Grasping For Freedom (15 page)

"I agree." Bruce shrugged. "What matters is now."

Torque stepped away from the table, taking Brandy with him. Tension and doubts stunk up the room. Brandy turned her back on everyone and curled into Torque's embrace. She had no idea who was shaking the most, her from fear or Torque in anger.

Rain cleared his throat. "Before we get to how we're going to take care of this problem, we need to take the vote to the table. Everyone who wants Torque's patch removed say aye."

"Wait." She stepped away from Torque and directed her attention on Rain. "You can't do this. I won't let you decide his fate in the club when he did nothing wrong. He only found out last night that I was brought here by Los Li."

"Brother, get your woman out of here." Rain stood.

"No. You're judging him, Rain. Just yesterday, you were telling me not to judge. You trusted him with my care, and now you're throwing him under the bus." She leaned against the empty chair at the table. "If you want me to leave, I will. I'll go back and tell Los Li
you
fired me, and I can't get him any more information. I'll save my dad by myself. Do not vote on kicking Torque out of the motorcycle club, because of me."

"Torque..." Rain's voice remained firm, but his eyes softened. "Remove her, or I'll have someone else take her out of the room."

Torque wrapped his arm around her middle from behind. She squirmed, but he held on tight, walking her backward. She wanted to scream and throw something. What they were planning was unfair. Torque didn't deserve to have his life thrown away because she decided to trust him. If they wanted to get rid of someone, they could fire her.

Once out in the hall, Torque kicked the door shut and put her down. He kissed her hard, stealing her breath. Riled and scared, he still made her knees wobble. She pulled away, not ready to give up. Torque deserved to stay in Bantorus. He owed her nothing.

"Go back in there and talk with them," she said, placing her hand over his racing heart.

He kissed her once more, and said, "Club rules, sunshine. My freedom is in their hands."

The massive train wreck started with her. If she'd only kept her mouth shut. She clamped her lips together and muffled her aggravated scream. God, she hated Los Li. They took her dad, and now Bantorus was inside the room deciding on Torque's livelihood because of her.

"I need to do something, " she said. "I can't stand here and let them take what you love away from you. I never wanted this. I'd never do this to you."

Torque leaned against the wall, head bowed, feet and arms crossed, not hearing a word she was saying. Her heart broke for the man who was powerless to decide his fate. She'd put him in the position of choosing between her or the club. He'd never forgive her if Bantorus stripped him of his vest, his patches, and his family.

N
ot once during the years he belonged to Bantorus MC had he stood before the club and waited for an exile punishment to come down on him. Probation, yes. Reprimand, yes. But never a vote to take away his freedom. Blood roared in Torque's ears. The only thing keeping him from running out of the bar was the fact that he trusted whatever verdict they agreed on.

Fear still consumed him, because he'd gone through this before. Except this time was different from when he was sixteen and facing a jury. Back then, he had no one backing him. He raised his head, soaked in Brandy, and calmed. Brandy stood up for him, spoke out to his brothers, and believed in him. For the first time in his life, someone knew the real him that he never showed and for some fucking reason, she stayed. At his age, her faithful support was almost laughable, except it meant everything to him.

"Come here, sunshine," he said, holding out his hand.

She slipped her fingers into his palm. He squeezed. Yeah, it felt fucking great to have someone on his side and believing in him.

"I'm sorry." She kissed the back of his knuckles.

Without letting go of her hand, he wrapped his other arm around her neck, bringing her to him. Her warmth against the length of his body relaxed him even more. The extra energy came out of him in a chuckle.

"We'll survive," he said.

"Just like that, you're okay with whatever decision they make?"

He pressed his pelvis against her. "No matter what, you'll be in my bed every night. My cock will be inside you every day at least once or four times, and when I wake up, you'll be there with your happy, making my life a better place. I'd say I'm okay with that."

She lifted her chin, her eyes swimming with tears. "But your family..."

"Yeah." He swallowed hard. "I've trusted them the whole time I've been a member, and I'll go on trusting they'll do what's right for the club. Club comes first."

