Torched: Afterburn (Iron Serpents Motorcycle Club Book 2) (35 page)

He frowned and looked me up and down. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, they took all that blood—”

“They put it back in,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but—”

“But nothing,” I groaned. “I know my body, I’m okay. Please? I’ll let you know if I start getting dizzy or something.”

He smiled and stroked my cheek. “My ride or die bitch… You know I love the shit out of you, right?”

“I know. Ditto, baby.”

He smacked my ass and looked over at Zed. “Stay behind us. If you see her getting wobbly, flash your lights. I don’t trust my hard-assed old lady to fess up if she starts feeling bad.”

“Got it,” Zed agreed, before jumping into the driver’s seat.

Torch helped me strap on my helmet and kissed me again. He mounted the bike and glanced over his shoulder as I hopped on behind him. “I was more worried about you in there, but I can still go kick his fucking ass if you want.”

“It’s over, he doesn’t affect my life. I’m safe with you, right?”

He squeezed my hand. “Always.”

“That’s all I need then, let’s go home.” I cozied up to his back and held on tight as the bike rumbled to life.

As soon as he’d maneuvered out of the parking lot and we hit the road, I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against his cut. The wind did the rest of the work and carried the last of my childhood pain away.

: 31 :

| TORCH |

After a three-day visitor ban to keep infections away, Buddha’s doctor had agreed to lift it on the condition that everyone suited up in isolation gowns and kept it short. Naturally, his first inclination had been to call church right there in his hospital room.

Torch was trying to convince himself it was a good sign, that Buddha had somehow made an utterly miraculous recovery and was ready to get back to normal. But he knew he was setting himself up for disappointment. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t helping matters.

“Afternoon, brothers,” Pres’ booming voice greeted as they all shuffled inside. He still looked weak and pale, but his vocal chords seemed to be getting their strength back. Torch pulled the gavel from his cut and handed it to Buddha, who promptly slammed it down on his tray table before starting in. “I’m sorry I can’t give hugs and shit, but who knows what kind of fucking diseases you’re all dragging in.”

“Why the fuck are you looking at me?” Grimm sniped.

“Because you’re a walking petri dish, shithead,” Gauge threw out. “He’s just trying not to single your ass out.”

“Hey, I just got tested, I’m clean as a fucking whistle.” Grimm winked at him and grinned. “You wanna blow on it? You can make a wish before you do”

“Jesus Christ, I bet you’ve actually used that line on a female before,” Zed groaned.

“Twice,” Grimm said proudly. “Worked both times.”

“Well, Pres,” Mace chimed in, “I guess you can see nothing’s changed.”

Buddha quietly chuckled. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, I miss you knuckleheads. Listen, before I say anything else, I just wanna apologize—”

“You don’t need to keep apologizing,” Zed cut in.

Buddha waved him off. “What I was gonna say was that I’m sorry for making the stupid mistakes you boys had to clean up after, but I’m
not
sorry I got to watch you at your best. I’m really fucking proud of all of you.” He glanced over at Torch. “Especially you, son. I should’ve let you handle it how you wanted to from the beginning, I’m sorry my pride got in the way.”

“When are they letting you out of here?” Torch asked, trying to deflect.

“At least a couple more weeks,” Buddha replied. “Now that they know I’ll be paying cash, I’m getting the gold star treatment.”

He nodded pensively, relieved to hear that Pres wasn’t being a thick-skulled son of a bitch for once. “Good, you keep your ass here as long as it takes. We’ll hold down the fort until you’re healthy enough to come back.”

Buddha looked down at his hands. “Well, that’s why I wanted the table here. I need to call a vote.”

Fuck, here it came. Torch exhaled and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. He knew exactly what the vote was about.

“I’m tired, brothers, I can’t do it anymore,” Buddha explained. “I have nothing but love and respect for every last one of you, but you need to let me step down. Permanently.”

“Boss,” Mace cut in, “is the transplant not working? What are you saying?”

Buddha shook his head. “It’s not that, so far so good on the cancer front.”

“Is it about Scully?” Squid asked. “Brother, one bad call doesn’t mean you should give up your seat.”

Buddha shook his head again and held up his hand to get them to shut the fuck up. “It’s not about Scully either. My decision has nothing to do with anything anyone did or anyone could’ve done differently. Like I said, I’m just fucking tired. I’ve been your president for two decades, a member for over three, I know better than anyone that the club needs a leader who’s a hundred percent there. Time waits for no one, the MC needs to keep moving forward and I won’t be the one to hold it back. But… in light of the fact that I’ve been given another chance, I did change my mind about one thing. I’m not walking away from the club altogether. I need to get out from under the weight of running it, but I’m hoping to get back on my bike and ride with my brothers again soon.”

“So, this isn’t retirement?” Biff asked.

“I guess it depends on whether I kick the cancer or it still ends up kicking me, but not if I can help it,” Buddha replied. “This is just me taking a step back and giving up a title, I’m a Serpent for life. Hell, I’m fifty-one, I should probably settle down anyway. Maybe I’ll finally get over my commitment issues and find an old lady to remind me to take my pills every day. There’s a lot of them.” He looked at Torch. “Son, you’re the only one looking sour. Talk to me.”

He scrubbed his beard and muttered, “I don’t know what you want me to say, man, you know how I feel. I can’t picture Linwood without you at the head of the table.”

Buddha pensively nodded. “I know. It’s gonna be a transition, but I think everybody in this room knows it needs to happen. You did good with the militia shit, Torch, you bent rules without breaking them and took care of business. This club’s gonna go places with you at the helm. We usually do this the other way around, but I want my last vote to count for making you my successor in the event my request is accepted. Brothers, yea or nay?”

Torch shook his head. “Buddha—”

“Yea,” Zed called out.

“Yea,” Gauge tossed in.

