by Kasey Krane
The Silver Knights men were chatting amongst themselves. We could hear the mumble of their voices being carried in the wind. Some laughter accompanied it. Maybe they weren’t expecting us to strike tonight after all.
Just a few more minutes. I held my fist up. The crates were being loaded one by one into the back of the truck. I kept count. Five. Six. The seventh and the last crate was finally inside, and I unclenched my fist.
It was the signal.
One of the Silver Knights guys, the driver, was about to walk over to the front of the truck. We needed to stop him before he could drive away.
Before anyone else, I aimed my gun at him and took a shot. It caught him in the shoulder, and he howled. He wasn’t going to be able to drive the truck now. When he fell to the ground, the others barked orders and took up positions of defense.
It was our cue to storm in.
We rushed in toward them and there was gunfire everywhere.
The rest of it was a blur. We were shooting at them and they shot at us. I tried not to focus on who got hurt but I saw Ghost take a hit in the leg.
“You! Drag him back!” I barked at one of the prospects. He grabbed Ghost by his shoulders and started dragging him back into the dark where our cars were parked.
Someone pounced on me when I turned. It was one of them. My gun went flying out of my hand and I was knocked into the ground. I felt the back of my head thud on the gravel, the guy on top of me, his hands on my neck, choking me. I tried to punch his face, but he was slowly squeezing the breath out of me.
Then a shot rang out. It was Flash. He’d shot the guy straight in the head. He was dead, his blood splattered all over me.
“Fuck!” I growled, coughing a little as I staggered up. I nodded at Flash and he turned to fight off the other guy who came at him.
I reached for my other gun that was stashed in the back of my belt. I shot at the guy who was trying to get into the truck.
I saw Spike make a run for the truck now. He was the first one who had a clear shot of it. He climbed in. I knew he would need a few minutes to get the engine started without a key. I focused on keeping the truck clear of any Silver Knights.
Chip had said there would be at least six guys here but there were more. Yet slowly, we were making our way through the numbers. Some of them made a run for it into the night, and the rest who remained were injured and in the process of injuring us.
I heard the truck start up. Spike was driving the truck away with the shipment.
“Done!” I barked over the sound of gunfire. We didn’t need to stay and fight this anymore. Our mission was accomplished.
We held our guns out, pointed at the remaining Silver Knights who were still fighting. There was nothing left to fight for anymore. Spike had already driven safely away.
We retreated slowly to our bikes, shooting off the last of the motherfuckers who tried to get to us. We were bruised and some of us were injured, but each of us had made it out alive.
We got on our bikes. The prospects took the cars and we sped the fuck out of there.
“Call Spike. He might need reinforcements,” I shouted. Flash was already dialing his number while he kickstarted his bike.
“On it.”
“Good job, guys. Drax is going to be happy about this,” I said to the others.
“But the Silver Knights aren’t. They’re going to come after us for this. We got a lot of their men,” Flash said while the phone rang on the other end.
“That is another day’s problem,” I said.
Spike answered as we rode away. He was fine. The shipment was safe. Some of us were going to ride out to our holding cell where the buyers were waiting for us.
The good news was this was all going to be over tonight.
16
Cassie
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been waiting for Bolt to return. I was sitting on the bed at first, flicking through a book I’d picked up from my apartment earlier, but wasn’t actually reading.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way my life had suddenly changed since I’d met Bolt. Chip was responsible for all these changes, but maybe I should’ve been grateful to him? I would never have met Bolt if it wasn’t for him. But on the flipside, his actions had also put everyone’s lives in danger.
After some time, I couldn’t sit there pretending to read my book anymore. I needed to pace around the room, try to keep myself distracted from worrying about Bolt and what was happening to him.
Sophie seemed confident that the guys were going to return unharmed, but Bolt said he couldn’t make any promises. I shuddered at the thought of losing him already. Were we destined to just have one night together?
I clutched my stomach tightly because the thought made me feel sick. I’d never felt this way about a man before.
The only relationships before this were casual and short-lived. None of those men made me feel this upside-down. I’d never wanted to change my whole life around for the sake of being with someone else, but now I did.
My family had always been the center of my world. Dad, Mom and Chip. When I started losing them one by one, I held on tightly to Chip. My brother. The only family I had left.
I thought I knew my brother, but as it turned out, I didn’t. I’d never thought he was capable of something like this, but maybe I should’ve forgiven him. He was trying to save our family home after all. Maybe he did deserve some sympathy. But I couldn’t find it in my heart to sympathize with him. Not until Bolt returned.
What would my parents have thought of me being with someone like him? Mom had always been so afraid of Chip hanging out with the ‘bad crowd’, the ‘biker types’. She’d conditioned me to believe her thoughts too—that all these men were violent and bad. That Chip was putting his life in danger by sticking with them. That they were nothing but trouble.
So I knew she wouldn’t approve if she knew I’d fallen in love with one of them.
But Mom had never known these guys the way I did. She hadn’t lived with them in such close quarters.
