Page 30 of Bullet

She stood in front of the dresser and tilted her head left and right. “I’m going to dance so good now.”

I cleared off a space on the bed and sat with my legs crossed. “I’m ready.”

“We need the song.”

“I’ll hear the music in your movement. I promise.”

I smiled as Lili moved through her positions and steps. I covered my laugh with a clap during her barrel rolls as her legs and arms struggled to work together. When she finished, she bowed, lifted her gaze to me, and waited for my final reaction.

I launched onto my knees and clapped. “Beautiful.”

She jumped onto the bed, tumbling the pillows to the floor. “Do you want me to help you make the bed?”

While we worked on the room, she told the full, unabridged version of her mom and dad, their divorce, her mom’s boyfriend, how her mom hated the Hellers, but Dad paid the bills, so she had toshut up about it. I was pretty sure she was repeating her mother’s words since she did a head wobble to go with the snappy tone.

After we made the bed and organized the room, I gathered the empty bags. Since I didn’t have a lot of clothes, all of which were still in Bristol’s car, we used two of the dresser drawers for the towels and the old sheets Levi had given me.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

I was too. I’d had a few bites of donut, but then I’d come into the room. I didn’t even know what time it was. I didn’t have a phone.

“We should ask my dad to get us a pizza.” She swung the door open.

“I’m sure your dad wants to spend time with you.” She’d disclosed this was the first weekend she’d had with him because he hadn’t had a place to take her. Now, he did. But her mom wasn’t happy shewould bearound all those whores and heathens. Again with the tone and attitude of a bitter woman going through a divorce.

We made our way to the chapel. Holy shit. How long had we been in the room? The doors were propped open, music played through the speakers in the ceiling, beer flowed from the taps, and laughter permeated the air along with the delicious aroma of barbecue.

Lili ran across the room to her dad. I stood along the wall. I didn’t belong out here. I took two hesitant steps backwards. Before I could make my escape back to the bedroom, Steele waved me over to his table.

I shook my head, spun, and ran into a mouthful of solid chest. Strong fingers clutched my biceps before I tumbled to my ass. My pulse jolted, and my skin electrified with his touch. Not in a good way, but in a way that had me wanting to run, where every nerve and synapse fired for self-preservation.

Heat from his body seeped into me, the scent of cigarettes and sweat surrounded me, and his size overpowered me, like an approaching storm I couldn’t escape. “Sorry,” I stammered.

The worn leather of his cut couldn’t conceal the gun tucked against his side. The patches on his chest said his name was Rogue, and he was the vice president. One of those patches should have come with a warning label for him.

The need to break free barreled through me. Saliva pooled in my mouth. Oh my god, he was huge. His wide chest curved into sculpted shoulders and a thick neck covered in tattoos.

I lifted my gaze, and my knees nearly buckled. Then he popped a sucker into his mouth and smiled. “You must be Bullet’s girl.”

Bullet

I’d spent the whole fucking day avoiding the girl sitting in a back bedroom of the MC. Avoided her because Bristol’s words hit harder than a right hook from Rogue. Stormy made it clear she wanted out of town. I’d heard that before. At one time, Jinx had been looking to run, too. She’d stayed.

Sometimes, I wondered if Lacey would have jumped from a building if she hadn’t felt safe with me. Skye had fallen harder than any of my girls, passed around by her former boyfriend and used to pay his drug debts.

Stormy hadn’t said shit about what her life was like with Barras. Had we not been at the warehouse, she’d be in a situation now that would make being one of my girls seem like a Fortune-500 career.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about fucking her. I did, too many times to count. I’d been fucking her in my dreams for months. She fucked with my head and my emotions. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else touching her. That made her dangerous. I didn’t get territorial over pussy.

Bikes filled the lot of the MC. Sparks snapped like fireflies from the barrel near the doors, and the scent of grilling meat saturated the air. Torch had converted two 55-gallon oil drums into barbecues. Blade gave me a nod as I rode past the long stretch ofHarleys and parked. I lit a cigarette and joined my MC brothers.

“Did you talk to Romeo?” I asked Blade.

He nodded. Our prez was young, but solid. The kid grew up with a mom on meth and a dad on heroin, yet somehow, he’d come out all right. “The board agreed to meet in the morning.”

I understood the delay. There were too many people in the chapel who would ask too many questions. Saturday nights were about family and food. The bar would be busy with hang-arounds looking to check out the MC.

More motorcycles rode into the parking lot. Bristol drove in and squeezed her car into the slot between the hearse and Levi’s little yellow compact.

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