Page 30 of Bolt's Flame

But that was easier said than done.

As the meeting broke up and the guys started moving around, the pressure in my gut only grew. The club had a fight coming, and whether I was ready for it or not, I had to be all in. Fiona would have to wait just a little longer. She deserved all of me.

But as I headed out of the room with Chain by my side, I couldn’t shake the feeling that no matter how much I tried to push her out of my head, she wasn’t going anywhere.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAIN WAS TALKING, but my mind kept drifting awayand I was only catching parts of the tale. He was telling us some story about meeting a ‘real bonified witch’, as he put it. “I was scared shitless. Hell, I was only ten, and she just looked at me with those dead eyes...”

And there it goes.

My mind took a walk, leaving the table.

Bolt did a one-eighty on me and had been ghosting me since that day at the beach. I’m beginning to think I dreamed the whole thing. That none of it was real, a mirage, a figment of my imagination, whatever you want to call it.

Me, Dad, Chain, Rune, Gearhead, Brenda, Amy—who was here under Brenda’s protection—sat at a table. We’d spent the last hour chatting about everything and nothing, just club stuff, harmless stories, things that had nothing to do with the mess in my head.

“You should’ve seen my face,” Chain said, finishing his story with a grin. “Swore, I’d never step foot in that place again.”

Amy laughed, shaking her lavender dyed hair. “The smart thing would have been to run when you first saw her.”

Rune gave her a playful nudge, his green eyes sparkling with amusement. “Smart? We’re talking about Chain here.”

“Fuck off,” Chain laughed, flipping Rune off.

I smiled, feeling like there was something there between the younger woman and Rune. You could just see it. I glanced over Rune’s shoulder, and someone caught my eye. Bolt. He was standing by the bar, beer in hand, his eyes fixed on me and then going to Gearhead, who was sitting beside me. There was something dark in his expression—he was angry.

Before I could say anything, Bolt slammed his bottle down on the bar with a loud thud, his jaw tight as he turned and stormed out of the clubhouse. The door swung shut behind him with a sharp bang, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

That’s the first time I’d even caught a glimpse of Bolt in days; he hadn’t been around the clubhouse much. My stomach twisted until I almost felt sick. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but the look on Bolt’s face... something was bothering him, and it had to do with me.

Dad raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the door. “What’s his problem?”

“Fucker’s pissed off about somethin’,” Chain said, his eyes going to me. Did he know about me and Bolt?

I stood, trying to keep my tone light. “I’ll be right back.”

Before he or Brenda could say anything, I pushed my chair back and followed Bolt outside, the night breeze hitting me as soon as I stepped out, the dark enveloping me. The sound of the party faded as I spotted him standing a few feet away, his back to me, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“Bolt.”

He didn’t turn around at first, just kept staring off into the distance like he was trying to keep himself in check. But I wasn’t about to let him shut me out. I needed to know what the heck was going on.

I walked up to him, crossing my arms over my chest. “What the hell was that?”

Finally, he turned to face me, his eyes flashing with so many emotions. Anger? Jealousy? Hurt?

“What’s your deal with Gearhead?” he asked, his voice cold, almost biting.

I blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in his tone. “Gearhead? We were just talking.”

“Yeah, you seemed real cozy,” Bolt shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Laughin’, smilin’. You two seemed real into each other.”

I felt my jaw tighten, my own irritation rising at his tone. “Are you serious right now?”

He didn’t answer, just glared at me, his chest rising and falling like he was barely holding back the anger simmering hot beneath the surface. What right did he have to be angry at me?

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” I snapped, feeling frustrated. “You think you can just waltz in here, and pull this jealous bullshit? What, do you think I’m just gonna wait around for you while you figure out what the hell you want? We’ve hardly talked in a week. You’ve been a ghost. I figured you changed your mind.”