Torch (Tarnished Souls MC Book 1)

by Dusty Lassetter

  “REBECCA, SAMMY, ..” I start to yell, no longer caring if someone is here. That scream is proof enough that one of my girls are in trouble. I wiggle underneath, Torch, trying to get him off me. I’ll crawl through the dark and head toward the direction the scream came from.

  “Mia, you need to calm down.” Torch orders, in my ear. His tone proof that no matter how long I argue, what I say or do, his mind will not be changed. “Torch.” I whimper out, my stomach dropping from the fear and anguish that is already filling my soul. “Please.” I whisper, “I need to get to my family.” Suddenly, the lights cut on, and the club comes back into view. After my eyes, have adjusted to the light, and Torch allows me to get out from underneath him, I start searching for my girls. I see Rebecca and Sammy, both huddled together, tears streaming down their faces. Sammy is protectively holding her rounded belly, while Rebecca’s arms are wrapped around her shoulders. Nowhere beside them, behind them, anywhere near them, are Scarlett or Serenity.

  “WHERE ARE THEY.” I scream, feeling like a complete maniac. I’m searching the room, noticing that everyone around me is examining the chaos as well. The glasses on the bar have been broken, the stools are scattered across the floor. The noises heard while the lights were out had to be someone putting up a fight, but the scream didn’t come from that direction. I’m walking in circles, wondering where to start my search, when someone stops me.

  “Mia.” I hear a familiar voice say. Turning in the direction it came from, some of my grief is lifted when I see a pair of familiar green eyes staring into mine. Rushing forward, wrapping Scarlett in my arms, I cry from relief. Now that Scarlett is accounted for; we need to search for Serenity. Leading her to Rebecca and Sammy, “follow me,” I state. “We need to look for Serenity.” Shoving my way through countless bodies, looking behind the bar, I search anywhere I would think she could hide. Maybe she is still too scared to come out. My search eventually leads me to the side door of the club house, the one we entered the first time we came here. My gut tells me that I’m not going to like what I find on the other side of this door, that is halfway open. Torch chooses to step in front of me, silently insisting he be the one to go outside first. When he’s convinced there is no boogie man waiting on the other side he gestures for me to follow. The December air is cold, my heavy breathing now visible. Scanning the ground, I walk the twelve feet needed to pick up the item that has caught my attention. Holding, Serenity’s, shoe in one hand I can no longer hold back the tears.

  “Torch.” I plea, noticing that he hasn’t left my side. “Serenity is gone.” I whisper, “she’s gone.”

  “MOVE.” I hear someone yell from the other side of the door. When Buck finally shoves through the crowd, that has formed around us, his eyes fall on the shoe in my hand. Anger, disbelief, and desperation send him into an uncontrollable rage. Screaming at his men, demanding to know where his daughter is, my soul weeps for the father that is breaking in front of us.

  “Torch..” Saint says, walking up to us. “Taz is missing.” He whispers, adding another blow to my already wounded spirit. This was obviously a well thought out attack. There is only one person insane enough to plan this. Slasher, and The Blacktop Sinners, have just declared war with the, Tarnished Souls. In just a few seconds they have rendered our president incapable of leading, and taken our vice president.

  “Round up the rest of the members, Saint, but leave Buck to me. We meet in his office ASAP.” Turning his attention back to me, Torch, grabs my face in both his hands. I know what he is about to say will be important, especially since I can see the worry etched on his face.

  “Mia, take the girls to our room. DO NOT LEAVE that room until I come get you. Trust no one. You know where I keep my guns, you have to protect yourself while I go find Taz and Serenity.” He commands, his voice sounding doubtful. I understand why he is worried. I’ve acted strange ever since our run in with, DeWayne, but there is no way I’m going to let that get to me tonight.

  “I can do this, Torch. I will do this.” I state, the certainty I feel coming through my tone. “You just promise to come back; promise me this isn’t going to be the last time I see you. “

  “I promise.” He says, giving me a quick kiss.

