Torch (Dixie Reapers MC 2)

by Harley Wylde

  “Three years ago? That’s the favor my dad gave you, isn’t it? You took me in exchange for him handling whatever was going on with Ridley.”

  I nodded. No sense in lying to her. There was a chance that Ridley would say something at some point. It had taken me damn near a year to get Ridley to stop thanking me, and I didn’t miss the looks she cast my way when Isabella didn’t show up like she was supposed to. Ridley always felt like she owed Isabella something, and owed me. To her, we’d sacrificed ourselves so she could remain safe. In all honesty, I was glad that Isabella was mine, regardless of how I got her. At first, the idea of claiming her had pissed me off, even sickened me a little since she was so young. Until I saw her. Even the tiny-ass picture on Wire’s phone had gotten me hard as a damn post. All it had taken was one look, and I knew she was going to be mine.

  I dished her omelet out of the skillet and plated it. I set it on the table in front of her and gave her a glass of juice before starting my own breakfast. I pulled out a jalapeno pepper, diced it up small, and tossed it into the bowl, then added some green bell pepper. I’d left them out of hers since I didn’t know if she liked spicy food. Isabella ate quietly while I fixed my omelet. I dumped some salsa over it, and by the time I joined her, she was almost finished.

  “This was really good,” she said.

  “When I was in the service, there was this guy who loved to cook. Didn’t really get much of a chance where we were, but he talked about food all the damn time. He’d explain in detail how to make all these different dishes, and talked about textures and stuff. I didn’t get half of what he was saying, but I guess some of it stuck. I took the things I remembered and learned how to make some basic meals. It beat eating crap out of a box all the time.”

  “What branch of the service were you in?” she asked.

  I didn’t talk about my days in the military, but then, Isabella wasn’t just anyone. She was mine, and if she wanted to learn more about me, the least I could do was tell her. Well, tell her some of it anyway. I’d done things for my country that I couldn’t disclose. But I could give her the basics.

  “I joined the Navy when I was seventeen. Went through boot camp, then went through BUD/S.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “What’s that?”

  “I went through training to be a Navy SEAL.”

  Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped a little. “You were a Navy SEAL?”

  I nodded and ate my breakfast. She stared at me for a few minutes and I could tell she had more questions. Women had always thrown themselves at me when I’d been on active duty, and even after, once they learned about that. Isabella, though… while she’d looked surprised, I don’t think it had the same effect on her. For whatever reason, she seemed hesitant to ask questions of me. With her, I was an open book. As long as the information wasn’t classified, I’d share it with her. She got up and carried her empty plate to the sink, where she rinsed it, then stuck it in the dishwasher. She did the same with her glass once she’d finished her juice, then sat back down.

  “Why did your parents agree to let you enter the Navy at such a young age? Don’t you need permission to sign up before you’re eighteen?”

  “Probably best if you don’t know how I managed that. As to my parents… I have no idea who my dad is. My mom had a never-ending string of boyfriends who liked to beat the shit out of me, when they weren’t too busy selling her to pay for their drugs. For all I know, my dad was some random guy off the street who paid to fuck her. She was hooked on heroin, among other things. But as bad as shit was at home, I know it could have been worse. At least the men in her life only beat on me. I found ways to keep myself fed, even when they used all the grocery money on their bad habits, and I stayed in school. I was barely passing and knew that my best way out of that shit hole was the military. We not only lived in the worst part of town, but we lived in the most rundown building there too. It wasn’t uncommon for kids or teens to go missing.”

  There wasn’t pity in her eyes, which was good. I fucking hated it when people pitied me. But there was compassion there. Isabella had lived a very different life from mine. She’d been given every material thing she could have possibly needed or wanted, lived in a mansion, went to boarding schools… but I sometimes wondered if maybe the thing she’d been lacking was love. There was no doubt her father cared about her, but I didn’t think he knew how to show it all the time. Or maybe he just didn’t want to. I remembered the day I’d had her inked. He hadn’t soothed her fears in the slightest. I’d been the one to hold her hand and speak softly to her. I didn’t know if Casper planned it that way, or if he just hadn’t given a shit that his kid was crying.

