As he pulled up in front of Spencer’s Shop, his heart sank down into his stomach. The lights in her booth were off, and there was no sign of her little blue car in the parking lot. Still, he burst through the front door.

  “Torque!” Spencer said with surprise, looking up from his scheduling book. “I haven’t seen you around here in quite some time. Are you ready for some more work?” His eyes immediately went to the faint bruising that still haloed Torque’s eye, but he didn’t ask about it.

  “Where’s Blue?” he demanded.

  The shop owner jumped back a little, caught off-guard by his tone. “Well, at home, I guess. She took the day off today. Said she wasn’t feeling well.”

  Rat knew how to find her at the shop, so it might have been safer for Blue not to be at work, but Torque was only slightly relieved to hear this news. It didn’t take much to figure out a person’s home address. If he got to her there, the chances of anyone hearing the altercation and coming to her rescue were slim. “If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her.”

  “Has she done something wrong?” Spencer asked as the door closed.

  Torque zoomed off down the side street that led to the little blue house. It sat snugly on the corner, tucked back behind several shade trees that kept the street lights from shining fully on her small front yard. They glowed dimly off the paint of her car in the driveway, giving him some hope, but he hammered on the door for five minutes without a response. He pounded until his fists hurt, holding his breath in between rounds to listen for any sign of life inside.

  “Blue! If you’re in there, I need you to come out! Right now! It’s important!” He stalked off around the side of the house, attempting to look in the windows. If she was hiding from him, then she could give up the childish act right now. There wasn’t time for games. He had to get her and convince her to leave town before things blew up. He didn’t know where she would go; he only knew she had to leave. But most of the curtains were drawn, and the only room he could see into was an unoccupied laundry room, a basket of neatly folded laundry sitting on the washer.

  Growling with frustration, he took off again. He never should have left things as they were with Blue. At the very least, he should have gotten her phone number. But he had known where she lived and where she worked, and since she didn’t want to have anything to do with a biker there hadn’t seemed to be a need for it. Why would she even answer his call? Still, there had to be some way of tracking her down. If Rat had gotten to her first, well, he didn’t want to think about it.

  Chapter Nine

  Blue

  Blue stared at her feet as they moved along the sidewalk, pausing to look up only when it was time to cross a street. Even then, she watched the passing traffic with a distant numbness, as though none of this was actually real.

  Pregnant. The test she had picked up at the pharmacy that morning had confirmed it. Blue had stood in her bathroom, the same bathroom where Torque had showered, and stared at the little lines of the plastic stick for a solid minute before she finally understood what she was seeing. She’d called in, unsure of what else to do. She went back and forth between feeling dizzy and weak to feeling alive and energetic. She alternated between lying on the couch and cleaning the house. If that was just a hint as to what pregnancy would do to her, then she was going to be miserable for the next nine months.

  Somehow, taking a walk had seemed like a good idea at first. She didn’t want to be at the shop, and she didn’t want to be at home. Blue just needed to clear her head, maybe think of nothing for a while, and then figure out what she was going to do. There was no doubt that she would keep the child, but there were other decisions to make. Should she track Torque down and tell him, or would it be best to raise the baby on her own? Would he be angry? Would he demand that she get rid of it because he wasn’t interested in being tied down? Should she go ahead and tell Spencer? It would give him ample time to get a guest artist in for her maternity leave, but she didn’t want him to fuss over her. Nor did she want to hear a lecture about getting involved with her clients.

  Blue would have to figure out daycare arrangements. God, were daycares even open as late as she worked? Spencer’s wife had quit tattooing once she had the baby; was that the reason? Then she had to wonder whether or not she would have enough room at her house for a baby or if she was going to move, and just how the hell she was going to take care of a child at all. Her mother had practically let Blue raise herself, but she knew that wasn’t the right way to do it. There had to be a better way, but she didn’t know what it was. Why had she been so stupid?

  Blue passed the park, dark and almost spooky in the night. Most of the street lamps on this block were out, leaving the jungle gym as nothing more than a skeletal shadow amongst the trees. She paused, imagining herself here as a mother with her child. She would watch as her youngster ran across the wood chips, calling out for her to watch, and attempting to climb the ladder to the monkey bars. Of course, Blue would have to help him, because he wouldn’t be able to do it himself yet. She would laugh and pick him up, holding his little body in the air while he pretended to swing from one bar to the next.

  It was a nice thought, but one that would have been nicer if she knew she wasn’t going to be the only one doing the work. Mother hadn’t been able to do it alone, and Blue wanted a more stable childhood for her baby than she had ever had. But a biker father would only leave. No, it would be best if Torque never knew. He would never have the chance to run away from a responsibility he didn’t want. Blue wouldn’t need to schedule visitations or tell Torque to stop arguing with her in front of the baby. Maybe life as a single mother wouldn’t be so bad.

