Page 19 of Bullet
Finally, Nick held up a hand. “Look, you don’t have to decide right now. The whole club has to vote on it, so we can talk about it. Actually...” He looked at Bucky and Avery. “Can you guys give us a minute?” Neither Bucky nor Avery replied, just stood up from the table and walked away, excitedly chattering about Nick’s new plan. When the heavy metal door swung, signifying they’d exited, Nick looked over at me. “All right,” Nick started. “You want the truth?”
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “That’d be good. I’m pretty confused.”
“The truth, the honest to God truth, Harry, is I don’t fucking trust anyone. Not one of ’em. Not Bucky, not Bullseye, not even you to be completely honest.” His fingers combed into his hair. “Fuck, I haven’t even taken the time I need to mourn my Goddamn kids. My son is in the ground, my daughter’s off to who knows where. It’s been about two months and she hasn’t called. I’m supposed to be running the Steel Knights and, honestly, I don’t even know what I’m doing. Taylor was the one who helped me with the bylaws, Tess helped me make all my decisions. I got fucking nothing here anymore, Bullet. I need a VP, but who do I make VP out of a whole bunch of people I’m just now realizing I barely fucking know?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t get why it would be me out of everyone? Avery brought me here, Bucky’s more enthusiastic, plus him, Texas,andSmall Fry have all been here longer. Why me?”
“Because I gotta start somewhere,” he said, “and my daddy taught me a really important lesson super young in my life. You canalwaystrust the man who manages your money.”
“The night before, last I found out that youallthink I’m responsible for what happened with Tess.”
“That’s not what we think,” Nick replied then he flew his hand out. “It’s a bunch of fucking guys out there with this new woman who they all think is pretty Goddamn great, but also a little terrifying, and she’s asking questions about why they’d treat Tess like that, they gotta point the finger at someone.” His hand came back to his chest as he got more impassioned. “Shit, I told Colin like three weeks after he got here that I wouldneverrecommend Tess for President. Basically, told him that she’d hit a ceiling here. We wanna talk about the real reason she left? That’s why! Because Colin knew she wasn’t going anywhere fast. I could have kicked your ass or at least kicked you out of the club for the way you treated her, and I didn’t. That shit, Harry, keeps me up at night.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He folded his hands together and his voice calmed. “This expansion is so much more than that. We have to just start over. Scrap what we’ve been in the past and build something that can actually sustain its own weight.”
“I agree.”
“I knew you would,” Nick said. “That’s why I want you on my right side, because this shit is gonna get real crazy, and I need your level head to get us through it. I’m not even expecting you to take your hands off the money. I’m just thinking you could be more of a manager instead of a teller.” I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand. “Don’t say anything right now. Just, you know, sit with it for a little bit. The reason these guys all swayed with you is because they respect you—a lot. And yeah, if you’re gonna pull that woman-hater shit with Seneca or any future members, it’s obviously not gonna work, but I heard what you just said about her.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah.”
“I saw it in your face when she was telling you off the other night, you feel bad. Not just about her, but about Tess, too. I’m right there with ya.” He stabbed a finger down at the expansion plan. “This is our ticket to redemption. We build and we go up and we leave that shit behind us.”
The allure of it was evident. I had a great respect for Nick, and if he believed, out of everyone there, that I was the one he could trust most, I didn’t want to squander that. However, I was comfortable where I was. I was happiest working with the books, and in truth, the responsibility of the VP position terrified me. It wasn’t just because I saw how Tess got ripped to shreds, because most of that was on me, it was more about the height of where Nick wanted to go. He was finally ready to take the club to new heights, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on the responsibility that entailed.
Then again, what else was I doing?
“I’ll think about it. I promise,” I said.
Nick nodded. “Thanks, Harry. That’s all I’m asking.”
Despite the place of uncertainty Nick and I had left in, the bar was buzzing with the energy of Nick’s plans. Word of his ideas to promote and fill out spread quickly, and by the time the evening rolled around, the guys were toasting to the promoted members and expanded positions. Nick was quick to remind everyone that nothing would be official until that month’s members’ meeting where everyone could vote on the plans, but it didn’t seem like he’d get many objections.
After a while, the prospects arrived and Nick tasked them with getting to know all the existing members, teasing that he may be drilling them in the near future, and the different conversations that erupted after electrified the bar from the inside out. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t enjoy the energy. All I could do was focus on the conversation Nick and I had.
“You all right there, Bullet?” I looked up from my beer and one of the new prospects, Karl, was sitting next to me. “My name’s Karl, in case you forgot.”
“I didn’t,” I replied.
He pointed at the bottle in my hand. “You’ve been holding that bottle halfway to your lips for about ten minutes, but it looks empty to me.” I looked down at the bottle and saw that he was right, so I set it down on the bar so that one of the bartenders could scoop it up. Karl held up a hand to flag one of them down. “Hey, can I get another one for Bullet here?”
I waved my hand through the air. “No, no. That’s okay. I’m calling it an early night anyway.”
“You sure?” Karl said. “The round’s on me.”
“No, no, that’s fine. If Nicky asks you what you learned about me, I have two cats named Chatterbox and Jingle.”
Karl sputtered out a laugh. “Lemme guess, that’s a test, right?” He saw my plain expression and frowned. “Wait. Seriously?”
“Yeah, Chatterbox is a Calico and Jingle is a white Bengal.” After that, I stood up from the bar. “See ya.”
With Karl still staring at me in stunned silence, I turned my back and made my way out of Hoppa’s Taphouse through the front doors. The parking lot was filled with additional patrons, some of whom greeted me on my way, and I found myself absent-mindedly tracking some of the people that would be considered “Friendlies” and “Regulars” in the future. I nodded and waved, nothing so inviting as to get me caught in a conversation, and then walked over to where my bike was parked. I climbed on immediately but sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the chatter and fresh, cool night. It turned out to be my downfall, as after a few minutes, a ghost stepped into my field of view.
“Hey, Harry,” Celia said. She wasn’t wearing her typical layer of sass, and instead just had her hands shoved into the hooded jacket she was wearing. “Nice night out.”
“It is,” I replied. Behind Celia, I saw a few people stop and look over at me. In the center of them was none other than Seneca, with her arms crossed, waiting to see what would happen next. “How are you doing?” I asked.
