Chapter 15
Pyre
“Looks like that’s going well,” Jury said as we went out to our bikes.
“Fuck off, I’m not talking to you about her,” I told him.
His mouth dropped open and he clutched his heart as if I’d hurt the lump of coal in his chest. “Damn, Bro. You can tell me shit.”
“No I can’t,” I argued. “You assholes probably have a bet going.”
“Well, of course we do,” he admitted, “but that doesn’t mean we don’t want this to work out for you.”
Scythe chuckled as he started up his bike. “He’s just trying to get the inside scoop so he can win the bet.”
“The fuck I am,” Jury argued. “I care. Mostly.”
It was my turn to laugh. They both looked over at me.
“Well, shit, Pyre,” Jury muttered.
“What?” I asked.
“Just haven’t heard you do that a lot lately,” Scythe answered.
“You’re one to talk,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but that’s his personality,” Jury countered. “He’s always a miserable fuck.”
Scythe glared at him. “Let’s get this done, asshole. Some of us have shit to do.”
“Like what?” Jury wondered out loud. “It’s not like you have an old lady to go home to.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t have shit going on in my life.”
“Well now I want to know what it is,” Jury said, then swore as Scythe rode away from him. “Such a killjoy,” he said to me, then followed.
Shaking my head, I pulled out after them.
I scanned the sidewalks and businesses as we rode around town.
We were still keeping a lookout for any sign of the Iron Circle.
We were all starting to get antsy. I kept getting this feeling that something was coming.
I trusted my instincts. They were usually right.
And I felt it in my gut. Besides, life was just going too easy right now.
We’d been watching the town round the clock for weeks and it was like everything was holding its breath, waiting. I watched as two men spoke at the mouth of an alley, but they bumped fists and split up to go their separate ways as we passed. Nothing suspicious.
I fucking hated the waiting. I just wanted the other shoe to drop so we could kill some fuckers and get back to our lives.
At least when we went on ops with Sentry Securities it was all action.
There was rarely any waiting. Cypher, Scythe, and Glitch had usually done the intel gathering and by the time the rest of us got involved it was a smash and grab situation. That was what I preferred.
Patience was something I had in spades, but not when it meant people I cared about could be affected. If those assholes came back to town it meant Rae could be in danger. Fuck that. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
She didn’t seem to fully understand what was happening.
I was claiming her. I’d decided it was time to stop fucking around and get moving forward with my life.
And she was an integral part of that. Had been since I’d first set eyes on her.
I’d just needed to wait for the right time. Now was the right time.
Of course, she had a say in the matter. If she told me to fuck off and that she wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t force the issue. Not as long as she meant it. But if she was just running scared? Well, I enjoyed a good chase.
I wasn’t sure whether she was holding me at arm’s length because she was scared, or she just didn’t realize I wanted her.
She didn’t seem like the type who was arrogant enough to think all men wanted her just because they were nice to her.
Which was why I was going to make sure she knew my intentions tomorrow night.
It didn’t matter that we’d only been on two dates.
I’d made up my mind about her years ago. She was mine.
If I was moving too fast for her, I’d do my damndest to slow down, but there were no promises that it would be a slow enough pace for her.
Once I decided to make a move, I did it with speed and precision.
Dating her wasn’t going to be any different.
If that made her head spin, then I’d be there to catch her if she stumbled.
Scythe made a motion with his hand and we headed back to the clubhouse. We left our motorcycles in the parking lot and went inside.
“Nothing,” Scythe growled at Cypher’s raised brow as we approached our brothers sitting in the main area of the building.
“What’s taking them so fucking long?” Demo asked. “I’m starting to get fucking itchy here.”
“That’s probably crabs,” Warrant told him. “You should have Pyre look at that.”
“He can go to a regular doctor for that shit,” I said, sitting down and taking the beer that Rotor handed over. “There’re no gloves on earth that can handle whatever’s on your dick. Unless your shit’s gotten blown off, I don’t deal with them. Even then I’ll just use some epoxy to stick it back on.”
Demo cupped himself protectively. “Why would you even say that?” he asked, horrified at the prospect of his dick getting blown off.
Most of the guys were grimacing and either adjusting themselves or shifting uncomfortably in their chairs at the thought.
“I don’t know, Cypher,” Cynic said, looking over at our president. “As much as I hate to, I have to agree with Demo. Waiting around is really starting to grate.”
“I know,” he replied. “But taking the fight to Dolan is a mistake. Just hold out a little longer. It’ll benefit us in the long run.”