  A loud truck rumbled by, slowing down a little as it passed her and making Blue wonder if walking at night had been a good idea. The day had flown by, and she was so used to being out at night for work that she hadn’t really thought about it. At this point, she was closer to the shop than to work. Maybe it would be a better idea to get to Spencer. He could give her a ride. He would ask her a million question, but he would still do it.

  The distant sound of a motorcycle caught her ear, and she slowed down to listen to it. Was it Torque? Blue shook her head. She couldn’t tell the sound of one man’s motorcycle from another, and there were plenty of them in the city. No reason to think—or hope—that it might be him.

  Gunshots punctuated the night, making her freeze. They weren’t immediately nearby, but they weren’t far enough away to make her feel safe. She turned around and jogged back toward the deep shadows of the park. Slipping under a tree, Blue fiddled with her phone. She could call 911, but she wouldn’t know what to report. There had been gunshots, but she couldn’t be sure exactly where they had come from. Someone else was probably already making a more detailed report, and her brightly lit screen would only make her conspicuous.

  She shut it off as soon as she heard the rumble of motorcycles, this time several of them and headed her way. Blue held her breath as three men rode by. She didn’t recognize them, but the patches on the backs of their vests were familiar ones. They were Dirty Bastards, and they rode slowly through town with their narrow eyes scanning the streets. Were they looking for her, or just trouble of any sort? Blue didn’t know, and she didn’t want to find out. She pressed her back against the rough bark of the tree, holding her breath and silently praying that nobody chose that moment to call her.

  The three bikers slid through the intersection and kept going. There were no more sounds of gunshots or bikes, only the distant whir of traffic on the main highway and a dog barking somewhere in the night. Blue let out her breath and braced herself against the tree for a moment. That could have just been a very close call, but she was all right. Time to go home.

  A hand wrapped around her mouth from behind and pulled her backwards.

  Chapter Ten

  Blue

  Blue had already been breathing hard from fear, but the air threatened to escape her body completely as she struggled to get out of the man’s grip. His fingers wrapped hard over her face, and a strong arm pulled her body further into the shadows. She tried to open her mouth to scream, to bite him, anything, but she couldn’t part her lips. Flailing her fists at the assailant did little good, since he was so much bigger and stronger than she was. She landed glancing blows to his thighs, which were about the only thing she could reach, but it didn’t seem to affect him. Her fingers bounced off his muscles with no effect. He was too strong, and they were now so far into the thick grove of trees at the park that there was no chance anyone would see her. She was doomed.

  “Hold still,” came a harsh whisper at her ear. “You’re only making this harder.”

  Pausing, Blue tried to turn around. The voice was too familiar, but there was nothing she could see in the dark, and her captor kept her firmly in front of him. She forced her body to calm down, but her heart continued to thunder in her ears.

  “Now, I’m going to take my hand away, but you have to promise me that you won’t scream. It’ll only get us both in trouble. Do you promise?”

  Blue gave a quick nod and sucked in a breath as her face was released. The arm stayed around her waist, but it held her loosely enough that she was able to swivel around to face her attacker. She was prepared to shove her knee into his junk or poke her finger into his eye, but she quickly realized there was no need. The shadows of the trees were pitch black, but a triangle of moonlight made its way through the leaves to highlight one of his eyes. It was an obsidian orb, glittering as it looked down on her. “Is that really you, Torque?”

  “Well, I could have been anybody if you’re going to go around creeping through the park at night!” he growled. “This isn’t the time or the place for taking a walk, when anybody could just come up behind you and grabbed you. What the hell were you doing out here? I checked at the shop and at your house. I thought something had happened to you.”

  “Me?” Blue felt more attacked than she had when the biker had grabbed her in the shadows. What right did he have to reprimand her when he hadn’t even come by the shop to say hi? He had no control over her. “What about you? You’re out here, creeping through the park, as you put it. I guess I’m not allowed to be out here at night, but you are?”

  “Yes, because I’m looking for you.” His arm tightened around her, pulling her body closer to his and reducing her chances of slugging him in the mouth.

  She was scowling at him, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Why? You haven’t been coming around for weeks now.” Inside, she was glad to see him. Her heart leaped at the idea of being in his arms. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, and knowing that a baby was on the way had only made matters worse. But she kept her lips wrapped tightly around that secret. For all she knew, Torque was only looking for her because he was horny and needed a quick fuck. “Where have you been? What have you been doing?”

  “It really doesn’t matter.” His arm loosened around her, ever so slightly.

  But Blue didn’t miss the fractional change in his hold. “I think it might. Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

  The biker gave a sigh of exasperation. “I was healing, okay? Rat’s men beat the holy living shit out of me, and it took some time before I was ready to get out of bed and get moving again.”

