Chapter Nine

Torch

Fuck, my shoulder hurt like a son of a bitch! I opened my eyes after a few minutes because the sound of those hospital machines beeping and clicking did everything but made it easier to sleep. I scanned the room in search of Kyla, but my vision was too blurry from the lights and the fucking pain. I remembered everything though. The gun-wielding pizza man, getting shot, and passing out in Kyla’s arms. “Ky, you here?”

“Right here.” Her voice came from right beside me, and she squeezed a hand I didn’t even realize she’d been holding. “How are you feeling, big guy?”

“Fine,” I croaked out. “It was just a .22. Fucking amateurs.”

She smiled and tipped her head to the side. “Yeah, well, a .22 hurts as much as any other caliber, mister tough guy.”

“How are you holding up?” I knew she was going to downplay it, but she had to feel something about shooting a man. If I wasn’t mistaken, killing him.

Kyla shrugged, suddenly looking small and unsure of herself. “I don’t know.” Such an honest answer gutted me. She was too light, too good, and happy to have to deal with this kind of shit. “I’m so sorry I got you shot, Torch.”

“Don’t.” I put a hand on her shoulder so she would look at me. “This isn’t on you, Ky. Besides, you defended my honor, and that shit is hot as fuck.” She smiled, but her lips wobbled and then she burst into tears. She sobbed on my thigh, and all I could fucking do was stroke the three fingers within arm’s reach. I felt fucking helpless. “Come on, darlin’, don’t cry. Please, Ky.”

She smiled, her lush mouth opened to say something that was interrupted by the appearance of Mick and Ethan in the room, both of them wearing worried expressions.

“What the hell happened?” Mick asked at the same time Ethan shouted,

“Is everyone okay?” Ethan’s face was pale, and I could only imagine what crossed his mind when the call went out over the radio. He and Mick blasted us with questions without giving us a chance to answer.

“Stop!” Kyla’s loud voice covered the male voices which suddenly went silent. She sagged back down into her seat and held my hand. “We ordered pizza and the delivery guy wasn’t a delivery guy. He shot Torch in the shoulder, and I shot him with Torch’s .38. End of story. Did you find the real pizza kid?”

Damn, I had it bad for this woman. After all she’d been through, she wanted to make sure no one else had been hurt because of her.

Ethan nodded and dropped a hand on Kyla’s shoulder. “We found him in his car around the corner from Torch’s place. He’s fine, but he’s got a hell of a goose egg that’ll hurt for a few days.”

She nodded in relief, squeezing my hand while she quietly sobbed. I noticed that small move didn’t go unnoticed by Ethan or Mick. “Who was he?” she asked without looking up, and we all knew which he she meant.

Mick’s gaze landed on me, serious as hell and sober. “The top enforcer for the Celtic Monsters.”

Shit. “So Stash has to be one too, right? They don’t outsource.”

“That’s what we’re thinking,” Ethan added. “We’ll let you get some rest. Kyla, let’s go.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Daddy. I’ll be fine.” She stood and kissed his cheek, hugging him tight. “Love you.”

“Let’s talk for a minute, sweetheart.” She went with him, casting a shy but worried look over her shoulder at me.

“So you and the sheriff’s daughter,” Mick said, letting out a long, low whistle. “Living dangerously.”

“Don’t I fucking know it. I tried to resist her, but I couldn’t. And then I didn’t, and now I don’t want to. She looks after me, Mick, asked if I was okay after I pounded that motherfucker outside Black Betty’s. She fucking cleaned my bloody knuckles.”

Mick’s smile said it all. He knew exactly what I meant because he’d gone through the same thing with Talon. “Then I suggest you do right by her because it takes a special woman to handle what we do. What we sometimes have to do.”

That was for damn sure. “She killed a man to save me, Mick.” That meant a lot to me. “But the last time, with Octavia. Shit it went so bad.”

Mick took a seat and blew out a breath. “Octavia did that to herself, man, and you can’t keep punishing yourself for it. She chose the drugs.”

And she overdosed, killing herself and our unborn baby in the process. “I know but shit, man. This life is too fucking dark for Kyla.”

“I said the same thing to Talon, and she reamed my ass for trying to take away her choice to love who she wanted to.”

“But can I keep Kyla when she’s just finished college and is about to start her life? Would that be fair to her?”

“That’s her choice, Torch. Give her the chance to choose, but maybe wait until you’re out of the hospital and her life is no longer in danger.” He grinned and smacked the bed. “Talon says a relationship that starts under extreme pressure can either go the distance or implode spectacularly. Apparently, she saw it in a movie.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Magnus’ daughter was a character just like her old man. “Then I guess all I can do is wait and see.”

“But take my advice and tell her how you feel before it’s too late. Women, they need the words.”

Words. They weren’t my fucking strong suit. But I had time to figure it out because that asshole, Stash, was still out there. “Got it. Thanks, man.”

***

“It’s been quiet for few weeks now; do you think they’ve given up?” Kyla laid against my chest, stroking my beard, which I thought I’d hate, but fuck if it wasn’t the most relaxing shit I ever felt. Aside from fucking, that was.

I shook my head at her question though. “Doubtful. They want us to think that so we let our guard down. Go out more, forget to be cautious.”

She inched her face closer to mine. “Should we?”