The truth was, I’d never felt more safe than I did right now when I had Bolt looking out for me. So Mom was wrong. They weren’t dangerous. Not when you were loyal to them. Not when you abided by their rules and were a part of their community. There was no place safer.
Chip had failed to do that. He’d betrayed them. If they’d punished him the way Bolt said he would’ve been—how could I have lived with that? My brother being punished to death.
But he wasn’t. He was clever enough to save his ass.
And now we were here.
I was more a part of this now than I ever thought I would be.
I sat down on the edge of the bed with a thump again, and looked at my watch.
It was past midnight now. Bolt and the rest of the MC had been gone for several hours. I didn’t even have his phone number. How was I supposed to get in touch with him? I was tempted to go look for Sophie. Maybe she would know how to get in touch with them, but I decided to wait a little longer.
Bolt and I had one chance of being together; I just hoped I wouldn’t have to live with the memory of just that for the rest of my life.
My eyes fluttered closed for a moment. I was tired. I was sitting upright in bed, but felt physically and emotionally drained. If only he was here and I could wrap my arms around him. Rest my head on his shoulder.
The door gently creaked open. So softly that I thought I was imagining it. When I opened my eyes, I saw a shadow at the door.
“Bolt?” I whispered his name with a gulp. My mind was whirling. It couldn’t be him, could it?
He took a step into the light of the table lamp in the room.
I saw his face. He was watching me with his piercing blue eyes. I stood up with a jerk, but couldn’t speak.
In the light, I could see him now, his face marked with what looked like grease or dirt. Like he’d rolled around on the ground. There was dirt on his clothes too. His usually polished boots looked muddy.
I could see
something glistening on his forehead. A dash of blood?
“Bolt!” I shrieked, rushing to him.
I wasn’t just imagining this. He was real. He was really here.
He took me into his arms, and I kissed him. It was a slow and gentle kiss. I was so relieved…more than I’d ever been in my life to see someone. I hadn’t even felt this way when I saw Chip that day. What did that say?
I’d given myself to Bolt completely.
He held me, his strong arms around me.
“You’re here,” I whispered when our mouths finally parted.
“There was no other place I would have returned to,” he replied.
I rested my head on his chest, just like I’d wanted to all night. “Tell me everything,” I said.
“Chip’s information came through, he was right about everything,” Bolt said.
We were in the bathroom. I’d drawn him a hot bath and now he was stripping his clothes off one by one. I stood in the corner, watching him, trying to stay focused on the conversation.
“I’m glad he was able to help, finally,” I said.
Bolt’s shirt came off first and I saw his chiseled muscular torso. But before I could drool, I noticed the marks of blood on his abdomen.
“What’s that?” I shrieked, rushing to him. My hands were all over his hard abs, feeling for any wound. He gently put his hand on mine, and I looked up at him.
“Don’t worry, I’m not hurt. Not in any major way, anyway. There were other people who got hurt badly, so it must be someone else’s blood,” he said. I gulped, peering thirstily into his blue eyes.
I knew he needed this bath. The right thing to do would be to let him rest but I felt kinda desperate for him. To be as close to him as possible.
I gently took my hands away from him, just so I wouldn’t feel so tempted. Bolt smirked and then started undoing his pants.
I looked away.
“Cassie, are you shy?” I heard him ask.
“You need to take your bath.”
“Yep, I’m going to, but I won’t mind if you want to look at me.”
Slowly, I turned to look at him. His cock wasn’t as hard as before, but it hung big and proud between his muscular thighs. I couldn’t look away now. I felt that wetness and the pressure between my legs. When I looked up, I saw him still smiling.
“Thanks for this,” he said and quickly got into the bath.
Some of the bubbly water splashed out as he sank in. I could still see the upper half of his torso and his arms. Big and strong. Muscular. Tattooed. I licked my lips.
“Is everyone else okay?” I asked, trying to distract myself.
He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
“Ghost took a hit. It’s bad but it's just his thigh. He’ll recover quickly. Nobody else got hurt as badly as him.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I really wanted everyone to come back safe and sound,” I said. Bolt looked at me, his deep blue eyes glistening.
“Cassie, you shouldn’t blame yourself for your brother’s actions. It’s over now. And he helped us, so his ass is safe too.”
I nodded. I tried to forget but I knew I wouldn’t. I would always feel a little guilty because of what Chip did.
“And what about the Silver Knights?” I asked.
“What about them?”
“I’m sure they’re not going to be happy you guys took the shipment back.”
He drew in a deep breath. He finally looked relaxed in the bath and I realized I’d never seen this side of him before—looking this chilled out.
“No, they’re not going to be happy about it. Neither will they be happy about the fact that a couple of their guys are badly wounded; almost all of them took hits, and one of them is dead.”
My heart stopped still when I heard the words. “Dead?”
“He was about to kill me. Flash had to shoot him.”
My mouth fell open. These things were too intense for me to fathom.
“He was about to kill you?”
Bolt clenched his jaws and stared at me. “Forget about it.”
