by Ivy Black
I knew I’d done my job the day I had my dad set a freshly grilled prime T-bone steak down in front of Lockjaw and tell him that he could eat it. Lockjaw didn’t even blink. He kept his eyes on me with a cheery wag of his tail as if to say, “I’d like that steak, Mom, but I won’t eat it unless you say I can.” His reward was the steak, and my reward was the best security system a girl could steal.
The fact that Lockjaw was breaking the rules to take a few treats from Colin was an indicator that I wasn’t the only one in the house with a weakness for Colin and that Colin was the amazing guy I always thought he was. They say dogs and babies can tell, and if Lockjaw liked you, you were good, and that was it.
“Well, you’ve given all the meat to the dog. What’ll us humans eat for breakfast?” I opened the fridge and sifted through what was left. “Oh, you left some bacon. I could put that together with some eggs and fried potatoes?” When I didn’t get a response, I glanced up over the fridge door. Colin was just staring at me, but it wasn’t the lusty gaze I got in the bedroom. This was something calmer and sweeter, if not a bit conflicted. “What?”
“Oh, nothing,” he replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever had someone cook for me before.”
“Never?”
He shook his head. “No. My mom didn’t, and when Caid and I got our own place, I did all the cooking.” He chuckled. “I never realized it before now.”
I couldn’t imagine. As much of a roughneck as he was, my dad always made sure Taylor and I were taken care of. “Well, there’s a first for everything.”
His smirk got a little wider. “Yeah. Thanks.”
There was only the sizzle of the food in the pan as I cooked it while Colin continued to try to butter up Lockjaw. I’d have to walk him double to undo the severe spike in calories. Still, the silence was almost welcoming. Normally, I hated the silence because it made me anxious, but things just felt peaceful with Colin around. I didn’t feel like I needed to fill it.
When the food was done, I made a nice-sized plate for Colin and brought it over. Lockjaw looked up at me. He usually got some of whatever I cooked for breakfast, but I shook my head at him. “Yeah, you’ve had enough for one morning, buddy.”
I grabbed my own plate with a smaller portion and went and sat in the armchair perpendicular to Colin, the same one Taylor had been in the night before.
That’s when I noticed for the first time that the floor was totally clean. “Oh my god.” I looked over to where the bloodstains should have been, but they, too, were gone. I looked over at Colin. “Did you clean up in here?”
Colin’s cheeks were so full he looked like a chipmunk. “Yeah.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Colin finished swallowing down his food before speaking again. “It’s like you said. I owe you.”
I sighed. I did say that, though it was mostly a ploy to work on Colin’s chivalry. It might have worked too well. “How did you get the blood out?”
“I was basically a parent to Caid. He would spasm and spill all the time. I had to know how to get rid of a stain.” He took a bite of his bacon. “You seemed disappointed about getting rid of it.”
“I was. I like this carpet.” I smiled at him. “Thank you.”
We finished breakfast and then made our way outside to head to Hoppa’s Taphouse and meet up with my dad. Colin’s bike was damaged beyond repair, so I helped him move it out of the driveway and over into the grass, and then I moved my own bike over to where his bike had been sitting so that I could open my garage door and pull out my car.
The Steel Knights were gearheads in general. Bikes were our bread and butter, but we had quite a few expensive, designer cars between us. In any situation, I’d prefer to get on my bike, but Colin’s bike was busted, and my bike didn’t have space for a second person due to Lockjaw’s specialty seat added, so there just wasn’t a way all three of us were going to make it to the bar without the use of a car.
Colin let out a whistle as the garage door lifted up. “Camaro. American muscle. What year?”
I led the way over to my army green, four-door Camaro and opened up the back door so that Lockjaw could jump in. “Brand new, 2020. I can never go longer than a year without upgrading.”
Colin chuckled as he climbed into the passenger’s seat. “Sounds about right.”
I started the car, loving the roar of the engine echoing off the walls of the garage. Lockjaw let out a low growl to match, and Colin laughed as I backed the car out and headed down the road toward Hoppa. I liked to take the side-streets when I was on my bike to enjoy the ride a little more, but riding down Hoppa’s main interstate, the Taphouse was only a five-minute drive away. I pulled into the bar’s empty parking lot, seeing only a handful of other bikes and our bookkeeper Bullet’s car.
