Torch (Great Wolves MC) - Jayne Blue Page 0,5
fist.
“No!” I screamed, lunging forward. “Don’t hurt him. You’ll ... you’ll kill him!”
Torch looked at me, but it was as if he couldn’t see me, his rage was so great.
“I understand,” the guy said, his voice squeaking. He scrambled backward in a crab-crawl toward the alley. “I don’t want no trouble. I get the message. She’s yours.”
It got hard to breathe. What did he mean?
Torch straightened. The guy took the opening and disappeared into the darkness in a stumbling run.
I watched a tremor go through Torch. God, he was big. If I hadn’t have stepped in, would he have beaten that guy to a bloody pulp?
“Did he hurt you?” Torch said.
“What? No. He didn’t ... he didn’t lay a finger on me. He just scared me. He was just panhandling, that’s all.”
Torch straightened. “George sent you here?”
I nodded.
“Is that club money?” he asked, pointing to the pouch.
“He said so, yes,” I said.
Torch snarled. Every inch of him was coiled fury. It scared me. But it also triggered something dark inside of me. Something primal. I couldn’t help myself, I felt my heat rising.
“George knows better than to send someone like you out without protection. I’ll have a talk with him.”
“No,” I said. “Please. Don’t. I don’t want to cause trouble.”
Torch regarded me. Just like last night, he had a way of sizing me up that made it feel like he knew what I looked like without my clothes on. Or ... wanted to. My breath came in quick little pants as I realized that’s exactly what I was wondering about him too.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you inside so you can go about your business.”
He held his hand out for me. Breathless, I took it. I felt his body heat straight down to my toes.
Chapter Three
Torch
She smelled good. Too good. Her skin was just as soft as I thought it might be as she took my hand.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m okay. You didn’t have to ... go so hard on that guy.”
That guy. I stopped just before opening the door to the bank.
“He’s just down on his luck,” she said. “He only asked me for twenty dollars.”
Was she for real?
I let go of her hand and turned to her. “You mean Chuckie?” I asked.
“You knew him?” she said.
“He’s bad news,” I told her. “A junkie.”
She blinked. “That’s so sad. Is he homeless?”
“Listen, Snow White. How long have you been in Lincolnshire?”
She swallowed, and I watched a little vein in her neck jump. Her skin was so white. I’d wondered last night whether she was a natural redhead. Now, I’d bet my life on it. She had faint freckles across her cheeks. I hadn’t noticed them in the dim light of the club. But here, out in the sunlight, it made her look like she was dusted with cinnamon. A wicked thought rolled through me. I wondered if she tasted like it too.
“How did you know I was here on club business?” she asked.
I smiled. “You’re driving George’s Mercedes. I’m going to assume you didn’t steal it from him.”
She held a money pouch close to her chest as if she thought I was the one about to steal it. Damn George. He shouldn’t have sent her here without muscle. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“Yes,” she said. “George is ... well ... he’s my uncle.”
I did a double take. Who knew old George Bailey had DNA like hers in his bloodline.
“My father’s brother,” she explained, though I hadn’t asked. “I’m Sydney.”
She extended a hand. Sydney. I liked the sound of it. It suited her. Prim. Proper. She had one of those hoity-toity accents. New England, somewhere.
“Come on,” I said. “It’s not a good idea for you to be standing out here in the open like that with all that cash. George should know better. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“No!” she shouted. “No. Please. I don’t want to make trouble for my uncle. He didn’t do anything wrong. And neither did I.”
“Listen,” I said, leaning in close. “I don’t know what country club you came from, but this is downtown Lincolnshire. Chuckie? The homeless junkie your heart is bleeding for? He’s a thief on a good day. The guy’s been arrested for assault like six times. He’s an animal. He saw you as easy pickings with your expensive clothes, expensive shoes. You didn’t even see him coming. He probably made you three blocks ago.”
She took a step back, breathless.
“You’re making a lot of