Torched (27 page)

“Dana, this is Liv,” Torch said. “Dana’s Gauge’s old lady.”

“So nice to meet you, Liv.” She pulled me into a hug too. These people really weren’t into personal space it seemed. “Rox! Tam Tam! Mo! Get your asses over here!” she yelled out.

Three more women sauntered over.

“This is
Liv
,” Dana cooed. I could hear Torch letting out an exasperated sigh. “Liv, meet Roxy, Tamra, and Moira. Rox belongs to Jet, Tam’s with Biff, and Mo just married Toto. Way out of his league though, if you ask me.”

“Shut up, wench. You’re just jealous of all… this,” Toto said, running his hands down his plump sides and attempting to wiggle his hips.

Moira shook her head at them and gave me a quick hug. “Welcome, doll. You’ve been quite the topic of conversation.”

Well, if I wasn’t uncomfortable before, I definitely was now.

“Nice catch, Torch,” Roxy voiced, looking me up and down.

“Yeah, Torch,” Tamra chimed in. “Maybe you should let us do the talking so your personality doesn’t scare her off.”

“She looks a little pale. Did you have to dose her to get her here?” Dana asked.

“Jesus Christ,” Torch groaned.

“We’re old friends,” I interjected, trying to save both of us. These women were clearly in a class of their own. “Can I help?”

Moira beamed. “Aww, she’s a sweetheart too. Seriously, Torch, don’t be a dumbass.”

“Will you cackling witches shut up and tell us what you need?” he shot back. “Fucking hell. How any of my brothers got suckered into marrying your asses is beyond me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how uncomfortable these four little ladies were making him.

“Well, the cakes didn’t survive the ride over,” Dana complained. “They’re just piles of cake and frosting now, which fucking blows because that was a few hundred we could’ve made for the hospital. Some of the tents need to be reinforced, they’re flapping around in the wind. We need a couple of you taking turns in the dunk tank, and a couple more in the sumo ring. Oh and the sound system sounds kind of funny, somebody needs to tweak that.”

“Fucking fantastic,” Buddha muttered. “Well, baked goods are your problem, we don’t know shit about that. Hench and Toto, round up Malice, Mooch, and Elf to make the rounds and reinforce the tents. Squid and Mace are on the dunk tank. Chew and Gauge, you got sumo duty. Biff, go figure out what the fuck’s wrong with the sound system. Does that cover it?”

I noticed that Buddha hadn’t included himself or Torch in any of the problem solving efforts. Must have been nice to be at the top of the food chain.

“What the hell are we going to do about the cake?” Mo whined. “We already emptied the bakery.”

“How about those little cake pop things?” I asked.

“I’ve seen pictures of those!” Dana exclaimed. “We could sell them for a buck a piece.”

“How the hell do you make cake pops?” Mo asked.

I shrugged and pulled out my phone. “I have no idea, that’s what Google’s for. Can’t imagine there’s much more to it than rolling cake into balls and dipping them in frosting. ”

Buddha grimaced. “Sounds like a lot of fucking work. Call the prospects and have them bring you whatever you need. Come on, Torch, let the women do their thing. We got people to see. Thanks for helping out, Liv.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked off.

Torch turned to me. “You know, the girls can handle it. You should go hang out with your friends.”

“I don’t know which of those options is the lesser of two evils. Think I’ll stay here. I have four more days of Lexi’s shit left.”

Torch chuckled. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Go. Do what you need to do. I’m sure we’ll run into each other later.”

“Count on it.” He winked, slapped my ass, and took off after Buddha.

: : : :

Torch tuned out as Buddha and Sheriff Hiller rambled on. Whenever those two got together, you were better off just doing your own thing and getting the recap later. There was no point in subjecting yourself to long-winded diatribes about what was wrong with the world on that given day, especially when they were the opinions of crabby old fucks who only remembered the glory days based on what they’d seen in movies and on TV. Oh, they’d been there, but they couldn’t actually remember a fucking thing. Linwood was a quarter of the size it was now, so Buddha and Hiller had both spent their bored youths drunk and tripping balls on LSD.

