by Kasey Krane
“I can’t stop. Even though I hate what he did. I wish I didn’t care this much.”
“He’s your brother,” Bolt replied. We were in bed, we’d just had sex and were lying in each other’s arms, the sheets all tangled up around our bodies. His fingers were in my hair and my chin was on his chest.
“But what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to help him?”
“You can keep trying to talk to him, that is all you can do at this point. You can’t physically drag him to a shrink, and you can’t lead him back to us.”
When I didn’t speak, Bolt kissed the side of my face.
“I know he’s your brother and you want to help him, but there isn’t much more you can do. Not without risking the wrath of the MC. Drax and the others won’t be too happy if they find out you’ve been indulging Chip.”
“I choose you over him. I’ve already done that, and he knows it. I just hoped he would’ve learned his lesson by now.”
“Maybe he has, maybe he just needs some more time.”
After that, Bolt was falling asleep. I knew he worked hard. These guys worked just as much as they partied at night. It was a lifestyle I was still getting used to but was enjoying. I liked being part of what felt like a community.
I stared at Bolt as he slept, and knew I was happy. If only Chip was able to sort himself out, I would be completely at peace.
I was going to apply for a loan with my bank, and failing that, I had already decided I would sell the cafe. I would do the right things necessary to not lose the house. It was our family home and I wasn’t willing to give it up. But I wouldn’t dream of betraying Bolt and the MC the way my brother had.
I fell asleep at some point in Bolt’s arms. In the morning, I would wake up beside him again and feel happy knowing he was always there.
Now I had someone I could rely on, someone I could trust. This was something that had always been missing from my life. Other than my mother, I hadn’t been able to rely on anyone else.
The elements of Bolt’s lifestyle, the violence—were things I pushed to the back of my mind for now. Those are problems I wouldn’t have to deal with just yet. Right now, the only thing I needed to focus on was our happiness and our relationship.
I was working in the cafe the next day as usual. It was busy and I felt like I didn’t have a moment to breathe. I knew Bolt was at the office this morning, just a few blocks away. It was his turn to man the office, and it also meant he’d be close enough to drop in for lunch later when he had some time.
I was looking forward to seeing him, so I could take a much-needed break.
“I knew the two of you had something going on. No wonder he was hanging around here all the time,” Carol said. She was working the espresso machine today and I was at the cash register, smiling at the customers who walked up.
“We weren’t together then, but yeah, I guess we always had chemistry,” I replied, blushing.
Carol put down a cup of espresso for someone to collect from the counter and she turned to me.
“I’m glad to see you make some time in your life for someone else. You definitely deserve it. You look happy.”
“Thanks, Carol,” I said, just as the cafe door opened and a man walked in.
I looked up and knew he was a biker immediately. He had the same look as everyone else from Iron Thunder. Beard, tattoo, leather cut and chains hanging off his jeans. He wasn’t a very tall man, neither was he muscular, but he had a big beer belly.
A few weeks ago, I would’ve disapproved of his presence in my cafe immediately. I would’ve been suspicious and maybe even a little bit frightened. But I smiled at him now.
Almost everyone associated with the MC knew me now and were aware of this cafe. So I didn’t find it so strange that someone had finally decided to stop by and check out the place.
He was looking around.
“Is he a family friend?” Carol asked with a grin. I shrugged.
“I don’t recognize him, but if he’s here, he must know Bolt somehow.”
I hadn’t caught his eye yet, he was staring at all the people at their tables. My customers glanced at him too because he stood out like a sore thumb. But I didn’t care what people thought anymore. If they wanted to abandon my business because some bikers were going to start hanging out here, then it was their problem.
When he finally looked at me, I smiled, inviting him over to the cash register.
“You Cassie Maxwell?” he asked, walking up to me.
“Yes, I am. Are you Bolt’s friend?”
“Yeah, sure, something like that,” he said.
Carol moved away and I continued smiling at him.
“What can I get you?”
He looked past me at the menu behind me on the wall. I figured he was studying the options available to him, but he took his time. I had other customers to attend to, and I wanted to nudge him to hurry up.
“Would you like me to make a recommendation? What kind of coffee do you like?”
He grunted something under his breath and looked at me shiftily. Finally, he said something again.
“You Bolt’s ol’ lady?”
That made me blush. It was weird admitting to that, I was still getting used to the idea of being someone’s ‘old lady’, but that was how they referred to me around there.
“Yes, I am,” I replied, and the man proceeded to lean on the counter with his arms folded.
That was when I saw his patch. I hadn’t been paying attention before. I’d automatically assumed he belonged to the Iron Thunder MC, but now I recognized the Silver Knights logo on his patch. I felt my heart skip a beat.
He must have seen the look on my face. Did he know I recognized him?
“Your guy is responsible for the death of my best friend,” he said. This time he spoke in a hiss. His voice was threatening and like a growl. I looked over his shoulder nervously. Nobody else had overheard our conversation. They didn’t know what we were talking about.
