by Debra Kayn
He pulled back. "Stay inside. Bruce and Jedman will make sure you follow orders. Nobody will touch you."
"Okay." She nodded. "If you find—"
"I will find your dad," he stated.
"When you do, don't hurt him, okay? He's going to go crazy, and he could hurt you. Keep telling him Brandy loves him. Sometimes...sometimes that helps." She pressed her hand to her neck. "Call when you know anything, or even if you don't."
He moved backward away from her. "Go inside, sunshine."
Confidence rolled off him. She stood watching him walk away in his black leather riding chaps, full leather jacket—which were sleeves zipped into his vest, and his flame tattoos creeping up his neck. He pointed to the door. "Go now."
She turned and joined Taylor, Bruce, and Jedman as they surrounded her and led her inside.
Shut inside the bar under lock and watch, she sat at the nearest table and sank her head into her hands. Her stomach flipflopped and she continually swallowed the anxious feelings. Doubts crept into her head.
She should be concentrating on sending all the positive energy she could to Torque, to her dad, and yet inside, she had a hard time not mourning the loss of the two most important men in her life. She rubbed her hands over her face. She couldn't act like this. Torque would hate it if she gave up now, and she was not a quitter.
The riders left behind mingled at the counter of the bar in quiet tones, probably to keep their business from infecting the families present. Old ladies sat at the tables, holding babies, watching their older children play in the corner, and the teens played pool. The normal atmosphere she usually experienced on Friday and Saturday nights at the bar were absent. The solemn mood came out of respect for the first riders who were out on the run.
Across the room, Tori waved and walked toward Brandy. She mustered a brave front and put on a smile. Ever since Torque claimed her, the other women had gone out of their way to welcome her to the family. She still wasn't used to having others around to lean on, but she tried, for Torque's sake.
"Want some company?" Tori stood at her table.
Brandy scooted out the chair beside her. "Sure."
"I figured you were about ready to make a run to the back door, so I thought I'd try and talk you out of it. First lockdown is always hard, but it does get easier." Tori gazed over in the corner where her daughter was playing with some of the older children. "I think each of the old ladies has tried to break her way out of a lockdown at one time or another."
"Did any of them succeed?" she asked, wondering if she stood a shot at making it outside.
"Torque got shot in the last lockdown we had when Taylor went outside," Tori said, not pulling any punches.
The truth hit Brandy low in the stomach. She swallowed hard over the nausea that followed. Everyone praised Tori for her sweetness but right now, Brandy hated her for her cruel and unnecessary information.
"Twice," Tori added.
Brandy sat forward, curling in on herself. "Okay, I get your point. My ass isn't moving from this chair, now will you shut up, before I either punch you in the face or puke on your shiny little boots."
Tori smiled and patted her arm. "You'll do okay. Torque needs someone strong. You've got guts, girl."
"Yeah, well..." Brandy pressed her hand to her stomach. "I don't know whether to hate you or like you for how you stick up for Torque, so lay off what is happening outside the bar and distract me."
Tori laughed and quickly sobered. "What do you want to know?"
Where did she start? There were many things she was curious about and because her focus was on her troubles with Los Li and her dad, she hadn't asked.
She blurted, "Did Torque have something going on with Taylor before she got together with Slade?"
Tori's eyes widened. "No. Taylor and Slade were together when I parked my coffee shack in Pitnam. Nobody knew they were together, but they were."
"A secret relationship...wow." She searched for Taylor and found her by the pool table with a boy who resembled Slade in his proud posture and deadpan facial features. The lanky, cute, dark haired boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old, was taller than Taylor and much too serious, but one of those boys all teenage girls thought were bad news and crushed on hard. "Is that their son?"
Tori looked behind her. "That's Kyle. He's Slade's oldest son from his first wife. That boy's a serious heartbreaker. He has his mind set on running Bantorus when he's older and I doubt if he'll let anyone stop him. Rain already has him prospecting, even though he's way too young. Slade also has a younger son, Lee. He's the one making sure Lilly doesn't put any of the Legos in her mouth over at the kids' table. You'll hear a lot from him in the future, he never stops talking. Great kids, both of them, and even greater now that Taylor has showered them with the love they deserved."
