Page 81 of Blue

I wouldn’t say the day sucked. Blade and Torch worked in the pit. Dozer left with Pike to pick up some bikes from the salvage yard. I’d finished up with a cruiser in for a clutch repair.

Rogue popped into the shop. “You busy?”

I raised a brow.

“We need another pair of hands in the studio.” Rogue hitched his thumb, indicating the new dance studio for Stormy.

I wiped my hands on a shop rag. “I’ll be back in a minute,” I said to Blade and Torch.

“Bring back food.”

“Fuck, dude, I’m just going two doors down.” I wasn’t hungry. We’d grabbed subs earlier. Mine was still in the mini fridge. My thoughts were on Kiss. I knew she had to do this on her own. I still wanted to be there for her. She had to be scared. Fear and insecurity were triggers for her.

They were becoming triggers for me.

Her text had eased my worries over her anxiety. Now, I had to wonder who the fuck she was with. What if this girl wasn’t serious about her sobriety? Addicts could convince each other the grass was blue, and thesky was green. One drink, one hit, one more time wouldn’t mean a relapse.

You don’t trust me.Her words slipped back into my mind. Fuck. Trusting was hard.

I tossed the rag onto a workbench, walked out the swinging glass door, and strode down to the far side of the strip mall.

Blade and the others owned the building. Crew Custom Cycle took up three of the retail spaces. Hana had her tattoo shop, and now, Stormy would have her own small dance studio next to Wild Ink.

Large windows stretched the front of the dance space. Mirror panels covered two of the walls, and the third wall had been painted white. Bullet and Rogue had laid out a pattern of bars to anchor into the wall.

“Grab an end.” Bullet pointed to the bar. “Stormy wants a low bar for little girls, and a higher bar for the older kids.”

Rogue and Bullet bantered while I held the bar in place.

“How do you like working at the shop?” Bullet asked as he marked holes to drill.

“Fine.”

He and Bullet exchanged a glance.

“Do you plan to come back to work for me?” Bullet asked.

“I’m good at the shop, but thanks.” I wasn’t up for the chitchat.

“You’re not much of a mechanic,” he said. “Seems like more of a friend job.”

“Sounds like the same thing I was doing for you,” I snapped. “I think we proved I’m not much of a fighter either.” I’d had my ass handed to me by the mafia thugswho were after his old lady. “At least I’m not going to get someone killed when I’m working on bikes.”

I hadn’t been able to protect my girl. Nothing she’d done caused the situation, and there was nothing she could’ve done to prevent it. Thinking they were going to kill me had fucked her up and sent her on a bad trip.

Bullet threw his pencil at the wall over my head.

“What the fuck?” I jerked around to face him.

“You’re a fucking pussy,” he spat. “You want to wear that cut, show some fucking balls, and tell me to my face how you feel. You think I don’t see we got a problem between us? I’m your fucking brother.”

I jolted to my feet. “Your brother? Nah, I was there for you. I put you and the club first. But talk about loyalty. Where the fuck was your loyalty to me? A brother would’ve told me to watch my back. A brother would’ve thought about my girl while he was thinking of his own. You fucking lost your shit when I left Stormy in the MC with a clubhouse full of Hellers. Yourbrothers.” I said the word as if it tasted bitter in my mouth. “You knew Kiss was crashing at Indulgence. That it was the only way I could keep her off the street. Fuck you, Bullet. Fuck you.”

Rage burned through my body. Every muscle tensed, spoiling for a fight. Aggression built inside me, cresting into a tsunami of frustration. My hands balled into fists.

“You want to hit me?” Bullet spread his arms. “I can take it.”

My nostrils flared. Bullet was a huge man, and he’d destroy me with one hit. “Fuck you. We both know I can’t fight for shit.”

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