Chapter 27

Torin had dozed off early in the movie, and without moving, he cracked an eye open, husking, "Just stay put." An hour and a half later, when the movie came to an end, I lifted my head off Torin's shoulder where it had come to rest at some point during the evening.

The evening hadn't gone anywhere close to the direction I'd expected it to. Yet, I couldn't deny more snuggle time was damn tempting. Giving in to my desires, I settled back into Torin's arms, and placing my head back on his shoulder, I gave a huge yawn and a contented sigh.

Floating in that moment that comes right before the blissfulness of sleep, I heard Torin whisper to himself, "I'm so fucked!"

~TORIN~

I should be sent straight to hell. I had to fucking stop this shit. Out of Marlowe's presence, I had it together, my mind set. But when she was around me…yeah…no, my dick got to sniffing and I followed where the hell it led like an idiot, skipping along with it as if I were its damn sidekick.

God, I loved what she did to me, though, and I just kept burying myself deeper and deeper, literally—balls deep in fact, when I should be keeping my distance. With a shake of my head, I pushed open the sliding metal door of the building that held my bike.

I was meeting with an informer on Dillon. Dillon and the rest of the Sons Of Morning Star had gone underground, and though I had at one time been privy to the club's hideouts, and knew their shit inside and out, I didn't any longer.

After I had killed Stye, Dillon had become the new president, and he'd changed the MC's interests. I had no idea of what all the hell they were into now, but my informer had told me that Dillon had gotten the club involved in human trafficking.

Stye had done some low-down dirty shit, but even he hadn't stooped that low. Prostituting women out of his club, yeah, but not transporting women and children in and out of the country to the highest fucking bidder. That took some kind of top-notch sleaze to do shit like that.

My informer had told me Dillon had been keeping it under wraps, but had entrusted some with his plans—he'd chosen wrong with one of them—my informer. He had told me of Dillon's plans to traffic Marlowe.

So, here I was, trying to run the son of a bitch down. I was going to bury the bastard if it was the last thing I did. I may not come out of the confrontation alive, but Dillon wouldn't either.

Anger strumming me like the fingers of a professional guitarist, I walked my bike out of the building. Afterward, sliding the large metal door shut behind me, I climbed on the seat of my bike. Kicking it into throbbing life, I toed the foot-shifter and rode off into the night.

~MARLOWE~

I knew the second Torin left the bed, but I had pretended to sleep still as I had watched him beneath lowered lashes. His movements were quiet, stealthy, and I could see why he was a member of an elite team—everything about him screamed deadly. The clothing, the hidden weapons he placed about his body, even the way he pinned his hair on his head. I suspected whatever he was up to, it wasn't a SOG assignment—it was personal.

As I watched, another side of Torin I had never seen before emerged—the killer.

A small shiver worked its way through my body—this side of him was a personality I didn't want to know.

Torin, I loved. Satan frightened me and pissed me the hell off. But this man, this man was one hundred percent an assassin.

After Torin walked out of the room, silently pulling the door shut behind him, I sat up and slid my legs over the side of the mattress and made my way over to the window. Slightly lifting the lower casement, I listened for the sound of the bikes starting. When I heard only one, I knew my suspicion was correct. Whatever Torin was doing, he was doing it alone. I couldn't help wondering what would take him out into the night. He still had not completely healed from the bullets he had taken, and I could only hope whatever he was up to, it wasn't too dangerous.

With a small shake of my head, I worried my lip for a second, then with a shrug, I lowered the casement and turned away from the window. Glancing at Torin's bed, I debated about climbing back into it or going to my room.

It didn't take much consideration before returning to Torin's bed, I climbed back onto the mattress, then pulling the light covering over me, I reached over and grabbed Torin's pillow. Snuggling against it, I buried my nose in its downy softness, inhaling Torin's scent, slowly drifting back to sleep.

I awoke the next morning with a jar. I'd had a nightmare about Torin, and when I glanced over at his side of the bed, it was empty. A chill ran down my back, for the nightmare had been so real, that I now wondered if my subconscious was trying to tell me something.

Throwing back the covers, I hurried off the mattress, and as I still had on the same clothes as I'd had on the evening before, I sped across the space to the door. Jerking it open, I ran into the hall, and began making my way toward the common room, hoping someone would tell me they had seen him this morning.

I was doomed to disappointment though when the members just shook their heads they hadn't.

Afterward, I headed toward the bar next. Finding Rook behind the bar counter, I hurried in his direction and as soon as I was close enough to him, I asked, "Have you seen Torin this morning?" Forgetting to call him by his club name of Satan.

Rook shook his head, continuing to dry the blender pitcher in his hands before setting it on the countertop. "Can't say I have."

Dammit! No one had seen him. Worried, but fearing I might be making a mountain out of an ant hill, I tried to calm myself and made my way behind the bar grabbing the carafe of coffee. Sliding a cup out from beneath the counter, I poured the hot liquid into the cup.

As I doctored it with creamer and sugar, I murmured, "He left the compound around two this morning, alone, and as far as I can tell, he hasn't returned yet."

"Not the first time he's gone out alone, Mar," he told me. "I'm sure he's okay."

Just as Rook's words came to an end, I heard someone call, "Bloody hell, Satan, what happened to you?"