He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her for the past hour. It didn’t matter who he and Buddha were talking to, he always positioned himself in a way that he had a direct line of sight.

Even in jeans and a plain white t-shirt—low cut and tight to his dick’s dismay—she looked like a fucking wet dream. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail to help the women with those goofy cake things, but all that did was make her eyes and lips stand out even more. And when she laughed? Christ, that was the best part. She lit the fuck up.

What the hell was he doing here? He was thirty six and set in his ways, ways that had prevented all kinds of bullshit drama his brothers regularly dealt with. The club came first. Always had, always would. So why the hell was he breaking every fucking rule he stuck to? Torch didn’t get twisted up over a bitch and he sure as shit wouldn’t let one get away with giving him the run-around. He didn’t play these goddamn games.

But there had always been something different about her. Just when you thought you’d peeled back one layer, there was another hiding under it. Most people were predictable, it didn’t take much to figure out their motives and deal with them accordingly. But Liv? He
still
couldn’t figure that woman out. She was a walking contradiction in every way. The answers to what made her tick were buried so deep, he didn’t think there was a shovel big enough to get to the bottom. Not without a hell of a lot of patience and sweat. She was an bottomless pit of complicated.

There was a dark side to her, that much he could tell from the ink spanning her upper back. It was a beautiful piece, a surrealist mishmash of fire, water, winding roads, and crows. No color, just blacks and grays, woven together to form a work of art that screamed darkness and chaos.

Just like the rest of her body, he felt a burning need to explore it.

He didn’t know what the fuck she was hiding, but he’d find out real soon if Biff knew what was good for him. In the meantime, that sweet pussy was purring his name. He didn’t give a shit what he had to do or how patient he had to be, he
would
get what he wanted. Consequences be damned, he’d deal with all that later.

Torch had only expected her to show the girls how to make the cake concoctions, but she’d stuck around. They’d made an assembly line of sorts and were whipping out those bad boys in record speed. They sold as fast as the ladies could get them out. Neil, Lexi, and Chloe had spotted her and stopped by the tent. But after making introductions and some small talk, the little girl dragged them away again. He hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her friends, but he liked them. They seemed like decent people and obviously loved the shit out of Liv. That was good enough for him.

“Torch,” Buddha’s voice echoed in his head, finally snapping him out of his daze.

“Yeah.”

Hiller was looking at him suspiciously. What the fuck had he missed?

Buddha shook his head. “Monk just texted, they need help with the ferris wheel. Guess it just stopped working.”

Thank fuck, something better to do than listen to two old men talking about their aches and pains. Even better, he could still see Liv from there. “Got it. Good seeing you, Sheriff.”

“Hold up.” He’d only taken a few steps before Buddha called out for him.

“Yeah?”

“Did you hear any of that conversation, son?”

“The part about hemorrhoids or hip replacements?”

“Shut the fuck up. The part about Brennan having a rich nephew in New York. Run’s a hedge fund. Name’s Randy Sloan.”

“No shit? Think he might be connected to Masters?”

“Might be.”

“I’ll tell Biff to look into him,” Torch said.

“Alright. Now quit eye-fucking that hot piece and go fix the damn ferris wheel.”

: : : :

It was an easy fix—just some loose bolts—but by the time Torch and Monk got the ferris wheel spinning again, Liv was nowhere to be seen among the old ladies.

He’d put in enough work for a while and nobody was blowing up his phone, so he decided to walk around and see if he could find her. Like a junkie looking for his goddamn fix. Christ, he was going fucking soft.

The park was big and crowded, it took two laps before he spotted her with her friends sitting under a tree.

Little Chloe was in Lexi’s lap, her face red and puffy from crying.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Torch asked, as he knelt down in front of them.