I held the door open so that Lockjaw could hop over into the front seat and then climb out of the car, and I leashed him immediately while Colin unloaded out of his side and smiled over at me. “Just so you know, I don’t do anything by halves.”
“You think I don’t know that already?” I asked. I coiled Lockjaw’s chain around my fist a couple of times and started for the door. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Colin grabbed the handle of the door and held it open, and I led the way in with him right behind me. The bar didn’t have any of its non-Steel-Knight patrons inside yet because it was still early, but most of the Knights’ members, as well as their three current prospects, were all seated inside, and all eyes fell on us as we walked in. The gazes were vile, at first, the ones I was used to, but when Colin entered behind me, they cooled. Some of them even looked a little confused.
“Who the hell is that?” the Steel Knights’ Road Captain, Bernard “Bucky” LePall, barked.
I didn’t get to answer before Taylor was out of his seat and already marching toward us. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was intent on causing trouble, but Lockjaw moved to stand defensively in front of us, and I held up a hand. “Stop it. He’s here to prospect.”
Taylor stopped short. He glared at me, and the heat of it was so intense that I thought I may start sweating. “What?” he asked through gritted teeth.
I glanced back at Colin, and he nodded, saying, “I intend to become a full patch member of the Steel Knights.”
The Taphouse erupted into laughter apart from our bookkeeper, Harry “Bullet” Booth, and our chaplain, Parker “Father” Piscatoni, who both looked at me with indifference. The three loudest jeers came from Hoppa’s current prospects, Aaron, Vil, and Seth.
Aaron, the largest of these three, lifted himself off of one of the main bar’s stools and ambled over to Colin. He approached until he was standing nose-to-nose with Colin and sniffed the air like he was a brutish warthog. “And what gives you the right to come in here and state any intentions at all?”
“Knock it off,” I growled, but like most of the members, he didn’t listen to me and held his ground.
Colin stared back at Aaron as unbothered as if Aaron weren’t three inches taller than him and at least twice his size.
Vil and Seth ambled their way over from where they were standing and flanked Aaron on either side. Aaron cracked his knuckles, and a grin snaked its way across Aaron’s face. My dad strictly enforced the no fighting rule, but these prospects, in particular, seemed to have a thirst for it. That might have been why Taylor found them so amusing and backed them all as soon as they showed up. The rest of us, however, could tell they were nothing but trouble.
All eyes were on Colin, waiting to see what his reaction would be, but with a half-lidded gaze and relaxed mouth, he looked more like he was waiting in line at the bank.
“What’s with that stupid look?” Seth hissed. “The man asked you a question.”
There was no response from Colin, and Vil let out a muted grunt. “Maybe we’ll have to get an answer out of him by other means.”
Aaron took a step closer, leaving just enough room to breathe between him and Colin. �
�Maybe.”
I grinned as the bar’s front door opened, and my dad came striding through, calling out, “Well, you’re not causing trouble in my bar, are ya boys?”
Aaron held up his hands and backed away. “Nah, Nicky. Just meeting the new prospect.”
Seth and Vil each threw my dad a sneer but followed Aaron’s lead and backed off, all heading as a group to sit at a table in the far back of the bar.
My dad walked around Colin and turned to face him, not standing much further back from where Aaron was seconds before. “New prospect. Well, now, I always love getting some fresh blood around here. It helps to mix things up.” He held out a hand. “I’m Nicholas. You can call me Squared, Nick, or Nicky.”
Colin took my dad’s hand and shook it firmly. “CJ.”
There were some snickers around the bar, but Taylor took a deep breath. It seemed as though hearing the name satiated him for the time being.
“CJ,” my dad repeated. “Nice to meet ya. Oh, and I don’t know if Val here told ya, but I’m a man of honor. I’ll be sure to replace your bike, which was damaged on my watch.”
They released hands, and Colin’s simply fell to his side. “I appreciate it, but I actually liked building it. You’ve given me an opportunity to do that again.”
