TORCH

by Ashers, LeAnn

  “Congrats, man,” Ryan says. I hang up.

  I open the truck door and climb in. The small dog raises its head when I get in. His mouth is still open, panting from the heat he endured in that car. He will be fine, though. If we hadn’t shown up when we did, he wouldn’t be.

  Kayla is fumbling around in her purse until she pulls out a collapsible dog bowl and pours out some water I got from the vending machine inside of the doctor’s office. The dog immediately starts lapping it up like it hasn’t had water in a while.

  “Ryan is going to take the dog for Mia,” I tell her as I pull out of the parking lot.

  “Okay.” She smiles and pets the small dog’s head. “Can we stop and get Mika? I want him to be with me tonight.”

  “Anything for you,” I tell her and catch that shy smile.

  Kayla

  We pull up in front of the clubhouse with two dogs in tow. As soon as we park, my door is popped open.

  “Congrats on the little boy, Kayla,” Ryan says and takes the small dog from my hands before he helps me down. Mika jumps down beside me and stands right by my leg, pressed up against me.

  I feel Torch come up beside me to move my hair so it hangs over one shoulder, showing the back of my cut.

  “Ready?” he asks, and I nod. I grip his hand in mine. I will be ready for anything as long as I have him. With him I feel like I can be me without worry. I always feared the unknown, but now life isn’t so scary, because he is seeing for me.

  I know all the feminists in the world would scream at me, but I can’t help the way I feel. I am not weak. Far from it. I just like the comfort he gives me. I can finally be me instead of always being scared, which I am not anymore.

  Mika walks so close to me. I don’t even need the leash; it’s mostly for show. I hear the door creak open and then the cool air hits me in the face.

  “How are you, man?” Someone walks up to Torch, and then I hear the back smacks the men give each other when they hug. He let go of my hand and has it placed on the small of my back now.

  “Good. This is my wife, Kayla.” He rubs my back and then a hand touches mine. I know it’s not Torch.

  “Wife? Congrats, man. Thought I’d never see that day. She’s beautiful.” The guy talking to Torch shakes my hand. I smile politely, while Mika moves slightly in front of me.

  “This is Lane. He is the president of the neighboring county’s MC, the Grim Sinners.”

  “Nice to meet you, Lane.” I smile again and tuck my hair behind my ear.

  “She’s fucking sweet, too, man? You landed yourself a gold mine.” Lane laughs and Torch laughs along with him. “I know I have.” He kisses my temple, and that’s when I hear Jean yelling my name from across the room. I wave for her.

  “I’m going to go with Jean.” I rise up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek. In return, he fists his hand in my hair and attacks my mouth with his. The crowd around us whistles and stomps their feet.

  He pulls away and I blush. I feel Jean wrap her hand around my forearm, leading me away from Torch while I am still in a daze from that kiss. Mika is walking beside me, tight to my side.

  “Girl, if you weren’t pregnant already, you would be now,” she cackles, and I laugh along with her. I rub my stomach. My precious baby boy. I won’t judge him for his choices in life. I will support him every step of the way. I will take care of him and love him; and he will have the best life anyone can have. Torch will teach him to be a man, while I will teach him to be a gentleman; how he should treat women and especially the woman he is going to marry someday.

  I want to give him everything I never had. Stability, love, a family. I never had any of that. I was fed and clothed, but there is so much more to life. I’d wish for rags growing up as long as I had a caring family. I had my grandparents, but they couldn’t fill that void of not having loving parents.

  My mother is at the center, though I haven’t seen her. I don’t want to, because she has hurt me too many times. My hopes were crushed over and over. She says she is going to leave him, but she still let him be mean to me, meaning she is just as bad as him. Just because I have a disability doesn’t mean I have to be treated as a lesser person.

  “I heard you were having a boy!” Jean squeals. I feel her nails dig into my arm as she shakes it in excitement. “Chrystal is pregnant, too! She is having a boy just like you.” She gets excited again.

  I roll my eyes and grin at Jean. That girl is to freaking chipper. “Quit hogging Kayla, Jean!” Chrystal yells and I laugh. Jean stops jumping around and leads me over to the girls, who hug me once I reach them.

