by Jordan Marie
“What’s that?”
“Real men don’t leave. If it had been me, they would have had to kill me to get me to leave you,” he says.
His words make me feel weird… It feels disloyal to Devil. I mean, it’s good to hear—I wish Devil was the one telling me that—but, at the same time, Wolf doesn’t know what our relationship has been like. He doesn’t know the hoops Devil has jumped through for me.
“I—”
“A real man never leaves the woman he loves. It doesn’t matter what the argument is about, Torrent.”
I think over his words. He’s really taken this better than I thought he would. I might be able to keep my friend out of all of this and that makes me feel better. Wolf is the only family I have left and I need him—especially if Devil won’t forgive me.
“I need to talk to Devil.”
“Torrent, are you sure that’s a good idea? It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you chasing after someone who doesn’t deserve your time.”
“I have to, Wolf. I have to know if we can work it out… or if it’s over.”
“Very well.”
“What?” I ask, surprised.
“If you want to see him, I’ll take you to his hotel. We can go right after dinner.”
“That won’t help. Devil checked out of his hotel. I uh… I checked yesterday while I was in town.”
“Oh—”
“I should have told you. I’m sorry, Wolf,” I rush to tell him.
“It’s dangerous, Tor. I’m not sure what went on with Dodger. I’ve been trying to figure it out and tracking down leads, but until I can explain why the Koreans involved you at all, I don’t feel comfortable with you going someplace I don’t know.”
“I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself, Wolf.”
“But you can’t. You didn’t listen before and you were kidnapped. Because of that your father lost his life. You need to be more careful, Torrent,” he chastises and his words kill me.
They’re true, but having them spoken out loud by someone who loves me, destroys me.
“I need to go see him, Wolf.”
“See Devil?”
“Yes. I need to face him and at least try to explain everything.”
“Torrent, I can’t let you go that far on your own.”
“Then you can take me. Please? If Devil could hear from you that I’ve explained everything, it might help. If he could see us together, maybe he would understand.”
“Torrent, your father left a mess behind. I can’t pick up and leave right now. I only just got back.”
“But—”
“Besides, you don’t even know if he’s there. Devil could be anywhere. You don’t know anything about him. He might even have another woman, baby. You need to face the facts. He left you, and a man that could do that without an explanation can’t be trusted.”
I listen to Wolf and think about what he says. Devil… with another woman…
It feels like I can’t breathe. I don’t think he would do that. He cares about me. No. There’s no way.
I feel certain of that for about a minute. Then I remember how we first met... Devil at a store with a buggy full of condoms, planning to party.
Shit.
Wolf
I plant the seeds where I need to, but I’m growing intensely bored with this damn game. When I get back to the club I’m going to need a bottle of whiskey and definitely play time with some of the girls. Had Devil not stuck his dick where it didn’t belong I might have been playing with Torrent tonight. At least I could have stuffed my cock in her mouth to keep from hearing her drone on and on.
A new plan is starting to hatch in my head. If I could make the club believe that Torrent and I were getting married and then kill her and leave her to be found the day of the wedding… I’d gain all the members’ sympathy and cooperation and be done with Torrent at the same time.
I sift through the particulars in my mind and almost don’t catch what she says next.
“I’m sure he went back to his club. His president was in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” I ask, thinking it could be useful information. Diesel had the balls to show up at my club and help his brother see a bitch I claimed as my property. Maybe I can add to his trouble.
Retribution, motherfuckers… That’s the name of the game.
“I’m not sure. Devil mentioned that Diesel had a little boy and the mother kept trying to kidnap him and take him away. They think she has help, maybe. Diesel was thinking an old enemy was trying to get his child to use against him…”
“That can definitely be a weakness exploited. Look at what happened with Dodger and you,” I respond, enjoying the look of pain that comes across her face. Now that I think about it, I’m probably the one taking her fire away. I’m controlling her without trying much. It’s really… so easy.
“Yeah,” she whispers. “Devil’s gone back home. I know it. They said the last time Vicki tried to get her son, she left Diesel for dead. Devil would have gone to be with his brothers.”
“Vicki?” I ask, starting to get more and more interested. It’s a long shot, but that name sounds familiar and so does the situation. Surely it couldn’t be that simple. Then again, the gods might be shining down on me.
“Diesel’s ex. Devil told me her name during some of our lunches together during my time at the convent.”
“I see… I tell you what, Torrent. Give me a few days to see what I can find out about Devil and if he is back with this crew, I’ll get in touch with him for you.”
“You will? Even though… Well, I mean…”
“I will,” I tell her, squeezing her hand. “I keep telling you, Torrent. It doesn’t matter to me how needy you are right now. I care about you. I want to help you.”
“I… Thank you, Wolf. That means a lot. You’re always here for me,” she says, and I pull her into my arms and hug her.
“And I always will be here for you, Torrent. I won’t stop until you get everything you deserve,” I whisper, my hand brushing her hair. “Always.”