A sly smile crossed my dad’s face. “Is that right? Tell ya what. I’ll get the parts, and you can use my tools and garage. I might even join you since I gotta fix Val’s bike, too.”
Colin nodded. “It’d be an honor.”
Taylor looked like a bull about to charge. His eyes were wild, and his nostrils were flaring. “We didn’t discuss any new prospects.”
My dad turned to face Taylor, and subsequently, more of the members. “I do believe the bylaws state that all prospects need the backing of a single officer in order to pledge.” He crossed his arms. “CJ has got two.”
“Two?” Taylor repeated.
“Two. The president and the vice president.”
“You know this guy, Squared?” Avery “Bullseye” Pairings, our treasurer, asked.
“He’s a friend of Val’s from back in the day.” He scoffed. “I didn’t know I had to explain myself so much. Does anyone else have any questions they’d like to ask?” The members and prospects exchanged nervous glances, but no one said anything more. My dad nodded. “Good. Then, members, let’s head back. I wanna get started so that we can make the best use of our day. Prospects, busy yourselves. We’ll be back out soon with a task for you to take on.”
I handed Lockjaw’s leash over to Colin, and he took it with a look of pride. He walked over to a chair at one of the scattered tables and sat down, bringing Lockjaw to sit between his legs. He tapped him on the head a few times, and confident that they’d both be just fine in my absence, I followed my dad around the bar and through the swinging door in the back of the Taphouse.
Past the small kitchen and through a set of double doors was Hoppa Taphouse’s warehouse. All of the non-perishable goods and bar materials were stored back there, and in the very middle was a large, round oak table with enough chairs situated around it for all the officers to sit.
We took our respective seats, and my dad leaned forward and folded his hands across the table. “Well, I’ll cut right to the chase. We all know why we’re here. We need to pick from our prospect pool. I’d really like to do it before MiD, in case the Dogs or anyone else plans an attack there. We need a few grunts to stay back and protect the bar while I meet with the Blazing Rebels and the Raging Vipers. I suppose I’ll start with the obvious. Do any officers have a prospect who they’d like to enter into the pool?”
All eyes turned to me. Despite the scrutiny, I did my best to remain unmoved by their obvious disapproval. “Yes. I’d like to enter CJ into the prospect pool.”
“CJ what?” Bullseye asked.
“Just CJ,” I spat back, and he growled.
“Great. Did he state his intention to join the Steel Knights in full view and audible range of three or more officers?” my dad asked Taylor.
Taylor was quiet for a long time, but eventually grumbled out, “Yes.”
“Then I’m entering a motion to enter CJ into the prospect pool,” my dad said.
Not a single person responded, not that I expected them to. I raised my hand with a scowl. “I second the motion.”
My dad slammed the table. “So moved. CJ will officially join the rank of prospects.” He grabbed a folder from the compartment that he kept under the table for stashing his documents and brought it to rest on top of the table. He flipped it open and started reading over the top page. “What I need from these prospects is strength. Not just physical strength, but the mental strength it takes to stand up to the Dogs or anyone else that may come our way. We’re growing in numbers, just like Hoppa, and people need to know that we intend to stand our ground. I don’t want any flashy business, though. I like my muscle like I like my drinks, neat and dry. I’ve sent a few of the members out to a bar in uncharted territory about an hour away. I’m gonna send the prospects there and have the members pick a fight to see how they react. Whoever keeps a level head, I’m willing to consider for membership. Does anyone have a problem with that?”
No one objected. That was how the Steel Knights like to do things in general, under the radar and without much of a fuss. Apart from a few members who didn’t know how to hold their liquor, the Knights dedicated themselves to being as smooth as steel. You barely knew they were there until they were driving into your gut. I smiled, imagining the ever-stoic Colin. If anyone could master what my dad was looking for in a prospect, it was him.
