“This is going to take a bit of planning, so I’ll need to go over that with you and whoever you’d like to join us.” Dalia holds the binder against her chest as she turns her face up to look at Steel.
He nods. “Drag and Goat, get your asses up here!”
“Drag and Goat?” Dalia questions, and I have to hold back a laugh.
“They’re road names,” Blaze explains. “We all had real names at some point in time, but most of us don’t remember them. So we just stick to our road names.”
She nods slowly. “Okay.”
“Dalia.” Steel starts to reach out toward her, his eyes going wide when he realizes what he’s doing. His arm drops to his side instantly. “Umm…this is my VP, Dragon, and secretary, Goat. They’ll be the ones who will make sure everyone ends up where they should.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Dalia.” Dragon leans forward, bowing to her and making me see red.
I scoff. “Stop being a kiss-ass.”
Dragon tosses me a smirk but steps back so Goat can greet her as well.
“Is there anywhere in particular you’d like them to wait?” Goat asks, nodding toward the thirty-fivereiterswaiting for their next instructions.
“Umm…well, they can go to the cafeteria and get some food. Dinner wasn’t that long ago. I’m sure they still have leftovers.” Dalia smiles. “I can radio over to let everyone know they’re on their way.”
“Are you sure, doll?” Blaze asks. “Our MC is pretty well-behaved, but we’ve been known to cause some trouble from time to time.”
She laughs. “I think they’ll be fine. If they keep heading the way they’re pointed, it’ll be about a half mile up the road. It’s an old strip mall. We tore down the walls to make it one big room, so they can use any of the doors to enter.”
Dalia steps back, lifting the radio to her lips and proceeds to let someone know they’re about to get an influx of people to be fed.
“You heard the lady, Goat,” I grumble, jerking my head toward the others. “Get them on their way and meet us inside.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” With a mocking smile, he flips me off as he heads down the stairs.
Dragon shakes his head as Dalia leads us inside. “Are you sure he’s the one we should have as our secretary?”
“Oh, hush.” Steel knocks his shoulder against Dragon’s. “You love that man, and you know it.”
He gets a dreamy look on his face. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“We’ll use this room.” Dalia opens a door and gestures for us to head inside. Before she joins us, Goat comes running inside.“Okay. So. The first question is, does everyone want to stay together? Are there people who will want to pair up?”
Steel and Dragon exchange a glance as Goat pulls out his notepad.
“Do you remember how we said our touch kills the living?” Steel asks, smiling when she nods. “That means the only way we don’t all end up touch-starved—among other things—is we turn to one another.”
“That makes sense.” She hesitates. “I feel like you’re trying to answer my question, but you’re being very vague, and I’m not understanding.”
A bark of laughter escapes me before I can stop it.
“Is something funny?” she asks as she turns her head to face me, looking like she’s ready to tear my head off. You know, if I had one she could see.
“What Steel is pussyfooting around,” Blaze starts, ignoring the glare I shoot him. “Is that most of us fuck each other. It’s not like a giant orgy where we sleep with everyone in the club. We tend to pair off or group up. That’s how we’ll need to divide the rooms up. Not that any of us have a problem being together in the same house, but we prefer privacy from other groups.”
Dalia’s face is bright red, and her breathing has picked up a bit as she nods her head. “Okay. We can do that. Although I’m not sure if we’ll have beds big enough for more than one of you if everyone is as big as they looked.”
I don’t bother hiding my snicker. “That’s okay. We’re a nomad MC, so we’re used to providing for ourselves. We have air mattresses and sleeping bags, so we don’t really need to worry about beds.”
“Oh, okay. That’ll make it much easier—especially since we don’t know how long you’ll be staying.” She flips open her binder, glancing through the pages quickly. “When we accept people into Iero, we make sure they have everythingthey need—including a furnished home. Since you’re only here temporarily?—”
“Who says we’re only here temporarily?” Blaze asks, leaning forward.
