Page 11 of Colt

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer this wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass. “I’ll go back to Vegas.”

My brother nodded his head, looking relieved. “I think that’s the right choice. We’ve got some more stuff to talk about, but I’ll come find you later so we can talk to Phoebe together.”

Knowing I’d been dismissed, I got up to leave. Against my better judgment, I glanced in Torch’s direction. The hatred shining back at me was almost enough for me to change my mind. Leaving wasn’t a choice, it was the only way I would survive.

* * *

I knew going back to Torch’s room here in the clubhouse was a bad idea, so I hopped in my tiny hatchback and drove over to our family’s house. Phoebe wasn’t expected home for a few more hours since she worked late on Friday nights at the local mall, so I had time to prepare for how I would broach the subject of her moving to New York. I was afraid she was going to fight us if she had to leave her friends and she still had her senior year to complete, but that was just logistics and small details to overcome when one’s life was at stake. I would do everything possible to convince her. Both of our fates depended on her leaving.

Sitting around with nothing to do gave me plenty of time to think about what moving to Vegas meant for me, and I could feel the excitement building up inside of me. While the thought of my brother going to jail worried me and living across the country from my mom and sister was not what I would call ideal, it would take the pressure off of me making sure they stayed out of harm’s way.

The one thing bothering me was knowing I would see Colt regularly if I lived there. And since we were in full-blown crisis mode with James’ arrest, I hadn’t been surprised to see him walk into the clubhouse this morning. It made sense that the vice president of the mother club would come help make a plan for my brother’s absence, but the moment I saw him, it was clear his opinion of me hadn’t changed. His eyes roamed over my body, and I could feel myself blush under his scrutinizing gaze, but when he looked up again, I saw the disgust on his face.

It was stupid that I allowed him to hold any sort of power over me. It had been years since anything happened between us, and not only had he treated me like shit the next day, I’d moved on years ago. But I hated how he looked at me, it felt personal. We’d started off fine when he’d approached me at the Vegas clubhouse, but suddenly, he had done a one-eighty and wanted nothing to do with me. That hurt a lot more than I expected. I had enough to deal with and I didn’t need another enemy. What I needed to do was forget everything about Colt and focus on the opportunity I was being handed.

Not knowing how soon I would be moving, I walked to my room to start planning what I needed to pack. Moments after I entered, pounding on my front door stopped me in my tracks. The interruption was as unwelcome as the dozens of text messages I’d received since I’d left the clubhouse. I didn’t need to look out the window to know Torch was here because I hadn’t responded to his texts and he decided to take his harassment a bit further by showing up at my house.

“I know you’re home; open the fucking door, Ember.”

The anger in his voice didn’t encourage me to follow his command, but I knew I couldn’t ignore him. I padded across the living room, trying to figure out how to get out of the situation I created for myself with one decision.

“Hey,” I said through the screen door. My voice was calm, but I could feel my entire body quaking with fear.

“You’re not going to let me in?” The question was a bit ridiculous since Torch never let anyone tell him what he could or couldn’t do.

Deciding it was better to let him come in and say what he wanted than to try to stand here and argue with him, I opened the door and moved to the side to let him enter.

I watched him as he walked into my house like he had every right to be here. And maybe in some way he did. The club owned this house, the club he was the vice president of. It was a role he wouldn’t have if my father hadn’t died six months ago, and my brother became president, leaving the VP position vacant.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to sound unaffected while hiding my trembling hands from his view.

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly why I’m here.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“I didn’t have any choice,” I began to argue, feeling bold—and frustrated. “James backed me into a corner when he got Viking involved.”

Using my brother as an excuse for my decision was a chicken-shit way of handling things, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“You should have tried harder and now you’re going to pay for this little move of yours.” His confidence caused alarm bells to sound in my head. “I know you’re just as protective of Ice as he is of you,” he said as he crowded my space, causing me to back up until I hit the wall behind me.

My entire body was quaking in fear, but Torch wouldn’t be happy until he felt I was completely at his mercy. He wrapped one large hand around my throat and squeezed. Caught off guard, I froze, black spots soon filling my vision.

“Now listen here, you stupid cunt,” he snarled, spit hitting my face. “I haven’t wasted all my time with your sorry ass for you to ruin my plans now.” I was clawing at his hands, hoping he would loosen his grip enough for me to take a breath, but he continued to hold me tight. “But, don’t worry, I have a way of insuring your obedience.”

He leaned down and ran his tongue up the side of my face, I could feel his erection digging into my hip. The psycho always got aroused by hurting me and I could feel my stomach revolting from the feel of his touch. I prayed for the darkness from the lack of oxygen to take over so I wouldn’t feel any more pain at his hands.

Of course, I wasn’t that lucky. Just as I felt myself on the brink of unconsciousness, he threw me down to the ground. My throat burned, my lungs taking in as much air as possible. My vision was still spotty but starting to clear.

Torch getting physical with me wasn’t anything new, but nearly choking me to death was as extreme as he’d gotten. I’d always had my brother’s status to protect me—but after he went to prison, it’d no longer be the case. I’d truly be alone and the thought hit me hard.

He bent down and grasped my chin in his hands, applying the same amount of pressure he’d used on my throat. “I have a proposition for you, and you’re not in any position to turn it down,” he sneered.

Looking for an escape, I glanced down, and that’s when I noticed the manila envelope he had in his other hand.

“Go ahead and take a look, and if this isn’t enough, I can go find Phoebe and give her a nice going-away present,” he threatened as he held up the envelope between us, finally letting go of my face.

The mention of my sister forced me into action and I reached out for the envelope. I would die before I let him lay a single finger on Phoebe. Terrified, I slipped my finger underneath the flap, my shaking hands slowing my progress, and beads of sweat dripping in my eyes made it hard to see.

“Hurry the fuck up!”

I flinched at the sound of his voice and dropped the envelope. After I picked it up off the carpet, I managed to pull out a stack of photos. I could feel the color draining from my face as I flipped through each of them.

When I got to the last photo, I looked up at Torch. “What do you want from me?” I rasped.

His smile was the most evil one I’d ever seen, and I knew deep in my soul that I needed to agree to whatever he asked of me if I wanted to make it out of this alive.