  “I heard you’re pregnant, Chrystal! Congrats on the baby boy. I’m glad my son will have kids his age to grow up with.” I hug her again.

  “Belly bump!” Jean yells and bumps her belly to mine. I burst out laughing. This girl is too much.

  A little hand touches my knee. Mia. I smile and bend down. She touches my shoulders, and I lift her and settle her on my hip. Her little hand rests on the nape of my neck.

  “Mia, you are so cute!” Jean coos, and I smile. Mia is a sweetheart.

  “Hi, Kayla!” Myra says. I feel her arm brush against mine before she gives me a side hug.

  “Hey!” I hug her back.

  “RyRy!” Mia starts screaming and squirming in my arms. I set her down and hear her take off running. My guess, Ryan has come back from taking care of the small dog.

  “Ryan?” I ask.

  Myra laughs. “Yeah, her world revolves around him now. RyRy this and RyRy that.”

  “How do you feel about that?” I know it must be hard being a single mom when your kid gets attached to someone else. Though Ryan is invested for a reason; he wouldn’t be doing what he is for no reason.

  “I like him. A lot,” she admits and then sighs. “I don’t want my daughter to get attached, but it’s too late. I’ve known him for like what, a week? Yet he has managed to wiggle his way in. I want to get to know that man. I can’t help but imagine what if we could be something?”

  Footsteps approach from behind me. I don’t say anything but bite my lip, having a feeling it’s Ryan.

  “I like you, too, baby, and I’m not going anywhere. Ever,” Ryan says behind us. I cheer on the inside.

  Myra gasps. I grin.

  “You…you…” she says, and then I hear her suck in a sharp breath.

  “Yes, baby, I want to see where this goes, but know this: I will always be in Mia’s life.” She lets out a deep breath. Then I hear the sound of a kiss.

  Then I hear Jean awwwwing.

  I clasp my hands together, swooning. I am a hopeless romantic.

  “Here, baby, go back to Momma,” Ryan says. My poor heart can’t take it.

  “I am going to fall over,” Jean breathes out, and I laugh, because it’s like she is reading my mind.

  After Ryan walks away, I ask Myra, “That answer your question?”

  “Yep,” she simply says. I grin again.

  Torch

  “Come on, man, let’s go outside,” Lane says. I take one last look at Kayla before I follow him outside. Bikers have lined up the lot yard. Prospects are guarding the gate, letting only in bikers who are on the list. They have to show their ID before entering. No fucker is getting inside that’s not supposed to be here.

  “Give me a quick heads-up with what’s happening. I know shit has gone down with you directly.” I prop up against the wall of the clubhouse with Lane standing in front of me. Lane is a scary-looking fucker, if I were the type to get scared of men. He has scars up his face from a knife fight.

  “We took out the fucking club in this town and now the next town over, YOUR town, is coming at us. Shot at my wife and hired fuckers to try to break through my gate. This can’t go unanswered. They are trafficking girls. They were trying to kidnap Kayla, but I stopped them.”

  Lane cusses. “Fuck, man, this shit was under our noses. I didn’t know they trafficked or I would have stopped it a long fucking time ago. This won’t continue. I
know these other bikers won’t let that stand either. You have a good group here.”

  The MCs that showed up are our closest allies. They can be trusted, which is what we are doing, because Lane is right; they are trafficking women right under our noses. It’s time to stop that shit once and for all.

  A bike pulls up to the front of the gate, I squint my eyes and see the guy is wearing a blank cut. What the fuck? The prospect starts yelling and has his gun pulled up. The guy is shaking his head no and pulls out a gun right at us.

  Before we can duck, he fires off some bullets. Lane falls to the ground and I do the same. Women are screaming inside of the building. Kayla. Men are yelling around us, and then the door bursts open.

  I jump up and look at the man who fired the bullets. He is lying on the ground holding his throat. The prospect is lying on the ground holding his knee. There are splinters on the bulletproof glass. The bullets didn’t pierce through but bounced off and hit the guy.