  “Torch..” I plea, my voice clogging with more tears that are threatening to fall.

  “Mia..” He says, voice dropping low with his own emotions. “You’re my woman. You’re the only reason I don’t want to walk out those doors. For the first time since I became a member I’m doubting my decision to defend my brothers first, but then I wouldn’t be the man worthy enough to love you, to marry you, to make you the happiest woman until we both die of old age. I promise you I’ll come back.

  “I love you too, Torch.” I say. “I promise to be here when you get back.” I whisper, loving the smile that comes to his face. Even in the mist of this chaos, Torch, still has the power to make me think of only his presence. I wrap my arms around his neck at the same time he bends down to kiss my lips. This was the first time we both declared our love for each other, and despite the circumstances I wouldn’t take anything I said back. This man has become my world, my everything. I don’t ever want to go back to the days I didn’t have him.

  ##########

  Remember when you were a teenager waiting by the phone for your boyfriend to call but the damn thing never rang, or in the hospital pacing the halls just to hear whether your loved one survived. I’m not speaking from experience, because those are situations I was never in, but most normies have been there, done that. Waiting in this room, with my sisters, a gun gripped in my hand for hours, is twenty times worse than either one of those scenarios. Before I was taken by Carlos I was never a paranoid person, maybe that’s why he didn’t find it difficult to grab me, but that has changed. Every noise I hear, every time I think I smell something burning, or the tiniest shadow appearing on the wall has me gripping this metal a little tighter. Torch has been gone for hours, ten to be exact, and all I can picture when I close my eyes is his dead body, lying next to Taz’s and Serenity’s. Are they dead? Has Torch managed to break the first promise he made to me? Only time will tell, that is the saying everyone loves to spew out to people in this situation, right?

  A knock on the door brings me back to the present, my mind now focusing on who is on the other side of that wood.

  “Mia…?” Rebecca questions with a look of panic on her face.

  “Whatever you do, Rebecca, don’t shoot me in the back.” I say, nodding to the gun that she has kept in her hand all night. I may not have been paranoid, but Torch always was. He has enough weapons in this room to bring down the secret service. To my knowledge, Rebecca, has never fired a gun. I’m the first line of defense, she is the second. Here’s to hoping she can aim.

  Sammy and Scarlett startle when the door knob rattles, before you can hear the person on the others side unlocking it with a key. The room has grown silent, none of us making a noise, not even our breathing can be heard. My heart stops when the door slowly opens, and a figure emerges. It’s not, Torch, so I immediately cock the hammer back on my gun, pointing it at the intruder’s chest. He takes a step into our room, leaving the doorway slightly open, but not enough to see if anyone is behind him.

  “Don’t take another fucking step.” Surprisingly I’m able to keep my voice from breaking. Sounding strong and in charge, the stranger, has no choice but to listen to me.

  “Or what?” He questions, a cocky smirk pulling at his lips. This is the same bastard that called me a cunt before the lights went out.

  “You already know the answer to that or you wouldn’t have stopped.” The look he gives me sends chills down my spine. He doesn’t like that I’m right, he’s not going to just casually walk away, so it’s best if I not push his buttons.

  “It doesn’t surprise me that, Torch, would end up with a bitch like you. Dewayne did say you had a sweet pussy.” He’s trying to get me to act irrational, but he just told me everything I need to know.

&nb
sp; “You’re a Blacktop Sinners member?” I question.

  “Did I not introduce myself. How rude of me.” He dramatically states.

  “Good to see you again, Griffin.” I hear coming from the other side of the door, before another man appears behind, this Griffin, stranger. Rebecca having listened to me tell her a million times what to do if there were to be two men walk in, stands from her spot bedside Sammy and Scarlett on the bed, also readying her firearm.

