“And you can cover that?” Viper asked.
I opened my mouth to answer but then noticed that his gaze was locked on Storm, not me. Of course it was. At PATCH, the club rules say every MC is responsible for the conduct of their members. I guess that includes reckless bids by brothers like me.
For a heartbeat I thought Storm would say no. I worried that he might tell them I got excited and say I was on my own. Or tell Viper that I didn’t have that kind of money and to give her to the last bidder. That would have been the smart play, particularly after I’d gone rogue in front of half the outlaw scene in California.
Storm’s cool pragmatic look when he looked at me. We’d been riding together for years. I was that brother in the background, minding my own business and doing as I was told. Although he looked furious, he chose to back me up.
“We will cover it,” he said. His voice was hard enough to cut concrete. “Dark Slayers stand by what we say.”
“Then I accept Fuse’s bid,” Viper said with a self-satisfied smile. This man wasn’t a complete idiot. One hundred thousand was more than he had expected tonight, that much was clear. “One hundred thousand from Dark Slayers MC for the property known as Betty. Going once. Going once. Going twice. Sold.”
The silence that had hung in the air during the bidding process exploded with shocked conversation. Someone slappedme on the back, and I shoved them away roughly. I could hear how shocked and confused the brothers who witnessed the bidding were.
“What the hell just happened?” I heard someone say.
“The Slayers just dropped a hundred large to buy a virgin.”
Dog, and the other members of Vulture’s Pride stormed off, and I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the last I heard of them on this subject. He was mumbling something about the Slayers stealing her right out from under him.
Viper and his crew led Winter away with instructions to get the money and meet him in his tent for the trade by midnight. We watched her walk away looking more dejected and afraid than ever.
Storm held his peace until they were out of sight.
Then he said, quietly, “Fuse, walk with me, brother.”
Storm didn’t look me in the eye. He just walked off towards a secluded corner of the lot. Celt gave my shoulder a squeeze and whispered, “I’ve got your feckin’ back on this one, brother.”
Thunder and Renegade fell into step on either side of me, making me feel more like they were escorting me. We walked out of the terminal into the cooling air. Darkness had fallen and a full moon peeked out from behind heavy drifting clouds. Bikes sat in tight rows.
As we passed other bikes, I realized that everyone else was returning to the revelry. Several trucks had tailgates down and coolers were open. Brothers busied themselves with drinking, talking casually about the auction like it was no big deal.
Storm kept walking until we were in the corner of a chain link fence with a picnic table and completely filled trash can stinking up the area.
He reacted exactly how I thought he would, by lighting into me. “What the hell were you thinking?” His voice stayed low, but the cold authority in his voice was chilling.
I met his eyes and I did my best to get him to understand that I needed to do this. “I wasn’t about to let Vulture’s Pride drag her out of here. Dog’s an asshole. Their prez is okay, but I couldn’t let her go with them.”
“That’s your explanation?” Storm stepped closer. “You stood in the middle of PATCH, with every club in the state watching, and you threw a number like that out with absolutely no plan?”
Celt spoke up for me, just like he said he would. “Fuse made a ballsy move when his back was against the wall. He did what we should have done. If we’d acted instead of standing there pissing our pants like little feckin’ lasses, maybe we could have kept the bid more reasonable.”
Storm punched his finger in the air towards his cousin as if to punctuate every word. “Shut it, cousin. It all happened so fast. We couldn’t bid and put the responsibility of paying this on the backs of every brother in the club.”
Thunder spoke up. “You put your ass on the line for a woman you’d never seen before today. What I wanna know is why?”
I just shook my head. “Out of all the people I thought I’d have to convince, I never thought it would be my own club brothers. You know what they were gonna do to her and that she’d become a hollowed-out shell of her fuckin’ former self inside of a month or two. What Viper’s doin’ ain’t right and you know it.”
I paused, Storm didn’t say anything, so I continued. “I ain’t sorry for bidding. I am sorry for how big the bid was. It was a fuckin’ shitshow and I just wanted it all to stop.” I could hearthe desperate edge to my own voice, so I snapped my mouth shut.
Storm asked the question I knew was coming. “Do you happen to have a hundred grand lying around? I only ask because you work as a bricklayer and just bought a new house. So, I don’t think you do.”
“Maybe I can ask Viper for more time. I’ll find the money even if I have to borrow it against my house. Maybe I can talk to the bank on Monday and take out a second mortgage.”
Thunder said harshly. “You remember who handled your mortgage, Fuse?”
I glanced at him, unsure why he was bringing this up. “You did. And I appreciate your hard work.”
“Thank you. But remember when I explained you would be upside down in your mortgage for the first five years.” He made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “Your place is worth less than what you owe right now. That means there is no equity to borrow against. If you try to apply for another loan, they’ll laugh you out of the damn building. Based on your income, you barely qualified for the mortgage you got.”
