You’re about to see a massacre.” Rat pulled the vehicle over behind a rusty dumpster and turned it off.
Flame unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, his hand on his gun. “This is going to be one hell of a showdown. Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ve got a perfect position right here, protecting my hostage.” Rat picked up his own gun, pulled out the magazine to check the load, and clicked it back into place. “What do you say, baby? You gonna hang out here with me in the VIP box?”
Blue glanced at the passenger side of the truck, where Flame was standing with the door open and watching everyone filter into the lot. It might have been a chance at escape, but Rat would shoot her on the spot. She didn’t answer.
“Good enough.”
With at least a third of the Seeds in the lot, the Bastards opened fire. Shots rang out all around the parking lot, breaking the air and zinging off every surface. Several men fell from their bikes, their arms flailing out as gravity took them down, blood spewing from their wounds.
Blue crouched down behind the dashboard, ignoring for once the dirt and filth of the truck and trying only not to get shot. Her heart thundered in her ears, providing punctuation for the staccato of shots. She didn’t have any thoughts about what she would change in her life if she managed to live through this. There were no pleas to God. She only thought of Torque.
What might have happened if she had done what he’d asked? Blue could question the biker’s motives all she wanted to, and she could blame him for injuring Rat in the first place, but what might have happened if she had done what Torque had asked and gone back to the clubhouse? It had been her decision to go to the Hagens’ house, and that had put both Bri and Ava in danger. It had nearly put their entire neighborhood in danger, and it had brought the rivalry between the clans to a head. One tiny decision on her part had changed the fate of many. How many men out there would die because of her?
“Get on up here. I want you to see your man when the blood drains from his body.” Rat grabbed a handful of her hair on the back of her head and yanked, banging her head on the steering wheel. He whipped her head back, forcing her to look out over the asphalt.
Blue tried to fight against him, but his grip was too strong. When she heard the sound of an engine roaring past the truck, she realized that Rat was right. Torque was riding into the battlefield, one hand guiding his bike and the other out straight, the recoil of his pistol jerking back his wrist for only a moment before he fired again. He was like a scene from a movie, with his black hair slicked back by the wind and a determined but grim look on his face.
But he was heading right into the fray. By now, there was so much exhaust clogging the air over the empty lot that Blue couldn’t tell who was who, or even what side they were fighting for. She squinted her eyes, hoping past all hope to see Torque heading back toward the truck again. Blue needed him, now more than ever. But so did his men, and there would be no point in saving her if the Bastards were just going to take her back again.
A bullet rang out against the dumpster, making her leap back against the seat. It zinged off the top of the truck and ricocheted off into the distance.
Rat laughed. “Come on, sweetheart. The fight is just getting started.”
Despite the dust, the exhaust, and the flying bullets, Rat dragged her out of the truck. They stuck close to the trash receptacle as they crept forward, Rat’s hand still entangled in her hair. She yanked back, wanting to take cover somewhere, anywhere, but he didn’t let go.
“You’re in this just as much as I am. You’re staying out here.”
A Seed went down. Another stopped to help him, only to get shot in the leg. With blood weeping down the side of his motorcycle and staining the chrome, he fired back. The next bullet caught him in the chest and he fell on the first man in a tangle of flesh and metal.
Blue cried out. She knew it wasn’t Torque, but it could have been just as easily. She searched through the fray and finally picked him out near the center. He had just reloaded and was gunning down several of the Bastards. Blood ran down the side of his face and his skin was coated with sweat and grime, but at least he was whole.
“Better watch while you can.” Rat didn’t seem able to keep his mouth shut, too proud of the position he was in as he lorded over the war of the clans. “It’ll all be over before you know it.” Firing into the crowd, Rat attempted to pick off Torque. He was a poor shot, and his bullets pinged off a nearby warehouse.
“Drop the gun and let her go,” came a growl from behind them.
Blue turned to see a muzzle pointed right at the back of Rat’s neck. She barely registered the King of Hearts tattoo with the scar through it. Her mind acted so quickly that time slowed down. While Rat swiveled his head away from her to face his assailant, she whipped Torque’s knife from her pocket and flicked it open. With every ounce of strength in her body, she sank the knife straight into the man’s gut. Blood flooded out over her hands, thick and hot and smelling of copper, but as she remembered everything he had put her through she shoved it in a little deeper. The noise surrounding her was drowned out until she could only hear the sound of her hair ripping out of his grasp.
Stunned and caught off guard, Rat didn’t get a chance to say anything before Acer shot him in the back of the head. The biker fell to his knees, red liquid gurgling out of his mouth for a moment before he sprawled down onto the asphalt. Several strands of blue hair were still clutched in his fingers, the ends blowing slightly in the breeze.
