Page 8 of Guardian

As the enforcer, I was required to be at the bar most evenings to protect my brothers. So, with a heavy heart, I dropped Jackson at his house and went to work.

The first thing I noticed was that the bar was overcrowded. Among those getting drunk were prospects from rival MCs. I went on alert because I knew trouble would eventually arise. Whiskey and beer made it easy to say things that were better kept inside and harder to stop yourself from acting on anger. A man could justify almost anything when he’d had too much to drink, and prospects tended to believe they had something to prove. It was a bad combination.

Flame had just brought me a beer when my prediction came true. I sighed and rolled my eyes at her as the two rival prospects at the other end of the bar started shouting.

“One of them is going to toss their drink in the other’s face. I’ll bet you five bucks,” Flame joked.

“That’s a sucker bet, and I’m no sucker,” I replied, standing up so I was ready to knock some heads together.

As expected, the drink went flying along with fists. I made my way toward the pair, though I wasn’t in a hurry. They were allowed to bloody each other up a bit and blow off steam. I didn’t give a damn about broken noses or black eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several others gear up to join in. I held up a finger and pointed at each one and used my most murderous look to force them to shut it down. They backed off because they knew I’d follow through.

One of the fighters broke a beer bottle and went after his foe. “Fuck.”

I grabbed the offender by the neck. He turned and slashed at me. I moved fast, but the bottle nicked my chin. Now I was pissed.

I slammed the hand holding the broken bottle against the edge of the bar. The sound of cracking bone was satisfying to my ears and so was his scream of agony.

The second man, who sadly was one of our prospects, came barreling at me as if I was now the enemy. I used his momentum to slam their two heads together, knocking them unconscious.

I felt another man rush up behind me and sensed he was about to try to take me on. I swiveled, caught him behind the knees with my right foot to make him fall flat on his back, then placed it on his chest and ground downward with my heel.

“What’s your problem? This isn’t your damn fight,” I growled while I wiped blood off my chin.

“It fucking well is!” he cursed. “That boy belongs to my club, and you broke his damn hand.”

“He tried to cut one of mine and succeeded in cutting me. You ought to be happy a broken hand is all I gave him. No one comes into the Sinner’s bar aiming to kill. I allow fights, and I’ve started a few of my own, but two drunken assholes aren’t going to kill each other for the hell of it. Get your boy out of here, and keep his ass away until he learns to behave. Yours too,” I ordered.

Doc, our medic, and Rage, our road captain, now stood behind me. Prime, our Prez stepped out of his office. We outnumbered the fool, so he kicked as his prospect until the kid woke up and dragged him out of the bar.

I nodded thanks to my associates and went back to drink my beer which Flame had replaced with a cold one.

“I despise fools, especially really young ones,” Flame declared.

“They’ll grow out of it. The clubs will kick their asses into line or deny them entry. This was small shit. At least we don’t have any real enemies these days,” I proclaimed, chugging my beer.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone comes up against us,” Flame stated.

I knew she was right. “We’ll be ready. Prime will make sure of it.”

Flame froze, her hands going still where she was wiping down the bar. It was just an instant, but I noticed. I followed her gaze to see Rod entering the bar. Well, well, maybe he wasn’t as invisible to her as he thought.

“Flame, pour me a double. That damn engine just won’t do what I need it to do. I swear it’s got some grudge against me,” Rod grumbled as he took a bar stool.

“You smell like oil. It’s offensive,” she said as she brought the whiskey.

Rod reached for it as she sat it down. Their fingers brushed, and Flame drew hers back as if she’d been burned. I imagined the sparks flying between them. They simply stared at each other for a minute, unmoving.

“I think you like the smell of oil; at least when it’s on me,” Rod teased, giving her his most wicked smile. “I know you felt the same sting I did. Think about that while you’re in bed tonight.”

Rod tossed back the double. Flame glared at him and walked away, refusing his request for another.

"What the hell did I do?" Rod asked, and I chuckled, shaking my head.

"You told Flame to think about you in bed tonight." I let the words sink on as his eyes turned to saucers.

"Shit."

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