Scorched (Furies MC Book 3)

by Harley McRide

  “Would you calm the fuck down, I said I would take care of it, and I will. Everything is still fine. The men they sent after her, one of them is the father of her kid. He knows and trust me, so does she. All I need to do is offer to help, and I will be able to get shit under control. Now chill out. I will let you know what is going on.”

  “She can identify my son,” the Senator said.

  “I said I would take care of it,” the Shirt said.

  Anya watched as Max showed their daughter her new clothes and the new toys. He had been smart and gone with the girly stuff, which was what Maci loved. Her favorite color was pink. Which lead to a lengthy conversation with the little girl about ‘Signature Colors,’ which completely confused Torch, so he nodded.

  “Thank you, Max!” Maci said and flew at him and wrapped her little arms around his waist when she was done looking in all the bags. He smiled and looked down at her, yeah, she could get used to this. But then he looked up, Anya was staring at them intently, her bags left at her side untouched. Coco and the others were still in the living room; it was only those three. He just stared at her. When he went to look down, she let out a breath when he focused again on their daughter. Then she moved.

  “Hey, peanut,” she said softly, and Maci pulled back and looked at her mom and smiled.

  “Mommy, did you see?” she asked breathlessly.

  Anya smiled and nodded then held out her arms as she knelt on the floor. “Come here, baby, Mommy needs to talk to you.”

  Maci smiled and nodded and went to her mother. Torch pushed off the counter and was intending on walking out when Anya looked up at him and shook her head, “Stay.”

  Torch nodded and then leaned back again, not sure what was going on.

  Anya put Maci on her lap and asked her daughter, “Do you remember when we talked about your daddy?”

  Torch froze, fuck, now?

  Maci nodded at her mom and then put her small hand on her mom’s face and said just as softly, “Yep, you said my daddy was gonna love me very much when we gots home again. You said daddy was an ‘portant soldier who was doing very ‘portant things.”

  Anya nodded and said, “And do you remember what else I said?”

  Maci nodded again, and she said, “Yep, he looked like Billy’s doll he played with. Billy called him Joe.”

  “Okay, honey,” Anya said, and Torch sucked in a breath when she looked up at him. “Well, Mommy has something important to tell you. We didn’t have to go home for your daddy to find us.”

  Maci looked at her mom and whispered, “We don’t? Is Daddy coming here?”

  “Well kinda, baby,” Anya said. “Your daddy is already here.”

  Maci looked in the living room, and she frowned looking at Loki who was circling Ox like he was boxing him, acting like a dork, Ox was standing there frowning, and then she looked over her shoulder at Torch who was leaning against the sink, legs crossed looking serious but relaxed, and then Maci leaned to her mom and whispered, “Can it be Max, ‘cause Loki is too weird, Ox is too big, but Max, he looks like a daddy.” Anya’s breath hitched as she held in a sob, Maci looked at her closely and then continued to whisper, “Don’t cry, Mommy, you said when Daddy came back we would be a happy family. Crying is not happy.”

  “These are happy tears,” Anya whispered as the first one fell from her eye. Maci looked at her closely and then turned and looked at Torch. His baby girl’s eyes were watering, and she cried.

  “These are happy tears, Daddy.”

  Maci turned and buried her face in Anya’s neck, and Anya did the same leaving him feeling out of place a little. Loki, Ox, and Coco were standing in the doorway staring, and Loki frowned and mouthed to him, “Hug them, asshole.”

  Torch frowned and then looked back at Anya and Maci who were really sobbing now. Even though Maci didn’t know why. Coco pointed at Torch and then at Anya and growled viciously. He rolled his eyes and unfolded himself. Wrapping his arms around Anya and Maci, he lifted them together, and then moved into the living room and sat them all down on the couch together. He had no fucking clue what he was doing, he didn’t do emotions, well, he hadn’t done them in a really long time.

  It took them a while, but finally, Anya stopped and so did Maci, although Anya was awake, but Maci had fallen asleep. Anya looked up at him and smiled a little through the tears, Maci’s head turned and fell against his chest. He looked at his daughter, and he knew his face softened. Torch couldn’t help himself, he bent and kissed her fiery red hair.