“What if they never come back to Sentinel?” Torque asked. This wasn’t a church meeting, so he was sitting around with our brothers, looking pleased as hell to be a part of it.
“Then the fucker might get the chance to live,” Scythe told him.
“Maybe,” Cypher said in a tone of voice that said it was highly unlikely. “Anything from Owen?”
Warrant shrugged. “Nothing that’s so out of place he was willing to mention it to me. Thinking I might need to break in there and see what I can find.”
“To the police station?” Jury asked. “I’m in.”
“Or I could just hack the system,” Glitch said with a roll of his eyes. “No need to go for the hard copies of the reports.”
“Do you think they even keep hard copies anymore?” I asked.
“Probably not,” Glitch replied. “Which is why my way is better.”
Warrant sighed. “What’s that got to do with me breaking in?”
Glitch blinked a few times, confused. “Are you… Is he serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Break in, rub my balls all over Owen’s keyboard and coffee cup. Then look for files. Your way is the easy way.”
Glitch stared at him in disbelief. “Because if you alert Owen, he’s going to be watching us like a hawk. That’ll make it harder for me to do my job. I’m able to snoop around his system easier if he doesn’t know I might be in there.”
“That’s fucking insulting,” Warrant said, rolling his eyes. “Like I’d get caught.”
Glitch shook his head. “You want to follow Dolan’s every move? Be my guest. You can even use my computer. But stay out of his office until this shit is over.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Like that fucker could use a computer.”
Warrant scowled and pointed at me. “I can fucking work a computer, asshole. Keep it up and I’ll make your life miserable.”
“Oh yeah?” I taunted. “How do you plan to do that?”
“How would your girl feel about you planting some cameras in her home?” he asked. “I’m real good at that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Scary threat, Warrant. No way she could prove I did that.”
“You think she’ll care about that when she finds one in her shower?”
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”
“How’s Rae doing?” Cypher asked, cutting in before Warrant could threaten to ‘help’ anymore.
“Good,” I replied, cautiously, because I didn’t want it to become open season on my relationship. The idea of my brothers trying to help me win over Rae was laughable at best, and disastrous at worst.
“Wouldn’t hurt to keep an ear out for if she’s seen anything unusual, too,” Cypher suggested.
I nodded. “I can do that. Doubt she’ll tell me jack shit right now, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Sounds good.” He looked around, giving a couple of the guys—like Demo and Jury—grim looks. “Just sit tight a little longer. Shit’s coming.”
He felt it, too. I nodded in agreement because Cypher was just validating that gut feeling of mine.
It was like his entire fucking being was in tune with trouble.
Shit was going down? He knew about it long before most of us did.
Wasn’t sure how he did that, but he always knew when something was coming down the pipeline.
The others relaxed and kicked back with beers as they all began discussing something other than Dolan. We’d drive ourselves crazy hyper focusing on that fucker. We needed to do something to keep our minds off it.
Jury must have had the same thought because his phone buzzed on the table in front of him and he grinned. “Fun’s here, boys.”
We all watched as he went to the front door of the clubhouse and opened it up. “Ladies. Welcome.”
Women began pouring in and made a beeline in our direction. Demo grinned and wrapped his arm around one woman’s waist, pulling her down onto his lap, while another perched on his other massive leg. They were twins and he seemed to be up for that particular challenge.
“That’s our cue, brother,” Warrant said, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
He wasn’t wrong. I stood up to follow him out the door.
“You guys can’t even stay to party?” Jury asked with a frown.
“I’d like to keep my balls intact,” Warrant told him. “Ainsley finds out I stayed here partying with a bunch of women?” He shook his head. “Not worth the trouble.”
“I can make it worth it,” a blonde woman purred sidling up to Warrant and placing a hand on him. She tapped a long blood-red nail against his chest. “It’ll be fun.”
Warrant scoffed. “Right up until my old lady beats the shit out of you, lady,” he told her. “No thanks. I have better waiting for me at home.”
She gasped in outrage as he turned and walked out the door. She put her hands on her hips and scowled at his back. Then her eyes slid over to me. “How about you, handsome?”
“Not happening,” I told her. My rejection was much shorter than Warrant’s but just as effective.
“Later,” I told my brothers. I walked out of the clubhouse and grinned when I realized the prospect of skipping a night of drinking and sex didn’t bother me in the least. Like Warrant had said, I had better waiting on me.
Maybe not at home, and not tonight, but I wasn’t going to lose Rae over some random woman.
Not now that I was finally making some progress with her.
My single brothers were more than welcome to keep the lonely women Jury had found and brought here company. I was already making plans for my woman for tomorrow night.