Page 40 of Wild Ride

“That’s not what he said when he was inside of me last night and this morning.”

Violence is never the answer. It was not the answer when I was at Willamette Haven, and it is not now. However, I wish Icould slap her in the face. Right in the face. I don’t, even though I want to.

She jerks her head back at my words. “You will never be one of us.”

“Good,” I snap. “I don’t want to be. I’m not a whore.”

She doesn’t like that. She reaches forward. Her fingers curl around my bicep. It’s funny how she thinks she can do anything to me. Standing, I take a step backward, away from my computer, and face her.

Then I lean forward, and my next words are whispered. I don’t know where I get the bravery, the lady balls, whatever you want to call it.

“Back the fuck up. I’m not going to fight you over a man who is clearly not yours. He’s mine. He’s told me that he is, and if he wanted you, he would have fucked you last night when you tried to make your move and failed.”

She charges toward me.

BULLET

“What do you mean that shipment isn’t coming?” I shout into the phone.

Being here at the shop wasn’t on my list of shit to do today, and yet here the fuck I am. The man on the other end of the line doesn’t speak immediately. Instead, Ralph clears his throat. “The well is running dry, Bullet.”

“Then you better dig deeper,” I growl.

“There is another group asking for things.”

“What things?” I demand.

“All the things.”

I want to break the phone in half. This is one of the most frustrating conversations I’ve ever fucking had. All I want to do is go back to the clubhouse, where I know Dakota is sitting somewhere alone. I’m sure she’s doing her work. She said she’s gotten behind since coming here and wanted to catch up. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be near her.

She’s still very much on the fence about us. About being here. And I need to be with her in order to fuck her into submission. She’s got a house to live in and everything she could possibly need here. There’s no reason for her not to move here with me.

I’m ready to get back to her.

Back to being inside of her.

Clearing my throat, I try to calm myself, but it doesn’t work. I’m amped the fuck up right now. This is not the news I fucking wanted to hear, and as the seconds tick by, I become angrier.

“You need to tell me what the fuck is going on,” I demand.

He doesn’t say anything right away. Instead, he chuckles, clearing his throat like he’s got something to say to me, but if it’s not what I want to hear, then he’s going to be the last fucking man laughing.

I know exactly where to find Ralph. And I also know exactly what and how to make the man hurt—ache. And I don’t have to touch a single hair on his head. In fact, if I kill him, I won’t get what I want out of him, so he’s going to stay breathing. The people around him…

“Group came in a couple months ago, and they only wanted a few things. Every month, they upped their demands. Now they want so much that I can’t supply them and you at the same time.”

I think about getting on my bike and riding straight for him. I want to beat the absolute fuck out of him right now. I know I can’t, and as much as I want to, I don’t. I still need him, at least for the time being. I need him to actually supply me withmy shit. We don’t have the ability to find someone new in the timeframe that we need our shit. Without it—or a new supplier—we’re going to have a big goddamn problem.

And that problem is going to be a war on our hands. Something that I absolutely do not want.

“I need all of my shit, Ralph. All of it.”

“I know. I know. I know,” he chants.

“I’ve got buyers, too, and my buyers will slit my neck and yours without a second fucking thought. So, you better figure some shit out. And fast,” I growl.

He whimpers, though he attempts to cover it up. It doesn’t work. I hear it very fucking clearly. Gripping my phone, I hear it crack beneath my hand and loosen my grip slightly as I wait for this fucker’s response.

---