Page 24 of Bullet

“She dances with Bristol,” Bullet said as an explanation as he pulled his cigarettes from his pocket. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said to me.

“You’re leaving?” My bravado cracked with my voice. I might be bitchy, but there was an ache in my chest when I was near him, and I was afraid to be without him. “Can I come with you?”

He gave Levi a look that had her scampering down the hall.

“Bacon,” she hollered as she detoured into the main chapel.

Bullet put a flame to the tip of his cigarette. “You gotta trust me. Romeo won’t leave until I get back.” Streams of smoke escaped through his nostrils.

I exhaled my fear. “Okay. I’ll wait in here for you.” I took a step back toward the door of the room.

“I know the room is shit. This is the safest place for you.”

“The room is great.” What else could I say? The door locked, methhead Billy wasn’t trying to trade a hit for head, and best of all, Emerson didn’t know where I was. Besides, how long would it take to grab some food?

He seemed to hesitate, a low rumble rolling from his chest. Then he wrapped his arm around myshoulders and pulled me against him. “I got you, brown eyes.”

Catnip. I could purr with the way his arms felt banded around me, the sizzle slipping through my veins, and the bloom of heat low in my belly. I couldn’t help leaning against him, just for a moment, but then I remembered that he wasn’t mine. The only part of him exclusive to me were my memories of that night and every thought I’d had of him since then.

A minute later, he was gone, exiting out the door at the end of the hall. The roar of his motorcycle faded into the distance. I slipped back into the bedroom and locked the door.

Whoever painted the room, painted the seals of the window. I tugged, rocking the old glass back and forth until the dried seams cracked and the metal slammed open, catching the edge of my thumb. I sucked it into my mouth while a breeze fluttered the curtains.

After I covered the mattress with the sheets, I rested on my side, closed my eyes, and listened for his motorcycle.

I didn’t know how Bullet intended to help, but he’d made me safe. And at least for tonight, I’d be able to sleep without worrying if the locks on the door would keep my nightmares away.

Bullet

I hated leaving her. I’d hated it the night in the warehouse, and I hated it now. Everything about her made me uncomfortable. Because everything about hermade me want for shit I shouldn’t. I didn’t get involved with good girls like Stormy. I fucked girls who wanted good dick, but then wanted to sleep alone.Good girlslike Bristol.

Stormy’s feisty mouth was going to get her into trouble.Iwas going to be trouble for her. And I was going to break my fucking rules about staying out of entanglements because I was involved, and no way was I walking away.

The MC didn’t need this shit. I couldn’t let my problems bleed onto the club. Tonight, I’d tell the guys about Emerson Barras. Stormy had gotten involved with a piece of shit, and I needed to pull a few favors to find out how connected Barras was to the mafia.

In my business, trash wasn’t going to take itself out. Secrecy came with a price. And so did discretion and dead bodies. I kept my transactions off the city streets. Cops stayed off my property. I wasn’t going down for doing their job.

First stop was Indulgence. The place was advertised as a spa and massage parlor, but we weren’t open to the general public. The darkened windows and blacked-out door concealed the activities inside.

After I parked my bike next to the curb, I pressed a code into the door lock and entered the building. Gray carpet covered the floor in the foyer, and paintings that looked like pussy hung on the walls. The girls decorated. On paper, the business was theirs.

Scarlett sat on the curvy couch with Blue. Heavy black liner rimmed her dark eyes, and her black hair hung in a straight curtain to her waist.

Blue shot to his feet.

“Where’s Bristol?” I asked him.

“In the office with Clover and Lacey.”

“Good.” I smiled at Scarlett. “Nothing for you to worry about. Do you need me for anything?”

She bounced up and kissed my cheek. “Come find me when you’re done. I’ve missed you.”

I patted her ass. “Probably not today.”

“I don’t have a client tonight. Can I come to the MC?”

“As long as you’ll be a good girl.”