Page 23 of Bolt (Iron Thunder MC 1)
Bolt was watching me study her.
“You should know, you can’t try any funny business with Sophie. Trust me when I say she can take care of you,” he told me.
I followed him to the bar. It was obvious I wouldn’t want to stay locked up in his room all evening and night. Besides, maybe Sophie would show some female solidarity toward me. Maybe I could try and make friends with her.
“Sophie, this is Cassie. You know the deal? Spike brought you up to speed?” Bolt said. She finished pouring a drink into a glass. She slid it over the counter to a guy at the other end.
I blushed as she looked me up and down, like she was assessing me for size. Judging my clothes.
“Yeah, sure. Don’t worry, Bolt, I’ll look after her.”
Bolt told me to walk around the counter to join her and then he was walking away. I watched him go, realizing this was the first time in nearly twenty-four hours that we had been apart.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that exactly. Would I miss him?9BoltI couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent this much time sitting in one position. Today, I had no choice. I had to be in the cafe watching Cassie work, and I’d managed to do it from the perfect vantage point in the corner of the cafe. I’d watched her all day. Her every move. And even though I felt jumpy and frustrated—itching to go to my bike and ride away—I stayed put.
Strangely enough, I was far from bored despite the circumstances. I’d spent the day watching Cassie and learning a lot about her. I knew she was self-conscious because she knew she was under scrutiny, and yet, she interacted with her customers and staff with dignity and friendship.
It was easy to tell that they all loved her. There were tons of regulars at her cafe who kept walking up to her and asking how she was doing. They were genuinely interested, and I guessed it was because she’d carefully fostered a good relationship with them over time.
Not only was she good at maintaining relationships, but I could see she was running a successful business here.
I didn’t know how old Cassie was exactly, but if she was younger than Chip, who was younger than me, she had to be in her mid-twenties at the latest. Given her age, she ran a solid business likely turning in a profit. As far as I knew, the food and beverage industry was a hard one to crack but it seemed like she knew some secret to make it work for her.
Was I really surprised? Probably not.
In the short time that I’d known her, she’d managed to get under my skin. I had to keep reminding myself who she really was. What Chip had done, because I found myself repeatedly hoping I could keep her safe and out of harm’s way. I shouldn’t have cared what happened to her.
But I did.
And now she was in Sophie’s lair.
I was headed to Church in the Club room. The others were gathered there already, waiting for Drax to arrive and start the meeting.
When Ghost and Skip spoke to me, their conversation faded away in my mind. All I could think about was whether Cassie was okay. What she was doing now. If she was scared without me.
What the fuck was happening to me?
“You look fuckin’ exhausted,” Flash commented when he found me. I ran a hand through my hair and shook it out.
“Haven’t slept much. Keeping an eye on this girl is hard work,” I replied. Flash nodded.
“Well, hopefully, it won’t be for too long. We’ll figure out what to do with Chip soon and then we can figure out what to do with his sister too.” Flash meant business when he spoke about Cassie, and yet, I couldn’t help but feel protective toward her. I clenched my jaws and nodded at Flash, hoping he wouldn’t see the anxiety in my eyes.
Drax walked in moments later and Church began.
“What’s the update on the kid? Chip?” he asked first as one of the girls handed him a bottle of beer. He lit a cigarette with his other hand, the fat rollie hung from between his chapped lips.
“He’s still in the black room downstairs. We’ve had our turns with him, he keeps asking about his sister, but other than that he’s taking it like a champ.” It was Ghost supplying the information. Something like concern for Chip entered my body and I had to push it out forcefully.
Why did I keep forgetting what he’d done to us?
Was it because of Cassie? Was I really willing to forget and forgive it all for her sake?
“Yeah, fuck him. Keep him there till we sort out the shipment and then we can figure out what to do with him,” Drax said. Then he looked at Flash. “What are we doing about our shipment?”
