by Kasey Krane
There was no way in Hell I was bringing her for a raid on the Silver Knights. It was too dangerous.
Why the fuck was I thinking about her at a time like this?
“Bolt!” Drax’s voice across the room interrupted my thoughts. A few others turned to look at me too.
“Yeah?” I shouted.
“Didn’t you say something about watching Chip’s sister? What’s happening with that? She still around?” Drax asked.
I could feel the others’ eyes on me. Especially Flash’s, all waiting to hear from me. They’d watched Cassie, seen her around the Clubhouse when she was with me, but I hadn’t exactly been supplying information about her to everyone.
I nodded at Drax now. “Yeah, she’s still around. I’m trying to figure out what to do with her.”
“She threatened to go to the cops on us.” That was Flash. He said it with a hiss in his voice. Most others in the room weren’t aware of this piece of information, least of all Drax. Now when I looked at him, I could see how displeased this made him.
“She did what?” he snarled.
“I’m handling it,” I said.
“How?” Drax was eyeing me closely.
“I’m watching her. She’s not getting anywhere near a phone or other people.”
“You let her go to work today!” Flash interjected. I could see Drax looking alarmed.
“I was with her the whole time, let her go to work to avoid suspicion. There are people she interacts with and works with every day. If she didn’t show up today, there’d be alarms raised. That’s what I was avoiding,” I explained.
“You’re making too many allowances for this chick. That’s what you’re doing,” Flash countered.
Drax raised a hand to shut us up.
“Bolt. Are you confident you have her under control?” he growled at me.
“Yes. I’m positive. She’s not doing anything or going anywhere.”
“She doesn’t deserve your time!” Flash added.
“Back the fuck down, will ya? Let him handle her. She’s his responsibility now,” Drax said.
I was prepared to fight it out with Flash if I had to. I wasn’t about to let anyone else handle Cassie. She was all mine.
Flash settled and I nodded at Drax. “Yes, I take full responsibility for her. I’ve got it covered.”
“Good. The kid’s sister is definitely not one of the problems I want to waste any time on. The rest of you better come up with a plan. We attack their holdings in two nights. We need to be fuckin’ prepared.”
Thankfully, attention was once again successfully diverted away from Cassie. Even though I could feel Flash throwing darts at me with his enraged glares, there wasn’t much he could do about it now.
Spike came up to me, thumping my back. “Hope you know what you’re doing, brother. She seems like a pain in the ass.” Then he walked away.
Maybe she was a pain in the ass. Maybe Flash was right, and I was just wasting my time and expertise on Cassie, but something about her ignited the need in me to keep her safe.
Church was over a few minutes later. Everyone had a task before the raid. I went in search of Cassie so I could figure out what to do with her next.
When I walked into the bar, it was swarmed with the regulars. Sophie and Cassie were behind the counter serving drinks.
I realized this was the perfect job for her. Given her experience with her cafe, she knew exactly how to make the bar job work. I had no idea if she’d done it before, but she picked it up pretty quickly. Or maybe Sophie was just an excellent instructor.
Through the crowd, I weaved my way closer to the bar. Neither of the girls had seen me yet. Over the loud music and the voices, Cassie and Sophie were shouting at each other while having a conversation. I could hear what they were saying.
I stopped in my tracks when I realized she was asking Sophie about me.
“Is he always this grumpy?”
Sophie laughed as she poured vodka in two shot glasses.
“Bolt keeps to himself. He’s not exactly the jokester around here.”
Cassie smiled at someone sweetly as she handed them their drink. Then she turned to Sophie again.
“Is he seeing someone?” she asked.
Sophie grinned.
“Seeing someone? Like, does he take a girl out on dates?”
“Is he in a relationship with someone?” Cassie reiterated. Sophie was shaking her head.
“No, as far as I know, Bolt doesn’t have an ol’ lady. But there are a lot of chicks wake up in his bed in the morning. And why wouldn’t they? He’s a catch.” Sophie’s eyes glowed as she spoke, while I watched Cassie closely.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked shyly away from Sophie.
“Why? Are you interested?” she asked. Cassie busied herself with some glasses.
“No, of course not. He’s holding me captive. Why would I be interested in him? I’m just curious. You know, trying to figure out what kinda guy he is. We’re spending a lot of time together and he isn’t exactly a big talker.”
Sophie laughed again. “No, that he isn’t. Neither is he the kind of guy to give all his time to one chick. He’s married to the job, if ya know what I mean.”
Cassie gulped and looked up at me just then. She hadn’t noticed me standing this close to them before. I saw her expression change. She was embarrassed. She knew from my face that I’d heard everything.
“Thanks for keeping an eye on her,” I said to Sophie, who was grinning wide at me.
“No problem, Bolt. Cassie has been a big help.”
“We’re leaving,” I said firmly to Cassie, who started to put the glasses away.
“I can stay here, work with Sophie a little longer,” she tried.
“We’re going. Now.”
She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then decided she wasn’t going to fight me on this.
“I’ll see ya around,” Sophie said to her lightheartedly. Cassie nodded and then walked around the bar to where I was standing.
