Wet Leather: Adults Only Motorcycle Club Romance: Roadrunners MC Read online

  “Do you think he would have used the gun on you this morning?” Six queried.

  Tori was unequivocal in her answer and spat it out right away.

  “Yes.”

  “Then what choice do you have?” he went on.

  “None,” Tori let out under her breath after a slight hesitation, but still loud enough for the two men to hear.

  She knew that Matt wouldn’t hesitate to fire if he was given the chance and remembered his words on the night she finally escaped his clutches. “If you leave me, I’ll kill you,” he’d said and he now knew she’d definitely left him. She told him as much the other night when a beating left him bruised and humiliated. It put her in a position where it was him or her… and she didn’t want it to be her. Meeting Patch provided a chance of happiness for both of them, and she desperately wanted it, so she got to her feet.

  “You’re not coming,” Patch said in a determined fashion. “Just give us the address.”

  “Fuck that,” Tori exclaimed. “I’m not getting left sitting here not knowing what’s happening while you two go all gung-ho on me.”

  “Look, I don’t think…”

  Patch stopped talking when his friend put a hand on his shoulder.

  “You stay in the truck,” Six told Tori.

  She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him, but suspected it was the best offer she was going to get and didn’t argue.

  “OK, I’ll stay in the truck,” she agreed.

  What they were discussing was madness, but she also knew it was the only way. If they didn’t take the initiative, they would be constantly looking over their shoulders for Matt coming out of the darkness with intent to harm them. It was no way to live and a bad way to die. The three of them left the room and walked to the door that led to the parking lot. They stepped across to a truck and Six got in the driver seat while she and Patch moved around to the passenger side door.

  “Are you ready for this?” Six asked when they were all sitting in the truck.

  Patch got the gun from his pocket and pulled out the magazine to check it was fully loaded.

  “Let’s get it over with,” he replied as he slammed the magazine back in.

  Six turned the key in the ignition and got the truck moving.

  “Which way?” he asked when the parking lot gates opened.

  “Right,” Tori told him.

  She continued to give directions to head them in the direction of the apartment and pointed out the street she’d lived on as they approached it. Six drove past to find a parking space nearby and brought the truck to a stop when he did. The nervous tension in the men was noticeable, but they appeared calm and she guessed that their line of work prepared them to go into potentially dangerous situations. She gave them the building and apartment number then remained quiet as they prepared to get out.

  “Stay here,” Patch said and reached out to caress her cheek. “We’ll come back as quickly as we can.”

  He stepped down to the sidewalk and glanced over his shoulder to see the concerned expression on Tori’s face as he walked away from the truck.

  “Some girlfriend you picked,” Six commented.

  “Not much I can do about it now,” Patch replied. “This fucker isn’t going to stop unless we make him.”

  Six looked at his friend, but said nothing more as they continued walking. They needed to concentrate on what they were doing now and were cautious as they approached the building. There was nothing unusual as far as they could see, so they walked up to the entrance to step inside. Patch’s nerves were on edge as they made their way to the stairs.

  “It looks clear,” he said in a hushed voice.

  There was no response as Six stepped forward to lead the way up to the third floor. He walked slowly along to the door they wanted and pressed his ear to the wood. He shook his head afterwards to show that he could hear nothing from inside then reached out to try the door handle. The surprise showed on his face when he found it was unlocked and he quickly reached for his gun. Patch did the same as they prepared themselves.

  Six slowly eased the door open and it became apparent that something wasn’t right as soon as they looked inside. The floor of the hallway was strewn with clothes, broken pieces of crockery and other household items. The two men looked at each other and raised their eyebrows as if to say what the hell before they moved forward. They stepped carefully around the objects littering the floor to avoid making any noise, but a look around revealed that the man they were searching for wasn’t there.

  “I’m not sure I like what he’s done with the place,” Six said when they walked in the final room, but neither of them laughed at the wisecrack.

  The weights and gym equipment were lying haphazardly on the floor and a cabinet was tipped over. It was the writing on the wall that really lit up their concern. TORI DIE, DEATH TO THE ROADRUNNERS and THE DEVIL LIVES IN US ALL were just a few of the unsettling phrases scrawled almost everywhere in dark red ink and Patch shook his head.

  “This guy has fucking lost it,” he commented as he glanced around the graffiti on the walls. “I mean, this is the kind of psycho thing you see in the movies.”

  “Yeah,” Six said in a flat tone and was quiet for a few seconds before going on to get them moving. “Search the place and see if there is anything that gives a clue to where he might be.”

