Page 45 of Demo

Bones’ eyes widened as his face flushed.

“That’s right, tough guy. You just lost driving privileges until I say otherwise.” Steel turned his back on Bones. “Until the new prospects arrive, Will, Mitch, or Sara will drive you around. If you’re at work,” Steel nodded his chin to Cage, “I expect you to help him out.”

“Of course,” Cage said easily. From theI-told-you-soexpression on Cage’s face, he’d had this conversation with Bones himself. Likely not so publicly.

Steel looked to Demo. “What can you tell us about the bomb maker?”

“He’s crude, brilliant, and somehow a complete idiot,” Demo told him. “The intricacies of the wire braiding were extensive. That took time and effort.” Picking up the bucket that was sitting on the bar, Demo pointed to the plastique used. “Do you know where civilians find this stuff?”

“Specifically, no, but I know that explosives are common on the Black Market.”

Demo shook his head. “This stuff isn’t. It’s homemade.” He picked up a piece of the clay-like material and handed it to Steel. “This is known as a ‘poor man’s C4’. It’s less powerful than Semtex or C4, but if you have a large enough batch, it’ll definitely get the job done. Putting the bomb under a vehicle filled with gasoline certainly helps your cause.”

Cage snorted. “Billy can’t even pull his pants all the way up after taking a shit. You expect me to believe he can whip up a batch of C4 in his kitchen?”

“It would need to be in a chem lab,” Demo corrected him dryly. “And I am not saying whether he did or he didn’t. I am sayingthat,” he pointed to the plastique in Steel’s hand, “is not real C4.”

Steel rolled the putty around in his hand, deep in thought. “Keys? Anything to add?”

“Other than Billy’s internet searches since right around the time Yelizaveta started working for us have to do with bomb making?” Keys asked him with a measure of sarcasm. “No, nothing else to add.”

Steel’s nostrils flared. He rounded on Bulldog and Ghost. “Wait until Yelizaveta leaves with Carter for school this morning and then bring me Billy.” To everyone else, he said, “The rest of you! Be alert, be mindful, but go about your lives like normal. Don’t leave any of the women and children alone until we get some answers.”

As the others started to disperse, Steel clasped Demo on his right shoulder. “Good job, brother. We couldn’t see much from where we stood with the cages blocking our view of you, but it took ten years off my life to let you walk away like that.”

Demo knew it took a lot for Steel to admit that. “Gotta say. Never thought I’d be facing off with a bomb again. Not after last time. There’s a reason I got my accounting degree when I was discharged. Numbers don’t blow up in your face.”

“You seemed to handle it just fine.”

Demo nodded. “It was nerve-wracking, I’ll admit. Had a hard time concentrating at first. My mind kept thinking of Paige and the boys. My training told me to push it back but it wasn’t as easy as I remember it being.” After a moment, he added, “Having Scar there helped. That guy is sturdy under pressure. I swear, he never even blinked.”

More than one patched member stopped and faced Demo. Shock and confusion covered their faces.

Demo looked to Steel. “What?”

“We didn’t see Scar. Not even with the binoculars,” Bulldog answered. He stepped forward. “You’re telling me Scar was here?”

Demo nodded. “Gave me my equipment bag and then stayed to help. Why?”

Bulldog and Steel exchanged a look. Even Lucky, who was further away than the others with Bear, had a puzzled look on his face.

“Last we heard,” Steel told Demo, “Scar and Ivy were going after a drug shipment in Texas. We haven’t seen either of them in weeks and assumed they were still down there.”

Demo blinked. “Well, I didn’t see Ivy but I can guarantee you Scar is back.”

Bulldog cursed. “He swore to me he’d stop doing that! I told him he can come and go as he pleases but he needs to check in with me! If only to let us know he’s still alive.”

“Well,” Demo shrugged offhandedly, “the next time he comes to help assist me defuse a bomb, I will remind him of that. Until then, I really need to piss and take a shower.”

He wanted to get back to Paige’s house and shovel her driveway before she tried to take the boys out in this weather. They also needed to finish their talk.

CHAPTER 8

Water dripped down Demo’s chiseled chest as he stepped from his apartment shower. Steam hung in the air all around him. After wiping off his face and hair with a towel, he ran a hand over the condensation on his mirror to clear his view.

Even he wasn’t blind to the pain on his face.

Shortly after entering his apartment with the intention of taking a piss, showering, and then getting back to Paige’s, his shoulder began to throb unbearably. When slamming his shoulder against the door frame didn’t work, he’d turned the shower on as hot as it could go and stayed under the pounding, burning water until the ache had begun to dull again. It still wasn’t gone, but at least he wasn’t imagining chopping off the arm himself just to make the pain go away.

---