There were many times over the years, he'd backed up Rain, Jedman, Raul even though he was originally the president of Lagsturns MC, and Remmy, more times than he could count. He'd covered tracks, wiped records, and made the community of Pitnam clean and safe for everyone's family. Nothing would change because he claimed Brandy. He'd make her life safe and the Bantorus family safe the moment the meeting was over whether he wore the Bantorus patch or not.

A door slammed in the bar. He turned his gaze down the hallway, and shook his head in amusement at the trouble headed his way.

Crystal and Taylor marched toward him, purses swinging off their shoulders, high heels clicking on the tile floor, and both wearing determined expressions on their face. Raul and Slade's women were pissed, which wasn't an unfamiliar sight, unfortunately. Though he usually enjoyed their attitudes, because they were his brothers' women and he didn't have to deal with them.

Taylor ignored Brandy, who'd moved to his side when Slade's woman and lunged for Torque. He braced and caught her.

"I'm so pissed off." Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck. "But, congratulations."

"Thanks," he said.

Then Taylor stepped back and punched him in the gut. He
oofed
on a chuckle.

"It's not funny." Taylor fisted her hands on her hips and glared. "I just heard they're voting. As soon as I can get past that door, I'm going to tell every one of those assholes off."

"Sweetheart, let them be," he said, cupping Taylor's face and running his thumb over the scar on her face that she'd received from the ex Los Li member who'd dared try to take her life.

"You could've died saving my life," she said through clenched teeth. "Slade knows this. He owes you. I owe you. Kurt and Lee owe you."

Brandy stepped forward. "You saved her life?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Yes," Taylor and Crystal said.

Crystal leaned over and kissed Torque's cheek. "He also backed Raul when Los Li came after me. He helped keep me sane when I thought I'd lost Raul and never let me go unprotected."

"Holy shit," Brandy whispered, moving away.

Brandy walked halfway down the hallway, turned and marched back toward him. "I'm not the only woman who has had trouble with Los Li."

Torque, Crystal, and Taylor shook their head. He brought Brandy back to his side and tucked her under his arm. "I don't know how I'm standing out here keeping the Bantorus women entertained, but you all need to go do something else."

More clicking came from down the hall, and Torque spied Tori jogging down the hallway. He groaned. The guys inside had no idea that dealing with the women alone was punishment enough for him.

"I can't even talk right now, I'm so furious." Tori came to a stop and sucked in a breath. "Damn Rain, damn Slade, damn each one of those men. Are they drunk? How can they forget everything you've done for them? You've saved their asses, you're always the one they come to when they need help, and you've taken more runs then all of them combined, so they could stay in Pitnam with their families. You've even babysat Lilly, and Rain doesn't allow just anyone around our daughter."

Brandy's eyes widened. "You babysat?"

"It was the middle of the damn night. Lilly slept the whole time," he muttered.

He leaned his head back against the wall and blinked up at the ceiling. Hell, he hadn't done anything special. He survived and he was a Bantorus, just like all of them. The women were making shit up, and making him into someone special because they had nothing else to bitch about today.

The door of the meeting room opened. He brought his gaze to Brandy first and nodded, assuring her that whatever happened, nothing changed between them. She was still his woman, and he'd protect her. Kissing her softly, he told her to stay with the other women. Then he walked to the table with more confidence because when he'd stepped away from Brandy, he heard her whisper, 'Okay, babe' in her sweet and tender voice with no attitude.

As always, he looked at Rain. His president, one of the hardest men to read on a normal day, gave nothing away. "If you have nothing more to say, we'll go ahead and get to the vote."

Torque stood with his hands at his sides, his boots spread wide, his shoulders back. Brandy's acceptance gave him the confidence to move forward. He owed no one a story of his past. He wanted his brothers to accept him at face value, and he was self-assured that only then would he be truly satisfied with the outcome of the vote. "I'm good."

"Then sit your ass down in your chair. We have plans to make." Only then did Rain let himself smile. "You think any of these cocksuckers would let you remove your patches?"

Torque wasted no time. He sat and began the plan that would get Brandy free of Los Li, her father back in her life, and find out why the Mexican mafia wanted his ass dead.