Rat had been the motivation behind this war, and the rest of the Dirty Bastards seemed to know it. Those who had already been injured began limping away, barely keeping themselves on their bikes as they tried to increase the distance between themselves and the enemy before they were killed. Meanwhile, Satan Seed continued to fire, eliminating all they could while they still had a chance. The end of the battle came so quickly that to Blue it seemed that someone had hit the “Stop” button on a recording.
“I don’t understand,” Blue breathed, looking back and forth between the dead body at her feet and the man who had killed him. “Why did you save me?”
Acer quirked an eyebrow and pointed at his arm. “You still have work to do, remember?” He laughed. “Besides, Torque and I have had some time to talk. We knew Rat would be most interested in Torque, distracted by him, even. It was the perfect opportunity for me to catch him off-guard before he had a chance to hurt you. Of course, I don’t think any of us were expecting us to do what you just did.” The president smiled at her appreciatively.
“And Torque? Where is he?” Blue turned away from Acer to scan the crowd once again, which had grown much smaller in the last few minutes. The last remaining Bastards were straggling out of the lot, tucking their tails between their legs and headed home. Several of Acer’s men stood near the dumpster, hooting in triumph and bragging of their adventures. Yet another man took a victory lap around the place, his tires bumping against the uneven asphalt. But there was no sign of Torque.
“I don’t know,” Acer admitted.
But a tall figure emerged from the cloud of smoke in the center of the combat zone. His hair had been mussed, and it hung in his eyes over his bloodstained face. He swept it away with one hand, smearing blood and dirt along with it as he squinted against the brilliant sun. His dark tattoos stood out in stark relief against the skin of his arms. The figure lim
ped slightly, but he was otherwise whole.
“Torque!” Blue’s entire body reacted to his presence, every cell, every atom leaping toward him. She threw herself in his arms and sighed her relief as her cheek rubbed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, scooping her off her feet and bringing her up to his level so that he could kiss her lips even as he finished his walk toward Acer. He was hot and sticky, but she didn’t care. Blue wanted to bury herself inside him and never come out again. “I never thought I would see you again.”
“I told you back at the clubhouse that everything would be all right,” he said calmly as he set her down and turned to Acer. “Thank you. That was the most slipshod battle plan I ever put together, but I’m glad it worked. I only wish I had been the one to kill Rat.”
Acer pointed at the body. “Hey, your girl had a lot to do with it, if it makes you feel any better.”
Torque knelt to yank his knife out of the man’s stomach. An extra fountain of blood streamed out to join the sticky mess that had formed on the asphalt underneath Rat. Wiping his blade on the enemy biker’s vest, he slipped it back in his own pocket. “That’ll need a good cleaning.”
“At least I got it back to you.” Blue felt a small smile playing on her lips despite their circumstances.
He nodded, but he paused when he looked at Blue. “What happened to you? Are you hurt?” Torque reached out and gently touched her temple.
She recoiled at the pain, surprised. “Oh. Rat hit my head against the steering wheel.”
“It’s a good thing he’s already dead.” Torque stood toe-to-toe with her, his hand reached out to gently examine the wound.
“It’s just a bruise. And what about you?” Blue glanced at the thin stream of blood that began just outside the corner of Torque’s left eye and trickled down his cheek to drip off his jaw and onto the collar of his vest. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’ll heal.”
“Is it all over? I mean, really?” Blue asked hopefully as she studied him. It certainly seemed to be, but she didn’t remember anything quite like this happening when her mother had still been with a club. Perhaps it had, but at least Mother had kept her away from it. The fight suddenly seemed distant, as though it had happened last week or last year instead of only a minute ago. Her entire world consisted of Torque and the fact that he was alive.
Torque glanced over his shoulder at the wreckage. Several men had fallen, and many others were wounded. Those who had been celebrating now stopped to help their comrades to their feet, bandage their wounds, or cart off their corpses. A slight breeze picked up, bringing with it the funk of exhaust and bodies. He turned a glaring eye to Blue. “You should have come to the clubhouse like I told you to.”
Acer backed away, heading to his other members. “I’ll just let the two of you talk.”
A wave of horror washed over Blue as she realized how angry Torque was. She had been so focused on getting him back alive that she had forgotten how much of this was her fault. He wasn’t happy to see her; he was pissed. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry, Torque. This is all my fault. I went to Spencer’s house because I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought if I pulled myself away from all of this, then maybe my problems would just go away. I was so wrong. I’ve tried so hard to push myself away from you and everything involving you, but I just become more deeply embroiled in it.”