  “Lower your guns.” Hammer states, stepping into our line of sight. When Rebecca moves to lower her gun, I shake my head no. Remembering what Torch told me. Thankfully I’ve got the memory of an elephant, and I recall Torch telling me about a prospect named Griffin. If he is stupid enough to turn against Tarnished Souls, then who’s to say Hammer isn’t.

  “I can’t do that, Hammer.” I declare, watching as his kind brown eyes stare at me with curiosity. When he turns to Rebecca, I pray she does what I said. When she holds out her arms, gun pointed at Hammer’s head, I can’t help but sigh in relief.

  “You don’t want to shoot me, Rebecca.” He says, certainty in his voice.

  “That’s right.” Griffin agrees, “and you don’t want to shoot me, Amelia.” When he says my name, I want nothing more than to put a bullet through his chest, but I can’t. Something is stopping me from pulling the trigger, and the realization is enough to raise my anxiety.

  “No she doesn’t, but I do.” A familiar gravelly voice, I feared I may never hear again, growls. Torch is now in the doorway, standing directly behind, Griffin, the barrel of his favorite forty-five resting against the idiot’s head.

  “Lower your weapon, Rebecca.” Torch orders. “You too, Spitfire.” Without another thought I do as he says, wanting nothing more than to be wrapped in his arms. With the look he sends me I know he is dying to do the same, but he has business to attend to first.

  “It was just starting to get fun.” Griffin says.

  “Hammer, take him out back.” Torch commands, his voice leaving no room for argument. “He’s about to learn firsthand how I got my nickname.”

  “Do your worse, asshole, I still won’t talk.” Griffin argues, his eyes saying what his mouth won’t. He’s scared, and judging by the stories, Torch, has shared with me he should be.

  Forcefully yanking the nasty bastard by his arm, Hammer shoves him through the door way. The look he sends to Rebecca makes me feel guilty. Obviously, he is no Benedict Arnold, but I was only doing what I was told, and so was she. Maybe he’ll calm down. Eventually able to understand our actions.

  “Did you find them?” I ask immediately after they have disappeared.

  “No.” Torch answers, “they must be on the move and I’ve run out of leads.” He states in a defeated tone, causing my heart to break for him. Scarlett stands up, surprising us all when she taps Torch on the shoulder to get his full attention.

  “My father had several safe houses he took me to. Slasher may have chosen one of them.”

  “Why would he take them somewhere he knows you know about. He’s not stupid enough to believe you would keep that information from us.”

  “Slasher always thought my dad was an idiot. He doesn’t know he gave me the access to those houses right before he was killed. He even taught me how to reprogram them, so no one could get in unless I wanted.”

  “Do you remember the addresses?”

  “Yes.” Scarlett whispers, her eyes landing on the floor. I can tell she is trying to build up the nerve to say the last part. “But I have to go with you.”

  “NO..” Rebecca, Sammy, and I shout at the same time.

  “The passcode is my hand print, Mia, I have no choice.”

  “If the passcode is your hand print, how would Slasher be able to get in?”

  “Like I said before, my father wasn’t dumb. I think he knew something was going on, but the rule for the safe houses was all members were to have access. They never knew he had the ability to reprogram the system without their knowledge. As far as Slasher knows, I’m not in the system.”

  I watch as, Torch’s, shoulders tense up from what he is about to say. I know he cares for Scarlett as much as I do, and the knowledge that he is about to agree to take her with them has left me confused. There are multiple outcomes to her tagging along, and none of them end well. Slasher will do anything to get back what’s his, I think he proved that already, so to knowingly bring Scarlett to the same place he will be makes no sense.

  “Do you realize what your volunteering to do, Scarlett.” I rush out, my voice rising no matter how hard I try to control my emotions. “You know what he is capable of.”

  “Yes, Mia, I do. That’s why I must do whatever I can to help them find Serenity. She won’t survive his cruelty; she wasn’t born into that nightmare. She’s never witnessed the things I’ve seen.”

