Page 26 of Hardline Torque
Chapter Five
The heavy bag tookthe punishment without complaint.
Tane drove his fist into it again, the impact shuddering up his arm and into his shoulder.Breath left him in a sharp burst.The rhythm was brutal and efficient—strike, pivot, strike—muscle memory honed over years of violence turned into control.
It wasn’t enough.
His words replayed anyway.
Half-in.
Disappear.
I won’t be left again.
The bag swung back at him and he met it head-on, knuckles burning through the tape.Pain flared bright and clean, the only thing that cut through the mess in his chest.
He’d meant to draw a line.
He hadn’t meant to carve one through Victor.
Tane twisted, drove a kick into the base of the bag, then caught it on the return with his forearm.Sweat ran down his spine, muscles tight with effort and restraint.He could still see Victor’s face when he’d said it—confusion first, then something wounded and furious and scared.
Everyone leaves eventually.
The memory made his jaw clench.
He knew that voice.He’d worn it himself once.
Tane struck again, harder this time, letting the sound echo off the concrete walls.He should have handled it better.Should have explained instead of snapping.But the moment Victor had talked about leaving—casually, like it was already decided—something old and ugly had reared up inside him.
Abandonment didn’t always look like betrayal.
Sometimes it looked like preparation.
Tane slowed, resting his forehead briefly against the bag, breath dragging in and out of his lungs.He needed to fix this.Needed to apologize properly, not with half-words or pride still tangled up in it.He ran the conversation through his head, over and over, trying to find the way in.
Tell him you were scared.
Tell him you meant what you said about standing with him.
Tell him he matters.
Movement at the door made him still.
Tane straightened and turned just as Victor stepped into the room.
Victor’s eyes were bright, almost wild, face flushed as if he’d been moving fast.Determination sat on him like armor that hadn’t quite settled yet.
For a split second, Tane forgot how to breathe.
He saw everything all at once—the strength in Victor’s stance, the tension in his shoulders, the way he looked like a man who’d made a decision and was braced for the consequences.Heat curled low in Tane’s gut, sharp and undeniable.
And beneath it, fear.
