Page 10 of Bolt's Flame
I SAT SLUMPEDin my chair, my fingers thrumming theold oak table that was older than me, waiting on Devil to join me and the rest of the men sitting around the table. I had been the club’s Sergeant at Arms for five years now, and I knew every single by-law by heart, the words ingrained into my memory. Mystic was the Enforcer and my right-hand man, helping me maintain the rules and safety of the club.
Devil walked in, his white, blond hair combed in its usual ‘I should be in an office’ way, his strange red eyes taking in the room as he dropped into his seat. The room fell into a heavy silence, each man sitting a little straighter, the weight of club business pressing down on all of us.
“Alright, let’s get this shit started,” Devil growled, his voice smooth and confident, commanding attention.
Thunder, the club’s Tail Gunner, and always the first to speak up because he was a busybody, leaned forward, his silver hair catching the light, his black eyes serious. “Drago’s been making moves. Word is he’s trying to push into our southern border, testin’ our response.”
Chain, the vice-president, was sitting to Devil’s left, grunted in agreement. “He’s got his men causin’ trouble close to our territory, and word, as you already know, is they’re trying to squeeze us out. If we don’t hit back soon, they’ll think we’re gettin’ soft.”
Devil nodded, his red eyes flicking to each of us in turn. “We can’t let Dragon Fire think they can just roll up on our land. But we’re not rushing into this blind. Their club is new, only a year old, we have no history to go on. We need intel—what they’re planning, how deep they’ve got their claws in, their numbers and whatever information we can get.”
“Gatsby,” Devil called out, turning to the quietest man at the table, “You’ve got your connections. What can you dig up?”
Gatsby was our tech guy and with his spiked blond hair and innocent hooded blue eyes, gave him the look of a man who could blend into any crowd, gave a tight nod. “I’ll see what I can pull. Might take a few days, but I’ll get us something solid.”
The tension in the room crackled as we all waited for Devil’s next move. My fingers stopped thrumming as I met his gaze, knowing what was coming.
“Bolt, Mystic, Thunder and Gearhead,” Devil continued, “I want you three to start patrolling our borders. If Drago thinks he can outmaneuver us, he’s got another thing coming. But I want this to be surgical if we spot them. No unnecessary bloodshed, not yet. That would draw the wrong eyes. We send a message, and we send it loud, but no one hears but us.”
“Consider it done, Prez.” Mystic cracked his knuckles, always ready for a fight. Mystic was built like a giant, face scarred fromburns, the freakiest eyes—one gold, one blue—and a man of few words. If he didn’t know you, he didn’t talk to you. The sweet butts avoided Mystic, not that he gave a fuck, or it seemed, anyway.
Devil’s gaze shifted to me, the weight of his stare pinning me in place. “Bolt, it’s on you to make sure every man is ready. No slack. We’re heading into a shit storm and I need to know our men won’t come out needing a box.”
I nodded, my mind already running through the preparations. “I’ll have ‘em sharp, Devil. We won’t be caught off guard.”
“Spinner, you have every road in and out of territory memorized. If it can be accessed, I want to know about it,” Devil ordered. Spinner was our Road Captain, and he nodded he understood, but Spinner knew every road, every path and hidden corner in this whole damn state. Brother was a walking road map.
Satisfied, Devil leaned back in his chair, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly as he looked around the table. “We’ve been through worse, and we can always call in backup, but that doesn’t mean we take this lightly. Drago’s got it in his head that he can take us down, avenge what our club did to his granddaddy up in West Virginia, but he’s about to learn the hard way what happens when you corner a devil.”
The room hummed with silent agreement, each of us ready to do whatever it took to protect what was ours.
For the next forty-five minutes, we updated Devil on all the businesses the club had a hand in, Jaybirds Garage just down the road, High Voltage, a bar just outside of town, Devil’s Ink—a tattoo studio, and an underground gambling house. Most of our chapters had a strip club, but we were in the bible belt and that didn’t go over good around here. These southern women are a whole other breed when it comes to keeping their men in line.
“Meeting adjourned,” Devil said, standing up with a final nod. “Gear up, hit the weight room and be ready. We move when the time is right.”
As the men filed out of the room, I stayed behind, my eyes on the old oak table. This war was just beginning, and there was no telling how it would end. But I knew one thing, we weren’t going down without a fight. Dumb fuckers should know that, but instead Drago will get them all killed just like his grandaddy did up north.
Finally, I stood and made my way out to the common room and found a table, dropping heavily into the wooden seat. My eyes immediately found Fiona. She had been here four days now and I could tell she was getting more comfortable; her bruises faded slightly. Tonight, she had her hair down, falling around her face in soft waves and was wearing jeans with a pink t-shirt instead of one of those god ugly sweaters that swallowed her whole.
I couldn’t help but notice she had a nice rack on her for such a small woman.
Stop it, Bolt. You shouldn’t be noticing that shit, so I forced my eyes away from those round beauties.
Her hand.
She was doing it again, her fingers playing at her neck. I’ve noticed she does that a lot, like she used to have a necklace around her neck that she played with and now it’s gone. My fingers went to the chain that held the lock around my neck, engraved with the words ‘Locked Down’. A reminder to myself to not let anyone inside. It was important to me and I’m sure she feels the same way about her missing necklace. What happened to it?
“You’ve been acting so strange, Bolt,” Jenny purred, sitting on my lap, her lips brushing against my ear as she spoke. “Is it somethin’ I can help you with?”
I forced a grin, turning my attention back to her, trying like fuck to act normal. “Just enjoyin’ the view,” I said, letting my hands rest on her hips.
She giggled, taking that as a compliment meant for her, and leaned in closer. Her perfume was strong, a cloying scent that made my nose twitch. I tried to focus, tried to let myself get lost in her touch, but it was no use.
My eyes betrayed me, sliding back over to Fiona once more.
She was laughing at something Gearhead had said, the sound soft and fleeting, but it lit up her face in a way that caught me off guard, changing her deep blue eyes to a different shade of blue. It was the first time I’d seen her smile, and damn if it didn’t do something weird to my chest.
“Hello? Earth to Bolt?” Jenny’s voice was sharper now, irritation creeping in as she followed my gaze across the room. Her body tensed when she realized who I was looking at, and she pulled back to glare at me. “Seriously? You’re eyeing the damsel in distress now?”