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
I didn’t feel the need to answer that question.
10
Cassie
I should have known he’d bring me back up here again. To the room where we’d spent the night together. He marched me up the stairs to the door and I stood beside him, totally embarrassed in myself, while he unlocked the door.
I knew he’d heard my questions to Sophie. Even though he hadn’t made any reference to them yet, it was obvious by the sniggering look on his face.
The last thing I needed was for him to know exactly how much I wanted him. I didn’t want him to think he could make me weak in any way. We walked back into the room and he dropped the keys down the front of his pants again.
I gulped as I stared at the bulge it formed. I had to drag my gaze away.
“So, this is the plan for tonight? To stay locked up here in this bloody room again?” I hissed, throwing my arms wide apart in exasperation.
Bolt glared at me and then walked over to his wardrobe and took off his jacket.
“What is it now? You’re not even going to talk to me? What are we supposed to do here together? We can’t even have a conversation!”
He eyed me as he shut the wardrobe door. His silence frustrated me. I needed him to say something. I walked up to him, demanding that he look at me, but Bolt avoided my eyes. I followed him into the bathroom where he proceeded to splash his face with water.
“If…if you’re wondering why I was asking all those questions about you to Sophie…”
“Yeah, why are you so interested in my personal life?” he asked, looking up at me in the mirror’s reflection.
I gulped. I didn’t actually have a suitable explanation for that. I looked away, trying to come up with something.
“I was just curious. We spend a lot of time together, and you have gotten to know quite a few things about me. I barely know anything about you. I don’t even call you by your real name.”
“Nobody does.”
“Okay, but if we’re practically living together, don’t you think I should know a few more things about you?”
“I haven’t been interested in your personal life in any way.”
He was right. He hadn’t asked me any questions regarding my love life.
“Well, I guess I’m just a busybody. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Bolt turned to me now, a grin growing on his face.
“Are you sure? Because it sounded a lot like you’re interested.”
“In you? Are you kidding me? You’re not my type!” I blurted the words as forcefully as I could, just trying my best to prove a point. I hoped with all my heart that he’d believe me when I said I wasn’t interested.
He simply nodded his head. “Sure, I’ll bite, what is your type?”
“Not you.”
“And what type am I?”
“A guy who holds innocent girls hostage and allows other members to be beaten up and hurt by his friends.” I was snarling. The grin was disappearing from Bolt’s face. He wasn’t pleased with what I was accusing him of.
“I’m only going to say this once more to you, Cassie. Your fuckin’ brother deserves what he’s getting and he knows it. He betrayed the people he’d sworn his loyalty to. All for a bit of cash on the side. He knew exactly what he was doing.”
“And you asked him that personally, did you? He told you he did it because he was greedy? You know exactly why he did it?”
“It doesn’t matter why he did it. What matters is that he did. He admitted it himself. So he’s getting what was coming for him.”
Bolt brushed roughly past me as he left the bathroom. I whipped around and followed him into the bedroom. I could feel the back of my neck burning up. I was shuddering with rage.
“I don’t understand why you’re prolonging this.”
“What are you talking about now?” he snapped. He sounded very annoyed now while he pulled out shoe polish and a brush.
“Holding me here. Why don’t you just do what you want to do?”
He sat down on the floor with the things and started taking his boots off.
“And what exactly do you think I want to do with you, Cassie?”
When he looked up at me now, he had a glimmer in his eyes. I wondered if I’d pushed him too far. What was he about to do? I stood above him with my shoulders heaving. I gulped but he looked away. Silently, he started polishing his boots.
I didn’t know the answer to that question. I had no idea what he actually wanted to do with me.
“I’m sorry that I threatened your club about going to the cops. I won’t do it. I promise,” I said.
Bolt said nothing. He continued polishing his boots in silence.
“Do you trust me, Bolt? Please trust me when I say I won’t go to the cops with any information. Just let me go.”
Nothing.
I felt so frustrated, I could tear my hair out.
“What do you think I’ll even tell them? Do you think the cops will actually believe anything I have to say? I’m nobody. I don’t even know where we are. I won’t even be able to guide them here.”
Nothing.
“Bolt! Do you trust me?” I screamed at him.
He stopped polishing for a moment and looked up at me. It was a deadpan look. Unfeeling. It made me realize I meant nothing to this man. Whatever connection I felt toward him was just one sided.
“No, Cassie, I don’t trust you,” he replied.
I sat on the bed in silence while Bolt continued to polish his boots. It didn’t seem like those shoes needed any more polishing, but it was what he wanted to do. It was his way of killing time.
I felt like I’d tried my best. I’d done my best to help Chip. It wasn’t going to work. Bolt was iron-clad in his resolve against me.
Silently, I felt my eyes fill with tears. A sob escaped my lips and that was when he finally looked up at me. I rubbed a hand over my eyes. I didn’t want him to see me cry, was trying so hard to keep it together all this while and didn’t want him thinking I was weak.
He stood up and came toward me. His shoes and the polishing stuff were on the floor.
