Page 9 of Bullet
“Sure.”
In an instant, Joey turned his attention away from me and went back to entertaining the crowd surrounding him, and I threaded my way through the people until I was able to slip behind the bar, through the kitchen, and back into the much quieter warehouse. I wasn’t shocked to see Seth hiding out back there, too. He hadn’t been in the club long, but he was less of a social person, much like me.
“Running away, too?” I asked as I walked over and joined him at the table in the middle of the room. “This is why we need a legit clubhouse so we can just escape somewhere when Nicky packs the place.”
Seth snickered. “That’d be nice for sure, but then I’d probably never talk to anyone.”
“You and me both.” I crossed my arms. “Did you see anyone noteworthy out there?”
“A couple of guys. Some guy named Travis and a real thick, beefy guy named Kyran I think? Neither of ’em seemed like big brain types, but we’re a leaner group of individuals. I think we could use some real muscle, especially since we lost Stag. Texas and Bullseye can’t hold us down all alone.”
I side-glanced my own bicep. “I mean… I’m no slouch.”
Seth held up a hand with a laugh. “Nothing personal, man. Listen, we can take a punch collectively, but did youseethat one guy that came with Luther when they raided us?” He didn’t have to get too into explaining him for a vision of the behemoth that joined Luther and the other Unchained Dogs when they came to bother us. He was stacked, damn near seven feet tall, and with enough muscle to lift a bus. “We need a guy like that.”
“That couldn’t hurt,” I replied. “I chatted up a couple guys, too. That one guy everyone seems to like, Joey, and some guy named Mario. Biking’s in his blood.”
Seth nodded. “That’s the fundamental we’re looking for.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I think he could be good. The prospect trail will tell.”
The door swung open and Nick’s head peeked in. He looked over at Seth and I sitting at the table and sighed. “How did I know I’d find you two hiding out back here?”
“You know what you get with us,” I quipped.
“Well, knock it off and get out here, we’re gonna nominate some prospects.”
He didn’t stick around to see if we listened or not, just left, and I looked across at Seth. “We each have a couple names, so I think we’re good.”
Seth chuckled. “No one can say we didn’t do our job.”
Together, we walked out of the warehouse and back into the bar. Everyone had been quieted and had packed in along the tables and was waiting. Nick climbed up on the bar, not without a little bit of waver, and held his arms out.
“Hey, everyone, I just want to thank you all for coming tonight!” All the patrons started to cheer or raise their glasses to Nick. “Tonight, we’re doing something we haven’t done since my old man was running the joint, and we opened prospecting for the Steel Knights. Ordinarily, I like for my members to come recommended, but if I’ve learned anything tonight, it’s thateveryonein Hoppa is a worthy prospect!”
More hoots and hollers screamed out and I found myself scanning the crowd for Celia, but she was nowhere to be found. After a pass in both directions, I finally stopped trying to find her, figuring she must have gone home. It wasn’t all that surprising. She wasn’t there to see me regardless, so why would I give a damn if she stayed or left?
From the front of the crowd, one of the Steel Knights’ non-officered members, Derek “Small Fry” Myers, cupped his hands on either side of his mouth and shouted out, “Let’s get to nominatin’!”
People clapped along and cheered, and Nick held out his hands to quiet the crowd. “All right. Can I have all themembersof the Steel Knights come stand behind the bar please?” Seth and I were already standing behind the bar, and another member, Jonathan “Jonesie” Jones, was sitting right at it and just hoisted himself up and over, and the rest of the members, Avery, Bucky, Texas, Small Fry, and Vil all walked around and packed in alongside us. “All right, gents, remember, prospects need a nomination and a second to qualify. Let’s hear your nominations.”
To my surprise, Seth’s hand was first in the air. “I have a nomination.”
Nick looked down at him. “Let’s hear it.”
He’d told me about the two guys he spoke with, Travis and Kyran, but he cleared his throat and said, “I nominate Colt Hardy.”
“Colt?” Nick called out, and a man excused his way through the crowd and stepped to the front. He was a bit shorter than Seth, and looked younger as well, but the resemblance between the two was uncanny. “Uh, there’s gotta be a relation here, right?”
“Yes,” Seth replied. “Colt’s my brother.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably behind the bar. In the wake of what had happened with Colin, not to mention Nick’s preferential treatment of his kids, everyone was no doubt thinking a familial nomination was probably not the best idea.
“Uh, look...” Nick started, but before he could finish, Bucky’s hand went into the air.
“I second,” he said, and then looked up at Squared. “These boys are cut from the same cloth, Squared. Colt shows real promise.”
“Well, okay then,” Nick replied. “I’m holding you both to this one though.”