In my head I’m making plans to have Red get all the information he can on Diesel and his kid. I have a hunch and if I’m right… that solid ground I want with the Koreans just fell into my lap.
Torrent
I’ve given Wolf two days now to try and find Devil. Whenever I’ve asked him about it, he says he’s working on it. I’m trying to be patient but the more time that goes by, the more I worry. Something feels… wrong.
Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to talk to a therapist. It’s going to be a long road, but I think a therapist is a step in the right direction with finding myself again. I haven’t told Wolf. I don’t know if he realizes how some of his remarks affect me, but they definitely do. I’ve had one meeting with the therapist, but it went well and she encouraged me to take control of my life again.
I’m going to try and the first step of doing that is to find Devil. If Wolf hasn’t gotten anywhere, I’m heading down there today.
I have to.
“What have you found out about Diesel and that kid? Is that the one King is looking for?”
I stop outside of the office when I hear Wolf. At first, I don’t understand but he mentioned Diesel’s name. I don’t know who King is, but Wolf’s tone is different than I’ve ever heard. Something is telling me to listen…
“Yeah, fuck dude, I don’t know how you got so damn lucky. King has a hard-on for this man Diesel. He wants his head on a fucking pike,” Red responds.
My heart starts beating double time as I listen. This can’t be true…
“That’s why he wants the kid? I thought King was looking for—”
“That’s it though, man. The kid is King’s. Diesel has been raising him as his own for years,” Red laughs.
He laughs.
“Shit. I’ll give the asshole this, he must have balls of steel. I wouldn’t want to piss King off—not with the firepower that motherfucker ha
s behind him.”
“Near as I can tell, I don’t think Diesel even knows, Boss.”
“You’re shitting me?” Wolf answers and you can tell he finds everything about this funny.
I don’t think I ever knew Wolf. I definitely don’t know who this person is.
“Nope. He thinks he’s the father of that kid. It’s kind of hilarious if you think about it. Dumbass has almost died repeatedly defending a kid that’s not even his.”
“Damn, that fucking Savage crew is stupider than I thought. Let’s send King a little happiness,” Wolf says and my heart lodges in my chest.
I knew that Wolf didn’t like Devil or his crew, but this is so far from the man I know—or thought I knew—that I can’t breathe. I lean against the wall, needing it to hold me up, but wanting to do everything I can to keep from being found. The urge to run now is strong. If I can make it to Devil and his club, I might be able to warn Diesel. I don’t do that, though. I’m hoping if I keep listening I’ll hear what they have planned. That will help Devil and his club more.
“What are you thinking? Kidnap the brat and deliver him to King?” Red asks and he says it so calmly that I get sick to my stomach while listening to him.
“Nah. I don’t need that kind of headache—at least not yet. How about we get rid of Diesel for him?” Wolf laughs and I clap my hand over my mouth.
I’m going to be sick.
“Now we’re talking. We can head out now.”
“Sounds good. Take Grunt and Foley with you. We can trust them to keep their fucking mouths shut. I’d go with you, but today is the day I finish that piece of slab in the storm shelter.”
“Thank Christ for that. You’ve done so much to him I think he’s starting to rot. Fucker sure does stink. It’s so bad you’d think he was already dead.”
“Not yet, but that’s definitely coming. I’ll finish the job soon as I get back from this meeting with King and his associates.”
“You still want a man following Torrent?”
“It’s not really needed around here, but if she tries to leave you have them detain her. Feed her some bullshit about the Koreans having a price on her head.”
“She’ll buy that?”
“She’s so damn gullible right now, she’d buy oceanfront property in the fucking desert off of me.”
“You got it, Boss. I’ll get Lester to do it.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get rolling. We both need to get this shit done,” Wolf says and I fight down panic as I quickly move out of the hall. I duck into a small half bath my father always claimed as his because it was close to his office. I turn the lock on the door and I don’t take a breath until I hear footsteps pass on the outside. Then I wait another fifteen minutes before I peek my head outside.
“Hey! Torrent! What are you doing over here?” I look up to see one of my father’s men—Daniel or something like that. I don’t know him that well. He was always more of a loner. He had an accident, and is now in a wheelchair. He can’t ride his bike anymore and the men stopped using his road name because of that. That always seemed horrible to me, but…
Not my monkey and definitely not my circus.
Right now, I have to fight the urge to take off running. I need to act normal, calm and completely in control.
“Hey, Dan… I uh… I was looking for Wolf. I was hoping we’d be able to eat lunch together. His office is empty though.”
“Oh yeah. He had a meeting today. Don’t know much about it. The men don’t exactly tell me shit these days. If you’re looking for a lunch partner though, I’m available,” he volunteers.
Crap.
“Well… I think I might run into town now. I’ve been wanting to get my hair done. I’ll take a raincheck though?”
“Sounds good. You can let me know,” he says, but he’s already wheeling away.
I make my steps go slow and measured and I plaster a smile on my face as I make my way out of the club and around back to my dad’s house. I need to go check out the cellar. I don’t want to… but I’ve got a bad feeling about what I will find there.
