Torin (Savage Kings MC Book 3)

by Lane Hart

  Now, with Coop watching and War glancing back at us in the rearview, I have to reel my vengeance in. They don’t want me to hurt her, so fine, I won’t. At least not while they’re watching.

  Lexi’s curled up in a ball on her side as she continues to weep loudly. What the other two men don’t know is that it’s all an act. Oh, she’s one hell of an actress. But I won’t fall for her poor, pathetic tears.

  “Give me the zip-ties,” I snap at Cooper as I hold out my hand in the dark van while War zooms down the highway. He places the thick plastic in it, and then I straddle the girl, using my bigger, stronger body to jerk her hands behind her back and weave a figure eight around her wrists before cinching the plastic tight. I hold out my palm for Coop to give me another one before I move down her body. Restraining her ankles together is much easier.

  When that’s done, I flip her to her back and stare down into her big, terrified puppy dog eyes that are illuminated only every few feet thanks to the lamp posts. I see the moment when her fear is replaced with a firm resolve. She’s ironically trying to accept her death right around the same moment I stupidly decide that we need to let her live, at least for a little longer in case Hector wants to talk to her.

  Even though she’s stopped crying, I tell Cooper, “Give me the handkerchief.”

  The red fabric appears in front of my face, so I take it and shove it into her mouth before turning her head to tie it in a knot at the back.

  “You really think all that’s necessary?” Coop asks.

  “Yes,” I tell him through clenched teeth. “Unless you want her screaming down the highway until someone reports us for kidnapping?”

  “Well, what about her clothes? Doesn’t she need more clothing than…that?”

  “She’s a slutty little stripper,” I tell him. “She dressed herself like that, so that’s how she’ll stay.”

  “What did she do to you anyway?” Coop asks.

  “Get your ass back up front with War!” I snarl at him.

  Without another word, he stands up, hunched over to make his way back to the passenger seat.

  Taking a deep, calming breath, I try to ease my rage. That’s when the first whiff of warm vanilla hits my nose.

  It’s the familiar scent that Kennedy always wore. The memory of the first day we met slightly thaws the need for revenge that constantly pounds like an aching drum in my chest. That damn smell may be what saves the girl, at least for the rest of tonight.

  That reminds me.

  “Where’s my gun?” I ask my brothers.

  “Ah, not sure,” War hedges.

  “Haven’t seen it,” Coop adds which I know is bullshit since I handed it over to him minutes ago.

  They’re both lying because they don’t want me to have it.

  “Give it to me,” I tell them.

  “It’s locked in the glove box,” War finally concedes. “You’ll have to wait and get it out once we stop.”

  “Are we being followed?” I ask him.

  War glances up at the rearview mirror. “Nope,” he replies.

  “Good.”

  I settle my back against the van wall opposite Lexi and watch as she struggles into a sitting position. When she finally manages it, she looks at me pitifully through the strands of her hair that are falling into her face, making me wish I had brought a mask or a bag to cover her whole damn head too.

  …

  Lexi

  He’s gonna kill me.

  I saw it in his cold, dead eyes when he hovered above me. I know he hates me and my father for what he took from him. God knows I deserve to suffer for my part even though I had no idea what was happening at the time. And now Torin is probably going to use me to get to my father, the man I’ve been carefully avoiding for almost a year.

  I try to take a slow, deep breath, but it’s hard when I have a piece of cloth shoved into my mouth. My entire body is shaking because I can’t die here and now. A few months ago, I wouldn’t have cared, but things have changed. I have to stay alive, so I’ll do whatever it takes to escape this mess I’m in, the sooner, the better. I just need to get a grip and try to play it cool. That means no more crying like the scared little bitch that I am.

