Bullet: An Alpha Male MC Biker Romance (Steel Knights Motorcycle Club Romance Book 2)

by Ivy Black

  “Using the city to fluff ourselves,” Bucky said. “That’s sick.”

  “Exactly. That’s the way the Unchained Dogs helm their entire city. I want all of Hoppa under our umbrella. Here’s what I’m thinking.” He flipped the page over and it was the exact same tree but with all the boxes filled in. He looked across at me. “I wanna nominate Harry to VP.”

  Bucky and Avery both turned to look at me and my jaw dropped. “I… said…”

  “I know what you said. We’ll talk about it more. Let’s just move on for now.” He pointed back at the paper. “Harry for VP. Bucky,” he looked over at him, “I’m nominating you for Sergeant at Arms.”

  Bucky smiled. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I think you and I both know that’s what it should have been anyway. You had to babysit Taylor a lot, and I know you know the bylaws. I think you’d be good for it.”

  Bucky nodded. “Thanks, Squared.”

  Nick looked back at the paper. “Bullseye, you’d stay in the treasury position, overseeing Seth as the new bookkeeper. He’s got experience in accounting and is good with numbers.” Something about hearing someone else’s name associated with bookkeeping made me immediately uncomfortable, but I did like Seth. We were very similar. “I’m thinking Jonesie will replace Bucky as the Road Captain, and Small Fry would be the Secretary. That man’s got a memory like I don’t know what.”

  “Yeah!” Avery yelped. “I’ve noticed that. He’s weird that way.”

  “Then we need an enforcer, and I think you all know who I’m thinking for it,” Nick said.

  “Texas,” we all said in unison.

  Nick laughed. “He’s a fighter, and he’ll keep us in line for sure, and I’ll fucking hunt down Father and see if he still wants to be Chaplain.”

  “He did not take well to all that crazy shit going down when CJ was here, did he?” Bucky said.

  “No, he did not.” Nick pointed at a lower box. “Then Vil will be in charge of whipping the prospects into shape and keeping track of the Friendlies and Regulars.”

  “This is a solid plan,” Bucky said. “I like it. A lot.”

  Avery looked over at me. “Given Bullet goes for it.”

  How was I, all of a sudden, the wrench in the plan again? Nick, Bucky, and Avery were all staring at me patiently and I didn’t know what to say. I tried a couple of times to come up with something, but nothing came out.

  Finally, Nick held up a hand. “Look, you don’t have to decide right now. The whole club has to vote on it, so we can talk about it. Actually...” He looked at Bucky and Avery. “Can you guys give us a minute?” Neither Bucky nor Avery replied, just stood up from the table and walked away, excitedly chattering about Nick’s new plan. When the heavy metal door swung, signifying they’d exited, Nick looked over at me. “All right,” Nick started. “You want the truth?”

  I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “That’d be good. I’m pretty confused.”

  “The truth, the honest to God truth, Harry, is I don’t fucking trust anyone. Not one of ’em. Not Bucky, not Bullseye, not even you to be completely honest.” His fingers combed into his hair. “Fuck, I haven’t even taken the time I need to mourn my Goddamn kids. My son is in the ground, my daughter’s off to who knows where. It’s been about two months and she hasn’t called. I’m supposed to be running the Steel Knights and, honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing. Taylor was the one who helped me with the bylaws, Tess helped me make all my decisions. I got fucking nothing here anymore, Bullet. I need a VP, but who do I make VP out of a whole bunch of people I’m just now realizing I barely fucking know?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t get why it would be me out of everyone? Avery brought me here, Bucky’s more enthusiastic, plus him, Texas, and Small Fry have all been here longer. Why me?”

  “Because I gotta start somewhere,” he said, “and my daddy taught me a really important lesson super young in my life. You can always trust the man who manages your money.”

  “The night before, last I found out that you all think I’m responsible for what happened with Tess.”