She had done it this time. She had finally figured out that she wanted to be with him, and she had thought the looks they had exchanged in front of the Hagens’ home had confirmed that he wanted the same thing. But now she was responsible for all this carnage, and he would never have anything to do with her again. His touch at her elbow surprised her into looking up at him again.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said softly. He raised his other hand to brush her hair out of her face, and his thumb rubbed away a tear as it fell over her eyelashes. “Blue, this war was a long time coming. Even if I hadn’t been at your shop that day and encountered Rat, he would have found another way to start a conflict. We’ve lost some men, but it was inevitable.”
“Then what did you mean?” Blue’s emotions were changing so rapidly she couldn’t keep track of them. She was thrilled to see Torque, terrified that he seemed mad at her, and hopeful that this would still somehow work out. More than anything, she just wanted to be with him. It didn’t matter where they were, what they talked about, or if they even talked about anything. He could even be angry with her, just as long as he didn’t leave her.
“I was worried about you,” he explained. “When you didn’t return, I thought it was because Rat had already gotten to you. The Bastards had been causing chaos all over town, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise. As it was, Rat had one of his men burn down the tattoo shop as vengeance.”
A whole new ripple of panic washed over her. “Is Spencer okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Torque assured her. “I got there just in time.”
She hated the fact that she was crying in front of him. Blue wanted to be tough, to handle all of this as calmly as he did, but it was so hard. “Thank you, Torque,” she whispered. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. You’ve saved me, and you’ve saved Spencer. I just …You can’t even know how much that means to me.”
His voice was low and gravelly as he took her fully into his arms. “It’s what you do for someone you love.” Torque’s lips pressed against hers.
Blue kissed him back, parting her lips to let his tongue twirl against hers. She stopped him only long enough to whisper, “I love you, too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Blue
“Mommy’s going to miss you today.” Blue pressed her lips to the baby’s chubby cheeks, holding her close and never wanting to let go. “I would just stay home with you all day if I could, but I’ve got some tattooing to do. Maybe someday I can show you how to draw pictures on people.” Reluctantly, she put Violet in Bri’s arms and sighed. “I just hate leaving her.”
“I know you do,” Bri said sympathetically as she cuddled the chubby little bundle. A shock of dark black hair decorated the top of Violet’s head, and a tiny hand reached out to grab at one of Bri’s earrings. “But it’s good for you to get out and do what you love. Your little one won’t suffer at all for it.”
“That’s easy for you to say, since you get to stay home with Ava all the time. Hi, sweetie.” Ava had just toddled up and wrapped her arms around Blue’s leg. The little girl had grown a lot since that day of impromptu hide-and-seek upstairs.
Bri tipped her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. “I’m sure it seems that way, but it’s not always easy work. Besides, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have to work if you didn’t want to.”
Blue smiled, her face flushing a little. There was a lot of truth to what her friend said. When Violet was born, Torque had made it very clear that Blue didn’t have to return to work anytime soon, if ever. He would take care of everything. As sweet as it was, Blue had been itching to get a tattoo machine in her hands again. She was fortunate that Bri had volunteered to watch the baby anytime Torque wasn’t available, and she was doing her best to find a balance between work and home life.
“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t want to leave Spencer in the lurch. I already took so much time off with my maternity leave.”
“Don’t worry about him.” Bri leaned down to set Violet in a nearby bassinet. She carefully straightened the baby’s onesie and touched her cheek gently. “Spence is a big boy, and he can handle the shop. I think it was good business for him to have a guest artist in there for a little bit.”
It was touching to see how much Bri cared about Violet, but the remark about the guest artist reminded Blue of a whole other concern. “That’s exactly what worries me.”
“No, don’t take it that way. A guest artist is just that, someone to come in and stir things up a little bit. Trust me, Spencer wouldn’t dream of giving your booth to anyone else.” She
moved to the kitchen to give Ava her snack.
“I’m sure you’re right. I just really love it, you know? I feel a little guilty when I leave Violet, but when I’ve been working, I feel like I get to let out the part of me that doesn’t stay up all night with a fussy baby or worry about spit-up.” Now that the Dirty Bastards had been chased out of town and Blue felt safe again, she could lose herself in her work like she used to before any of that had started. She could talk with her clients and do her job, but when it was complete she felt as though she had just gone through major meditation session. Her nerves buzzed with the thrill of her accomplishment.
Bri laughed as she diced up an apple and put it on a tiny plastic plate. “I completely get it! As much as I love being here with the girls, there are days when I really miss tattooing.”
“So why don’t you?” Blue made mental notes as she stood in Bri’s kitchen, paying attention to the kinds of sippy cups she used and the chair Ava sat in. Having an older baby in the “family” meant she always had someone to ask when it came to parenting questions, and Blue had found that much more helpful than all the books in the world.