  Anya watched him and then she whispered, “I am sorry.”

  He looked back at her and stared without answering, so she continued, “I am so sorry. They told me it wouldn’t be long. I just found out I was pregnant that morning, the police said they only found one man, there were six. They told me I was in danger, and if I stayed, you would be in danger too since you were my sponsor. You would have lost your stripes if you left with me. I couldn’t do that to you, I know what the military meant to you. They told me Coco and her father would be in danger, I couldn’t do that to them either. I was scared, your First Shirt said when the time came, they would tell you, he promised.”

  “No one told me,” Torch said softly.

  “I know; I know they didn’t because I knew you would have come,” Anya said, and Torch stared at her. Wanting more answers.

  “There is more going on than what you think, I don’t know what, but I will find out,” Torch finally said, and she leaned her head against his shoulder but still looked up at him.

  “I am sorry,” she whispered and Torch nodded. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he briefly closed his eyes. It would be so easy to fall back in with Ayna. Holding her brought the memories of how they used to be. When he opened his eyes, he looked down at his daughter and then over to Anya. Their love made the beautiful little girl, he couldn’t deny that. Life hadn’t been easy for him, but with the woman and child in his arms, damn, if it didn’t seem almost too simple.

  Torch raised his hand and rubbed over his heart. It had been a long time since he felt warmth there.

  Chapter Eleven

  They had only been given their privacy for a little while because Loki had their plan to get back to San Diego. Anya had crawled off his lap, but Maci had burrowed deeper, so he remained sitting while Loki and Ox laid it out for all of them.

  “Okay,” Loki said. “So, we are limited on how we can get out of here, without the authorities knowing. The best way, you aren’t gonna like, but it is the best way.”

  “Lay it on me,” Torch growled, and Loki grimaced.

  “Okay, so Ox checked and then called some people who owed him a favor, who called some other ones, who finally said they would help, but it is gonna cost us.” Torch glared, and then Loki said, “Okay, damn, gimme a sec. So, we can get on a cargo ship without a hassle, the ship is transporting cars to San Diego docks, which we, of course, cannot get off at. So, we are going to get off before then, which is where Coco’s father comes in. He owns a yacht, which he is more than willing to send out to pick us up. It’s pretty easy and harmless to go this way, the docks won’t check our passports, the captain has to submit them, and we can pay him enough to keep his mouth shut. I called Fling, he agreed, it was really our only choice unless we wanted to stay here for a few more weeks until they could figure out a different way.”

  “A boat?” Torch said slowly.

  “Yep,” Loki said.

  “You want me to get on a boat?” Torch clarified.

  “Yep,” Loki said and looked at Ox who was also shaking his head.

  “You know, there was a reason I actually joined the Air Force, not the Navy,” Torch said slowly.

  “Okay, I know that,” Loki said and rushed to follow. “I’m not thrilled about it either.”

  “Yeah? Well, I like the ocean, like living next to the ocean, it’s awesome, but my feet, don’t leave dry land…ever,” Torch said.

  “We don’t have a choice, Fling wants us on the boat fi
rst thing in the morning. It’s leaving tomorrow afternoon if we get there before five a.m. no one will ask questions,” Loki said.

  “And the dude taped to the washing machine?” Torch asked.

  “Fling wants him brought,” Ox said, and Torch nodded.

  “Okay, so we are leaving by boat,” Torch said out loud, and Loki nodded and looked at Ox. “Someone better get some Dramamine.”

  “Already on it, don’t like leaving dry land either,” Ox said gruffly, and Loki rolled his eyes.

  “Come on, you gotta admit, none of the guys have ever escaped on a boat, they are totally going to be jealous.”

  “Fuck off,” Torch said and then looked at Maci and said, “Okay, get the maps, let’s make plans, see if the girls can get some dinner going, we need to feed that asshole downstairs.”