I looked back at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You should take this up directly with the Iron Thunder Club.”
“No, I’m fuckin’ taking this up with you!” he growled. A little louder this time.
“Bolt didn’t kill anyone, not recently,” I whispered, and the man clenched his jaw.
“My friend died the night of the raid, and he was responsible for it.”
It suddenly dawned on me what he was talking about. Maybe it was the guy Flash had shot. The one who was about to strangle Bolt to death if Flash hadn’t intervened. But there was no point fighting over the details with this guy.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting but you should talk to the Club about your grievance. I’m sure they would like to hear about it,” I said. I knew I had to be firm, to show no weakness.
“I have no intention of talking to anyone. I’m going to make that bastard pay for what he’s done,” the man growled.
In a split second; I knew what he was about to do. I whipped around, trying to slip away before he could get to me, but he jumped over the counter and caught me in a chokehold.
I screamed and so did people around me. Now we were the center of attention. He had me in his tight grip, choking me with his arm and I could feel my breath slowly beginning to diminish from my body.
I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear him, smell the beer on his breath.
“Bolt is going to fuckin’ pay for Johno’s death. He’s going to know what it means to lose someone he cares about.” He was grunting right in my ear, tightening his grip on my neck. I struggled, trying my best to hit him, but I couldn’t get free.
Nobody else had approached yet, everyone afraid of what this man was capable of. I couldn’t get words out of my mouth. I was breathless. I couldn’t even scream for help or beg for mercy.
This man wasn’t about to let me go.
19
Bolt
I’d spent all morning on the phone. Going over and over some details abo
ut a contract I was organizing for our security business. By lunchtime, I seriously needed a break. While I hated working at the office, it was handy being this close to Cassie’s cafe.
I shut shop the moment my last phone call ended and headed over to the cafe.
I didn’t realize something was wrong till I was walking in through the door and realized people were rushing out screaming past me.
“What the fuck?” I grunted under my breath and sped in.
I saw them then.
The motherfucker with his arm around Cassie’s neck in a chokehold. I recognized his patch immediately and knew this was about revenge. He had his back to me and didn’t see me coming.
I pushed through the crowd and leapt on him, pulling him apart from Cassie. She fell away screaming and he growled as he spun around to me. I didn’t have time to reach for my gun first, so I headbutted him.
His lip split open and he staggered back, but he wasn’t giving up very easily. He looked up at me with fire in his eyes and charged me again.
This time, it was me pinned to the wall. He grabbed me by my neck, pushing me up against it and I was reminded of the way his friend tried to choke me that night.
Behind him, I could see Cassie screaming her lungs out at the counter. Her friends were holding her back while she struggled to get away from them. It took me a moment to get my bearings and then I kicked him in the gut.
He howled in pain and released me. I slid down the wall and jumped on him again.
He was on the floor and I punched his face. He was in too much pain to counteract.
“Don’t you fuckin’ ever come near her again. Keep your filthy hands off my woman!” I punched again. I saw red. He’d had Cassie in a chokehold. He could have killed her. He had every intention of killing her. I wanted to kill him now.
I reached for my gun and pointed it at his head. He held up his hands to cover his face. Like that would stop the bullet from penetrating his skull.
“Bolt, no!” I heard Cassie shrieking. I looked up so see she’d managed to get around the counter. She was standing right there in front of me.
“Get back, Cassie. Get the fuck back!” I shook the gun at the guy’s head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now.
“Bolt, please don’t kill him. Let him go.”
“You don’t understand. He would’ve killed you. He wouldn’t have hesitated in fuckin’ killing you!” I growled.
“But it’s just revenge for revenge. You have to break the circle somewhere. Let him go,” she cried.
“That is not how it works.”
“Bolt. I don’t care how it’s always worked in your world. I know it’s all about your club and your rules, but this is my cafe. It was my life that was in danger, and now I want you to let him go.” She was glaring at me. Her eyes were red and her lips were quivering but she was doing her best to keep her voice rigid and firm.
I glared down at this guy and he stared at me. He was pleading for his life with his eyes. What would be the consequences of letting this man live? Would he think I was weak? What would he tell his MC?
“Bolt. Look at me. Please, just listen to me this one time. Do what feels right. I know it feels right to let him go. He came here looking for revenge, but you don’t have to stoop to his level.”
I gulped. My throat had gone dry. I didn’t know what to do. How to strike a balance between the woman I loved and the rules I lived by. When I looked into Cassie’s eyes again, I thought about how close I was to losing her, but now I knew what I had to do.
I stood up and put my gun away. The guy scrambled to his feet. He glanced at Cassie but made to leave.
“If any of you come near her again I won’t give a shit about third chances,” I raged. He said nothing but ran out of the cafe.
A collective sigh of relief rang out amongst the people who were still here. Cassie rushed toward me and I took her into my arms. This was insane. What had she done to me? I would never have been this lenient before.
