Page 186 of Steel

Things don’t go exactly as planned, though, because when I near my Bronco, I catch a fucking Night Skulls member sneaking out from under it. My heart pounds as I can think of only a few reasons he’d be under there.

I don’t think he expected me to show up because panic overtakes his face. His head swivels as he takes in all the people around us before resolution clouds his face and he pulls something from his pocket.

My eyes widen when I realize what it is.

A fucking detonator.

There’s a goddamn bomb under my Bronco.

I jump from my still moving bike, clenching my jaw when metal screeches against the concrete as it goes sliding out from under me.

“Bomb!” I roar, running toward the Night Skulls fucker. “Fuckin’ run!”

It takes people a minute to comprehend what’s happening and then chaos ensues. Parents grab their children and runscreaming away from the Bronco. My eyes find Bailee just as that motherfucker presses the button.

There’s a millisecond of silence between the time I tackle him and the loud explosion that roars through the air.

Heat sears my back as the blast licks against me while I rain my fists down on his face. Bailee screams my name, and I want to fucking reassure her that I’m okay, but I keep my focus on making sure this maggot stays down.

Once he’s subdued, I pull my phone out and call Wraith. “Downtown. The park. Night Skulls just took out my Bronco with a bomb. There was fuckin’ kids around.”

“We’re on our way.”

Bailee finally finds me, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re okay.”

“Favor, Hummingbird. Grab me those zip ties in my side bag.”

She doesn’t question it, just hurries to it while holding her side. I make a note to check on her when she gets back over here.

People are crying, terrified about what just happened in a usually safe space.

I run my eyes around the area, satisfied when I don’t spot any casualties. Just a lot of scared fucking people.

Bailee hurries back with the zip ties, and I roll the unconscious Night Skull over, roughly jerking his arms behind him. I take them from her and slide the ties over his hands, pulling them tight enough that they’re probably cutting off his circulation.

“You hurt?” I ask, nodding to where she’s holding her side.

“I’m okay. Just landed on my side when the blast went off.”

I finish putting a pair of ties around his ankles before I climb to my feet. “Let me see.”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m seriously okay, bossman. We need to go check on the others.”

The crying kids are about the only thing that can pull my attention away from her. The air around us rumbles with theloud pipes of bikes heading toward us, and I step in front of Bailee. I pull my gun from the holster under my cut and hold it at the ready until the familiar riders come into view. My club brothers pull up, creating a barrier of leather, chrome, and chains around us.

Bailee squeezes my shoulder, letting me know she’s going to check on everyone while I fill Wraith and the others in on what happened.

I kick the Night Skull in the side and spit on him before turning to my brothers. “Fucker blew up my Bronco with kids around. My woman would’ve been in it if I didn’t get here in time.”

Wraith nods and pulls his phone out while barking orders at the others. “Phantom, Blade, check and see if anyone needs help. Jake said units are on their way.” He puts the phone to his ear. “Crux, get a cage and get to the park. You got six minutes.”

“Fuck, Prez. You’re going to get him a speeding ticket,” Ronin remarks.

“Naw. Jake’s boys know our van. They’ll let him be. Crow, you’ll go back to the warehouse with Steel and see what you can get from this fucker. Ronin, Thrasher, I’ll need you to stick around for cleanup once Jake clears the scene. Tweek, you’re good with kids. If the parents let you, see if you can help calm them down.” Wraith turns back to me. “What do you need?”

“Got to check on Lee and my bike. Had to lay the damn thing down to catch him.”

The guys grimace as their eyes drift to my bike.

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