  “That’s not what we think,” Nick replied then he flew his hand out. “It’s a bunch of fucking guys out there with this new woman who they all think is pretty Goddamn great, but also a little terrifying, and she’s asking questions about why they’d treat Tess like that, they gotta point the finger at someone.” His hand came back to his chest as he got more impassioned. “Shit, I told Colin like three weeks after he got here that I would never recommend Tess for President. Basically, told him that she’d hit a ceiling here. We wanna talk about the real reason she left? That’s why! Because Colin knew she wasn’t going anywhere fast. I could have kicked your ass or at least kicked you out of the club for the way you treated her, and I didn’t. That shit, Harry, keeps me up at night.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  He folded his hands together and his voice calmed. “This expansion is so much more than that. We have to just start over. Scrap what we’ve been in the past and build something that can actually sustain its own weight.”

  “I agree.”

  “I knew you would,” Nick said. “That’s why I want you on my right side, because this shit is gonna get real crazy, and I need your level head to get us through it. I’m not even expecting you to take your hands off the money. I’m just thinking you could be more of a manager instead of a teller.” I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand. “Don’t say anything right now. Just, you know, sit with it for a little bit. The reason these guys all swayed with you is because they respect you—a lot. And yeah, if you’re gonna pull that woman-hater shit with Seneca or any future members, it’s obviously not gonna work, but I heard what you just said about her.”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah.”

  “I saw it in your face when she was telling you off the other night, you feel bad. Not just about her, but about Tess, too. I’m right there with ya.” He stabbed a finger down at the expansion plan. “This is our ticket to redemption. We build and we go up and we leave that shit behind us.”

  The allure of it was evident. I had a great respect for Nick, and if he believed, out of everyone there, that I was the one he could trust most, I didn’t want to squander that. However, I was comfortable where I was. I was happiest working with the books, and in truth, the responsibility of the VP position terrified me. It wasn’t just because I saw how Tess got ripped to shreds, because most of that was on me, it was more about the height of where Nick wanted to go. He was finally ready to take the club to new heights, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on the responsibility that entailed.

  Then again, what else was I doing?

  “I’ll think about it. I promise,” I said.

  Nick nodded. “Thanks, Harry. That’s all I’m asking.”

  Despite the place of uncertainty Nick and I had left in, the bar was buzzing with the energy of Nick’s plans. Word of his ideas to promote and fill out spread quickly, and by the time the evening rolled around, the guys were toasting to the promoted members and expanded positions. Nick was quick to remind everyone that nothing would be official until that month’s members’ meeting where everyone could vote on the plans, but it didn’t seem like he’d get many objections.

  After a while, the prospects arrived and Nick tasked them with getting to know all the existing members, teasing that he may be drilling them in the near future, and the different conversations that erupted after electrified the bar from the inside out. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t enjoy the energy. All I could do was focus on the conversation Nick and I had.

  “You all right there, Bullet?” I looked up from my beer and one of the new prospects, Karl, was sitting next to me. “My name’s Karl, in case you forgot.”

  “I didn’t,” I replied.

  He pointed at the bottle in my hand. “You’ve been holding that bottle halfway to your lips for about ten minutes, but it looks empty to me.” I looked down at the bottle and saw that he wa
s right, so I set it down on the bar so that one of the bartenders could scoop it up. Karl held up a hand to flag one of them down. “Hey, can I get another one for Bullet here?”

  I waved my hand through the air. “No, no. That’s okay. I’m calling it an early night anyway.”

  “You sure?” Karl said. “The round’s on me.”

  “No, no, that’s fine. If Nicky asks you what you learned about me, I have two cats named Chatterbox and Jingle.”

  Karl sputtered out a laugh. “Lemme guess, that’s a test, right?” He saw my plain expression and frowned. “Wait. Seriously?”

  “Yeah, Chatterbox is a Calico and Jingle is a white Bengal.” After that, I stood up from the bar. “See ya.”