  Both men nodded and then they moved and gave him a few more precious moments holding his daughter in peace. He felt the weight of her on his chest, and he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long fucking time, peace.

  Maci stirred thirty minutes later while they were planning. She lifted her head up and stared at Torch. He smiled, and she whispered, “You are my daddy?”

  Torch nodded, and she smiled and touched his cheek with her little hand and said, “I am glad you found us again. Are you leaving again?”

  Torch shook his head and bent down until their noses were almost touching and whispered back to her, “Never leaving you again.”

  The little girl nodded and then said, “I’m hungry.”

  “Well, let’s get you fed,” Anya said from the doorway. She walked over and picked Maci up out of his arms. It was a small thing, but still, Torch missed the little girl’s weight on him. She was his daughter. “And you big kids too,” Anya whispered in a teasing voice and Loki jumped up.

  “Hell yeah, soups on!”

  Ox shook his head. “There is something wrong with that boy.”

  Coco was in the kitchen serving up dinner. When they walked into the room she turned and looked at Torch and smiled a little, Loki she winked at, and Ox, well she flipped him off. Torch turned to stare at Ox who was frowning deeply.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he whispered to Torch. “The woman is nuts, we get on that ship make sure you check to see if I’m still there every once in a while. She’s plotting something.”

  Loki joined them and said loudly, “What did you do now?”

  “Nothing, the woman is crazy. I think she’s holding a grudge because I refused to get chickpeas or some weird shit like that. Pretty sure the seventies called and wanted their free spirit back,” Ox drawled.

  Coco turned with a spoon in her hand and pointed it at Ox. “One more word, dickhead, and you can make your own dinner.”

  “Like that is a deterrent, is there any meat in that pan at all? I’m not a rabbit; I need red meat,” Ox snapped.

  “Do you know how long it takes for red meat to digest? And don’t get me started on—” Coco ranted.

  “Woman,” Ox snapped impatiently. “Look at me, do I look like I give a shit about your fruit loop ways?”

  Coco turned to Anya and announced, “Honey, you know I love you, but I can’t work with him.”

  “One less person on the boat,” Ox muttered.

  Loki laughed loudly before saying, “Damn this is entertaining.”

  “Okay,” Anya said loudly. “Let’s eat.”

  Ox grabbed a plate and walked to the door to the basement and walked downstairs without speaking. The rest of them grabbed their plates and sat at the table, listening to Maci chatter and laughing at her, other than that, no one spoke. All of them were in their heads. After dinner, the girls went to the only room with a bed and cleaned up, and got Maci ready for bed. Coco stayed with the little girl, but Anya, she couldn’t leave it like it was. She came out of the room and waited while Loki and Ox finished cleaning up the papers and then they both walked out of the room.

  “This has all happened so fast, I uh, kinda feel like we should talk,” she said to Torch, and he looked at her and shrugged.

  “Not sure what there is to say,” Torch said slowly.

  Anya turned and looked at him and said strongly, “There is a lot to say, I apologized. At the time, I made the best decision I could.”

  Torch growled and stood and threw out his hand. “The best decision, how is you disappearing while I was overseas the best decision? This is so jacked.”

  She nodded and said, “It is, completely jacked, it is totally unfair, I get that, but we are here now.”

  Torch looked at her and said, “I’m different; it has been five years, Anya.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “No, you are the same guy, just wearing a leather vest instead of BDUs. But you are still the same.”

  He shook his head, but she kept pressing it, “I get that this is fucked up, and I get that running into your arms with a big welcome back kiss isn’t going to happen. But you can’t punish me for taking care of Maci, putting her first. The reason I left was because I knew you wanted a family. I knew it, and honest to God, I was trying to make sure that happened. That day, I was so fucking scared, everyone was yelling and running around. I mean, someone from the armory was selling our weapons to terrorists. I am sorry it happened when you were gone, the timing was shit, but you know I would do it all over again because I knew when I saw those men, something was wrong. So I went and reported it, and then when they told me only one was captured, I had to keep Maci safe, I had to. So I made the decision to leave, for that I am sorry, but the rest of it, no I am not. I did what was right.”