  I pushed my plate away and reached for her hand, lacing our fingers together in the middle of the table. “I know I’m not perfect, I’m not even a good man most days. But I promise that I’ll take care of you, and if we have kids I’ll take care of them too. You’ll never go hungry. You’ll never have to worry about me selling you to someone. I will protect you with my last breath. I may have come from a shit background, and there’s blood on my hands, but you never have anything to fear from me.”

  “You’ve never scared me, Connor. Oh, I might have worried about how you’d react when I finally came home, but even then I didn’t think you’d really hurt me. How I feel about you, though, that scares the shit out of me.”

  My lips twitched. It was good that she wasn’t scared of me, in the sense she thought I’d hurt her. I’d like to know more about those feelings of hers, though. The way she wouldn’t meet my gaze told me she wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet. I’d give her time. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere, and neither was she. I cleaned off my plate and put my dishes in the dishwasher. I glanced at the clock on the microwave and hoped Venom had had enough time to get Ridley and Farrah ready for a visit. I didn’t think I could hold Isabella off much longer.

  She stood, and I swept my gaze over her from head to toe. She’d pulled her hair up in some sort of loose knot on top of her head, but a few pieces had escaped. The shirt she’d chosen was ruby red and hugged her breasts like a second skin. The jeans encasing her amazing legs looked painted on, and she had on those sexy boots that made me want to fuck her, but it was the cut with my property patch on it that looked the best on her.

  “Can we go now?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” I pushed my chair back and stood, stretching until my back cracked. “We can go. Since I left my bike in front of the clubhouse, we’ll have to walk over and get it before going to Venom’s. His house is a little farther back in the compound. I don’t think you want to walk that far.”

  “I don’t mind the walk, but I will gladly ride on the back of your bike.”

  I followed Isabella through the house and out onto the porch, then locked up behind us. Her hand slipped into mine as we walked toward the clubhouse. I couldn’t remember holding hands with a woman. Maybe in high school I might have a time or two, but no one had tried since. I liked the feel of her hand in mine. It was small and soft, dainty like the rest of her. She barely reached my shoulder, and even with her curves, she was still slight. Isabella reminded me a little of a pixie. If this morning was any indication, she was mischievous like one. Not that I minded waking up to her sucking my cock.

  When we reached the clubhouse, my bike was right where I left it. I climbed on and helped Isabella onto the back before twisting the key in the ignition. The bike roared to life, and I turned the throttle, revving it a few times. Isabella clutched at my waist as I walked the bike backward, then took off out of the parking lot. The road through the compound curved all over the place. It didn’t take me long to learn that if I accelerated into the turns, Isabella would squeeze me a little tighter. I might have done it on purpose a few -- dozen -- times.

  Venom was on his front porch when we pulled up, leaning against a post with his arms folded over his chest and his ankles crossed. His gaze went from me to Isabella, and I knew he didn’t know what to make of her. We’d ta
lked about her a lot since the day I’d claimed her, and I knew Venom had grown skeptical that she’d ever return. He thought she’d screwed me over, and because of that, he wasn’t her biggest fan. As far as he was concerned, she should have brought her ass home when she was supposed to have been here. The fact she had run made her untrustworthy in his eyes.

  “Glad you decided to show up, Isabella,” he said, his voice gruff and unforgiving.

  “Play nice, Venom.”

  He stared at her hard, and she held onto me a little tighter. I patted her hands so she’d let go, then got off the bike. She remained on the bitch seat staring at my VP like he was a demon straight from hell. In her defense, Venom was a rather intimidating bastard when he wanted to be, especially with his beard bushier than usual. The fact that his dark gaze was pinning her in place probably didn’t help.

  “Back. Off,” I growled at him and narrowed my eyes.

