Page 28 of Torrent’s Treasure

Cauldron had bonded with Beast, the raccoon, and had looked up online what type of things raccoons could eat and sent a Prospect for some snacks. Once the Prospect had returned, Cauldron had made him cut up all the fruit to keep in the refrigerator. Seeing this huge, rough-and-tumble biker loving on Beast was too funny. Torrent had snapped some pictures to use when Cauldron pissed him off again.

Shadow, the French Bulldog, was lying on a blanket on the floor with Calliope, letting her paint her toenails. She wanted them to match the collar they’d bought the female pup. He wondered if she’d try painting Monster’s nails next. Harley was sitting beside her with Reaper cuddling in his lap. The fact that the cat was larger than the Frenchie was interesting.

Now, they were all just chatting and enjoying the animals. Torrent was glad to see Monster had bonded with Cecilia and didn’t seem inclined to leave her side.

Dragon had come over to pet him, and Monster let him but stayed glued to Cecilia’s side.

Dragon’s phone beeped with a text, and the look on Dragon’s face had Torrent taking notice.

“Darlin’, did you tell anyone you were staying here?” he asked Cecilia.

“No, the only non-MC people I’ve talked to are Linny’s mom, Judith, and the school. I told both that she had the flu and wouldn’t be at school this week. If we need to keep her out longer, we’ll need a better excuse because influenza wouldn’t keep her out for longer than ten days,” Cecilia explained.

“So how did she find out you were at our clubhouse?” Dragon mused.

“Calliope, have you talked with Linny about where we’re staying?” Cecilia asked.

“I haven’t talked to her at all. I’m supposed to be sick, so I answered her that I didn’t feel good enough to talk or text when she texted. She hasn’t listened because she’s been blowing up my phone asking where I was and when I was coming back,” Calliope recounted, finishing the dog’s nails and blowing on them to dry them.

Dragon gestured toward the stairs. “Darlin’, how about you take Beast, Shadow, and Reaper to your room with Cauldron, Harley, and Sally? We need to keep the illusion you’re sick.”

“Hey, Calliope, can I borrow your phone to check something?” Gunner inquired softly.

“Okay,” Calliope said, handing her phone to Gunner before picking up Shadow and motioning to Cauldron and Sally to get the other animals. Torrent adored that she was comfortable enough in the clubhouse not to think twice about requesting help with the animals.

Cecilia had applied the makeup to her neck and face. She didn’t look perfect, but no one who didn’t know could tell she had been attacked.

“Let’s see if we can figure out how she knew you were here without giving her any more information than we want her to have,” Dragon stated, texting the front gate.

Torrent didn’t like that she was just showing up because how did she know that Cecilia was at the clubhouse in the first place? Not to mention, the average person would be a little nervous about coming to the clubhouse.

“Maverick, meet her car and escort her in. Use your charm to see if you can get some information from her,” Dragon ordered.

“Now he wants my flappy lips,” Mav muttered as he walked out.

Torrent sat in the chair at the table beside Cecilia, laying his arm along the back of her chair. The smile she gifted him with told him she was okay, at least for now. Monster was lying at her feet, taking a nap. He’d raised his head as the other animals left but then laid his head down and closed his eyes.

“Judith and I aren’t close friends. I continued the arrangement my mom had with her of our family taking the girls to school and Judith picking them up. It doesn’t make sense for her to be this invested in where I’m at or how I’m doing because we’ve only talked or texted maybe five or six times since I moved back, and it was all regarding pickups or drop-offs,” Cecilia clarified.

Torrent glanced at Gunner. Torrent didn’t trust Judith’s intentions. Gunner gave a small nod and continued checking Calliope’s phone.

“I don’t know if you can work it into the conversation but maybe offer her a drink and take her to the kitchen. It would give me a chance to look through her purse if she leaves it at the table, and we can monitor your conversation from here,” Gunner suggested.

“I’m sure I can,” Cecilia agreed.

Maverick walked in with Judith, laughing and talking. Judith spotted Cecilia and hurried toward her.

“Oh, Cecilia, I’m so glad you’re okay. Where’s Calliope? Is she doing better? Why are you staying here?” Judith rapid-fired the questions at Cecilia.

Torrent scrutinized her body language. Her eyes darted around the clubhouse as if she was cataloging where everything was. She wasn’t even looking at Cecilia for the answer.

“Oh, I appreciate that, Judith,” Cecilia responded, motioning to the seat. Judith sat down across from her, and Maverick sat beside her. Judith laid her purse on the floor and leaned on the table.

“It seems so strange that if Calliope’s sick, you’d be here instead of at home,” Judith pried.

Cecilia laughed, leaning closer to Torrent. “Oh, that’s because Calliope wasn’t the first one to come down with the flu. It was me. I passed out, and Calliope found me when she came home from school. She knew Torrent’s and my history, so she called him for help,” Cecilia elaborated.

“Your history?” Judith questioned sharply, narrowing her eyes.