Page 12 of Hardline Torque
Not frustrated.Not angry.
Resigned.
He swung his rifle off his shoulder and opened the truck, placing the weapon carefully inside before shutting the door again with deliberate calm.
“Not anymore,” Tane said.“Now get in the truck—or you’ll never see that sweet bike of yours again.”
Victor froze.
“My—”
“Yeah,” Niko said cheerfully.“That one.Rides smooth.”
“You should see the rack Tane’s got on his truck,” Niko added.“Beautiful setup.”
Victor stared at them, disbelief warring with irritation.
They had his bike.
“You should’ve seen him when he spotted it,” Keanu added, amusement threading his voice.“Like a kid at Christmas.I thought he was going to pet it.”
“I was assessing,” Tane snapped, irritation bleeding through his carefully even tone.
“Sure you were,” Keanu said.“Very thorough assessment.Lots of touching.”
Niko chuckled.“Relax, boss.We’ll keep it warm for him.Maybe even wash it.”
Tane shot them all a look that should have shut the conversation down.It didn’t.
Victor watched the exchange with something like fascination.The banter was good-natured, needling, easy—the kind of thing Victor had never heard directed at Tane before.Each comment chipped a little more at the man’s composure, tension tightening in his shoulders, jaw setting harder by the second.
“Enough,” Tane growled, frustration finally edging past restraint.
That did it.
Victor almost smiled.
Almost.
Tane turned back to him then and the look in his eyes had the humor draining from his expression.
“Please,” he said quietly.“Get in the truck.Don’t make this difficult.”
The words hit harder than the threat had.
They stood there, locked in place, the night humming around them.
Tane spoke again, this time in Hawaiian.Low.Measured.A proverb Victor recognized instantly.
Trust is not given to those who demand it, but to those who stand when things turn.
Victor translated it automatically—and surprised himself by nodding.
“Fine,” he muttered, circling the truck and climbing into the cab.
Kael was already moving.“Back to the site,” he ordered the others.“Stage near where Tane parked, and from there we will convoy in case something goes sideways.”
Tane tossed Kael his truck keys.