  His gaze jerked to me, then he pushed off the post and headed inside. I shook my head and offered a hand to Isabella. She got off the bike slowly, not looking away from the door Venom had just stalked through. I could feel the apprehension rolling off her in waves. Venom would loosen up once he realized she was here for good. I knew my VP pretty damn well, and while he was protective of his family, that protection extended to his MC brothers too. He was worried about me, thinking Isabella was going to fuck me over, but I was a big boy and could take care of myself. If he said something to upset her, though, I might have to put my fist through his face.

  Isabella followed me up the steps and into the house. I could feel the heat of her body as she stayed close to me. Cartoons were playing in the living room, so I headed in that direction. Farrah was on the floor sitting amongst a mountain of pillows and blankets watching some cartoon with kids who looked like superheroes. Ridley was leaned back on the couch, the lower part of her pregnant belly showing as her shirt rode up a bit.

  Ridley smiled so big I thought her face might crack as she huffed and puffed her way up off the couch, then hurried over to Isabella. I had to admit she was pretty darn cute when she waddled around. Ridley shoved me out of the way so she could wrap her arms around my woman, and I chuckled as I stood back and watched them.

  “You’re here!” Ridley squealed. “I knew you’d come back.”

  Isabella’s eyes closed a moment as she hugged Ridley. I felt Venom’s presence and looked over. He was staring at the women, but he had a half-smile on his face. If Ridley was happy Isabella was here, then Venom was happy. Or as happy as he was going to get anyway. He loved Ridley more than life itself, and tried to give her everything she wanted. So if Ridley wanted Isabella to come visit every day, then I knew Venom would allow it.

  “I’m sorry I was gone for so long,” Isabella said as Ridley pulled back.

  Ridley waved her off. “I’m sure you had your reasons. I knew you’d eventually get here.”

  Isabella looked confused. “How did you know?”

  “Because of the way you looked at Torch,” Ridley said, grinning ear to ear. “It was the same way I look at chocolate when I’m PMS-ing. Like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I knew from that one look that you were hooked.”

  Isabella blushed and glanced my way before turning back to Ridley. She motioned toward Ridley’s stomach. “How far along are you?”

  “About seven months,” Ridley said. “I don’t understand counting things in weeks. Drives me nuts trying to keep track of it. We’re having another girl.”

  Isabella leaned a little closer and whispered loud enough for me to hear. “You know, I’ve heard that if you have a girl, it means your husband came before you did. Maybe you should talk to Venom about making sure you get there first so you can have a boy next time.”

  Venom glared at her, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter. I never would have expected anything like that to come out of her mouth. Venom growled and stalked over to the women, pulling Ridley into his arms. He kissed her hard and deep before narrowing his eyes at Isabella.

  “I please my woman just fine.”

  Isabella gave him an innocent look, but I could see the laughter in her eyes. “I swear it’s true! You can look it up. There are articles about the female orgasm and the gender of the baby.”

  “Stop teasing him,” I said. “You’re going to give the man a complex. Now poor Ridley won’t get any rest because he’ll feel he has to prove she comes before he does.”

  Ridley winked. “I’m not complaining. I might be the size of a house, but my hormones are out of control. I could have sex at the drop of a hat these days.”

  “Please don’t,” Isabella said. “If your clothes start coming off, I’m leaving.”

  Ridley snickered and grabbed Isabella’s hand, leading her over to the couch. Farrah had yet to even look up from the TV. Whatever she was watching seemed to fascinate her. I stood next to Venom, watching the women. Ridley was a few years older than Isabella, but it looked like they were going to be good friends. I think Ridley had decided she was going to like Isabella from the beginning. While Venom made sure Ridley had everything she needed, the majority of the females at the clubhouse were club sluts, so she didn’t really have any friends. Not inside the compound anyway. A handful of members had old ladies, but none as young as Ridley and Isabella.

  “You did this on purpose,” Venom said softly.

  “Did what on purpose?”

  “Brought her here. You knew Ridley would be happy to see her, and now I’m going to have to be nice to the bitch, even after what she did to you.”