New respect for Taylor formed within Brandy. She studied the way Taylor smoothed Kurt's hair out of his eyes and the way the boy indulged her while still keeping his coolness factor. It took a strong woman to raise another woman's kids.
Gladys weaved her curvy body past the tables and leaned down to hug Brandy. She smiled at the woman who she had replaced at Cactus Cove. "How are you enjoying retirement?"
"It sucks. I've got too much time on my hands, and not enough people around to boss," Gladys said, slapping Orca who walked past with a lit cigarette. "Take the smoke to the back room, fat ass. We have kids in the building."
Orca snubbed the cigarette out between his fingers, pocketed the filter, and kissed Gladys's cheek. "Hey, sweet momma. I've missed your bitching."
"You have not." Gladys shook her head, but wore a grin, obviously loving being back with her boys.
The others wandered off. Brandy stared across the room, no longer seeing the people. The chatter, the clink of forks on plates, the squeal of children transported her to what was happening outside. With Pitnam bordering Oregon, the bikers were probably halfway to Portland. It'd take Bantorus MC two days to arrive in California and meet with the Lagsturns MC.
Then what?
What did it mean to draw Los Li out in the open?
How dangerous would the confrontation be if it happened?
What condition was her dad in?
Where would the riders get help from if everyone else stayed at Cactus Cove?
"Brandy!" Tori knocked on the table, grabbing her attention.
She raised her gaze. "Huh?"
"The men will be all right." Tori sighed and squeezed Brandy's hand. "They've gone on a lot of runs over the years. This is what they do. They take care of Pitnam and us. Try to get used to it now, because this won't be the last time Torque will have to leave you in the care of Bantorus. But, he will come back."
"Right," she murmured, wishing she could believe that.
Tori leaned back against her chair. "Do you want a drink to help you settle down?"
God, the thought of alcohol on her upset stomach only made things worse. She shook her head. "No, I'm—"
The phone in her pocket vibrated. She jumped out of the chair, scrambling to remove her cell, while frantically scanning the room for Bruce.
"Bruce," she yelled, as she pushed her way to the hallway. "Someone get Bruce, right now!"
Halfway down the hall after the second vibration, she slid her finger over the screen and answered out of breath. "Hello?"
"Baby, baby, baby," Radiant said. "What have I told you? I've given you two weeks. The last information fell through. They never arrived."
She plugged her other ear with her finger to hear the conversation better. "I know, I've got information but you haven't called. Rain and some of the other riders left a little bit ago on the run. They rolled out of here at eight o'clock. Th-they mentioned riding straight through on I-5, keeping to the main interstate to stay clear of trouble. I...shit, I can't remember."
She scrunched her face. It took everything she had not to yell at Radiant over the phone. All she had to do is feed him the information Torque gave her, and hope he took t
he bait.
"All right, baby," Radiant said. "You've done your job."
"Then I can come back and get my dad?" she said.
"I don't think so. You see, your dad's not working out the way I'd hoped." Radiant sighed and uh, uh, uh'd, over the phone. "It's over."
"What? What are you doing to him?" she screamed. "What have you done?"
There was no feeling in her body. No heartbeat, no breath from her lungs, no noise filtered through her ears. Her shoulder hit the wall. Her legs no longer supported her and she slid down the surface.
She closed her eyes. "My dad?" she said, or hoped she had said.
"You failed, baby," Radiant said.
She dropped the phone. No.
It wasn't true. He was lying. She had to take care of her dad. He needed to be with her, not Los Li. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't lose him too. What more could she do?
Hands settled on her shoulders. She peered up into Bruce's concerned eyes. She shook her head wildly. "No. I'm supposed to help him."
"Sweetheart, let me take you to the office," Bruce said, slipping his arms around her.
She let him pick her up. Another woman...Kristen. She remembered her. Bruce's old lady appeared by her side.