  Patch nodded his head and walked out of the room they were in to go in what was once a bedroom. The way it was trashed now made it look like a tornado raged through it. He leaned down to pick up a dress from the floor and saw the way it was shredded.

  “Fucking insane,” he said in a hushed voice.

  He continued searching, but the state of the place made it almost impossible to pick out if there was anything of significance lying around.

  “He really ripped this place apart,” Six said when the two men met up in what was obviously a lounge.

  “Did you find anything?” Patch asked.

  Six shook his head and it was then they heard the noise. Both were reaching for their guns in an instant and they quickly moved across the room. There was no doubt that someone was walking in the front door and their nerves were stretched as they prepared themselves for the violent confrontation they expected. It didn’t happen when they heard the despairing female voice.

  “Oh no…”

  Patch glanced out of the lounge door to the sight of Tori staring at the chaos of an apartment she once lived in. She was holding her hands to her face as she tried to come to terms with what she was looking at.

  “I told you to stay in the truck,” he said in a harsh tone when he stepped out to the hallway.

  “I got worried when you didn’t come back to the truck,” she replied and the anguish showed on her face when she went on. “Did you find him?”

  Patch shook his head slowly from side to side.

  “There’s no sign of him…” he said. “Just the madness he left in his wake.”

  “Just as well I didn’t want my clothes,” Tori said then grimaced when she bent down to pick up one of her tops and saw how badly torn it was.

  “The whole place is trashed,” Patch told her. “It looks like your ex-boyfriend really has lost the plot.”

  “The pair of you need to get out of here,” Six said when he walked out of the lounge.

  “Yeah, this apartment gives me the creeps,” Patch said as he put the gun he was holding in his pocket.

  “I don’t just mean get out of the apartment,” Six went on. “I think you need to get out of the city altogether. The guy must be deranged to do this to his own place, and you saw the writing on the walls.”

  “What writing?” Tori asked.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Six replied. “The best thing you two can do is disappear for a while.”

  “But…” Patch started.

  “He knows your face,” Six interrupted. “But he doesn’t know me or Crash. That gives us an advantage, so we have a better chance of taking him down. You
need to get Tori out of here to somewhere safe and just keep your heads down until this is resolved.”

  “Go where?” Patch asked.

  Six remained silent for a few moments.

  “Use the property at Bandon,” he eventually said.

  “The one by the beach?” Patch commented.

  “Yeah, its remote location gets you completely out of the way,” Six went on. “Just stay there until we get things sorted out here. I’ll keep you up to speed with what’s happening and when you can return.”

  Patch let out a sigh. Running wasn’t in his nature, but for once it wasn’t just himself that he needed to think about. He saw the frightened look in Tori’s eyes as she surveyed the shattered remains of the apartment she once called home. Staying in the city put her in serious danger, and it was a risk he didn’t want to take.

  “OK,” he agreed. “There’s nothing more we can do here, so let’s just get going.”

  The three of them walked out of the apartment and returned to the truck. Six drove them to the Roadrunners’ building, with Tori answering the questions about Matt that were fired at her on the way there. When they pulled to a stop in the parking lot, they got out of the vehicle.

  “Take care of her... and yourself,” Six said as the two men clasped hands.

  Patch just nodded his head before they parted ways. He and Tori watched him walk inside the building then turned to each other.

  “I wish this was over,” she said.

  “You and me both,” Patch replied before they walked to the motorbike and got on.

  Fleeing the city was a drastic step, and they were both lost in their own thoughts as they left the parking lot then set off towards what they hoped would be a safe haven from a crazy situation.

  Chapter 13

  The warmth of a sun-drenched afternoon beat down on Tori, but there was no chance of really relaxing to enjoy it. Even after a few days hidden away in the beach property at Bandon, their escape from the city was still fresh in her mind. Patch didn’t hold back on the journey and there was a heady exhilaration to racing along open roads. The speed dropped when they turned off the main highway and she tried to remain alert as they drove on progressively narrower streets until they eventually made their way along what could only be described as a dirt track.

  The property at the end of it really was what could be termed out of the way and isolated. It was a stone’s throw from the beach and there were no other buildings anywhere in sight around it. When they arrived, Patch went to get the hidden key that let them inside and they tried to just enjoy being alone together. For Tori that meant catching some rays, and after a couple of days the bruises on her skin were starting to disappear under a light tan.

  They’d only left the property once to stock up on some provisions and clothes. She couldn’t resist buying a bikini and it was what she was wearing that afternoon as she lay in the sunshine. The sound of the door opening came to her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Patch walking towards the beach.

  “That bikini does look good,” he said when he got to her.