  I studied Venom a moment and gathered my thoughts so I wouldn’t say or do something I might regret later.

  “I’ve known where she was the entire time,” I said. “I could have gone after her, but I didn’t. She had her reasons for staying away, and that’s as much as you’re going to get from me. I’m happy she’s here, Ridley’s happy she’s here, so I’d appreciate it if you’d welcome her and stop giving her pissed-off looks.”

  Venom sighed. “Fine. You know, when she first came here, I thought maybe she’d be good for you. I knew you were just taking her as your old lady to protect Ridley, and I appreciated that more than you can know, but my woman is right. Isabella looked at you like you’d hung the moon, and the heat in your eyes when you saw her made me think maybe things would be okay between you two. But when she didn’t come back, I figured I’d been wrong.”

  “You weren’t wrong, Venom. She just needed some time. Time that I was happy to give her. But she’s here now. And she might be in some trouble.”

  His gaze sharpened. “Trouble?”

  “Casper VanHorne somehow found out his daughter was back, which is something we need to look into. I think we have a rat on her daddy’s payroll. Casper showed up yesterday morning, but he’s brought some friends with him. The cartel is on his ass. They shot at him while he was out shopping with Isabella.”

  “Is that why she’s all bruised up?” Venom asked.

  “The bruise on her cheek is from a Prospect, but he’s been dealt with. The one on her forehead is from yesterday. Her dad tackled her to the ground when the shots rang out, and she banged her head on the car.”

  “And you think the cartel might be after her now?”

  “I don’t know. If they know she’s Casper’s daughter, it’s possible they might try to get her to use as leverage against him. I have a plan, though. I was going to let Casper clean up his own mess, but killing is more his style. A bloodbath won’t solve anything with the cartel, not unless he wipes out every single fucker. I need you to call Rocky.”

  Venom’s eyebrows shot up. “You know he’s been playing the part of a recluse on that damn mountain of his in Colorado. Whatever he was doing for the military fucked him up.”

  “Yeah, but I need someone good with explosives. Tell him to gather a team. I’m going have Wire send him some files, places that I want taken out. I need it done sooner rather than later. Tell him to use whatever resources he needs. I’m sure V
anHorne will be happy to foot the bill.”

  “You’re going to blow up their warehouses, aren’t you?” Venom asked.

  “Among other things. I’ll have Wire hack into their accounts and divert their funds elsewhere. If they have no product and no money, they won’t be able to do as much damage.”

  “They don’t just deal in drugs and arms.”

  I smiled. “That’s why I want another team to take out their whorehouses. Get the women to safety. I want every damn one of them cleaned out.”

  Venom whistled low. “That’s going to take some serious manpower. We’re talking multiple locations both here and out of the country. How the hell are you going to pull off something that big?”

  “I’m going to make some calls.” It was time to call in some favors. Starting with the Irish Mob. I knew O’Shay would help, no questions asked. The man wouldn’t still be breathing if it wasn’t for me, him or his family. Fucker owed me big. Besides, I had a feeling he’d want in on this anyway. Pretty much everyone hated the fucking cartel.

  “Whatever you need, I’m there. If it weren’t for you and Isabella, my Ridley could be dead right now, or sold to some asshole overseas as a sex slave.”

  My phone rang, and I saw Casper’s name on the screen. I tilted my head toward the front door, and Venom and I stepped outside. When the door shut behind us, I answered the call and put him on speaker.

  “I’m taking care of it,” Casper said.

  I glanced at Venom. “You’re taking care of what?”

  “I’m guaranteeing the cartel will stay the hell away from my daughter. You can call off your boys. I won’t be needing your help after all,” Casper said.

  Venom’s brows lowered, and he gave me a “what the fuck” look. I was just as stumped as he was. Unless VanHorne had figured out how to kill every member of the cartel and their families in the last twenty-four hours, how the fuck did he have it handled?

  “Casper, where are you?”

  “At a chapel in a quaint little town in Mexico.”