F
or the next two weeks, Torque and Brandy kept up the charade of her working for Radiant while putting time in at Cactus Cove working. She moved in behind Torque at the pool table in the bar and leaned her body against him. Last night, the one phone call they were waiting for came. It'd been the longest weeks of her life, not hearing any news about her dad.

"Hey, sunshine." Torque continued his shot and then turned around.

She ran her hands up his chest, glad that the bar had closed and only Bantorus members remained inside. "What's the news?"

"I ride out tomorrow. We can't postpone delivering those cars any longer. Lagsturns won't wait without an explanation, and they're already nervous because we've put it off four days." He smoothed her frown. "We changed the riders around. Rain, Slade, Raul, Remmy, and I will be taking the load, and the second riders will drive the fleet."

"You think that's enough to bring Radiant out into the open?" she asked.

She'd given Radiant the information Bantorus fed her to try to set Los Li into a trap. Her mouth dried and she moistened her lips. Everyone voted for Torque drawing the danger toward him, and away from Pitnam and Brandy. She thought the idea sucked, but being a woman to a Bantorus member gave her no vote.

"I hope." He tilted his head. "You okay?"

"No." She kissed him. "Can we go home?"

Torque passed his cue stick to Jedman. Together, her and Torque walked out of the bar. She wanted to hide and keep him safe, but she was also hopeful the plan would work and Torque would find her dad.

Outside at three o'clock in the morning, only the parking lot lights lit up the gravel lot and there were too many shadows for her comfort. She shivered, wanting to run to the cabin and get inside. Finding out someone from Los Li shot Torque behind the bar and nearly killed him, she no longer felt safe on Bantorus land.

"Can't wait until this is over and we can go back to the house." Torque stepped onto the porch shielding her with his body, and unlocked the door.

She followed him into the cabin. Any future plans were on hold until she had her dad back and Torque safe again. "I find it strange that we had no connection until I set foot in Pitnam. The best thing in my life came from the worst thing to ever happen to me. How messed up is that?"

"One day at a time," he said, taking off his vest, folding it in half and laying it over the arm of the couch. "We'll deal with everything once this is over."

"Yeah, okay" She yawned. "I'm going to jump in the shower."

She left him in the living room. Too tired to do more than strip, wash, shampoo her hair, and quickly get out of the shower. The only thing getting her through the days at the bar were the other girls, since Torque wanted to keep his routine in case anyone watched the activity around the bar.

Taylor, Crystal, and even Ginger had her back during the day. She hated Torque working at the garage, even if he always had two riders with him. He was brave enough to think he could end Los Li coming after her by himself.

Wrapping her robe around her, she towel dried the drips from her hair and walked into the bedroom. Torque stood by the dresser naked. His body never failed to make her weak. Broad shoulders, muscled arms, and a stomach she couldn't quit touching. She tilted her head and smiled, warmed all over. God, he had a tight ass.

She tossed the towel in the corner of the room, bringing Torque around. She took in the front of him and moved toward him at the same time. He was beautiful, all hardness and badass. Her exhaustion turned to lazy lust.

His scars at his shoulder paled in comparison to the rest of him. She trailed her fingers over the roughened edges. Thinking about what he'd gone through ate away at her constantly. She was the one who was responsible for bringing Los Li back into his life.

The injuries still bothered him, even though he never complained. She'd see him rubbing his shoulder at the end of the day, and he always shrugged her concern off as him being tired from working at the garage. But she knew the truth.

"Let me take care of you, babe," she said, tilting her face.

A low growl came first, and then she was up in the air and tossed on the bed. Torque landed on her, bracing his weight. The pressure against her body brought a tremble of desire through her. Tonight, she wanted it all about him.

"Nuh uh," she said, pushing his arms until he rolled onto his back.

She moved with him, on her knees, and her hands on his chest. She glanced down, gave him a smile and the dreamy desire in his eyes had her crawling backward. Situated between his legs, she wrapped her hand around his hardness, putting her lips on him, taking him in her mouth, one slow inch at a time.