Page 90 of The Devil's Revelation
“Don’t you fucking lie to me, Izzy,” Zeb snarls. “That’s a load of bullshit. What the hell kind of place are you working at now?”
“Zeb,” I bark sharply, “I’m fine, and you need to calm your ass down. At your age you’ll probably have a heart attack.”
“My heart is just fine,” he snaps back. “You need to come back home. You don’t need to be around that bullshit.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I snap. “Zeb, seriously, I’m fine. The club is being cautious until they figure out what’s going on. I’m staying with Torque and well out of harm’s way. I promise, okay?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Torque,” he says sharply.
“Yes, sir?” Torque asks cautiously.
“You better keep my girl safe until I get there and see this situation for myself, or I’ll make whatever your club can do look like child’s play,” he threatens, tone deadly. “I’ll be there tomorrow. Izzy, I’ll send you my flight details.” Then he’s gone.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I curse loudly, tossing my phone on the island and then scrubbing my face with my hands. I round on Torque. “What the hell?” I snarl at him, pissed. “This is exactly what I was trying to avoid before you opened your big mouth.”
“I didn’t know you hadn’t told him what was going on,” Torque tries to defend.
“Of course I didn’t,” I yell at him. “Let me just tell my former boss, and basically surrogate father, that the damn mob is after me because I found their drug ring operation? Do you not have a brain in your head? He’s going to come down here, ready for damn battle, and he’ll probably bring half the guys from the shop with him and try to convince me to go back home.”
“Well, he’ll be shit out of luck because you’re not leaving,” Torque says firmly.
Sage groans. “Dumbass,” she sighs. “Okay, maybe I agree with Bullet about locking up the guns now.”
I’m so pissed that I’m seeing red. “You don’t get to tell me shit,” I hiss at him. “I’ll go wherever I damn well please, asshole, and if I decide to go, you won’t stop me.”
Torque’s eyes flash dangerously, temper making them glitter. “Watch me.”
“Izzy,” Rose says calmly behind me. I look back at her and she says kindly, “I’d really love some grandchildren, but you do what you have to.”
I look back at Torque and say as calmly as I can, “Just because I agreed to be with you doesn’t mean you can control me and tell me what to do. If that’s how you think this works, then I’m going to end it here and now. I don’t play that shit, and while some women might find it sweet, I find it annoying. I’m a strong ass woman, and I can protect myself. I don’t need you coming in and trying to make it sound like you’re going to solve all my problems. I am twenty-five, I’m not a child.”
Torque hisses out a breath. “Damn it,” he groans, running his hands over his face. “I’m sorry,” he finally says, looking at me. His eyes are sincere, and I relax a little bit. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was trying to control you, Izzy. The idea of you leaving just sends me into a damn panic and makes me lose my head. I want you to give us a chance, and we can’t do that if you’re halfway across the damn country.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have said anything to Zeb. I figured that since you two are close you would have told him at least some of what was going on.”
“Zeb is protective and he’s going to be pissed I lied to him,” I say tiredly. “Torque, I’m in uncharted territory here. Between you and I, this whole mob issue, the whole not telling people about club business, and trying to figure out where my life is heading, you need to let me be. I’ve always been alone and I don’t go running to people with my problems.”
“Baby,” he says, pulling me close, “you're not alone anymore. You have me, the club, the girls, all of us to help you when you need it. No matter what. And this whole mob thing, we’re going to make sure they don’t touch you or anyone else.”
I nod. “I know, but now we have to figure out what to do with Zeb, because he’s like a dog with a bone and he’s not going to let it go. He’s got enough influence to get the information on his own anyway.”
“Leave that to me. I can explain it without giving him too much info. The less the information outside the club the better.”
“He’s not going to talk to you until he sees me,” I warn him.
“Then you can be with me when we get him from the airport,” Torque says with a shrug. “But you’ll have to stay in the car or something. The last thing we need is for you to be out in the open.” I nod. I’m not about to be stupid and insist I be there with him, because I’d like to keep my head. Literally and figuratively. “We okay?”
“Are you going to act like an overbearing asshole again anytime soon?”
He chuckles and leans down to kiss the tip of my nose. “Probably.”
“Just expect it, Izzy,” Sage says behind me, amused. “You’re going to want to bash him upside the head a couple times a day. Hell, maybe even hourly depending on what the hell he’s done to piss you off.”
“At least he knows how to apologize,” Rose remarks, sounding smug. “Now you two kiss and make up so we can make dinner before the hoards start coming in and getting in our way.”
Torque laughs and kisses me quickly before he turns and heads out.
“There might just be hope for him yet,” Sage chuckles. “I think you need to put some more work into King.”