  “Oh.” Blue suddenly felt awful. She had been so selfish over the last few weeks, wondering why Torque wasn’t coming around and just assuming it was because he didn’t want to. She had decided it was all about her, but she wasn’t the only one involved in this. She knew he had taken a beating for her, but she hadn’t realized just how bad it had been. Their tryst in the tattoo shop had certainly led her to believe he was all right. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. I did what I had to do. But right now, we’ve got to get you out of here. Do you have any out-of-state relatives you could stay with for a while?” He moved his hand to her arm and began leading her out of the trees.

  Blue planted her feet, refusing to go any further until she had some answers. This man had been nothing but confusing and unsettling since she had met him, and it was time it stopped. “I suggest you tell me what’s going on, or else I’m not going anywhere. Hell, I might not anyway.”

  He could easily have dragged her across the ground or thrown her over his shoulders. Blue could feel the strength in his arms, threatening to be used. But he let go of her and turned to face her once again. She couldn’t really see him, but she could feel his presence like a thick shadow hanging over her.

  Torque’s fist pounded lightly on the tree behind her. “There was a shooting last night. I just found out about it this morning.”

  She struggled to understand what that had to do with anything. “Yes, I heard about it on the radio. Half the businesses downtown have closed for a few days over it, and all the anti-gun groups are on the rampage. They said an officer was killed. What about it?” A horrific thought struck her, one that made her feel dizzy all over again. “You didn’t shoot a cop, did you?”

  “No, I didn’t,” he retorted. “I wasn’t even there. But that shootout was between the Dirty Bastards and Satan Seed, and our clubs are at war now. Rat already has it out for you, and he’s likely to get stirred up all over again with this happening. I need to get you to a safe place before something happens.

  “I see.” Things made a little more sense now. There had been the gunfire in the distance, and then there had been the three Bastards who had ridden by. Blue had no way of knowing if they’d been looking for her or if they’d been just looking for trouble in general, but she didn’t want to know. Torque was probably right about Rat, and he had already messed up her life enough. She not only had to worry about what was going to happen with her career and her life now that she was going to be a mother, she had to just make sure she kept herself alive.

  But then she remembered just who and what Torque was. He was a worthless biker, and if he was here to get her to a safe place then it was only because he expected something from her. No, she didn’t need him to protect her, and she twisted her arm away from him. “Fine. But I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help with any of this.”

  Torque regained his hold easily. “Uh, yeah, you do. There are Bastards all over the city right now. I parked my bike a half a mile back just to make sure I wouldn’t be seen anywhere near your shop, since that’s what Rat will expect. It’s not safe for you to be out here alone, even on a good night, and I’m sure as hell not letting you walk back home alone.”

  “That’s quite the act of chivalry for someone like you.” Blue wasn’t going anywhere, not with him, and certainly not because he told her to. Dirty Bastards be damned, especially if they came across her in her current mood.

  “And just what is that supposed to mean?” He was in front of her, his face tipped down to hers and the muscles of his arms alternately tensing and relaxing. She could feel the shift in his body as he grabbed her around the waist.

  Blue jutted her chin up at him, feeling angry and defiant. “I think you know exactly what that means. You come around the shop, all interested in saving me and being the hero of the day. You were there so much that Spencer was just about ready to start writing you paychecks as a part-time security officer, but once you got what you needed from me, you disappeared. I don’t appreciate being used, Torque.”

  “I used you?” He gave a snort of a laugh and pulled her an inch closer. “You were the one who told me over and over again how awful bikers were. You didn’t want to have anything to do with me, but you slept with me anyway.”

  The way his body had felt underneath her that night was still clear in her mind. He had been so hard and muscular, holding a kind of strength she had been longing for. Unbidden, her hands travelled up to splay against his wide chest as her throat tightened. “You could have stopped me.”

  “I’m not an idiot. Why would I stop a beautiful woman from making love to me?”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Blue was supposed to be angry, but she knew flattery when she heard it. “And what about after that? You didn’t have to disappear like that. Even injured, you could have gotten a hold of me. I don’t think I’m that hard to find.” It had hurt her, whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not.

  “You made it very clear you didn’t want me around. I’m just a low-down, rotten, no-good biker, remember?”

  Their bodies were so close now that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin to touch hers despite the coolness of the shadows and the night. Her heartbeat raced to match his, and she closed her eyes just to focus on the feel of it all. Their lips were only a fraction of an inch apart, and she swore she could feel the very edges of his skin as she spoke. “Oh, yes. I remember. You’re awful. But I’ve not always been known for making the best decisions.”

  He kissed her then, and she let herself be pulled into his embrace. They could argue all day long, but their bodies always seemed to agree. Blue opened her mouth and gave herself to him. She forgot about her own troubles, about Torque’s absence over the last few weeks, over the way he had practically kidnapped her in the park. None of it mattered right now, because they were together. Her arms floated up to wrap around his neck and pull him closer, if it was even possible.