Page 97 of Cold Bastard
Chapter Thirty-One
Alex
The gathering room was still alive with noise when we hit the bottom of the stairs. Laughter, the crack of pool balls, the wet sounds of someone getting fucked against the bar. But Nano didn’t stop. Didn’t even slow down as he dragged me past it all, past the brothers who turned to watch with predatory interest, past the club whores who paused mid-stroke to stare. His grip on my wrist was bruising, his stride purposeful and relentless.
We were heading toward the back of the clubhouse. Toward the heavy wooden doors I had only seen once before.
Church.
My stomach dropped.
“Nano, wait!” I tried to dig my heels in, but my bare feet slid uselessly across the floor. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”
He yanked me forward hard enough that I stumbled, catching myself against his back. He didn’t even acknowledge it. Just kept moving. The doors loomed ahead, dark wood reinforced with iron brackets, the Brotherhood insignia carved deep into the surface. They looked like they belonged on a medieval fortress, not a motorcycle clubhouse.
Nano didn’t knock. He kicked the door open with enough force that it slammed against the interior wall. The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.
And then I saw them.
All of them.
The officers were already gathered around the long wooden table that dominated the center of the room. Morpheus sat at the head, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp. Cerberus was to his right, scarred face impassive. Carver leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. Scythe, Wanderer, Garrote, Heretic, Vortex, Cobalt, and every officer in the Brotherhood was here, and they all turned to look at us. Atme.
The temperature in the room felt like it had dropped ten degrees.
My breath caught in my throat. The walls were lined with framed photographs of fallen brothers, patches from rival clubs they had destroyed, and weapons mounted like trophies. The wooden floor was cold beneath my bare feet. The single overhead light cast harsh shadows across the officers’ faces, making them look like something out of a nightmare.
This wasn’t just a meeting room. This was where they decided who lived and who died.
Nano dragged me forward, his hand still locked around my wrist. I tried to pull back, but his grip tightened until I felt bones grinding together.
“Nano.” Morpheus’ voice cut through the silence like a blade. “What the fuck is this?”
Nano stopped in front of the table and yanked me to stand beside him. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin. “You were right, Prez,” he began, his voice flat. Controlled. But underneath it, I heard something else as he turned to look at me. “They all were, and I have proof.”
The effect was immediate. Every single officer at the table went rigid. Cerberus’ scarred face twisted into something feral. Carver’s fingers stopped moving. Scythe’s hand dropped to the knife at his belt. Wanderer leaned forward, his eyes locked on me with sudden, terrible focus.
And Morpheus’ entire demeanor changed. The relaxed posture vanished. His shoulders tensed. His hands flattened against the table, knuckles white. And when he looked at me, his eyes were no longer sharp.
They weredeadly.
The silence that followed was suffocating. I could feel every eye in the room on me. Could feel the weight of their attention like a physical thing pressing down on my chest. The air felt too thick to breathe. Morpheus stood slowly, his chair scraping against the concrete with a sound that made my teeth ache. He seemed taller than I remembered, and when he moved around the table toward me, every instinct I had screamed at me to run. But Nano’s grip kept me in place as Morpheus stopped directly in front of me. He was close enough that I could smell leather and smoke and something darker underneath as he seethed.
Proof about what?I didn’t know what was happening. Or why everyone was looking at me like I was a threat, even Nano, when he sneered, “The Death Dogs weren’t just after the descendants. They were after FIRE. The attack was a hit.”
What? What attack?Confused, I swallowed hard, my throat too tight as I shook my head. “I-I know nothing. I just heard the name. I told Nano that. I don’t know who or what fire is.”
“Firestride,” Morpheus interrupted, his voice cutting through my stammering like a knife. “Mycousin. Our brother who’s been in the hospital for three fucking weeks because the Death Dogs attacked the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse in Diamond Creek.Indigo, a brother from Disturbed MC, shot several times in the same attack.Ravage, my son, and a brother in the Golden Skulls MC, andEros, a name you should be familiar with, lying next to Indigo, shot to hell. They are FIRE.”
Oh God.Firestride, Indigo, Ravage, Eros.
F.I.R.E.
FIRE.
Oh God! They think. Nano thinks...Oh God! The room tilted slightly. My knees felt weak. “I didn’t know.” My voice came out as a whisper. “I swear, I didn’t know who Fire was. I didn’t know. Oh God, Eros.”
“Who ordered the hit?” Morpheus demanded, leaning in close enough that I could see the fury burning in his eyes.