I looked into her eyes and she kissed me.
“Thank you for that, Bolt. Thank you for taking a different way out of this,” she said.
I grabbed her hand and started leading her out of the cafe.
“I’m taking you home. You’re taking the rest of the day off,” I said. She smiled and nodded.
“Okay, yes, I want to be alone with you too.”
On the bike, she held me tightly as I rode us back to my apartment. Our apartment. I needed to be alone with her and figure out everything going through my head.
Maybe she didn’t understand it, but it was a huge step I took today by not killing that man. By not resorting to violence when I had the chance and the opportunity to do it.
We got to the apartment and went up.
“I know what we need,” she said, smiling softly. “I’m going to draw us a bath.”
This time, Cassie got into the bathtub with me.
Initially I wasn’t interested in a bath. I didn’t think I needed it. I needed to work off these torn violent feelings, and I thought only a bike ride alone would cure it.
But then I saw her taking off her clothes and I knew I couldn’t turn down her offer.
Cassie sat up in the tub at one end near my feet and slowly started rubbing them. The bubbles were frothed up around her breasts, but sometimes her pink nipples peeked out and my cock throbbed.
I didn’t think I was capable of feeling turned on at a time like this, but she managed to fuckin’ turn me on somehow.
“You did the right thing tonight, Bolt,” she said.
I clenched my jaws and looked firmly at her.
“I won’t always be able to do what you want me to do. You need to know that.”
“I do know that, I just want to thank you for doing the right thing tonight.”
“I don’t know if it was the right thing to do. I let that fucker go. He was about to kill you. Now his whole MC is going to think they can pull whatever shit they want, and I’ll let them loose. There has to be consequences.”
Cassie pulled herself toward me in the water, her body gently bobbing up and down.
“I know this goes against all your rules, what you would have done at any other time, but maybe you can lead by example. Maybe you can prove to them that they don’t always need to resort to violence.”
I watched her as she lay back again, allowing the warm soapy water to surround her. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. I wished I could be with her like this forever. All the time. I knew I couldn’t. We had other responsibilities.
“I don’t know if things can change so quickly,” I said.
“But you have to start somewhere, right? You are the Club’s Sergeant of Arms. You can show your men how to act in a similar situation. If revenge is always met by revenge, when will it ever end?”
She looked into my eyes and I didn’t have an answer for her. I didn’t know when it would end. It wouldn’t. This shit with the Silver Knights had been going on for a long time and it would continue to go on. We were just about reaching boiling point now.
“Maybe, I don’t know,” I replied. Cassie reached for my thighs under water. Her touch was soft and soothing. I knew I’d succumb to it. She had complete control over me now.
“Yeah, we don’t know…but there’s no harm in trying. Besides, you saved me. I’m fine now. Nothing happened,” she continued.
“But I might not be there the next…” I was about to protest but she reached for my cock now. Her hand gently wrapped around it and she stroked me.
The water. The bubbles. The touch of her hand on my cock—everything made me sink. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I looked at her and she knew what I wanted.
She lowered herself toward me till her mouth was on my cock. I watched her body bobbing, her head moving up and down as she started sucking me off. I dug my fingers into her soaked hair, holding her in place as she brought me closer and closer to coming.
I groaned, shaking a little as I was about to come, and she
stopped. When she looked up at me her mouth was glistening.
“Not so fast, cowboy,” she said. She moved quickly, straddling me. Water splashed everywhere and my cock sank into her.
She moved on top of me, rocking her body back and forth. I watched her breasts quiver; her mouth was open and she stared straight into my eyes. This girl knew exactly what she was doing. She knew she was going to make me come and make me forget what we were talking about.
She tweaked a nipple with one hand while she kept the other on my chest, holding me steady, riding me like a horse. Her moans were sexy, her body was sexy, the way she looked at me was enough. I’d already forgotten what we were talking about. The only thing I could think about was Cassie’s beautiful delicious body on top of mine. My cock thrusting inside her till I couldn’t hold back.
I came inside her like an explosion, shooting my seed deep into her. I groaned aloud as I came. Cassie cried out too, clutching my arms while she moved faster, rocking vigorously while she came too. No other chick was this sexy all the time. Nobody could make me come so quickly.
I looked at her victorious face when she was done.
“I love you, Bolt. I know you will always keep me safe,” she said and fell onto my chest. I held her there, protectively winding my arms around her tightly.
Maybe it would take me some time to come to terms with the morals Cassie upheld. Maybe we would both need to work around the kind of decisions we made, but I knew I was willing to make those changes in my life for her. I knew I would do anything to make her happy, even if it meant introducing new rules in the MC.
“I love you, Cassie,” I said and kissed her forehead. She looked up at me and I knew she trusted me. I trusted her too, and that was the most important thing.
The bath water was still warm and we stayed like that for a while longer. Neither of us was willing to move. We were both aware of how close we had come to losing what we had today. I’d got there at the right time, and I didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.