Damn she was always so brave, and it turned me on. “Maybe later. But first…” I grinned and she laughed, straddling my hips.

“First,” she asked, kissing my neck and jaw, then pouring her body and soul into a kiss that was so raw and electric my cock immediately stood on edge. Her hips dragged across my length, back and forth as her mouth held me captive. “This?” Then she was naked, and my cock grew harder. Longer. Anticipating sliding into that wet hot pussy again. I couldn’t get enough of her. I knew it would ever be enough. I lifted my hips, smiling as she yanked my shorts down and impaled herself on my cock. “Yes, Torch. I’ve missed this.”

“You missed my cock? He missed you too, darlin’.”

She laughed, that throaty sound so fucking sexy I bucked up into her, drawing a whimper from her. “I missed all of you. But you need to take it easy so I’m running the show.”

“Oh yeah?” Fuck, it was so hot the way she wanted to take control. My cock pulsed inside of her.

“Yeah. You just enjoy,” she said, taking my left hand and putting it on one beautifully plump tit. Then her hands were on the back of the sofa for leverage, bouncing up and down in a slow hypnotic move that warmed up my blood. “Fuck yeah,” she groaned and moved her hips in a figure eight and adding a bounce. “Torch,” she moaned.

“I’m here, Ky. Give it to me,” I told her, and that was all my little kitten needed to hear. Eyes focused and back arched, I pulled a nipple into my mouth and her speed increased, sending me out of my ever-loving mind. Faster and faster she went, her breathy whispers and dirty words grunted in my ear had me so hard my vision began to blur. “Fuck me, Ky.”

“Yes, Torch.” It was too much and not enough, and soon she was squeezing my cock, milking it as we came together, shouting our pleasure into the other’s ear. “Damn, I love your cock.”

I laughed. “No one has ever said that to me before.”

She rested her head on my left shoulder and laughed in my ear. “That’s a shame because he is incredible.”

Her tight cunt still pulsed around me, making me shiver as hot spurts of come let loose inside of her. “Thank you, darlin’. I think.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to take a shower. Carefully.”

I grinned. “You’re in charge.”

Her smile hit me right in the chest, making my heart rate increase and my cock to lengthen inside of her. “That’s what I like to hear.”

The shower was memorable, and by the time we were dressed and getting ready to leave I had a stupid grin on my face I couldn’t seem to wipe away. “You ready?”

She nodded and stepped into a sexy ass pair of red fuck me pumps that showcased long, lean legs encased in the tiniest pair of denim shorts possible while still being decent. “Yep. Where to first?”

“Baz is screwing a nurse, and she’s at the clubhouse to redress my wound.” I could’ve gone to the hospital, but I knew it was safer at the clubhouse. So Kyla gloated behind the wheel of my Escalade and followed the GPS to the clubhouse.

“This car is ginormous, Torch. And you’re just one guy. A big guy, but damn I feel like I’m driving a semi,” she said as she bounced like she was in an eighteen-wheeler. “Breaker, breaker. This is Fireball, you copy?” She glanced over at me and burst out laughing. “Sorry. Couldn’t help it.”

She was nervous. “It’ll be okay, Ky.”

She went still and then softened, grasping my thigh in thanks. “What the hell? This road is never under construction.”

I turned and saw what she meant. It was the only way to the ramp that lead to the expressway and to the CAOS clubhouse. And a detour sign blocked it. “Shit. Go through the detour sign, Ky.”

“But what if—”

“Now, Kyla. Now!”

Her foot pressed down on the gas as hard as she could, hands white knuckling the steering wheel while green eyes darted to every mirror in search of danger. “I think we’re fine, oh shit!” A bullet pierced the back window. “Okay, spoke to soon!”

Three cars approached. One stayed behind us while the other two took the curves in the long ramp with us, shooting nonstop. I reached inside the glove compartment for the piece I kept there, but with my right shoulder injured I could only do so much. “Stay down!”

“Hang on,” she interrupted, shoving the car on her side off the ramp and down a steep embankment. “Motherfucker!” Still shaking, Kyla kept on, but the red pickup behind us took its place.

She didn’t notice, but the car had slowed and we were becoming sitting fucking targets. “Hit the gas, Ky!” She did and I got a few rounds off, hitting the tire and the driver on my side. “Get down as far as you can, Kyla, and don’t freak out.”

“’Kay. I won’t freak out,” she repeated over and over, ducking low and peeking through the space between the dashboard and the steering wheel. Her scream pierced the air when I let off a shot through the driver side window. I emptied the clip as bullets continued to fly, and she screamed again. “Ow, my eye!”

Shit. No. I was about to take the wheel when I heard the sweet fucking sound of my brothers, riding to our defense. I never had a doubt the boys would come through for me when I needed them most, but having Kyla in the middle of this shit storm made it mean even more.

“Asshole!” She screamed like a wild animal protecting her young as she turned the wheel and smashed into the red pickup.

Bullets continued to fly between the bikes and the cars for what felt like hours, but I knew was just a few minutes. Then things were blissfully silent. “You okay, Ky? Ky, say something.”

Her shaky hand reached out to me, and she tried to squeeze but her arms were weak from stress, from her grip on the wheel. “I think I was sh-sh-shot,” she said, trying hard not to cry.

Sirens sounded, and I sagged in relief. “Looks like we’re going back to the hospital.”