“Nothing,” she whimpered.

“She’s just tired and cranky,” Lexi explained.

“She was in that damn bouncy castle for an hour,” Neil added. “You’re pooped, huh baby? Time for a nap.”

Chloe nodded, closed her eyes, and tucked her head under Lexi’s chin.

“I think we’re all a little pooped,” Liv sighed. “I know I need a break.”

“You guys taking off?” Torch asked, hoping to hell the answer was no.

“Yeah, I think we should get her back to the house before she throws a fit here,” Lexi answered. “I hate to make you leave with us, Liv. Should’ve let you ride your bike. Sorry.”

“I’ll give her a ride home later,” Torch offered. Well, it wasn’t so much an offer as an order, even if it didn’t come off as such.

Lexi approved. “You’re a doll, Torch.”

“Wait,” Liv protested. “What am I going to do here without you guys?”

“You haven’t really hung out with us all day, Liv. Knock it off,” Lexi snapped.

“Sorry, I was trying to help the girls out,” Liv mumbled.

“Oh, I know, honey. We’re not mad. Just saying that you have people to hang out with here, so stop with your shit.”

What shit? Torch had a feeling he was missing something here. Judging by the scowl on Liv’s face, he was right. “I don’t know what’s going on, babe, but you’re staying. I’ll give you a ride home later.”

Liv directed her scowl at him.

Neil’s eyebrows shot up. “What? No arguing? That’s fucking impressive, man. ”

“Shut up, Neil. Or I’ll wake up your child in the middle of the night and feed her all the sugar in my house. Hope you weren’t planning on getting any sleep.”

“You’re an evil bitch,” he smirked. “Run while you can, Torch.”

“Oh, zip it.” This time it was Lexi. “She doesn’t need your help running men off. Don’t listen to him, Torch. Liv’s the shit. When she’s not full of shit. Which she is if she tells you she doesn’t want to bang your brains out.”

Liv instantly turned a bright shade of red. She’d been made. “When are you two leaving again?”

Lexi flashed her a sly grin. “Not before you get some. Torch, be a dear and don’t bring her back until she’s come at least twice. Just do whatever you did back in Ohio. I’m pretty sure that was the one time in her life she
hasn’t
had to fake it.”

If Liv could’ve breathed fire, the whole park would’ve been obliterated.

“Oh shit,” Neil laughed. “Too much, babe.”

Torch felt another kind of fire—the kind that made his cock stand at attention. She’d been having a hard time getting off, huh? He could certainly fix that problem for her. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, after all.

Torch opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so he shut it back again and tried not to laugh. What the fuck was he supposed to say to all this? If Lexi wanted to take up his cause and face the blowback, he was all for it.

“Oh my fucking god, I’m going to murder you in your sleep,” Liv seethed.

Neil stood up and reached down to pick up Chloe. “Well, that’s our cue to go!”

Lexi wasn’t giving up.“But—”

“No buts,” Neil cut her off. “You’ve stirred up enough shit and I don’t wanna camp out in a hotel for the rest of our trip. Move your sexy ass. Torch, great meeting you, man.”

“Thanks for coming out,” Torch said and patted him on the back. “And Lexi, thanks for the… uh… head’s up.”

Lexi jumped to her feet and held up two fingers. “Remember… Twice.”

“Fucking hell,” Liv fumed. “Get out of here. And get some liquor on the way back. I’ll need it if you want to live to see another day.”

Before she had a chance to find something heavy to throw, Lexi giggled and ran off, leaving Neil to catch up.

Torch sat down. “That was… informative.”

She scowled, but then burst out laughing. What the fuck was he missing now? She’d been pissed all to hell a minute ago. Just then, the slight aroma of whiskey hit his nostrils.

Figured. That had to have been Dana’s handiwork.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she finally managed to get out once the giggles had subsided. “That was just ridiculous. I can’t believe she said that. I mean, I
can
, but she usually has a little more tact out in public.”