  “So you keep saying,” she replied with a smile. “But is it just the bikini impressing you, or...?”

  “Well, now that you mention it,” he went on and she laughed as he dropped down beside her.

  The kiss didn’t take her mind off the situation with Matt, and she asked the question for what seemed like the millionth time since they arrived.

  “Is there any news?”

  Patch shook his head.

  “I just spoke to Six before coming out here,” he replied. “There’s no sign of your crazy ex-boyfriend. Crash stayed at my apartment last night and kept an eye out, but as far as he could tell there was no sign of Matt watching the place.”

  “Shit,” Tori cursed.

  “Maybe he gave up,” Patch said, but even he knew that he was clutching at straws by hoping that.

  “I don’t think so,” Tori replied. “He’s biding his time for the right opportunity.”

  “Well, he’s not going to get it,” Patch told her. “We’re well out of the way.”

  “He found me before,” Tori pointed out.

  Patch didn’t respond to her comment and simply stretched out on the sand to enjoy the sunshine. Tori moved to rest her head on his shoulder and they lay together with their eyes closed for a while.

  “I’m going for a swim,” he said eventually. “Are you coming?”

  “I’ll leave you to it,” she told him. “That’s enough of the great outdoors for me today. I’m going to have a bath.”

  “Keep the water hot for me,” he joked before he got up and ran down to the shoreline.

  Tori watched for a few minutes as he waded out into deeper water and started to swim, but she eventually stood up to walk to the house. When she got to the bedroom, she sat down and saw her phone sitting on the table beside the bed. She’d barely switched it on since the night she left Matt for fear of him trying to get in touch, but the temptation to call one of her friends came in her mind and she picked up the device to stroke her fingers on the screen. In the end she couldn’t stop herself and clicked the button to bring the phone to life. She dialled Holly’s number straight away and heard the ringing. It went on for a few seconds before the call was answered.

  “Hello.”

  It was nice just to hear a familiar voice and the smile broke out on Tori’s face.

  “Hi Holly,” she said. “It’s Tori.”

  “Oh hey,” her friend replied. “How are you?”

  “Not great,” Tori went on. “I broke up with Matt.”

  “Hooray for finally waking up,” Holly exclaimed. “You should have left that asshole a long time ago. How are you doing?”

  Tori debated what to say, but in the end didn’t want to burden her friend with her problems.

  “OK, I guess,” she replied. “I… well, I met someone else.”

  “You sly dog,” Holly joked. “That didn’t take you long. Is he cute?”

  “He’s nice,” Tori replied, but wanted to turn the attention away from her. “How’s Melanie?”

  “As crazy as ever,” Holly answered and laughed. “Still drinking to excess and kissing men she doesn’t know.”

  Tori laughed and the comment reminded her of the afternoon out with her friends before the evening of her suicide attempt. It wasn’t actually that long ago, but it seemed like a lifetime. She tried to keep the weariness from her voice although there was no doubt that her friend picked up on it.

  “Are you sure you’re OK?” Holly asked as their conversation came towards an end.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Tori answered.

  “Do you want to meet up today?” Holly went on.

  “Oh sorry, I can’t,” Tori replied. “I’m spending a few days at the beach just now, but I’ll be in touch and we can meet when I get home.”

  “Sure, I’ll see you soon,” Holly said. “Take care of yourself.”

  The line went dead and Tori was left wondering how soon it would be before she did see her friends. The thought sprung up that she might never see them again, but she crushed it before it got the chance to take hold. The call gave her some relief that Matt wasn’t approaching people she knew for information and she was glad of that. She switched the phone off and put it down on the table beside the bed as she turned her mind to having a bath. Getting up from where she was sitting, she walked to the bathroom and turned on the water. She just sat on the closed toilet to wait then got up to test the temperature and strip naked when the tub was almost full.

  Settling down into the warm water brought out a sigh, and she closed her eyes to try and relax. Talking to Holly made her miss her friends and she wished she could just go home. There was no chance of that until the situation with Matt was resolved and an unsettling shiver rippled down her spine at the idea of what that meant. She tried to clear thoughts of it away, but they remained on her mind until she heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.

  �
��Patch,” she shouted.

  “It’s me,” he replied to reassure her.

  She listened to the sound of his footsteps approaching and smiled when his head appeared around the door.

  “How was the swim?” she asked.

  “Refreshing,” he replied and laughed.

  She teased him by lifting a leg out of the water to reveal smooth, naked skin and saw his gaze go to it.

  “This water is nice and warm,” she said. “You’ll like it.”

  “I’m not sure there’s enough room in that tub for two,” he told her with a grin.