  I’d give anything to get the hair that’s tickling my face out of the way. And when Torin leans forward, I think he may actually push it back. But then he grabs one of my feet and yanks my shoe off before doing the same on the other foot. When my heels are gone, that means I'm completely weaponless. Not only that, but all I’m wearing is a red corset, thong, and black garters, which is still significantly more than I was wearing the first night Torin and I met…

  That suddenly gives me an idea, and I decide to leave my knees raised. I do still have another valuable weapon at my disposal.

  My feminine wiles.

  I'll try to seduce one of these guys and convince them to let me go. If Torin wanted me once, it may work again. Cooper was a really kind boss when I worked in his club. He doesn’t want to hurt me; that much is already clear. Sure, my plan may involve rather drastic measures; but to stay alive, I can suck it up, figuratively and literally, if necessary. I'll just need to be patient. When they least expect it, I'll take off faster than the Road Runner. At the moment, I’m very thankful that I’ve always been a great sprinter even though I’m short.

  I have to be sure not to let on to any type of athleticism though. I need to act as weak as possible and pretend I'm a helpless, airheaded bimbo. This will be a piece of cake. I've already loosened the plastic around my wrists in only a few moments, without even concentrating on it.

  I will do whatever it takes to get out of this alive. I have to because dying is just not an option.

  Chapter Three

  Torin

  My right hand flinches every time the little whore moves, making me wish for my gun.

  But, no, I need to be smart and hit that bastard Hector where it hurts. Squeeze the fucker’s pockets for as much as I can get, and then I can leave her dead, lifeless body somewhere for him to find before I kill him.

  Getting back the money he blackmailed from me is the logical thing to do, I know. Running an entire city, along with a club of outlaws, is expensive. Before I go, I want to make sure the Kings have everything they need to keep all of our legitimate businesses going.

  But even accepting all of that, I'm still second guessing my gut instinct on Lexi. I know that the longer she's with us, the harder it'll be to take her out. That's why the sooner, the better.

  Coop's already eyeing her like she's a double bacon cheeseburger and he's a starving man that's been marooned on an island for months. It doesn’t help that she’s still wearing her fucking stripper outfit. You think he of all people would be used to scantily dressed women by now after all this time running Avalon. Guess not.

  "Turn around," I snap at Cooper, making our captive jump. My brother glares at me before finally shifting his body forward in the passenger seat. I start counting, waiting to see how long it takes before he tries to sneak another peak. I get to ten. Ten fucking seconds before he's eyeing the space between the slut’s raised legs and licking his bottom lip.

  Fuck.

  I reach forward and yank her harshly by her shoulders to pull her over to the other side of me so that my body is blocking her from Coop’s view. I don’t even feel bad when she lands on her side with a thud and a groan against the wall because her hands aren’t able to brace the impact.

  "What the fuck, Torin?" War asks from the driver seat. He scowls at me in the rearview mirror at the same time Coop whips his head around, glancing at the empty floor space and then over at me in confusion.

  "Oops," I say innocently with a smirk. It felt good to inflict some physical pain on her. What I really want is to wrap my hands around her goddamn throat and choke the life out of her.

  As soon as Coop turns around, I lean forward and flick the fuck out of the back of his ear.

  "Ow, jackass!" he grumbles, rubbing his hand over his sore ear. “What was th
at for?”

  "Stop thinking with your dick."

  "Stop being a dick," he grumbles.

  Dick is the only setting I’ve run on for the past few months, and I know I'm only getting worse. It seems like, with each day, the righteous conscience I once had is slowly slipping away. The more heinous shit I do, the less anything bothers me. I can't even find it in me to give a shit how fucked up that is. Revenge and anger are all that's left of the hollow shell of the man I used to be. Kennedy would despise this side of me, but she’s not here to complain…

  "Any tails now?" I ask the guys.

  "Nope, not a one," War confirms.

  "Then let's stop somewhere for the night and make the call," I tell them. The two men relax almost simultaneously, their shoulders sagging, thankful they’re a little closer to being done with the kidnapping assist.

