Page 11 of Traitor

He slid away from the table and stormed out of the bar, his hand leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

“Torch!” I called out as I ran after him. He took long strides across the gravel, refusing to slow down as I stumbled in my heels behind him.

Carnage came flying out of the front doors with his gun drawn. “Torch, what the fuck?”

Torch slowed and then turned, the fury barely contained on his face. “They killed my girl,” he wailed. Then he calmly walked over to the side of the bar and punched the bricks over and over again. His hands were raw and bloody, from both the glass and the building, yet he kept throwing punches.

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to stifle the sobs that had risen up at witnessing his grief. Carnage looked at me questioningly.

“Call Grey. Tell him the Sons got Monica,” Torch bellowed before stepping away from the side of the bar and walking back over to us.

The Sons?

Carnage let out a frustrated exhale. “If the Sons are responsible for what happened to your girl, then I’ll help you kill them myself, brother.”

I dropped my hands down at my side. “Who are the Sons?”

The men began formulating their game plan, while completely ignoring my question. Torch finally made eye contact with me. “Lauren’s going to need club protection.” He shook blood off of his right hand; a hand that appeared to be broken in several places.

I shook my head. “No, what I need is for you to tell me who the Sons are. I have a right to know.”

He moved his hand toward me before realizing that it was still dripping blood. “Lauren, I need you to go home. I’ll come to you once I know something.”

I frowned. “But, you do know something. Why won’t you let me help you?”

Carnage laughed. “You help us? That’s fuckin’ hilarious!”

I turned and stomp-walked back to my car. I was tits deep in this investigation—it was mine. I’d only come to feel Torch out, see where his head was at. Instead, I’d had an impromptu memorial service for my mother before he swiped the whole thing out from under me.

I wasn’t going to wait around for them to solve this case though. Luckily, I hadn’t given him everything. I patted the papers inside my purse as I climbed into my car and headed back toward the city.

I was briefly distracted by the night sky on the drive to my apartment. The stars were faint due to the city lights, but I knew they were there.

Kind of like Mike.

He hadn’t been in the picture for over a month, yet I still felt his presence. Even looking up at the sky made me think of him and the night we’d spent lying in the bed of his truck, celebrating my birthday. Now, I couldn’t look up without seeing his face.

We’d stared up at this sky just a few short months ago, yet so much had changed.How many other doomed relationships had the stars witnessed imploding?

It was all the same.

The constellations.

The sky.

The stars were once considered to control destiny—I wondered if they’d attempted to fight for mine and Mike’s souls.

Love should’ve come with an off switch—a way for the broken-hearted to heal in peace. I didn’t need the universe to provide constant reminders of the man who’d destroyed my world. It was ironic, considering officers were sworn to serve and protect. Yet, Mike had gone out of his way to avoid helping me.

I parked under the awning and got out, wrapping my jacket tighter around my body. There was a chill in the air, yet it had nothing to do with the weather. As I walked up the stairs, I wondered when the hurting would stop. At what point would he be nothing more than a distant memory? Could I reclaim songs and events for myself, or would the thoughts of him haunt me forever? Was our love like the stars in the sky—something that would remain for all eternity?

I came to a sudden stop at the top of the stairs. My front door had been kicked in and spray-painted in red letters.

I told you to watch your back.

Chapter Two

Late February 2015

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