  She stood and then walked to him, looked up at him and then stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek softly. “I am glad you came to find us. I missed you. I never stopped loving you. It was you, and it always has been.”

  He closed his eyes and let her walk out of the room and back to the bedroom without saying a fucking word. His head was fucked up, he needed to get this shit straight. Loki and Ox came back into the room, and Loki put a bottle on the table and three shot glasses and poured. Torch grunted and picked up his glass, slammed the drink back and sat back down on the couch, not saying a word. He didn’t have to, these were his brothers, and they knew him, he would work it out by himself.

  Torch looked at the other guys who were watching him closely. He shook his head and then put his head back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. In twenty-four hours, his life as he knew it had changed. He was now responsible for a child, his thoughts ran to everything he needed to do with his home. The Victorian would be big enough, but would it fit Anya? Did he care? She could take Maci and go to Coco’s father’s house. He knew this was a possibility, but there was no way he was going to let his daughter go. Anya, he wasn’t sure how he felt about her right now. A long time ago he loved her, then he hated her, now he was confused.

  Torch stared at the huge freighter they were getting ready to board. This morning had been interesting. Anya, Maci, and Coco had cooperated, packing their new bags Torch bought and were ready to go at four a.m., which was shocking since Anya wasn’t a morning person when they were together. Sometime during the sleepless night, Torch made a decision. He had a kid, and fuck, he still felt something for Anya. He’d let the hurt cloud his mind, but seeing her, touching her, lifted the wall he built to get by without her. He hoped Anya was being truthful when she said it had only been him because he was claiming them, and damned if anything was going to stop him. Torch had lost way too much time; he wasn’t losing anymore.

  The asshole downstairs, he was a problem. They couldn’t take the washing machine, and when Loki went down this morning to check on him, the asshole had almost gotten the tape loose enough to get his arms free. Then Ox had walked downstairs and pulled out a syringe and shot him in the neck with a drug that knocked him out.

  “Where in the fuck did you get the drugs?” Loki asked, breathing heavily since he had been struggling with the asshole to get him re-secured.

  Ox had shrugged and said,
“I always have it, you never know.”

  Loki just stared at him, but it was Torch who asked, “What does that mean you never know? You never know when you need to kidnap someone and need to drug them?”

  Ox shrugged again and didn’t answer, instead walked upstairs, and Loki said, “You sure Fling knows what he’s doing bringing that man back into the fold?”

  “Nope,” Torch said and looked at the man slumped on the washing machine. “Take off the tape, get him ready, we will carry him on board, just play it off to him being drunk.”

  Loki nodded and then went to work. It only took a few minutes, and they were ready to go. Maci was curious about the asshole, asking why he was still sleeping. It was Ox who answered, “He’s sick; we need to take him to the boat to make him better.”

  “Is there a doctor on the boat?” Maci asked.

  All the adults were silent, but once again Ox answered, “Yep, the doctor is on the boat.”

  That seemed to satisfy her, but still, Torch was watchful as they all drove to the docks. Now they were standing before the huge ship, Maci was holding his hand and Anya’s, and Torch wasn’t happy. He looked at Ox, who was helping hold up the asshole, and he held up a bottle of pills and shook them, Torch nodded, thank goodness.

  They walked up to the bridge, and as they neared the top, someone stepped out from a door on the boat. Torch saw him first since he was in the lead, and paused. The others looked up as well.

  Fling was standing there with his cut on. He moved as Torch passed with Anya and Maci, then Coco, but when Loki and Ox were close they all saw Fling, who eyes sharpened on the unconscious man, frown deeply.

  He reached out and lifted the guy’s head by grabbing his hair roughly. When he saw the young man’s face, he let go, stepped back, and motioned for Loki and Ox to continue.

  “Take him down below. Ridge, Tally, Tank, and Boomer are below waiting,” Fling said gruffly. He looked at Anya, Coco, and Maci and smiled sadly. “Ladies, Georgie and Casey are also down below. If you just follow Loki, they are waiting to help you get settled.”