  War takes the next exit off the highway that has a motel. Telling him to pull around to the back of a gas station first, I get out and quickly change the van’s license plate before we stop in the parking lot at a Sleep Express just in case someone saw the old one or picked it up on a surveillance camera.

  “Give me my gun,” I say to Coop when I open his passenger door. He looks to War, who sighs before pulling the key from the ignition so that Coop can unlock the glove box.

  “Here,” Cooper says when he hands it over. “You can’t hurt her,” he adds. “Remember Chase’s orders?”

  “Right,” I say as I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans. Like I would really have a problem disobeying my baby brother’s orders. If Chase were to lose Sasha to an enemy the same violent way I lost Kennedy, he would rain down bullets on everyone within a hundred-mile radius.

  “I’m going to get our rooms,” I tell them before I walk away toward the office.

  Paying the lazy, third shift teenager at the counter double for two adjoining rooms in cash, I'm given the keys. The kid is happy to pocket a little money and doesn't give a shit who I really am, which is awesome. The place is too run down to have cameras, which is another added bonus.

  When I get back to our van, I tell War which room to pull up next to and then walk over to meet them when they get parked. Glancing around to make sure there are no witnesses, I open the back hatch, pick Lexi up and throw her over my shoulder before hurrying into the room. War and Cooper are right on my heels, covering me while she squirms in my grip. Inside, we pull the curtains and only turn on the single bedside lamp before I toss our baggage onto one of the two queen beds.

  I barely notice as she wiggles around and falls off the bed, landing on her ass with a thud. That's gonna leave another mark.

  "I'll take first shift," I turn around and tell the guys as I walk them to the door and hand them the other room key.

  “You sure?” War asks with an eyebrow raised.

  “Yes, goddammit!”

  Fuck, no one ever questioned my decisions when I was the club’s president. Now it feels like I have someone second-guessing me on every fucking thing.

  War huffs out a breath and Coop steals another glance at Lexi still sitting on the floor before the two men finally leave.

  I’m not all that surprised when, a few moments later, there’s a knock on the adjoining door, one of the guys wanting me to open it up. Having witnesses will likely keep me from hurting Lexi tonight, so I turn the lock and let them in.

  “Happy now?” I ask Coop who is standing on the other side.

  “Yeah,” he agrees before he finally goes over and flops down on one of their two beds.

  I hear the TV click on and know that’s probably War’s idea to make sure that there’s no coverage of the kidnapping from the club. The former solider is constantly worrying about everything, which means you can count on him to always be thinking ahead. Hell, I need to be doing the same.

  That’s why the first thing I do is take out my knife and rip right through the phone cords of the landline phones in each room, making sure that Lexi can’t try to call anyone to tell them where we are.

  Finally, I’m ready to make the call to Hector so I pull my burner phone from my jeans pocket.

  Fuck, I dread having to hear that bastard’s smug voice, but I am looking forward to hurting him when he finds out I’ve kidnapped his daughter.

  Going over to Lexi, who is still sitting on the floor, I tower above her and warn her, “When I remove the gag, you don’t make a sound unless you’re answering my questions. Got it?”

  She holds my gaze and nods her head.

  Pulling my Glock from the back of my pants as a warning, I tell her, “Don’t even think about screaming. You’ll be dead before anyone can come help you.”

  Lexi nods again quickly with understanding, so I jerk the handkerchief from her mouth.

  “Where’s the flash drive?” I ask her through gritted teeth.

  “The flash drive?” she repeats with her forehead creased in confusion, like she doesn’t know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.

  “You’ve got five seconds. Five…” I start counting down.

  “I-I don’t know anything about a flash drive,” she says in a rush.

  “Four…”

  “Torin, I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about. What flash drive?”

  Lowering my voice, I squat down to get in her face to quietly hiss, “The one of us.”

  Her dark chocolate eyes widen. “I-I don’t know. If there is one, my father has it.”

  “Three…” I continue to count.

