Page 7 of Bullet
The excitement that had gone into Nick’s face as we spoke about the new plans evaporated in a second. “Fine.” He reluctantly pulled the plans away and tucked them back into the cubby, muttering, “We can’t really expand until I find a second-in-command,” then got up from the table and wandered away.
I didn’t like that it seemed like I added to his stress, but that kind of position just wasn’t for me. My life was fine exactly as it was. Shaking it up never seemed to work well for me, and I was good at what I did, so why change it? Weweregoing to find a VP, and there were several men in the club who’d been there longer than me that Nick could choose from, so why he seemed to have his mind set on me, I wasn’t sure. Whatever the reason, I had no plans of buying into them at all. Even if he went for Avery or one of the younger guys, I was meant to be the Steel Knights’ Bookkeeper, nothing more.
Things got progressively louder over the course of the next few hours, and just as I was finishing my books for the day, I could hear the kitchen firing up as Hoppa’s prepared to open. The other members floated in and out of the warehouse, knowing better than to bother me while I was working, but eventually, Avery walked over and sat down in the chair next to me. He handed me over a band of receipts, with a grin. “The monthlies.”
I added them to my book for reconciliation tomorrow. “Thanks.”
“So, did you see what’s going on out there?”
“Huh?” I was jotting down my last numbers and notes for the day and was mostly not listening.
“Did you see all the people?”
Finally, I stopped and looked up at him. “What do you mean?” It was only then that I realized it was as loud as I would expect it to be at eight or nine at night, but it was still just after opening. “Wait, what’s going on?”
“Allthat commotion,” Avery said, “is hopefuls.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
With that, I finished up what I was doing, put my books away in the locked drawer where I kept them, and made my way out to the bar with Avery at my heels. I shoved my way through the swinging doors and when I passed into the bar, I froze.
There weredozensof people scattered around, all talking excitedly.
Nick was standing behind the bar with a wide smile on his face. “They’reallhere to pledge?” I asked.
“Most of ’em,” Nick responded. “So, we’re gonna spend tonight whittling ’em down, and you know who I thinkyoushould start with, Bullet?”
“Who?”
Nick pointed out and I followed his finger to someone who took my shock away and replaced it with rage. In the center of the bar, mingling with the different hopeful prospects, and in an outfit that unsubtly showed off her assets, was Celia.
Chapter Three
Bullet
By the time the evening had rolled around, Hoppa’s Taphouse was standing room only. Nick had already made Seth and Vil start pilfering chairs from the bar one by one and taking them back to the warehouse because they were taking up too much room, and many of the occupants had poured out into the parking lot. The music was pumping at a louder volume than usual so that even those overflowing outside could still hear it, and inside, the bar was backed up and had already stopped serving any kind of food to ensure everyone who wanted a drink could get one without too much wait.
After collecting all of the members in the warehouse and giving a quick briefing on what to look for, and telling us he would be refraining from nominations as further punishment to himself for what he pulled with Colin, Nick sent us off to mingle with the possible prospects, who were all wearing a silver flag pinned to their jackets, and figure out who might be a good addition to the club. These were still just hopefuls, and no one wasensuredmembership, but with us already being down so many men and Nick’s expansion plan in the back of my mind, I was thinking that we collectively needed to find seven to ten possible prospects to really fill our new ranks out.
But I was distracted.
First, I wasn’t much of a “mingler”. “Hello,” I said to one of the possible prospects. “What’s your name?”
“Mario Boone.” He stuck out a hand and I took it and gave it a brief shake before letting it go. “You?”
“Just call me ‘Bullet’,” I replied.
“Bullet,” he repeated. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. So…” I glanced over at Avery and Bucky who were floating through the room without a care in the world, talking and laughing with nearly everyone in the bar. “Uh, why do you want to pledge?”
“I’ve been a bike rider my whole life. Literally, my dad first took me out on his bike when I was just six months old. Ma nearly divorced him.”
I chuckled. “Sounds like my dad.”
“Oh yeah? You two close?”
My throat tightened a little bit. “We were. He died when I was young.”
