Page 44 of Bullet

Bullet smiled and nodded.

“Fuck.” Romeo launched out of his chair.

Rogue slapped his hand on the table and shook his head. “Not this time,” he said to Romeo. “The little prude and the bean need you.”

“I’m a lover, not a fighter. But nah, I ride with my brothers. Levi will understand.” Romeo cocked a brow. “But good luck if you think your ball breaker is going to let you fight without her.”

“Rogue, you need to control Jazzy.” Sully chuckled.

“Fuck me. You think she listens to me? You know the answer to that,” Rogue said. “She’s your daughter. We need to keep this shit locked down. Whatever we decide doesn’t leave this room.”

I was lost in the banter, but one thing was glaringly obvious. They were loyal to Bullet and each other.

Dozer spun his lighter on the table. His gaze connected with mine. “We were all there that night, including Jazzy.” He turned his attention to Blade. “We thought the fight was over, but there’s always going to be something. Hellers have too much history to ever have clean hands. My old man is still locked up. How many bodies have we buried in Bullet’s backyard?”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

“There’s room for a few more.” Bullet squeezed my hand.

The mood changed as Blade glanced around the room. One by one, the guys nodded, everyone except Torch. He crossed his arms and leaned his head back against the wall, clearly struggling with the decision to stay or leave.

Rogue spun his chair around. “What can you tell us about Emerson? Does he have personal security?”

“There is security at his office and at the penthouse. And he has a driver who is always armed, but he says bodyguards draw too much attention. Emerson never hid his business from me. He has resources, but he never gets his hands dirty. Florian Marseglia. They call him Mars. He cleans up any obstacles for Emerson. Emerson claims he’s just a businessman. But he’s more. He’s an associate for the mafia. He does whatever they ask, and they protect him.”

They were the reason he never thought I’d run. Florian Marseglia would slit my throat before I could utter an apology for leaving.

“Are you sure he’s mafia?” The question came from Torch. His head still leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.

“I’m positive. I can give you names.”

He unfolded away from the wall. “I can talk to Alex,” he said to Blade. “He has connections.”

“Is he a Heller?” I asked.

Torch shook his head. “A friend.”

“No,” I said and turned to Bullet. A hot wash of fear surged through me. No one else could be involved. “You said just your club. You don’t understand. Emerson isn’t someone you can implicate in a crime. He doesn’t advertise his mafia connections. People just end up floating in the river.”

“You can trust Alex,” Torch said.

“You might.” I pried my hand away from Bullet. “But I don’t trust anyone.”

“Alex has helped us before.” Dozer spun his lighter again. “He’s connected and has resources we don’t.”

“You need to trust me.” Bullet stared hard at my face. “I’d lay down my life for the men in this room. They’re here because they would do the same for me.” His rough voice grated with certainty. “You know what I’m asking of them.”

A lump welled in my chest, and my gaze slowly roamed around the room. They were going to kill for me. I’d run from a man who’d broken me. He’dcontrolled me, defining every moment of my life. He’d taken choices from me.

But a command from Bullet weighed on me like a cloak of security. I didn’t feel the bite of anger. I wanted to be in the shelter of his intimidation.

I nodded. “You trust him, and I trust you.” At least I was trying to. I just didn’t trust myself. I could feel myself falling, and the impact of Bullet on my life was going to hurt.

***

Unlike last night, only a few guys loitered around the MC. I found a romance book under the sink in the bathroom. I’d snooped. What else was I supposed to do with the empty hours in the day?

I curled up in the corner of the couch next to the pool table. The television above the bar was on but no one was watching it. Occasionally, someone would walk through the chapel. Either they didn’t see me or chose to ignore me, because no one other than Bullet had spoken to me.