“There’s no need for you to cry,” he said, coming up to the bed.
I’d rubbed my tears off. I kept my head held high. I wasn’t about to let him see I was crumbling.
“I’m frustrated, that’s all,” I said.
Bolt stood over me. So close to me. Despite everything, I couldn’t believe I wanted him to hold me. It felt, in that moment, like he could fix it for me—if only he put his arms around me. What was wrong with me?
“Don’t cry,” he said again. This time a little less firmly, with a little more feeling. I looked up and met his eyes.
“I’m not crying! I just want to know where my brother is. I don’t care whether you trust me. I want you to tell me where you’re holding my brother.”
Bolt’s jaws moved tightly in his mouth. He seemed angry one moment and then emotionless the next.
“You know that isn’t information I can give you.”
“Where are you holding Chip? What are you doing to him?” I snapped. When I stood up, Bolt moved toward me. I took some steps away from the bed and he continued to come in my direction.
I held his gaze. I wasn’t about to let this drop.
“If you don’t take me to my brother…if you don’t tell me where he is…I’ll do something. I’ll scream. I’ll…I will do something.”
Bolt’s eyes roamed all over me. He was watching me speak. Was he making fun of me? Did he think this was funny? Was this all a joke to him?
“You won’t be able to stop me. How long will you keep me in here? You can’t keep me here forever, and when you let me go I’ll come after you. I won’t stop till I’ve avenged my brother. I will never forgive you for this!”
The words came rushing out before I could stop them. I should’ve known they were a bad idea. The last thing I should’ve been doing was threatening him again. But I couldn’t help myself. My frustration was getting to me.
It was the way he came toward me. The way he was looking at me. There was an electrical charge in the air between us. I could feel it now.
I couldn’t go any further back because I was pinned to the wall. Bolt came further toward me, loomed over me with his deep blue eyes piercing into me. I knew I couldn’t escape him even if I tried. But I didn’t really want to.
I looked up at him with my lips parted and Bolt reached for me. For a moment, I thought he was going to yank me away from the wall. What would he do next? Hurt me? For some reason, I’d convinced myself he would never hurt me. Maybe I was stupid for thinking that.
But he didn’t. He didn’t hurt me. Instead, he touched my left cheek with the back of his hand. I leaned toward him and he took my mouth into his. I gasped.
This was exactly what I’d been picturing in my head over and over again. Pretty much from the first moment I saw him. Our lips fused together. Our bodies pressed to each other’s.
Bolt kissed me deeply. My mouth was wide open, and his tongue slipped in between my lips. He was irresistible. His hand traveled down my side, down my thigh and I wrapped my leg around him. I was clinging to him, pressed to the wall, able to feel the pressure of his body against me. My hands stroked his back while his tongue dove deeper and deeper into me.
I was breathless and excited, a deep, sticky desire growing between my legs. I wanted to feel his cock in my hands. In my mouth. I wanted him to take my clothes off. Rip them off my body if he had to. I just wanted his hands all over me, taking possession of me.
His hand explored my breasts, my neck, weaving fingers in my hair while I moved slowly up and down against the wall. Every pore on my skin was screaming for his touch. I wanted him to touch me everywhere all at once.
I caught a bunch of his hair while he angled my head to one side, sucking on my tongue. My nipples hurt with the pressure of his chest against them. Erect and sensitive.
I needed his mouth on them.
I was about to guide his hand down my front, right down to the spot between my legs. Maybe having him inside me would make everything okay. But before I could, there was a loud rap on the door.
“Bolt!” A man’s growling voice interrupted us.
I gasped again when he pulled himself away from me. The moment had ended just as suddenly as it began, and he left me feeling empty. I glared at him, searching his eyes for an answer to what just happened.
We were frozen to the spot, staring at each other. The guy on the other side of the door knocked loudly again and this time, Bolt moved. He didn’t look at me before he went to answer.
For a moment I stood there, watching him, but then I was filled with a jumble of emotions. Anger, embarrassment, guilt, desire. I didn’t know how to handle any of them. I felt sick to my stomach. Why did I do this? Why did I let him kiss me? Why hadn’t I pushed him away?
This was the worst thing I could’ve done. The worst way I could’ve betrayed my brother.
I ran from the room to the bathroom. There was no lock on the door, but I banged it shut and leaned against it. On the other side, I could hear Bolt’s voice. He was speaking to some guy. I didn’t want to know and pressed my eyes closed, wishing I could somehow magically erase the last five minutes of my life.
I’d fantasized about him from the beginning, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. I didn’t think Bolt was even remotely attracted to me. To a girl like me! I didn’t wear skimpy clothes or fake eyelashes or makeup—like the girls I saw downstairs. And from what Sophie told me, it didn’t seem like Bolt was in any need for female company either.
Then why did he kiss me? Why did he touch me like that?
In the next moment, he was knocking on the bathroom door.
“Cassie, you have to come out. I’m going to have to open this door.” His voice was firm but calm. Like nothing extraordinary happened between us in the last few minutes.