“Good,” my dad said. “We’re not going to be subjective here. We’re looking for someone who ticks the boxes. I’m expecting straight shooting. The exact same way you were considered.” There were varying affirmations, and my dad smiled. “All right. I’m gonna need someone to go out and view the prospect. I was thinking—”
Before he could get the words all the way out, he was interrupted by a series of bangs and grunts coming from the bar. The Steel Knights owned Hoppa’s Taphouse, and no one should have been in there who wasn’t an officer of the Steel Knights or there for the prospect test. We all sat in silence and listened for a minute. I, in particular, listened for Lockjaw to bark, but he didn’t. Only the continued sounds of grunts and groans, with the occasional dull thud, reached us. My dad stood up, and the officers all followed suit, taking after him as he made his way back through the warehouse and kitchen and through the swinging door into the bar.
I walked in and made my way to a spot where I could see, but the scene that greeted me was confusing. Colin was sitting in the same chair I’d left him in, still absent-mindedly patting Lockjaw’s head. Lockjaw didn’t seem bothered or put out at all, but all three prospects were laid out across the bar, unconscious. Nothing was broken, they didn’t appear to be bleeding, and Colin hadn’t even broken a sweat.
“What the hell happened?” my dad asked.
Colin looked up at him and shrugged. “They said they wanted to fight me. So we fought.”
I watched as a slow smile crept across my dad’s face. “I fucking like this guy.”
He paced around the bar and over to where Colin was sitting. Several expressions crossed his face in rapid succession. We all stood in silence while he stared down at Colin. Colin remained unmoving and unconcerned by my father’s sudden approach. My dad crossed his arms, and the fingers of his left hand dug into the flesh of his right arm, something he typically only did when he was battling with an internal struggle.
“Squared?” Bucky started finally, but my dad held up a hand to silence him.
Finally, my dad sighed and released all of the tension in his shoulders. “This is the answer to our problems,” he muttered quietly.
“What?” I asked.
Suddenly, my dad raised his hand. “I’m entering a motion to make Colin an immediate member of the Steel Knights.”
“What!” Taylor barked. “Under what circumstance
s would we make someone an immediate member?”
I didn’t say as much out loud, but even I was confused. Something like that had never happened before. Our current prospects had been pledged for close to a year.
What was he suddenly seeing in Colin?
“The Unchained Dogs could strike at any time. Currently, we have four prospects pledged, and based on the previous listed criteria of strength and stealth,”—he set a hand on Colin’s shoulder—“he’s the best choice. Traditions be damned. If the Dogs come tomorrow, we need to be ready.” The room sat in tense silence in the wake of the sudden decision. “Are there any opposed?”
Taylor’s hand shot in the air. “Opposed.”
My dad ignored him. “All in favor?”
Every member’s stare drifted to me, but despite the prevalent irritation on all of their faces, their hands slowly climbed into the air. I lifted mine, as well, and my dad held up his. He counted the raised hands as if it was even necessary. “That’s five out of six.” He smiled down at Colin. “Looks like you just became a Steel Knight, son.”
Chapter Six
Phantom
The leers of the Steel Knights members wouldn’t bother me so much if they didn’t shift to Tess once they realized they weren’t landing with me. Tess brought me to prospect for the Steel Knights, but I was a grown man who made my own decisions, and the same was true for Nick. The fact that he was willing to make me a member straight out of the gate because the other prospects couldn’t control their tempers wasn’t Tess’ fault, nor was it mine. I hated people like them—those who couldn’t just worry about themselves. As much as I hated working with Luther and the Unchained Dogs, that was one thing they had going for them. Minding your own business was in the bylaws. I’d seen Luther take off more than one man’s head because they thought that it was somehow their business to help decide who he chose to add to their ranks. At least Nick allowed it to be a traditional vote. Luther was a wild boar and did what he wanted.
No wonder the Steel Knights had fallen to the Unchained Dogs in the past. Their minds were in the wrong place. That was no doubt why Nick’s desires for his prospects had changed. He wasn’t a dumb man. Evidently, he’d learned a valuable lesson during the Unchained Dogs’ last raid—if his members were more worried about other people’s shit than their own, they wouldn’t do good work. I wouldn’t be with the Steel Knights long, but if I could change their nosy dispositions even a little, I would consider my time here beneficial to someone other than myself.