“No, Bolt, I want to know. I need to know these things if you want me to be a part of your life.”
“Yes, he was choking me, I couldn’t reach my weapons. A few more minutes and I would’ve been dead on the spot,” he said. I clutched my stomach. He was close to dying tonight? All I could do in the meantime was sit on the bed and wait for him.
“And…Flash? He…he saved you?”
“Yeah, he shot the bastard,” he replied.
It didn’t matter anymore that some asshole from the Silver Knights was dead. All that mattered was Bolt was still alive.
I went toward him, crouching down by the side of the bathtub. He smiled softly at me and reached for my nose. When he touched it, he left bubbles on it. Somehow, I couldn’t make myself smile. It was too intense.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all this,” I said.
“That’s the thing you need to know about me, Cassie. I’ll do it all over again if I have to. For the sake of protecting the things that are mine, that I’m responsible for.”
He didn’t actually say the words but the way he looked at me conveyed exactly what was on his mind—I was one of those things he was talking about. One of the things he was going to protect and keep safe.
“I just want you to be safe at the same time,” I said.
“I’ve told you before. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
I nodded. I was starting to get what being in this relationship was going to feel like. There would be no certainty. We would always be looking over our shoulders. Bolt played with danger on a daily basis and I’d just have to get used to it.
But he was worth it.
How he made me feel when he was in the same room as me was enough to make all the anxiety and worry worthwhile.
I reached for his wet bubbles-covered hand and kissed it.
“I’m happy you’re here.” We smiled at each other.
“So what did Sophie and you get up to?” he asked.
I shrugged. I hadn’t quite decided how honest I was going to be with him about my evening.
“Nothing much. We talked. There wasn’t much to do.”
Bolt was watching me so closely that I knew I had to tell him the truth. I had to be honest. I didn’t want to start our relationship on a note of secrecy. I had to tell him what I did.
“Actually, there is something else I did. Something I had to do,” I said.
“Tell me what you had to do, Cassie.”
I had my hands bunched together in my lap. I tried to not look away. I couldn’t change what I’d already done, but I needed him to understand why I did it.
“I saw Chip.”
Bolt continued looking at me in silence for a few moments and then his brows furrowed.
“What did you just say?”
“I asked Sophie…begged her, to let me see my brother.”
Bolt’s eyes grew dark. I could see a rage beginning to brew behind them. I was afraid of what he would do, what he would say. Was he just going to walk out? Would he break up whatever we just started?
“Why the fuck would you do that?” he growled. Even though his voice was low and firm, it didn’t sound calm.
“I’m sorry, Bolt, but I had to see him. I wanted him to know I disapproved of his actions. I felt helpless and desperate. I didn’t know if you would come back to me tonight. If you were safe. I guess I was looking for someone to blame.”
Bolt lifted himself out of the bath. Water splashed out and he jumped over me on the floor, reaching directly for the towel I’d placed for him on the hook.
“I didn’t go to see him because I sympathize with him, you have to understand, Bolt. I just wanted him to know how wrong he is.” I stood up in desperation, but he wasn’t looking at me anymore. He continued drying himself with the towel, with his back turned to me.
“And Sophie…it’s not her fault. Please don’t take this out on he
r. I begged and pleaded with her. I told her you wouldn’t mind. I told her about us.”
His hands stopped moving and he looked at me over his shoulder now.
“I was gone for a few hours, Cassie, and it seems like you made a Hell of a lot of decisions by yourself.” Again, his voice was low; he wasn’t the kind of man who would raise his voice at a woman. That much I could tell.
“I know I shouldn’t have. I should have waited for you.”
“You pulled this shit behind my back.”
“I wasn’t trying to go behind your back, Bolt!”
I followed him out of the bathroom. He strode over to the wardrobe where his fresh clothes were.
“I was just trying to vent my frustration at him. I see this Club in a different light now. I wanted him to know that.”
Bolt dressed himself in silence. I had no idea what he was going to do next, but I could feel tears filling my eyes. I’d hoped for his safe return so we could be together again, but now I was the one responsible for ruining it.
“I know I shouldn’t have told Sophie or anyone else about us, not without speaking to you first. I get it. This is why I wanted to be honest with you, I wanted to tell you the truth. I didn’t want to hide it.”
Bolt was changed now and on his way to the door, but he stopped and turned to me.
“Don’t ever fuckin’ think you can hide anything from me here. I will always find out. Every fuckin’ thing.” He spoke through clenched jaws and then walked out of the room.
I threw myself on the bed. I was so close to having him again and now this was all my fault. Why did I think he’d forgive me for my actions? I was supposed to be his woman. I was supposed to be loyal to him. Now he would never trust me again.
I sobbed into the pillow and waited for something to happen.
What?
The only thing I could think of was Bolt returning to kick me out of the Club. Along with Chip. If he couldn’t trust me, what good was I to him?
I wished I could take it back. I hadn’t needed to see Chip. He was an idiot who’d put everyone’s life in danger. Why did I risk my relationship because of him?
If only Bolt would give me another chance.