  I see Kyle run up to me and look at the man and the glass. “Best fucking idea.” I nod my head in agreement then turn around and run past them. I need to see Kayla. When I throw open the door, she’s sitting on the ground holding Mika.

  I can see how scared she is. “Kayla!” I yell, and she immediately sinks with relief. I pick her up off the ground and hold her to me. She clutches the back of my cut.

  “I can’t stand the thought of losing you, Torch. You are my world,” she whispers to me. It strikes me right in the heart. She means everything to me, too.

  “I’m okay, baby.” I kiss the top of her head and she nods. Mika is pressed up against her legs still.

  “I have to go help the guys baby. Stay with the girls. Don’t be scared. I will be fine. The danger is gone.” I kiss her again and she smiles. Then Jean walks up to her and nods at me.

  Jean has been in the MC world longer than Kayla. She will explain to her that our lives haven’t been like this for a very long time, and that it will end now. Them attacking our compound just pissed off a lot of people.

  “MEETING!” Kyle roars while the other presidents shout for their guys. We all file out of the room; only the prospects hang back.

  Everyone enters the meeting room. I sit on Kyle’s left side, the sergeant at arms on his right side. The others stand around the room. It’s a big room, so we all fit.

  “Those fuckers just shot up my place for the last fucking time. They have shot at Torch’s woman and then tried to break into their house, where she was alone! They are trafficking women. We ran them out of our town, but the ones that managed to survive are coming back for revenge, because Torch saved Kayla as they attempted to abduct her right out of the mall parking lot.

  “The reason I called all of you is because these fuckers are in your town, too. You deal with them how you please, but it’s time I take these fuckers out. I will not have my men and their women in danger. Especially not my kid and Chrystal. I will not stand for it.”

  The men around the room nod.

  “It’s time for this to end once and for all. Who is with me?”

  Everyone around the room stomps their feet and the presidents nod their heads at Kyle. They won’t take any chances either. These men’s lives are over. They’ve been playing with fire for too long. It’s time to torch them.

  “One week from now we meet here and go from town to town ending this. We ride together,” Kyle says and everyone nods again.

  “This has been happening right under our noses. And now that you mentioned trafficking, my sister’s friend went missing a week ago. They can’t find her. We have looked, too, and came up with nothing,” the Devil’s Renegades president, Noah, adds.

  Lane steps forward. “We’ve had a lot of missing women ourselves, not anyone we know personally, but it’s still happening in my town.”

  The Saint’s Sinners president steps forward. “Five thirteen-year-old girls have gone missing in a six-month period.”

  “Fuck!” I yell, because it makes me think of my baby girl, Paisley, when one of those fuckers attempted to get close to her. If Liam hadn’t saved her… He is off in the Navy. She is off at college; it’s terrifying to think she is off alone like that, but she will be okay. I have to believe that. If I don’t, I will go crazy.

  “We will meet here in one week.”

  Everyone nods and we all shake hands. Kyle talks to Lane and Noah, while I walk out to Kayla, who is sitting down with Mika by her side. That dog was the best investment.

  One week from now life will forever change for us. We are going on a dangerous mission, but we are doing it for our families, to keep them safe, as well as for the families of the taken women. This gang is taking over these little towns, and it needs to stop.

  Kayla

  Hearing those gunshots was terrifying. When Torch came back to me after it was over, I felt such relief. I wish those gangs would leave us alone. It all started when they attempted to kidnap me, which feels like it was so long ago.

  When all of the men left the room, it got quiet. So I sit down with Mika, who hasn’t left my side at all and has been a constant comfort. Jean is rattling off to Myra, who just says nothing but ‘yeah’. Chrystal is quiet.

  “I think a girls’ night is in order. Strip club, hot men, ass in the face.” Jean breaks the silence, and everyone laughs. That girl is someone you should bring to a tense situation; she knows how to break the ice.

  “Do you want those strippers dead?” Chrystal asks, and I shake my head. I can just imagine Torch blowing his gasket. Maybe that won’t be a bad idea. I may be pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go along for the ride. Heck, we are all pregnant.