I really hope I’m wrong.
Torrent
When I close the door to the house, I lock it. That doesn’t feel safe, because I figure Wolf has a key. Suddenly everything I’ve believed for my entire life is in question. I always thought I was so smart; turns out it is quite possible that I’m an idiot.
No wonder Devil was so upset with me!
I try to think of what I might need, in case I can help whoever is in the cellar. I’m praying it’s not Devil, but in my heart I feel like it is. It never made sense to me why Devil would leave without a word and not answer my call. Even in our fight, he said I knew how to find him. It didn’t make sense that he would completely ignore me, especially after I apologized and promised I’d do things differently.
I force my mind away from those thoughts. I need to keep it together. I need to check out the cellar, hopefully find out Devil is not there, and then I need to get the fuck out of here—and I need to do all of that before Wolf comes back.
Devil called his club from my house phone. I could find that number and call them—but what if I’m wrong? What if it’s not Devil down there?
I run to my bathroom and grab a first aid kit, then I go into the den and find the secret compartment under my dad’s desk. There’s only two people who know about that compartment.
My dad and me.
Once I lift the false bottom I take out the keys I find there. I frown because there’s also a letter in there. I fold it and slip it into my pants pocket for later. I need to get to the cellar before I lose my nerve. I make my way to my bedroom and grab the small dagger my dad gave me for my sixteenth birthday and my pistol—both of which I keep under my bed in a safe. I load the gun and store each securely at the back of my jeans. Then, I put on a long-sleeved shirt, to help hide it and to serve as a jacket. The cellar can be cold.
I retrace my steps and move Dad’s desk enough so I can open the trap door. I don’t know if Wolf knows about the cellar door here. I figure he probably does, but I doubt he thinks I’d ever use it without a reason.
My hands are shaking so much it takes me three tries to get the key to fit into the lock on the door to the cellar. I curl my nose at the musty smell that immediately greets me, but I ignore it and go down the steps.
I use my phone and the flashlight feature to light the way. I wasn’t kidding to Devil. My father hated the dark so he had state of the art LED lighting installed down here and they’re operated by solar power from panels on the roof. I’m afraid to use them right now. I don’t want anything to tip someone off that I’m down here.
There’s no sign of anyone down here, and with that knowledge I start to breathe easier. Still, I do my best to remain quiet. There’s a bedroom area off to my right that was meant to be my father’s and mine in times of emergency. I ignore that and keep traveling the hall, knowing it will take me to the club’s section and there’s where I need to be the most careful. As I near the club’s section there’s another door. This one is locked too and it has an additional keypad. I send up a small prayer that Wolf hasn’t changed anything and I type in my birthdate. The light on the knob goes from red to green. Next I find the right key, insert and turn it. The tumbler clicks and the door unlocks.
It’s a small victory—but still a victory.
I pull the door closed, but don’t lock it back. I need it to look normal in case someone comes by. Next, I head toward the area my dad never wanted me to go. I figure if there’s a place set up for torture it will be there. When he first told me to stay away from that side of the shelter, I thought this was where the club girls all stayed and thought it was crazy my dad was being so protective, because I had seen the men with all the girls before.
Shit. I really am stupid.
This cellar is a fallout shelter really. I don’t want to say my dad believed in the zombie apocalypse, but I think he believed nuclear war would break out and he wanted a ci
ty underground. It cost the club a cool million I think to build. It’s the size of two decent houses put together. I always thought it was neat… Now? Not so much.
I can see the light up ahead and hear someone talking. The door is closed, but cracked open. I guess they don’t think they need to worry about hiding anything. I lean against the wall, hiding myself from the room, wanting to catch my breath.
“Now how did I know I’d find you here?”
I start to scream, but Daniel strains, pulling his body up enough that he can clamp his hand over my mouth.
“Since we’re neither one supposed to be here right now, I don’t think you really want to do that, do you?” he asks. My eyes go wide. I can’t talk because of his hand, so I nod my head in agreement. “Now I’m going to take my hand away, but when I do, no screaming. You don’t need to be doing anything that will get either of us killed. Got me?” he asks and again I nod.
Once his hand is taken away, I back up a step or two, my hand automatically going to the back of my pants where I have my gun hid.
“Cool it, moonbeam. I’m on your side.”
“My side?” I whisper.
“I may not be able to use my legs anymore, but I’m not stupid. I know Wolf and his minions have been up to shit. When I saw you today, I figured you knew it too. Red’s been making a lot of trips out of this old cellar the last few days. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out whatever had you looking so spooked earlier would lead me here.”
“How did you get down here?”
“Your old man installed an elevator after my accident. He did his best to make me feel part of the club if he could. He was a good guy. I’m sorry you lost him.”
“Is that why you’re here? Because you feel you owe it to my dad?”
“Maybe. I think the others know more about his death than they should—which means I let my friend down. I figure the least I can do is help his daughter now.”
“Where’s the elevator?” I ask, trying to wrap my mind around everything.