Torque by Gillian Archer (10 ebook reader txt) 📕

type. I could spot a biker who’s not wearing club colors from a hundred yards away. Those assholes are all alike.”

“Right,” Maddie whispered as she looked down at her full hands, her knuckles white. She took a couple of deep breaths but didn’t say anything else.

“That’s it? You’re seriously not going to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Maddie’s head jerked up and her eyes sheened with emotion. “Because it’s so crazy that a guy might like me?” She shook her head and gave a bitter little laugh. “I don’t see how who I’m seeing is any of your business.”

“Hey, don’t you fucking even. You’re the one seeing the enemy here. Or are you forgetting the fact that those bastards were responsible for Ryan ending up in the ICU?”

Because he’d had the nerve to date their president’s daughter. Like Hope wasn’t a grown adult who could make her own decisions.

“He’s in the West Coast Kings?” Maddie’s eyes widened like it was a revelation to her. “How do you know that?”

“The Ride Free tattoo on his knuckles? The tip of the crown tatt on the side of his neck? How long have you been seeing him? You didn’t know who the fuck you were dry humping on Dylan’s front step? What the hell is wrong with you?”

A minute ago, Maddie looked so pale that I would’ve been afraid she was gonna pass out, but not anymore. A red wave of color swept across her face, and she was back to glaring at me.

“Look I’m not dating him. Not that I have to run all my decisions by you. He was just someone I…met recently. I doubt I’ll ever see him again. Can we drop it now? I’ve gotta get Dylan’s cheesecake in the fridge.”

She seriously wasn’t going to tell me anything? I was still pissed that she’d been cuddling with a fucking King. It was like a kick to the nuts. I’d always thought of her as part of the family, and this was a betrayal.

But Maddie wasn’t waiting for permission. The door clicked open and she was stepping inside.

“I’m not done talking to you.”

She paused with her back to me. She wouldn’t even turn to look at me. Who was this woman who’d been my little sister’s partner in crime? I almost didn’t recognize her. And I’d spent the past two hours sitting across from her in Aunt Wendy’s living room and table.

“Well too bad. Because I’ve got nothing else to say about that.” She finally faced me as she tipped her head toward the step where I was standing.

Seriously? She was all but dry humping a King and we were just not gonna talk about it? Bullshit. “Fine. How about I take you to your apartment then. You said something about needing clothes?”

If I couldn’t get any answers out of her now, I’d just pump her for information later.

She closed her eyes and sighed. After a beat, she turned her doe-eyes to me. “It’s been a long day. I’ll just handwash something. It’s fine.”

“Nah, come on. I’ll take you.”

She looked at me like I’d asked her to walk over hot coals or something.

“Come on.” I pushed my way into Dylan’s apartment, grabbed the food containers from her, and shoved them into the fridge. Turning around, I found her still standing in the doorway with a bewildered expression. “It’ll be quicker to grab your clothes. If you’re tired, you won’t want to stay up to do a load of laundry tonight.”

“You mean it’ll be quicker to agree with you,” she muttered as she flipped the lock on the knob before closing the door behind us.

I smirked. “That too.”

She gave me that not-impressed look that was becoming her norm. I seriously missed the puppy eyes she usually gave me. But I guess I had been harping on her a lot lately. And now with the biker. But in my defense, I was worried about her. She was like a little sister to me—like Sabrina. And as an only child, she didn’t have any older brothers to worry about her—unlike Sabrina.

“Come on.” I tipped my head toward my driveway where my black Range Rover was parked. Since we were bringing stuff back, it didn’t make sense to take my bike. I lead the way to my SUV, not bothering to check if Maddie was following me.

It was turning out to be a fucking strange night.

I didn’t look in Maddie’s direction the entire time it took to drive to her house. She had made some seriously screwed up decisions lately. From her apartment, to choosing to sleep on Dylan’s couch instead of my spare room, and now with a goddamn King showing up for a fucking cuddle session on my front doorstep. What the hell was she thinking? Was this like a quarter-life crisis? Was that even a thing?

When we pulled into her building’s parking lot, the scene that met us didn’t make me feel any better. Thursday night, and someone—probably the dealer neighbor—was having a fucking party. People were everywhere, drinks in their hands, and very little clothes on their bodies. I had to swerve to avoid a couple lying down in the middle of the fucking lot. Booming music that even my fancy soundproofing couldn’t diminish vibrated my SUV.

I pulled into a spot far away from the craziness and turned to look at Maddie.

Her eyes were large as she took in the scene before us. “It might not be a good idea for you to leave your fancy Range Rover unattended here.”

“If you think I’m letting you walk through that alone, you’re the one with a drug problem. Because you’d have to be high to think that’s a good idea.” Sighing heavily, I pushed my door open and climbed out. I could feel the music pounding deep in my bones. “Come on!” I hollered. “It’ll be faster with two of us!”

I didn’t know if Maddie heard me, but she followed my lead and climbed out of the SUV before I