  “I swear! I swear! Please don’t hurt me!” she sobs while leaning her head back against the mattress.

  “Two…Tell me where you hid it.”

  “I don’t…I didn’t!”

  “Fuck!” I exclaim when she doesn’t budge and say anything more.

  “Everything okay over there?” War yells out.

  “Yes, Jesus,” I grumble in response. Then to Lexi, I say in warning, “I’ll ask your father; and if he tells me you’re lying, you’re dead.”

  “No. Please don’t,” she continues to beg with tears running down her face leaving black streaks, courtesy of her heavy black eye makeup.

  “What’s Hector’s phone number?” I ask.

  She shakes her head side to side and says, “Please don’t call him. He can’t find out about –”

  I silence her when I put the muzzle of my gun right up to her temple. “What is Hector’s number?”

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she says, “He’s probably changed his number a hundred times since I last talked to him. He goes through burners like once a week!”

  “Tell me his goddamn number!”

  She eventually rattles off the ten digits, so I slide the muzzle down from her head to brush the unruly strands of hair from her face, then stand up and quickly punch them into the phone in my left hand. After I hit send, the line rings maybe three times before a man picks up, his voice very recognizable.

  "Who is this?" the murderous asshole answers.

  "Missing something?" I ask, not bothering to disguise my voice. I want him to know who it is.

  "Not that I know of. What the fuck have you got, Fury?"

  Either Hector Cruz is lying, or he really doesn't know Lexi is missing yet, which is...surprising. I thought he would have goons on her at all times, even in the club, waiting for me to come after her to get to him. If he left her unprotected then he’s an idiot.

  Answering him, I say, "A slutty little brunette whose name rhymes with sexy."

  I hear his gasp clear over the phone line. So he hasn’t heard she was kidnapped yet.

  "Y-you have her?" Hector asks. “No, you’re lying! You killed her months ago you son of a bitch!”

  What the fuck?

  “I didn’t kill her. Yet. I’m standing here looking at her in her little stripper costume,” I reply while staring down at the frightened expression on her face. She should be fucking scared. “Talk to him,” I say when I lower the phone to Lexi’s mouth.

  She looks up at me in silence for sever
al long seconds.

  “Tell him!” I order, putting the gun to the side of her head again.

  “It’s…it’s me,” she says, keeping her gaze on me. “I’m…I’m okay.”

  “Lexi?” I hear her father say, then, “I don’t understand. Where the hell was she all this time?”

  “Where else? The stripper capital of the world,” I reply, unable to stop myself from letting my eyes lower to all of the many areas her tan skin is showing thanks to the skimpy outfit. I really do need to put some clothes on her.

  “Vegas?” Hector says in surprise like he had no idea.

  “Where’s the flash drive, Hector?” I ask. “She has it, doesn’t she?”

  “No,” he answers right away. “I have it.”

  Damn, so she was telling the truth. Or maybe he’s lying for her. No way for me to know now.

  "I want the flash drive and all other copies destroyed. And if you ever want to see her again, it’s gonna cost you. So tell me, how much is your only daughter worth?” I ask him, knowing damn well that the son and wife he took from me were fucking priceless.

  Hector's silent for a moment before he says, "A million?" Like he's asking me if Lexi's worth that much.

  "Come on, you greedy fuck. To start with, I want every penny you took from me plus substantial interest. Then add on the amount for her."

  I don’t give a shit about the money. No amount in the world can bring back Kennedy to me. But all that cash he blackmailed from me should go to the Kings before I’m gone.

  "What does it matter?” Hector asks. “We both know you're not gonna return her alive."

  "That's a chance I guess you'll just have to take," I tell him. “She’s alive for now.”

  "Fine. Five million, and that's it."

  "Deal," I reply, even though I expected him to go to ten for his daughter. "Seventy-two hours is all you get. I'll text you the wiring instructions and then the meet-up location for you to hand over the flash drive and money for her. There better not be any copies."