Page 20 of Torch
“Torch?” He halted, practically freezing mid-step, before he turned to glance in my direction, acting almost dismissively as he focused those eyes on me.
“Oh, hi doc. Don’t mind me, I’m just leaving.”
I rushed forward, catching his arm, but releasing it instantly, when I was hit with a savage glare.
“I-”
“Don’t touch me, doc. Don’t wanna get me all horny again, do you?”
He was striding away again, while I watched his ass for a moment. What the hell was he on about? I ran after him again, catching him as he reached the lift at the end of the corridor. Before I could reach him, he grabbed my sleeve and dragged me inside, as the doors closed. Miraculously we were alone, but it wouldn’t last, would it?
“You wanted something?” He stared at me, challenge in his eyes, as his arms folded tight against that firm chest I’d enjoyed so much.
“I uh…”
“At some point, you need to finish a fucking sentence, woman. If you’re just wanting me to stay away, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m done here. Stitches are out, and I’m free, so you don’t need to worry about seeing me again. I’ll even ask Lissa to make sure our appointments don’t cross over, so we won’t bump into each other. You won’t have to see me again.”
“Why?” I breathed, reaching for him, then pulling back, as we reached the ground floor and the doors whooshed open.
We stared at each other for about half a second, as people started stepping into the lift car.
“Try being honest and faithful to the man you’re with, doc. Maybe he’ll give you that filthy action you’re so keen on.”
Everyone in the lift focused their eyes on me as he strode away, and I slipped out of the lift just as the doors closed, mortified beyond belief, and suddenly feeling like there was nothing left to lose.
“TORCH!”
I ran after him, barely catching up with him before he reached his bike outside.
“What?!”
I stared dumbly at him for a moment and he cursed, grabbing his helmet and straddling his bike.
“You ever find the words, you know where to find me, doc. I’m not about to let you keep stringing me along like this. I have enough people using me for their own fucking gain.”
He didn’t even pause for a response, before he practically slammed his helmet on his head and the engine roared to life. I backed up a step as he peeled away from the curb, and left me standing there like an idiot. What the hell just happened? Why was I always struck dumb when I was around him?
“Doctor Adams, are you okay? Did something happen?”
I turned to find one of the department heads standing behind me, not a department I worked for, so I was blanking on the name, and his own name, and even my own right now. Why did Torch turn me into a nonverbal mess like this?
“Doctor Adams?”
I forced a smile, and started back in the direction of the hospital entrance.
“I’m fine, thank you for asking. I was just wishing a former patient well.” Look at that, I almost sounded convincing.
Twelve
Thenextfewdayswere shit, and that was putting it mildly. I was still struggling to be around the guys in the club, because I was even starting to suspect the ones I’d trusted all along. Paranoia was a dangerous thing, because it seemed to be addictive. I went from trusting a large number of my brothers, to suspecting the silliest damn things.
Was Ryder being sincere, when he asked me how I was feeling? Did Ice mean something by it, when he stopped by to tell me my bike was fixed? Did Reacher have an agenda for sending me to Lissa? Were they trying to find out what I knew? Was someone trying to see if I remembered who did it? Was the person who stabbed me, and left me for dead, just fishing for whether I was about to out them?
Poor Micro got a faceful of abuse, when he called me a pussy, for wussing out of drinking in the bar, and Has even landed firmly on my suspicion list, when he was outside my room, when I stepped out one morning.
I was losing my mind, and I had no idea what to do to fix it. Grace had been the high point of a shitty couple of weeks, but now I was feeling just as sore about her as I was about the club, and everyone I knew. Maybe it was time to just cut my losses, and ditch this town. I’d lived here my entire fucking life, but what had this town ever done for me, right?
“Brother, you look ready to lose your shit,” Micro said, joining me outside the doc’s door, where I’d ended up as I idly mooched around the place.
