Page 9 of Torrent’s Treasure

He pointed to the one to the right of the family room. She took the sack from him and walked into the room. A king-size bed dominated the room with a navy-blue comforter. A matching dresser in dark stained wood sat opposite the bed under a television mounted on the wall above it. Nightstands in matching wood were on each side of the bed. The walls were painted a light gray color.

Torrent stood in the doorway. “Closet, bathroom,” he said, pointing to each door.

She nodded. She breathed a small sigh of relief knowing that if Calliope stayed in the main room with Torrent, the bedroom would be between them, which lessened the chances of Calliope hearing her cry. Her parents had brought them up to believe that there were no good or bad emotions, but tonight, Cecilia wanted Calliope not to worry about her older sister.

“Okay?” he rumbled.

“The room is perfect. Thank you,” she said.

He nodded once and pulled the door closed. For the first time since the nightmare had started, she was alone. She opened the bag, sorting through the clothes and putting them in the dresser by size. She selected a pair of panties, sleep pants, and a T-shirt to wear to bed.

In the bathroom, she turned on the shower to warm up and then turned to the mirror. She’d been avoiding it until she could deal with what she saw. Her right cheek was swollen and had a couple of scrapes from where he’d hit her. Her black eye was dark and swollen but she could see through it. Her lip was tender and hurt every time she moved it from the cut there.

Her neck was sore and now she could see why. His hand and fingerprints were a dark pink turning to purple in some places. She turned away, removing her clothes and checking the water temperature before stepping in. She stood under the water, letting it warm her before she let the tears fall.

She’d been petrified that he’d kill her or hurt Calliope, but he hadn’t because she’d chosen herself and Calliope over him. She wouldn’t regret it either. It was him or them, and he’d made his choice when he’d said he was going to take them to the cabin and then sell them.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there before she grabbed the body wash and cleaned her skin. She scrubbed until her skin was pink and there was no way that any trace of him remained.

Cecilia wondered what the club would ask of her. Her imagination could think of some pretty crazy ideas, but she forced herself to stop. She’d deal with it tomorrow. She hurt, she was tired, and maybe if she took some pain relievers, she could sleep.

Sally had asked if Cecilia needed to be seen by a doctor. Cecilia had told her no. She knew her body and what he did. He’d taken something from her, but Cecilia didn’t need a doctor. The only positive that Cecilia could see was that he’d used a condom because she’d lied and said she wasn’t on birth control. He hadn’t wanted her pregnant. She was still going to give a list of medicines to Sally that she wanted, that she usually offered to her patient survivors.

And didn’t that say it all as she put the clothes on. She was a survivor. She’d done what needed to be done, and at the end of the day—she and Calliope were here and he wasn’t. Cecilia knew that she’d struggle with what happened to her, but for tonight, she and her sister were safe behind the Grave Prowlers’ compound walls.

She opened the bedroom door to hear Calliope giggling. Bravo was sitting at the table, and Torrent had just swatted his hand away from the cookies. A young man who looked to be in high school was eating a cookie.

“C’mon Calliope. Tell grumpy that I should get one. He let Harley have one,” Bravo whined.

“No. You had one. He said you had to wait until Cecilia had some before you could have a second,” Calliope replied, patting Torrent’s arm. Ah, her sister had a little hero worship going on, it looked like, and if it made her feel safer, Cecilia was fine with that.

The young man chuckled, smacking his lips together. “Torrent, that second cookie really hit the spot.”

“Harley, you’re only a couple years away from being a Prospect. You should treat me extra nice,” Bravo said.

“You’re assuming you’ll live that long. I have been around you and know eventually, some woman is going to run you over with her car,” Harley teased.

“What did I hear about someone trying to eat all the cookies before I got some?” she said, plastering a smile on her face because Calliope needed normal, and if Cecilia looked closely, she did too.

Chapter Five

Torrent walked beside her and then held the door open to their meeting room. She stepped inside, her eyes landing on a large wooden table stained dark oak. Carved into its center was the same logo the guys wore on the back of their cuts—but it was the large men in those cuts seated around it that gave her pause. She’d appreciated it when Torrent said Sally and Harley—who she’d met yesterday and learned was Dragon and Sally’s son—were going to hang out with Calliope while she talked to the club, but now, she was wishing Calliope was here with her sunny personality to break the ice.

Cecilia could normally see the sunny side of any situation and laugh off what others became angry about, but today, she was scared.

“Breathe,” Torrent said softly at her back.

Dragon motioned to two open chairs. She walked over. Before she could pull the chair out, Torrent had done it for her and waited until she sat to help slide it back in. Torrent dropped into the seat beside her.

She glanced to the side to see if she could tell from his face what type of debt she’d owe. His face wasn’t giving anything away. His short hair and closely trimmed beard didn’t make him look any less lethal. Although most of the men had tried to make her feel safe, their rough demeanor reminded her about the rumors she’d heard over the years: how they disposed of their enemies in the crematorium and how no one crossed them without retribution.

But when she was out of options, she wanted the scariest men around to go up against the Chief.

“Cecilia, how are you?” Dragon asked.

She thought about all the smart-ass comebacks she might usually make when she was asked a stupid question, but she didn’t think the President of the MC would appreciate her humor.

“All that mattered yesterday was getting my sister safe. She’s safe, so I’m good—a little battered and bruised, but I’ll survive,” Cecilia replied.