  With Karl still staring at me in stunned silence, I turned my back and made my way out of Hoppa’s Taphouse through the front doors. The parking lot was filled with additional patrons, some of whom greeted me on my way, and I found myself absent-mindedly tracking some of the people that would be considered “Friendlies” and “Regulars” in the future. I nodded and waved, nothing so inviting as to get me caught in a conversation, and then walked over to where my bike was parked. I climbed on immediately but sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the chatter and fresh, cool night. It turned out to be my downfall, as after a few minutes, a ghost stepped into my field of view.

  “Hey, Harry,” Celia said. She wasn’t wearing her typical layer of sass, and instead just had her hands shoved into the hooded jacket she was wearing. “Nice night out.”

  “It is,” I replied. Behind Celia, I saw a few people stop and look over at me. In the center of them was none other than Seneca, with her arms crossed, waiting to see what would happen next. “How are you doing?” I asked.

  That made Celia smile. “Not bad. You?”

  “Can’t complain.”

  “You know, I don’t like being ignored,” Celia said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, doesn’t feel good, does it?”

  That seemed to strike a chord of understanding with her. “No, it doesn’t. Look...” She rolled her eyes a little bit, but when they settled back into mine there was a genuine warmth, “I’m sorry for going ghost after our first date. You want to know the real truth about why I hit the bricks? It’s because things went too well. I’ve never been with someone like you before and it scared the hell out of me.”

  “Someone like me?”

  “Yeah, someone who just feels so…” she said as she bobbled her head and she searched for the right word, “…good.”

  I remembered the feeling all too well. As much as I tried to ignore it, Celia hadn’t left my mind for a second. Her touch still lingered on my skin the way her voice lingered in my ears. “I know what you mean.”

  “Yeah? Then why? I’m trying to put myself out there. Why do you keep shutting me down?”

  “Don’t act as if I’m just some jerk not giving you the time of day. I was the one who called you back, remember? You did this first, not me.” I crossed my arms. “The truth is, I don’t really like wasting my time.”

  “And you don’t like women,” Celia tacked on.

  I glanced past Celia to Seneca, who could at least hear enough of the conversation to hike her eyebrow as if to say, “I told you so.”

  “My relationship to women is unique. We probably would have covered it at some point during a second or third date.”

  “You’re right,” Celia said. “I should have called you, but I’m here now.”

  “Why now? Why all of a sudden?”

  “Because...” She flopped her arms on either side of her body. “Because I’ve been dating, and no one does it for me like you do. Not just in bed, but in general. None of my conversations have that much depth or meaning. No one really seems to connect the same way you did. What do you want from me? I’m having—” She snickered. “Ghoster’s remorse.”

  I couldn’t keep my own chuckle from coming out and Celia smiled at me. “Look, I’m not about to do a back and forth with you, but, if you’re saying you want to try, that’s different,” I told her.

  “Would I be here making an ass of myself if I didn’t?”

  “I’d hope not.” My eyes traveled up and down her form, reminding me of just how stunning she truly was. “Then what are you doing Saturday night?”

  The small smile on Celia’s face got infinitely wider. “I’m doing whatever you want to do.”

  Chapter Seven

  Celia

  Laura squealed as I finished tying the sash on the grape purple wrap dress she was loaning me for my date with Harry. I could see her reflection in the body-length mirror I was looking into, shaking her head with a knowing pride.

  “I told you that dress was gonna look amazing on you. It’s perfect with your skin tone.” She crossed her arms. “You may thank me now.”

  Instead, I just rolled my eyes and started to fiddle with my hair. In most cases, I preferred to keep it totally out and wild, but I wanted to send a message to Harry that I was opening myself up for the night and being more vulnerable. The more he believed I was committed to developing something real with him, the more damage would be dealt when I threw him off again.

  With one hand, I slicked back a portion of my hair and pressed it firmly against my head, and then I used the other hand to slide a bobby pin in to hold that section back. Behind me, Laura raised her eyebrows. “Whoa. You’re putting your hair back for this guy. Must be serious.”

  “You are sending my nerves into overdrive,” I admitted.

