made a righteous mess for the rest of them to clean up.
The sound of roaring Harley pipes overpowered the air and Torch looked back over his shoulder to spot Zed coming his way. He stubbed his cigarette out and went back to staring at the water.
“Hey, brother,” Zed greeted, taking a seat on the ground next to him. “How long have you been out here?”
“An hour.”
Zed reached inside his cut and pulled out a joint. He gave himself first honors and passed it over. “You tell her everything?”
Torch inhaled the thick smoke and let it percolate inside his lungs. “Yup,” he choked out.
“And since you’re out here brooding like a little girl, I guess she didn’t take it too well?”
Torch shot him a sideways scowl. “I’m not fucking brooding, dickhead.”
Zed laughed and took the joint back. “Yeah, alright. What’s the problem then?”
“She’s got the money to pay off Cora and wants to do it.”
Zed nodded. “Honestly, I don’t think we have a choice at this point. You’re the one who pushed for it in the first place, so what’s with the sour face? We’ll get Cora off our ass and pay her back eventually. Liv to the rescue again, right?”
He exhaled. “It’s not about the fucking money, I was ready to swallow my pride as soon as I knew we were in ass-deep with Cora. What I’m trying to figure out is how the fuck to balance my wife and my club. She knows how to turn shit back on me like nobody else, I don’t know how to protect her without pushing her right out the goddamn door. When I fill her in, she ends up in jail, when I don’t, she almost gets taken out in the street. I’ve got no idea how any of this is supposed to work, Z, it’s fucking embarrassing. Gauge, Biff, Jet, Toto… they know how to draw the goddamn line—”
“And look at all the fucking stress they have,” Zed croaked out, passing the joint back. “Christ, look at all the stress you had trying to go by the book, and that was just a week and a half. You think that shit’s sustainable? I can name ten divorced brothers in our chapter alone who’ll tell you otherwise. Hell, you’re one of them.”
“I got rid of Penny because she trapped me with a kid that ended up not being mine,” Torch pointed out.
“Either you’ve got amnesia or you’re trying to rewrite history, the paternity test didn’t happen until after you filed for divorce. Yeah, you married her outta obligation but you got rid of the bitch because she was a crazy, selfish, lying, cunt. And those are the nice things I have to say about Penny.”
“Yeah, that too.” Why the fuck were they even talking about the nutcase anyway? “I’m just saying, there wasn’t a fucking ounce of love there, it was easy to be a dick and intimidate her into staying out of my business. But Liv… Fuck man, I don’t wanna do that shit. She’s had enough assholes treat her like garbage and I’m not gonna be one of them. My woman deserves better, she’s earned it.”
Zed nodded in understanding. “I know, that’s exactly why I think you’re looking at things all wrong, brother.”
This he had to hear. “Yeah? Elaborate.”
“Patience, grasshopper,” Zed mocked with the tone of an old man. “Look, all I’m saying is you’re trying to stuff your old lady in a box we both know she’ll never squeeze into. The bitch is over six feet in heels for fuck’s sake.”
“You’re an idiot,” he smirked.
“You’re the fucking idiot if you blow it. You’re chasing your tail trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense to start with. Liv’s not your typical old lady, she never will be, and you knew that before you married her. Hell, it was probably the biggest reason you did. She’s an asset and you shouldn’t waste it.”
“Assets are people you use,” he pointed out, “I’m not fucking doing that. And I’m sure as shit not gonna willingly put her in the line of fire.”
“Semantics, brother, she wants to be use-ful. Liv didn’t come into this blind, she tied herself to the likes of you and the club partly because it’s comfortable. You think you’re doing her a favor by trying to protect her from the chaos, but chaos is all she’s ever known. She thrives on it. She might not have the strength of a man but she’s lived an outlaw life