a chance to pull the trigger, a light flashed, another gunshot rang out, and the guy dropped to his knees. As he face-planted, Torch saw Zed flying over on an ATV with his gun drawn.
“Get to her!” Z yelled out, heading straight for him. Torch bashed George’s head against the car to knock his ass out and ran for his old lady.
She was on the ground, holding her chest and dry-heaving with her eyes closed, when he slid down next to her.
“Jesus, baby,” he murmured, tearing her jacket and shirt open to find the wound. Instead, he found Kevlar. A wave of relief came over him when he realized she’d been wearing a vest and had just gotten the wind knocked out of her. He slapped her cheek lightly to get her seeing straight again. “You’re not hit, just try to breathe,” he coaxed.
She started coughing and rolled over to her side like she was about to throw up, but she didn’t, the strong ass bitch got a hold of herself. She turned back to him and seethed, “That fucking dick. Did you get him?”
Torch smiled. “Zed took him down. You good?”
“Yeah,” she croaked out, propping herself up on her elbows. “Fucking Christ, that shit hurts even with a vest. I’m glad I listened to you about wearing one though.”
“It’s about fucking time you listened to something I say. But damn it, Liv, he could’ve gotten you in the head.”
“Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. Whatever, he didn’t.”
He scoffed at her bullheadedness and dropped his cheek to hers, just needing to nuzzle and smell her scent like it would assure him she was still warm and ticking. They could argue about this shit later too.
Grimm’s voice came in through his earpiece. “Got Scully to take me to where they buried the coins. I’ve got ‘em. Everybody breathing?”
One by one, all of his brothers unmuted and replied with an “aye”.
“Liv?” Grimm asked.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” she said.
“I just did an aerial sweep,” Biff spoke up. “Nine bodies.”
“We’ve got the other two out here,” Torch informed him. Looking back over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed at George, who was tied up and lying face down on the ground with Zed’s boot resting on his head. “One’s dead, the other’s my old man. He’s about to be the same. Everybody start cleaning up while I deal with this.”
He glanced back down at his woman. “Can you get up?”
“Of course I can get up,” she huffed, taking his outstretched hand and letting him help anyway.
With Liv steady on her feet, Torch walked back over to his worthless father and kicked him in the ribs. “Looks like you just lost a lot of lawyering business,” he sneered.
As George gasped for air, Torch motioned for Zed to get him standing. His best friend nodded and hooked his arms under George’s, pulling the asshole to his feet and shoving him against the hood of the car so he wouldn’t fall forward.
“Take Liv back, brother,” Torch ordered.
He felt her hand wrap around his wrist. “I’m staying.”
“You don’t wanna see this,” he argued, his eyes still trained on his father.
“You said you wanted me standing next to you, remember? I can handle it.”
He turned his head and studied her face. Lifting his battered and dirty hand to her cheek, he caressed her soft skin and muttered, “You’re a beacon of light in a dark world, sweetheart. I’m fucking honored to have you standing next to me.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand. “And I’m honored to call you my husband. Don’t worry about me, do what you need to do.”
He leaned down and planted his parched lips on hers before stepping away. Zed approached and took his place next to her as Torch again became transfixed on George. He strolled across the grass, his heart pumping so hard he could hear it echoing in his skull.
He’d had twenty-one years to stew over the shit memories, to hate the man more than anyone except maybe the men who’d hurt Liv. But now that he was staring him down in the flesh, looking into those eyes reflecting nothing but selfishness and greed, Torch realized he hated his father on an even deeper level than he’d thought possible.
His blood boiled as images of George standing over him with belts, branches, plywood, anything he could get his hands on, flashed before his eyes like a stop-motion movie. Images of his mother with black eyes and broken bones faded in, as did his sister’s