  “That wasn’t a denial.”

  “No,” I responded, “it’s not.”

  “Wow.” She sat down on the edge of her bed and crossed one leg over the other. “How long before I’m allowed to put this revelation on Twitter?”

  “You are not allowed to put anything on Twitter.”

  “Oh, come on,” Laura whined, reaching out and pulling on my arm as she did so. “Stay-single Celia pinning back her hair. I feel like I need to memo the President.”

  “You’re being overdramatic.”

  She flopped back on her bed. “You’re being underdramatic. You never told me about how your first date with this guy went,” Laura said.

  “It was a date.”

  She scoffed. “Whatever. Tell me, come on. I loaned you that bangin’ dress, you owe me.”

  I turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Laura so I could pull on the white, strappy, platform heels I was wearing with the dress. “It was really nice. He took me out to a sort of ritzy club where we could have dinner on the mezzanine and then go down to the main floor for dancing. He’s light on his feet. I guess his dad liked to dance a lot and it was just something he picked up.” I smiled, remembering Harry spin me around the dance floor. “The food was delicious, and we ended up talking forever and ever about damn near everything.”

  Laura sat up and kicked her legs over so that she was sitting right next to me. I continued reminiscing. “We stayed there literally until the club closed, but we weren’t done yet, so he invited me back to his place. He asked if I wanted coffee, I said yes.” My face started to warm as I imagined Harry walking back out of his kitchen after he’d put the coffee on and the sudden impulse I had to jump him. “For all I know, that coffee is still sitting in that pot.”

  Laura giggled. “Wow. Sounds wonderful.”

  “It was, it really was.” My eyes flitted up and I caught a glimpse of the stupid smile on my face in the mirror. I wiped it off quickly and cleared my throat, doing my best to shake away the memories. “I mean, it was a date, you know? I’ve had better.”

  If I wasn’t careful, I was going to let Harry’s unconventionally handsome looks and straight-shooting personality sweep me away. I had a goal in mind, and I needed to achieve it. My dad would be rolling over in his grave if he thought I was falling for the man who killed him.

  Which I wasn’t, of course. It was all an act.

  “Here we go,” Laura said. “You’re already opening that door of doubt. I should ha
ve known.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The shoes were secured so I stood up and walked into the living room to start packing up my clutch with my phone, keys, cards, and cash. “Please quit stressing me out. He’ll be here soon.”

  “Why aren’t you having him pick you up at home again?” Laura asked.

  I used the chain on the clutch to sling it over my shoulder. “You know how weird my godfather gets about me dating and stuff. I figured it didn’t make sense to get him all riled up about nothing.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” She slumped down on the couch and I couldn’t stop her from taking a picture. I opened my mouth to protest and she held up her hand. “I’m not posting it anywhere. I’m just taking it, you know, like a ‘just in case’.”

  “Just in case of what?”

  “In case, you know...” She shrugged with a coy grin on. “He’s the one.”

  In case he’s the one? It made my heart compress just to think about. “You’re leagues ahead of yourself, Laura.”

  She chuckled. “I’ll remind you of that when I’m framing it for your wedding.”

  I left that comment where it sat. Marriage simply wasn’t something I thought much about. Could I see myself marrying someone like Harry? Sure, but he wasn’t the one.

  He couldn’t be.

  As if to save me from the uncomfortable conversation, my phone finally buzzed. I’d instructed Harry not to come up, but just text me when he arrived, and I’d come down. When I noticed the text come through and given that I couldn’t deal with the heft of the conversation anymore, I nearly ran out the door, despite Laura trying to say goodbye in a more friendly way. I gave her a quick, one-armed hug, and rushed down to the stairs leading down, slowing only when I was well outside of Laura’s influence. I took a few deep breaths and then lingered for a few minutes so it didn’t seem like I was bolting out to him, and when I was convinced I’d communicated “aloof” effectively, I walked out the front door where Harry was parked on his bike, waiting patiently.