  “Mia..” Torch commands, forcing me to look in his direction. Doubt and torment is all I see when I look into his eyes. He is unsure of what to do, not because he doesn’t want to find Taz and Serenity. He is hesitant to use Scarlett because of the issues it may cause us. I’m relieved he’s giving me the final say.

  “You promise to bring her back to me.” I ask, believing Torch will do everything in his power to keep his word.

  “I would give my life for hers.” He states, unknowingly laying out my worst nightmare. I can’t imagine not having either of them come back. Instead of pointing that out I do what my body has been screaming at me to do since Torch walked in here. Finally, being able to be the one to invade his personal space, I wrap my arms around his waist, breathing in the scent that makes me feel safe.

  Chapter 21

  Torch

  I walk into Buck’s office, leaving Mia and the girls in my room, to meet with my brothers. This has been one of the longest nights of my life, but I know there is no way I can rest without having a plan to break into the first safe house. The sun is just starting to rise in the grey sky, taunting me with the knowledge that Serenity and Taz are on their own for the next twelve hours. There is no way of knowing what Slasher has planned, but I’m certain it was Scarlett and Taz he was after. When, Teller, threw himself onto Scarlett, like I did Mia, they had no choice but to take Serenity. We’ve already received messages from, Slasher, demanding a trade. He wants us to give him Scarlett for Serenity. He claims we took something of his, so he took something of ours. As for, Taz, that’s his retribution for us killing his vice president. I think our club never imagined him being smart enough to pull off something like this. It had to take a lot of planning, and help from someone that knows our club house. Griffin is a rat bastard someone needs to get rid of, most likely Buck. He needs an outlet for his anger and hurt to go. Why not on the body of the man that is partially responsible.

  Looking around the room, seeing all my brothers in their cuts, we wait for Buck to start the opening statement. This is what we do. When it comes to club business, Buck, introduces the subject, having the first say. It’s always been that way; this time isn’t going to be any different.

  “We’re all aware of what happened, even if we’re still in the fucking dark to how it happened. Blacktop Sinners broke into our club, took my daughter and your VP. I’ve always tried to lead us in best way I knew how, making sure to put you men first. This time is different brothers. I will stop at nothing to find Serenity, even if that means you’ll have to give your lives. If you don’t like it, vote me out, because I’m not changing my mind.”

  Everyone stares at, Buck, not saying anything. Saint, Hammer, Irish, Teller, and the rest of the members all opting to stay silent. Stepping forward, choosing to ignore what he just said, I start laying out the plan that’s been forming in my head. I appreciate Buck wanting to give us a choice on who leads us into this war. To him it’s personal, adding another fucked up ingredient to this already disastrous recipe. What he doesn’t understand is we’re all taking this personal, not just him.

  “Scarlett has come forth with a couple of leads. We now have addre
sses to safe houses that, Slasher, is most likely holding them at. She has volunteered to come along, and help us get into them.”

  “That’s a bad idea..” Saint says, “she’s a liability we can’t afford to have out there.”

  “We have no choice.” I explain, looking every member in the eye, so they can see the confidence in my statement. I need them to back me, because this is the only hope we have of getting Taz and Serenity back.

  “Her hand print is the only way to get us access into those houses.”

  “We can’t risk that girl’s life. She’s been through enough.” Hammer argues, irritation lining his face and words. Everyone else seems to be contemplating the decision.

  “Two lives for one,” Marx, a new member states, “sounds like good odds to me.” I look him in the eye, tilting my head slightly, examining his features. He’s only been around a short time, already having a few complaints on him from some of the whores for being too rough. Before I can do anything to the dumbass, for so stupidly saying the wrong thing, Brass beats me to it. With little effort, and his lips pulled back is a sneer, he takes out his weapon of choice and swings. The brass knuckles instantly breaking the idiot’s jaw, rendering him unconscious.