Page 28 of Torching Vixen
I am so overwhelmed by his words that I just nod. He can’t mean all this, can he? I haven't had any dreams or hopes because of how life has treated me since my parents died. The ones I had died after Fire because I figured I would die there until Torch came along. Whether by Fire’s hand or my own. I don’t, however, tell Torch that little tidbit. Hell, Lo doesn’t even know I thought about that, although she was the one reason I never went any further.
“Now, when it comes to this baby, it’smine. The baby may not have my blood in its veins, but it has yours. That means I’ll burn this world to ash to make sure you both are safe,” he finishes before pulling me to him and slamming his mouth down on mine.
Torch threads his hands into my hair. We forget that we are in a boat for about two seconds before we capsize.
“Holy shit, that’s so fucking cold,” I gasp as I reemerge.
“Fuck yeah, it is. Come on, Vixen, let's race to the shore, and I’ll show you some more of the land.”
We spend the rest of the day riding in the side-by-side, laughing and talking. We take the time we need to figure out our relationship since we’ve had so little time together.
“Vixen, I hope you know that when this is all over, and Fire and his men are taken care of, I’m still not letting you go,” Torch says as he rubs my belly.
“I hope you truly mean that!” I exclaim, running my fingers through his hair.
“I’ll prove it,” he promises, just as his phone chimes with a message. “Looks like our little break is over. We have to go back to reality,” Torch advises before kissing my belly then getting to his feet.
“Fine, fine, let’s go.” I sigh as he pulls me to my feet and into a soft kiss. We manage to make it back to the clubhouse in record time.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be,” Torch tells me as we walk toward the back.
“I know. I’m going to sit out under the umbrella and read a little before I go in and check on Lo and take a nap,” I tell him, going up on my toes, kissing him softly on the neck before he leaves.
Dozing off, the next thing I feel is a hand over my mouth, and a gun pressed into my belly. Fear consumes me, but I need to be smart. If living around Fire and his cohorts has taught me anything, it’s that there’s always a way out of any situation. I just have to be patient.
“If you don’t want this little bastard to die, you’ll come with me quietly and without a fight.” I hear the evil cunt from earlier hiss in my ear.
My very first instinct is to fight, not to go with her. But the bite of the muzzle of the gun keeps me compliant. I look around and don’t see anyone, which in and of itself is odd. I look right at the camera, giving it a nod as we round the corner where she has parked her car. What the fuck is going on? I don’t know this bitch. Why would she want me?
“Get in and get low. If anyone sees you in my car or comes after us, I will shoot you,” the bitch snidely says.
“I get it. I do as you say and do it quietly, or you shoot me. Can you hush now?” I ask her in such a dry tone that I know there is no way she could have missed it.
“You know what? Your mouth ain’t worth listening to,” she hisses just before I see a flash of silver in my peripheral, then pain, like I haven’t felt in months, explodes at my temple.
20
Torch
“That’s not going to fucking work if we can’t fucking find these fuckers.”
“No shit! When we do find them, that plan is our best option, and you fucking know it!” Smith says, vibrating with such fury that it seems to crackle in the air.
“No one is saying it’s not. We can’t just sit around and wait. We have to fucking do something about this. The families are getting antsy, and everyone’s nerves are on short supply,” Razor states, running his hands through his dark hair.
The guys go back and forth for another five minutes until I’ve had all I can stand. I bring my fingers to my lips and whistle long and loud, making everyone fall silent and turn to me. I take in everyone’s body language. We are tired, worn out, and running on fumes. I know I could use some downtime. Fuck, I mean, we’re still recovering from getting our asses handed to us for the last few weeks.
“We’ve all put some great ideas on the table. Let’s take a couple of hours, get some food and come back to the table to hammer out the last of the details,” I state, glancing at Prez to make sure he doesn’t disagree.
“Sounds like a great plan. Boys, take a couple of hours. We aren’t doing anyone any good babbling like a bunch of women,” Prez advises, slamming the gavel on the table to end church.
I sit back in my chair and look up at the ceiling before rubbing my eyes. Fuck, I need to find Vixen and make sure she’s okay. Yet, the thought of getting out of this chair makes me never want to get up. I’m so lost in my thoughts I almost fall out of the chair when my father speaks.
“You know why I’m not worried about turning the gavel over to you?” he asks me.
“No, why?” I question, not even opening my eyes.
“Because of what you just did and what you’ve been doing,” Dad says, somewhat cryptically.
