Page 24 of Phantom
Taylor and I did not share the same feelings on Bullet’s looks. He wore prescription glasses, but they were always thin-framed and gave him a sexy, studious look. He was a bookkeeper, but he was a bookkeeper in a motorcycle club, after all. His brown hair was around shoulder length, and what didn’t fall in his face, he slicked back into a waterfall down his neck, which curled up slightly at the bottom because of how frequently he wore his helmet. His style was always understated, but though he tried to act aloof, he cared a lot about how he looked. His clothing was always coordinated from his shirt down to his boots, even if it was just making sure everything was the same precise shade of black. He boasted an impressive set of arms, and on one occasion, I’d seen his bare back, which was ripped, forever changing my perspective of the man. If it wasn’t for the fact that he hated women and, by extension, me, I might have been tempted to take a run at him.
“So, I make him a bet. You lose this game of pool, you gotta ask her out.” My dad held up his hands. “And I don’t lose at pool.”
Bucky laughed. “Bet you hate that whole man-of-your-word bullshit now, don’t ya?”
“So, they’re going out tonight, and I’m not about to let a little business stand in the way of true love,” my dad said.
Bullet sucked his teeth. “Hardly.”
“All right.” My dad slammed his hand down on the table. “MiD. It’s just a few weeks away, and we’ve still got a lot left to do.”
MiD was the shorthand name for Music in the Desert, the huge music festival that we hosted along with our ally clubs, the Blazing Rebels and the Raging Vipers. Back when my great-grandfather started the Steel Knights, he didn’t believe in allies—said you could never truly trust anyone—but during my granddad’s regime, a nasty global gang called the Devil’s Riders started encroaching on Arizona. In one night, the Devil’s Riders had decimated the numbers of all three groups, including my grandfather, who died protecting his brothers.
As a result, that was the first thing my dad addressed as president. He forged an alliance with the Blazing Rebels and the Raging Vipers so that we could all work together to protect our territories, and they decided to remember their fallen brothers through the Music in the Desert festival. By day, it was a family-friendly music festival with food booths, carnival rides, and games, and by night, it turned into a bass-bumping rager. Screw Christmas or my birthday—MiD was my favorite time of any year.
Though the festival was always hosted in the same place, an exact midpoint between all three groups, the club that hosted it rotated each year. We split the profit three ways and invite our communities to come and enjoy it with us. It’s a huge success every year, and this year was the Steel Knights’ year to host.
“Obviously,” my dad continued, “with The Unchained Dogs so quiet lately, my fear that they’re planning something big is going up. They may be planning an ambush at MiD, so on top of our regular tasks, I want someone to go out there and make sure things are safe and solid.” He looked at me. “Tess, you’re gonna go, and you’ll be taking CJ with you.”
“What?” Taylor and I asked in unison.
My dad always left us out of MiD planning. He didn’t trust Taylor’s temper, but Taylor was even worse whenever I was involved while Taylor wasn’t. It was the adult version of making sure both kids have the same toy to prevent fights. He always said that Taylor’s and my main duties were to focus on the Steel Knights during event planning, but I knew the truth.
“Why would you send CJ instead of one of the older members?” Taylor asked.
My dad held up a hand and started counting off something unknown to us on the one hand, and then he looked at Taylor. “You know, Taylor. You’ve been questioning me a lot lately. Is there something you want to say?”
To my surprise, Taylor actually did a cursory glance of the table, almost as if he might puff up if he felt like he’d have support, but everyone was looking back at him like he was insane. His gaze shifted back to my dad, and they had another one of their tense, silent showdowns. This one didn’t last as long, as Taylor had likely sensed the heat permeating off my dad. Dad didn’t often get ruffled feathers, so when he did, it was time to back down.
“No,” Taylor said finally. “I can adjust to change as much as the next guy. CJ is here to stay, so I might as well get used to it.”
My dad smiled, but there was a poison behind it that served as a quiet threat. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” He looked back at me. “You good with that?”
“Yeah.” Honestly, a trip to the desert sounded lovely. “We’ll go this afternoon.”
“Great.” The smile my dad gave me was one of his rare warm ones, and Taylor snarled.
My dad really did seem to like Colin more and more by the day, and the more my dad seemed to like him, the more Taylor seemed to hate him. Maybe Colin was just considering what I was overlooking. Taylor had proven that he’d stop at nothing to harm someone close to me. I’d like to think that our ironclad rule not to fight with other brothers would protect Colin in a pinch, but that might be giving Taylor too much credit. As much as it killed me to admit it, maybe it did make more sense to keep things professional with Colin. I didn’t want to get him killed.
Though even as I thought it, another part of me was thinking that I’d be the one becoming murderous if Taylor tried anything, and I’d probably have my dad’s support in the matter.
Taylor’s evil glare didn’t let up as my dad continued to hand out tasks to the rest of the officers. Bullet was on finalizing vendors, Bullseye was in charge of merchandise, and Bucky would work with my dad on marketing and ticket sales. When my dad finally called Taylor’s attention to direct him to work with the non-officer members to follow up with the musicians and make sure they were all still on board, Taylor gave him a shallow head nod and nothing more as he continued to stare at me.
Finally, my dad dismissed everyone but Taylor, likely to give me a chance to escape without Taylor as a shadow, and I didn’t pass up the opportunity. I was the first one out of the warehouse, and I nearly made it all the way out of the bar, but I stopped when someone called my name.
“Hey, Val.” I had a hand on the door already, but I looked back over my shoulder, and Bucky, Bullseye, and Bullet were headed my way, with Bullseye leading the pack. He came to a stop in front of me with his arms crossed. “Grim’s set to snap if you keep letting your dad run amok like he is.”
Grim was the nickname given to my brother, though no one ever said it to his face. He’d earned the moniker after killing my ex just for being my boyfriend.
“What makes you think I have any control over my dad?” I said back. “He’s my boss, just like he’s yours.”
“I told you this was pointless,” Bullet hissed.
“You know that ain’t true,” Bucky said. “If you tell him to back off, he will.”
I didn’t respond, mostly because they were probably right. Unlike Taylor, I didn’t question my dad. On top of being his daughter, I was also his VP. If I approached him and told him to stop favoring Colin, he’d probably listen. I didn’t want him to back off, though. The closer Colin and my dad were, the greater Colin’s chances were at survival. From cops, Taylor, or otherwise.
“If you all have a problem with the way my dad’s calling the shots, the bylaws have actions you can take.”