"Come on, honey, let's get you some quiet and a drink," Kristen said, wrapping her arm around Brandy's back.
"No." She stepped when they moved her. "No, no, no..."
Someone screamed. She covered her ears, but the sound kept coming. Awful wailing pierced the hallway. Louder and Louder, she couldn't make it stop.
Only when her throat burned and she couldn't swallow did she realize it was her screaming.
Chapter Eighteen
After eight and a half hours on the road, Bantorus MC rolled up to the opened Cyclone gate outside Lagsturns and drove the car haulers into the compound. Torque sat at the curb on his Harley watching the procession. His stiff legs protested every movement it took to get off the bike. He pushed through the discomfort and walked off the long ride to California.
Duck, the president of Lagsturns MC, and Big Joe, named after his size, walked out to the sidewalk to meet them. Torque looked behind him at Raul and found his brother at the corner of the block, backed turned, and respecting his boundaries. The bad blood between Raul, banished ex-president of Lagsturns, made it impossible for Raul to face his ex-brothers.
Rain shook hands, slapped backs, and Torque repeated the greeting. Everything was a formality. Neither MC wanted to mingle with the other, but respect came freely.
Bantorus MC depended on a successful run. The delivery of cars meant a bonus in his check, but all he cared about was gaining information.
He'd half-expected Los Li to show their faces before they'd arrived. He'd searched for any sign, but not once had he picked up the sense that they'd had a tail during the ride.
Torque walked behind Duck and Rain, and beside Slade and Remmy, into the secured parking lot that served as the entrance to Lagsturns club. The aroma of burning grease hit his nostrils, and he rubbed the gloves he held in his hand under his nose.
"What the hell is that?" he said, peering up at the old two-story building.
Slade grinned. "There's a Chinese place next door on the other side."
Jesus, the air stunk worse than prison where he put up with rancid body odor and piss. He stopped beside the first car hauler. He studied the area, surprised to find only a half dozen Lagsturns members outside watching the deal go down. Either the Lagsturns were getting sloppy with their protection or they had no fear of trouble coming. His stomach tightened. If Los Li attacked while they were here, they'd be cornered off.
Rain went on ahead with Duck to look over the vehicles. Torque leaned against the outside of the building, and kept an eye on the activity and movement around him. A half hour later, Duck and Rain headed toward him.
"Everything check out?" he asked.
Duck smiled. "Excellent stock."
"Good." There were no misgivings on what Lagsturns were going to do with the vehicles once they were out of Bantorus hands. Torque widened his stance. "You got a minute to talk about a group we have in common?"
Duck worked his lips over his teeth and finally said, "I've heard talk."
The other Bantorus men eased back and walked a few paces away to give Torque privacy in hopes that Duck would give him the information he needed. Hope filled him.
"Seems I'm the center of some attention Bantorus is receiving, and considering I don't like everyone's eyes on me, I'd like to know why I've got a mark on my back."
Duck motioned with his chin. Torque followed the Lagsturns president over to the side of the building. The others remained behind, but within seeing distance.
After Duck lit a cigarette, blew the smoke out of his nose, he lowered his voice. "Jimmy Chain ring a bell?"
Torque stopped himself from rocking back on his heels hearing the name of the little mother fucker who he served time with in prison. He hadn't given the mafia rat a second thought in the twenty years he'd been out from behind bars. While in prison, Jimmy was the mole. If you needed information, you went to Jimmy. In return, he racked points up and never let you forget about them. Serving double life in prison, there was no way Jimmy was getting out.
"Yeah, I know Jimmy," Torque said.
Duck nodded. "He's dead."
"Inside job?" Torque felt no loss. A number of people could've wanted him dead.
"That's the rumor, but before he found himself without any options on the inside, he spilled his guts on everyone who owed him markers like a little girl looking for one more daddy to treat her wrong." Duck kept the information coming. "Your name was mentioned."
His head whirled at the news, coming up blank. He'd never used Jimmy or asked him for anything. "For what?"
