Page 6 of Torrent’s Treasure

Cecilia grabbed the cookies and another soda for her sister. “I think you can have whatever you want. You were so smart grabbing the knife and the phone,” Cecilia praised, her throat closing at the thought of what awaited them if Calliope hadn’t thought of getting the pocketknife.

Calliope took a bite of a cookie, leaning into Cecilia’s shoulder. “I love you, sissy,” she whispered.

“Love you too, Calliope,” Cecilia whispered back, fighting to keep the tears from her voice. She was glad the truck was facing away from where Horace’s car was. She didn’t need it triggering the scenes that kept playing through her head. She pushed all the thoughts away for now of the questions running through her head about safety, what would happen to the car and the body, and the biggest question: what the hell would happen when the Police Chief came back to town? The Grave Prowlers MC was handling it so far. For now, she’d let them handle it and deal with whatever was needed to pay the debt when she could think more clearly.

She sat there in the quiet cab with only the sound of Calliope chewing. The opening of the door had her jumping—her heart pounding in her chest.

“Hey ladies, we’re going to head back. Dragon doesn’t think it’s a good idea to get anything from your house at this time. Are there any medications or items that we couldn’t replace?” Sally asked, starting up the truck and driving back onto the road.

Calliope grabbed her arm, her fingers squeezing Cecilia’s arm. Since losing their parents, Calliope had only been able to sleep with one of the stuffed animals she kept on her bed. Cecilia didn’t think it was any specific stuffed animal, but that she needed something soft like that to hold.

“Calliope, do you need something specific, or will you be okay?” Cecilia asked.

Calliope took a deep breath, a small shudder running through her. Cecilia wanted Calliope to have what she needed, but having one of the guys stop at their house was a chance someone would know where they went. As it was, Cecilia would need to notify Judith that Calliope was ill and not attending school for a couple days. Judith would need to take her daughter, Linny, to school since Calliope wouldn’t be attending.

“I can try without anything,” Calliope said, her voice quivering.

“What would help?” Sally prompted.

“A stuffed animal. It doesn’t have to be one of my favorites—just something to hold,” she said.

“What brand do you like?” Sally asked.

“Squishmallows,” Calliope whispered.

They were getting close to where they’d enter the road to go back into town. Two motorcycles were in front of them and three were behind them.

Sally rolled down the window and waved her arm. Torrent was closest, getting off his bike and walking up to the window. Sally leaned close and told Torrent. He nodded and got back on his bike.

Their group headed onto the road that would take them back to Hazard. Cecilia tried to stay in the moment, keeping an eye on the road, but she kept drifting back to the house and him. How would she ever forget this?

She thought about how she ministered to her survivors, offering them services to discuss their trauma. She’d always wondered if they even heard what she was saying. She’d known about shock, but she hadn’t gone through anything like this where she experienced it herself.

She didn’t want to discuss it with anyone. She wanted to rewind the day and never open the door to him. If only she could turn back time.

“Hey ladies, we’re here. Let me show you around,” Sally said.

Cecilia glanced at the large building with no windows on the front and what looked to be steel doors. She opened the door and stepped down out of the cab of the truck, groaning at the pain shooting through her body.

She glanced toward the street. A ten-foot cinderblock wall painted dark gray surrounded the property. A twenty-foot-wide rolling gate had opened as they approached. At least for now, she and Calliope were safe.

Torrent left the items he’d bought in his saddlebags and walked into the clubhouse. A couple of the Whispers were hanging out, and Dragon was sitting at the bar. He stood up and headed toward Church when Torrent walked in.

Torrent followed, taking his customary seat as the Secretary of the club. Dragon was at the head, with Maverick sitting beside him. For all the crap he gave Mav about flappy lips, he was an excellent Vice President and would make a good President when Dragon decided to step down.

But Maverick did love his gossip.

“All right, for those of you who stayed here to guard the place, we’ve got a situation. The pain-in-our-ass Officer Horse’s Ass decided to assault Old Man Wilson’s daughter. She finally gave in because he promised he’d leave her younger sister alone, but he was either lying or changed his mind. He decided he’d use both sisters and then sell them. Unfortunately for him, Calliope smuggled a pocketknife to her sister, and Cecilia stabbed him in the neck, then slit his throat to finish the job. She called Torrent for help because her dad had said if she was ever in trouble to call him. Thoughts?” Dragon put to the room.

“His brother already has a hard-on for us. How can we hide this?” Ashe asked.

Torrent rolled his eyes. Ashe was their Sergeant-at-Arms, but he was also the one who cremated the bodies they were paid to dispose of. Ashe knew exactly how they would hide it.

“Seriously?” Torrent scoffed.

“What Torrent is saying is that you’re the guy who burns the bodies—of course, you know how we’re going to hide this,” Maverick replied.

“I wasn’t concerned about hiding the body. I’m concerned about how we hide her if the Police Chief knew his brother was going there. Geez, I may be an asshole, but I would never hurt a woman or child,” Ashe grumbled.