Without really thinking about it, I scrambled forward and threw my arms around his neck. He froze for a second and then his arms came up around me. He pulled me into his arms and just held me while the waterworks started again. Just being held meant everything in the moment.
I was feeling too many emotions at the same time to name them all. There was confusion, relief, hope, and the tiniest bit of genuine trust. There was also a worry lurking in the back of my mind that in spite of everything Fuse did and said, trusting him might result in another betrayal. I hoped and prayed it didn’t, because this was all I had in this world.
Chapter 8
Fuse
Ihad breakfast with Winter, like always. But today was different. She was smiling at me and seemed more talkative and relaxed. It felt like our relationship made it over a huge hump, taking us from frenemies to actual friends. She seemed to trust me, well, maybe not totally, but enough to relax in my presence. She was wearing the new clothes she ordered and looked great. Not that she didn’t look great anyway, even with a burlap sack on, she’d be a knockout.
We parted ways just as the Savage Legion’s club officers arrived for an emergency meeting with our club officers about the situation with Viper. Since I brought this fresh hell upon the club, I was invited as well. Thunder escorted them in and I followed close behind.
When we entered, Storm and Celt were huddled around Hacker’s wheelchair, looking at something on his computer. Breaker and Grit were sitting with their heads together. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but it looked serious.
Storm and Celt rose to meet our guests. Each extended their hands in turn. Seeing the two club presidents facing each other was a study in contrasts.
Storm was the older of the two. I noticed long ago that although he was a biker through and through, that he also had this tiny, almost hidden part of his personality that almost reeked of wealth and privilege. I heard he grew up rich and rejected his pretentious family the minute he came of age, joined the military, and saw active duty before opening our club.
Siege, on the other hand, seemed very much like a man who was born and bred to his position of club president. He was rougher by nature but had a military bearing about him as well. Celt had mentioned that Siege’s father, Claw, started their club so that made sense.
They shook hands and Storm spoke first, “Thanks for reaching out to us. We’re always glad to consider new alliances.”
“I’m not interested in alliances,” Siege said flatly. “I’m interested in answers.”
“Have a seat. I’m not sure what this is about but if I can give you the answers you’re looking for, I will,” Storm said.
We all sat down around the large table in our meeting room.
Storm asked, “What kind of answers are you looking for this morning?”
“For starters, why did you burn the Vulture’s Pride clubhouse to the ground?”
Storm replied calmly, “We didn’t. The Slayers have no grudge with that old man.”
“So what’s with the ride through you did the day before his place was torched.”
“Yeah, we were there. We owed an associate a favor. That’s all it was.”
“An associate?” Siege questioned, letting out a wry laugh. “Are you bikers or finance bros? In our world there are enemy, allies, and affiliate clubs. There’s no such thing as associate clubs.”
“We owed Viper a favor. He did us a solid. It seemed like a small ask for what we got in return. I called Vulture after we rode out of town and he said we were good.”
Siege ground out, “Well, he’s not fuckin’ good now. They’re dealin’ with a dead club girl and an injured prospect.”
“I don’t know anything about the fire except what we saw on the news, just like everyone else.”
Siege nodded once, slow. “I came straight to you because if you did it, we need to know. If you didn’t, that’s fine too. The regional clubs are blowing up, and we don’t have time for damn guessing games.”
Storm’s gaze moved over Siege’s men, then returned to Siege. “Here’s all you need to know in a nutshell. We didn’t order it, torch it, or assist anyone else in lighting it the fuck up. And if I had any fuckin’ idea this was gonna happen, I would have warned him.”
Siege leaned forward, with his arms on the table. “Someone sure as fuck wants to make it look like you did. Would you like to hazard a guess as to who that is?”
Storm glanced at Celt, then back to Siege. “Ain’t that obvious? If you’re referring to that stupid ass video, we think it was Viper’s ham-handed way of framing us. Is that what you’re thinkin’ as well?”
“The way I see it, Viper is a slimy motherfucker who only thinks about money and power. He happens to be the one with the most to gain by isolating your club from your allies,” Siege replied. “And considering what the hell else he’s been up to, I’m pretty sure this is just one more step that fits with his future plans for regional domination.”
Grit finally spoke. His voice was filled with amusement. “What plans for regional domination? That asshole couldn’t think his way out of a kid’s maze with a trail of hamburgers leading the way.”
Siege’s eyes flicked to Breaker, then back to Storm. “That fucker has been patching over smaller clubs to the tune of a half a dozen in the last couple months. MCs that used to be nothing more than background noise are now wearing Stolen Oath colorsand riding together. He’s got nearly fifty brothers patched. And that kind of math changes the landscape of our world.”