The end of the cigarette glowed red. Duck removed the smoke from his mouth, flicked off the coal, and pocketed the butt. "Don't know, but Los Li is dishing out paybacks in Jimmy's honor."
"Ah, fuck," he mumbled.
The situation was bigger than he'd thought. He wanted information on David Haas, and doing so put him right in front of Los Li with a fucking target on his forehead.
"Thanks, brother," he said.
Duck shook his head. "You didn't hear it from me, so keep your thanks to yourself. Lagsturns are on a smooth roll right now. We don’t need trouble with the mafia."
He nodded in agreement. "One more thing. Ever hear of David Haas?"
"The crazy mother fucker from south Cali?" Duck raised his brows and stared at him.
Shit. What more could surprise him today? He waited, because if Duck was famous for being a hard ass, he was also well known for talking. He liked nothing more than knowing everybody's business and he kept his hands in everyone's pockets.
"Yeah, that's him." Torque guessed that they were talking about the same person.
"Crazy, man." Duck blew out his breath. "You don't want to mess with Haas. He's old school. Ran the Solitude Bar and was a one-man army to many and never wore a tat or patch for anyone. Nobody messed with him. Last I heard, he'd gone off the deep end after one to many fights underground and put a couple guys in the hospital sucking on air tubes after crushing their throats. Not many people hired him after that. He was too big—Duck grinned, shaking his head in amusement—of a liability."
"Who does he belong to?" Torque asked, curious after hearing more details about Brandy's dad for the first time.
"Nobody." Duck laughed low and rough. "You'd understand if you see him. He's fucked up, man. Lost his wife...maybe five, seven years ago and has never been the same. Everybody wants him, but he doesn't go with anyone. He has a daughter. Hell, she must be all grown up now. He swears to stay off the payroll for her. But, I tell you, man. I'd jump through fucking hoops to bring him on Lagsturns side...crazy fucker."
His vision of walking away with Brandy's father and reuniting him with his daughter went up in smoke. He clenched his teeth. What else had Brandy not told him about her dad?
/>
She acted as if her father was useless and mentally half gone. He slapped Duck on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. I owe you."
Duck walked with him back to the others. "You find Haas, I'll make a deal with you. He's welcome here."
"I'll remember that," he said.
After the money exchanged, the next run set in stone, Torque retrieved Raul and sat on his Harley waiting for Rain and Slade to come out of the building. He pulled out his phone. Brandy had some talking to do.
"Everything go okay, amigo?" Raul slipped on his sunglasses.
"Yeah." He glanced over at his brother. "You look okay. It seems no Lagsturns member snuck around the back and popped your ass."
Raul chuckled. "It's a good day to be alive."
Torque studied him. On the outside, Raul accepted his place as a Bantorus, but everyone knew it wasn't easy deserting family and turning your back on the club that you gave your sweat and tears to over the years. "Duck's doing well. He's calmed lately. He said they've hit cruise control as a club, and want to keep rolling."
Raul's chin lowered. "Good to know."
They sat in silence. Torque pushed the button on his phone. A screen shot of Brandy lying on the couch with him doing a selfie stared back at him. In the picture, she grinned happily at the camera, and he was frowning. He remembered the night, because he'd protested about her taking his picture, but finally gave in when she whispered please. He'd do about anything to hear her voice when she got all soft and whispery.
He pushed Bruce's pre-pay number. His brother answered right away. "Hey, let me talk to Brandy."
"How far away are you?" Bruce asked.
He turned and glanced at the building. "Sitting on the fire, right now."
"Damn, man, you need to haul your ass back here." A door in the background shut. "Los Li phoned Brandy, called the whole thing off, left her stranded here thinking they were going to kill her dad."
Torque was already off his Harley and walking toward the gate. "When?"
"About six hours ago. The old ladies are with Brandy, but she took the news hard. Lost her cool, and Ginger had to slip her a pill to calm her down. She's sleeping right now. We're putting her under watch in the cabin with two guys on her. She's losing it, brother," Bruce said.