  “I don’t think Ryan would hurt those guys,” Myra says softly, and I bust out laughing. Ryan is the enforcer. He didn’t get that position for nothing. From what I have been told, he is hitting 6’5, is muscular, has a beard, and looks scary as hell; but we all know he is just a teddy bear to us.

  “Girl, he is the club enforcer. The club is legit, but he helps protect it; he enforces the law,” Jean explains to her

  Myra is quiet for a second but then says, “He may look tough and mean, but he is far from that to me and my daughter. Judging someone by their appearance, by how scary they look, is shallow. My dad looked scary, and he was the best man I have ever known until he died when I was twenty-one.”

  She gets it.

  “All right, girls’ night tomorrow night! I will invite Braelyn and Jessica, too. They work at the center with me.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “I will pick you up, Kayla,” Jean says. I thank her.

  “Mama,” Mia says, and my heart melts. I can’t wait to be a mom.

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Pup pup.”

  “We will see the dog here in a bit,” Myra says. Then all the men file out of the room they were in.

  “Come on, baby, we need to check your sugar.” Torch grabs my hand and pulls me up from my seat. “Stay, Mika.” My dog stays where he is when we walk away from him. We walk for a minute until I hear a door open.

  “This is my room here. We all have rooms in case we need to crash.”

  I feel a bed at my knees, so I turn around and sit down then reach into my purse, but Torch stops me. He proceeds to clean my forefinger, load up the lancer, and get out the strips. I hear the beeping as he puts it in.

  Then I feel the pin pierce my skin with a click. I jump, and Torch mutters, “Sorry.” The meter beeps again.

  Your blood glucose is seventy-three points per milliliter.

  “Let’s get my babies fed,” Torch says. I hear him ruffling through my purse putting the meter back in.

  Seventy isn’t really low, but it’s not great either. I stand up off the bed and Torch wraps his arm around my waist after he hands me back my purse.

  “Dinner should be set out by now. Kyle had the food catered.” My stomach growls at the mention of food. Torch touches my stomach, and I bite my lip trying to hide my smile.

  We walk back int
o the main room. It’s filled with laughter and loud men. “Sit here, baby. Just sit directly down. I have the chair behind you.” I sit down slowly, touching the chair first. Then I reach forward and touch the table, gauging the distance, and scoot forward.

  “I will get your food. Be right back.” Torch kisses the top of my head and disappears. I feel people staring at me and bite my bottom lip, feeling uneasy. I don’t like being waited on, but I can’t see what food there is; and it’s really hard getting food off a buffet when you can’t see what you’re doing.

  “You’re Torch’s woman?” a man asks. I’ve heard his voice before. He is the new prospect who literally just started last week. Torch introduced us a few days ago. He voiced to me at home that he didn’t like him much, saying he lacked respect. He’s already on his second chance in the week he started.

  “Wife,” I correct. “But yeah,” I say and rub my hands down my legs.

  “Well, why the fuck are you sitting there? You should be serving your man, not him serving you. I would have thrown your ass out a long time ago.” Then he mutters under his breath, “You must have a golden pussy.” But I heard him.

  I gasp and my mouth pops open. He just didn’t fucking say that.

  “The fuck you just say?” Butch yells. Then I hear a sound as if someone is choking.

  “Torch! Get your ass over here. This man just insulted your wife, the mother of your child growing in her stomach.”

  I hear something break and then Torches voice.

  “Take him to the other room.” His voice is scary. I’m not scared of him, but in that moment goose bumps break out across my skin. The room is deadly silent.

  “Wait,” I say and turn to the person beside me. “Who are you?”

  “Andrew. Lane is my pres,” he says, and I nod. “Take me over there, will you?”

  I stand up. Andrew grabs my arm and leads me over, telling me what’s in front of me. Then I am moved to another set of arms. My husband’s. I know, because his hands bring security and safety.

  “Am I directly in front of him?” I ask Torch and hear a bit of amusement in his voice when he says, “Yeah, babe.”

  “How tall is he?”

  “Six foot.”