Page 53 of Torqued

“Fine, I’ll go talk to her.” I toss the towel back to her, jogging off toward Spencer.

It’s a straight shot from the garage to our hauler, Spencer shouldn’t have gotten too far ahead of me, but I don’t see her anywhere. Picking up my pace, I scan the area as I go and still can’t spot her anywhere.

My stomach sinks with trepidation, and I break out into a full-on run. I round the corner nearest to me, a nasty feeling telling me I need to go this way. And as always, it never steers me wrong.

Lane has Spencer pinned against a fence; she’s trying to escape him, but he’s gripping the chain link so she can’t. Anger spills into a rage, and I launch myself at him. Pushing him back from her a couple of feet.

“You son of a bitch, will you never learn? Stay the hell away from her.” I seethe with the taste of venom filling my mouth.

Spencer clutches onto me, tugging me with her. “Let’s go. Please, I need to go.”

“Are you alright?”

“You know what, Hatcher? I’m tired as fuck putting up with her shit! She needs to decide, it’s you or me.” Lane stands, leering at us.

I stalk toward him. “Why are you so fucking delusional? Everyone knows we’re together, just stop.”

“Then you need to tell her because she won’t leave me alone.” Lane smirks because we both know he’s lying, but he’s getting the show he wants.

Spencer touches my arm again, silently asking to go. It’s then I realize she’s holding her arm protectively. When I look back at Lane, he drops his head and refuses to make eye contact with me.

“Show me.” Spencer's head shakes minutely, assuring me I’m right. “Spen, did he assault you?”

“Please, I want to go.” She won’t even look at me, and with Lane leering at her, she’s even more uncomfortable.

I put my arm around her, rubbing her back. “Alright, come on.”

“There ya go, Spen. Take him home and give him some of what you give me.” Lane sneers and the cameras flash all around us.

I grit my teeth, pulling her to my side and pushing through the crowd. This isn’t the time, but I’ll make damn sure I get one with him. Placing my hand on the small of Spencer back, I help her to navigate through the people.

“I hate him so much.” Spencer whimpers, inciting a riot in me. She laces her fingers with mine, which she rarely does in public. I’m beginning to understand a little more.

I tuck her into my side, sheltering her until I get her to the hauler. Margo and Crank come running over after hearing about the raucous. I wave them off, something is telling me Spencer only needs me.

Spencer hurries through the door, and as soon as I shut the door, she dissolves into tears. I wrap my arms around her, picking her up and carrying her over to the couch.

I sit her on my lap, stroking her back as she clutches on to me. Her entire body is trembling, making me even angrier. Lane keeps crossing the line, and I’m barely hanging on.

I’m not even sure I can tell Spencer that we suspect he’s messing with our car. If it’s not him, it’s one of his crew, and that’s second to Spencer.

“Hey, you gonna talk to me?” I kiss the top of her head, hoping to calm her.

She snubs, pushing off my chest. “You’re going to get mad, and you’re so close to finishing up an amazing year.”

“I don’t care about a damn thing but you Spen. What in the hell happened?”

Spencer averts her eyes, lifting her arm and pushes her sleeve up. Three red indentions, which are beginning to bruise. My stomach revolts, bile seeping from my pore with fury close to behind.

My voice quivers as I try to comfort her, but I’m far from reassuring her. Spencer knows me too well, and I’m on the verge of flipping shit. “Spencer, this is battery. We have to do something about it.”

“B-but you don’t understand, Rush. Photographers took pictures of us; it looks like I was kissing Lane. He gripped my arm and pulled me into that fucking corner. I thought he was going to…” Spencer’s words trail off as she collapses into me.

“We need to call the police.”

Spencer forces the words through her sobs. “He’s going to ruin us; people will say that I’m lying. No one will ever believe me.”

“I’m calling Ted.” I take out my phone, hitting the number. After explaining what happened, Ted tells us precisely what Spencer suspected. Lane has already released the photos with him, forcing Spencer to kiss him.