“Yea,” Squid added.

“This is gonna bite me in the ass,” Grimm groaned. “Yea.”

“Yea,” Buddha said. He slammed the gavel. “Passed.”

Torch clenched his teeth and did his best not to start tearing up like a little girl. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, not for another decade or two at least. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything at all.

“Second vote,” Buddha declared, his eyes still fixed on Torch. “Yea or nay on me stepping down.”

Zed, Gauge, Squid, and Grimm all voiced their approval, before turning to stare at a silent and stoic Torch. It didn’t matter which way he went at that point, Buddha wasn’t asking to leave the club so a unanimous vote wasn’t needed. But it still seemed so goddamn wrong to say that one little word. It changed everything.

“Son, please,” Buddha insisted, “I need to hear you say it.”

He took a deep breath and gave in. “Yea.”

Buddha held out the gavel. “Call it.”

With a long sigh and a heavy heart, Torch took it and hit the tray table. “Passed.”

Biff picked up Buddha’s cut from a side chair and handed it to him along with a knife. Buddha slipped the blade under his President patch and cut through the threads. After running his thumb across it one last time, he glanced back up at Torch with a strained smile and handed it over. “I’ve always loved you like you were my own,” he said, his voice cracking. “You’ve got this, my boy.”

Fuck if he looked like a pussy, there was no way to hold back the emotions. Torch’s eyes started to water and a lump formed in his throat. “Goddamn it, I love you too.”

Buddha’s health was paramount, but Torch couldn’t just stand there.

He grabbed a sterile mask from a box on the nightstand and put it on, then bent down to hug his pops. Gripping Buddha’s head, Torch kissed his cheek through the paper and gave it a couple light slaps. “Dinner at my place the day you get out of here. My woman can’t cook for shit but she’ll order us something good.”

Buddha chuckled and wiped his eyes. “You got it, send her my love. And don’t fuck that shit up.” He turned to the others. “Alright, brothers, get out of here. My favorite soap’s on in a minute and the previews showed a bitch fight I can’t miss.”

: 32 :

| LIVIA |

“Fuck, sweetie, you’re a bigger woman than me,” Lexi sighed on the other end of the line. “But at least he’s a state away, right? You should never talk to that asshole again.”

“Trust me, if I ever have cause to see my father again, we won’t be doing any talking. Anyway, I know you’re waiting to pick up the munchkin so I’ll give you a call another time. I just wanted to hear your voice and tell you how much I miss you. I’m sorry I haven’t been much of a friend lately.”

“Hey, as long as you send me a text every few days to let me know you’re still alive, I’m good. You’ve obviously had a lot going on. Love you, doll.”

She had no idea. “Love you too, honey. Give Neil and Chloe big hugs for me.”

“Will do.”

I hung up the phone and looked up at myself in the newly replaced dresser mirror. My mother hadn’t left me much except the image of her lying dead in the bathroom, but at least she hadn’t left me with the face of my father. I could do this. I could let him live his life without giving him so much as a grain of space in my brain. Shaking it off, I stood up from the bed and headed out into the rec area.

Torch and I had just finished up lunch in town when Buddha texted, telling him he’d been cleared for visitors and was calling church in his hospital room. Since we were closer to the compound than home, Torch dropped me off and promised he’d be back as soon as they were finished. Two hours later and he was yet to make an official appearance.

But he
was
back, I spotted him sitting alone at the table as soon as I walked out, the doors to chapel wide open. He just sat there—in Buddha’s seat—smoking a cigarette and staring away into the distance.

Zed, Squid, Mace, Gauge, Grimm, and Biff were all at the bar, but with none of them offering up anything other than frowns, I made my way across the room to find out what the hell was going on.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, leaning against the door frame and staring at him. He stubbed out the cigarette and from inside his hand, produced something rectangular and held it between two fingers. I glanced down and saw the President patch. “Shit,” I muttered. “Buddha stepped down?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“And you’re stepping up?”

“Yup.”

Despite getting nothing but one-word answers, it was clear as day he felt conflicted. Even the air felt heavy. “You’ll do right by the club, baby,” I assured him. “Buddha too. Is he keeping his cut?”

“We’d have to pry it out of his cold, dead hands. He says he’ll be back to riding with us as soon as the transplant does its thing, just not as our president.”

I was stumped. And confused. Buddha wasn’t going anywhere and had every intention of getting back on a bike—amazing news in my opinion—but Torch clearly wasn’t focusing on anything positive here. While melancholy and sadness over a shift in leadership after so many years was understandable, something in his tone revealed a deeper kind of internal conflict. It almost sounded like guilt. “At least he’ll still be around to impart his wisdom, right?” I asked, trying to pinpoint the problem. “Doesn’t that take some of the sting off?”

He smirked. “Not really. The strongest man I know got taken down by his own fucking body. Of all the enemies we’ve battled over the years, to lose a fight to something you can’t even
see?
It’s not right, Liv. It’s like a soldier who survives war only to come home and get killed by a drunk teenager.”

Ah, the brain’s natural depressant: confronting your own mortality. “But he
didn’t
die,” I pointed out. “And I’m sure the last thing he wants is you throwing a pity party. Maybe you should quit looking at it as a loss for the table and see it as an opportunity for Buddha to finally get to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He taught you everything you know, it’s not like his influence just goes away if he doesn’t vote in church. He’s a grown man with his wits about him and he chose
you
to continue what he started. Trust me, it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision he made today.”

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered. “I’m glad he doesn’t want out of the club, but I feel like I’m taking something from him and fucking rubbing it in his face.”

“Babe, you were born to be at this table and you’ve earned your place at the head of it. You may feel like you’re stealing something from Buddha, but stepping down was his choice to make and it’s your duty to honor it. I’m kind of jealous honestly.”