Bullet: I sorted out your issue. Romeo covered the bar.
Bullet had an old lady. He’d understand. I just needed to talk to him face to face.
The ride to Indulgence had adrenaline poisoning my blood. Gut tight, heart stuttering, sweat trickling down my back. Panic had set in. But this didn’t have to be a big deal, right? I had to believe Bullet would understand. It wasn’t like giving up a kidney. I’d give up a kidney before I’d fuck around on McKelle.
I rode down the alley to the back of the building, pulled alongside Bullet’s bike, and dropped the stand. A couple of guys sat on plastic chairs near the door smoking.
They nodded at me as I passed by them on my way into the building.
“You’re late.” Bristol spent a lot of time in the MC, but then so did most of Bullet’s girls. He wasn’t pimping, but they were still making money on the side with Hellers. “Bullet is in the office.” She hustled down the hall and slipped into one of the rooms.
I made my way to the main office. The door was open. Bullet sat on a couch across from the desk. Lacey was on the computer. I knocked on the door jamb and stepped inside.
“About time you got here,” Bullet said.
I entered the room. “Sorry. I didn’t see your text.”
“You’re going to love this.” He nodded toward Lacey. “Tell him the numbers.”
Lacey’s fingers clicked along the keyboard. “The marketing for the event has generated a sixty percent increase in monthly subscribers. And with the one-time event access, we’re looking at a serious payday for everyone.”
“Ready to make a couple grand, kid?”
“I…uh.” I stared at my feet, swallowed around the tightness in my throat, and felt like I was ten again, afraid of Davis, my stepdad, afraid of disappointing him, and afraid of what he’d do to me.
I sat on the chair and rubbed my hands along my thighs. Sweat slicked my back and dampened my armpits. I remembered this feeling well. The disappointment, the rejection because once again I was a failure. I felt the sting of the impending punishment as if Bullet brandished a belt.
Bullet sat up straighter. “What’s going on, Cruz?”
“I can’t do it. I meant to talk to you before everything was locked down.”
“What do you mean you can’t do it?” Lacey interrupted. “We’ve got six other guys waiting on theirshare of forty grand. That only happens if there are seven bikers banging Snow White.”
Bullet held up his hand to her, and his gaze connected with mine. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m sorry,” I said to Lacey and turned back to Bullet. “I take the blame here. I made a mistake. I should’ve talked to McKelle first, made sure she was okay with it.”
Bullet chuckled and pulled out a cigarette. “I figured McKelle would be the issue. When you didn’t back out, I assumed we were good to go.”
This was on me, not McKelle. “Nah. Don’t blame her. There was a bit of miscommunication in terms of our views on cheating. She made hers clear.”
“And fucking Jinx is out?” Bullet asked.
“Yeah, not gonna happen. My dick is officially hers.”
Lacey tapped her inch-long nails on the desk. “I need another biker in that room.” She glanced over at me. “Do you have a friend that can be here in fifteen minutes so this whole thing doesn’t go to hell?”
I knew guys who would fuck a cactus for a pizza and a gram, but no one I’d suggest to Bullet. Those guys came with a different kind of trouble, the kind of shit that would come back on me worse than this. I might lose my chance for a patch, but I wasn’t bringing users anywhere close to the MC. I wouldn’t risk Kiss’s sobriety.
Lacey pushed away from the desk. “We need options. I have a thousand pay-per-view subscribers with their dicks out ready to nut. I need seven men in that room. I’d wear a strap-on, but my tits are going to be a problem.”
Bullet blew a stream of cigarette smoke toward the ceiling. “Change the camera angle. Have one of the guys fuck her first, then move out of the range of the camera, throw another cut on him, and he can fuck her again.”
Lacey rolled her shoulders. “I need seven guys in the room, Bullet.” She glared at me. “I have seven guys here. I need you in that room, Cruz. What’s it going to take?”
Bullet stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “You make the call,” he said to me. “You need to stay good with your old lady. Would she care if you were in the room? Viewers want to see seven dudes with their dicks out.”
“Nah.” I stood. “I promised McKelle, and my promises haven’t meant much. This one counts.” I pleaded with my gaze. “I’m sorry, Bullet. I know this puts you in a bind.”
