Steel My Soul (Motorcycle Club Romance) (Sons of Steel Motorcycle Club Book 4) by Vivian Lux Page A

occasion the old dude actually talked, it was usually worth listening to what he had to say. "It's a shitty thing we gotta come up with a plan about our brother. Not one I plan on taking lightly."
    The other three of them nodded, but I felt something explode in my belly. "You cannot possibly be serious!" I barked at them, futility making me rage. "This is Crash, our brother! Fuck, I don't know, go track him down, give him a black eye, and break a couple of his ribs, God knows the kid knows how to heal. Fuck him up good and proper. You just can't… You can't be thinking…."
    The words caught in my chest, as a searing bolt of pain ripped through my stomach. "Doctor D., you okay?" J. asked worriedly.
    I dug a fist into my chest, pressing hard. The heartburn subsided, and I burped softly. "My agida," I told them sheepishly. "Stress and shit."
    The other four of them chuckled, and for a moment it almost felt normal. Like we were still a united front against the world, and not divided over whether or not we had to take out one of our own. I leaned forward on my knees and ran my hands through my beard and up to my hair. "Listen…" I started to say.
    But I didn't get to finish. Not before the blasting heat ripped through the garage in a wave. In the smoke, and cries and curses, I heard the sound of tires squealing as a car sped away.

Chapter Twelve
     
    Crash
     
    My fucking wallet. God dammit.
    Here I was, driving without a license, and in the shit town of Lenape where the cops don't really have much else to worry about. I figured I left it at Gabriela's house. I was going to have to go back to her, after I rolled out of bed without saying goodbye this morning.
    Fuck.
    So I'm here for the moment, and I have no money and no license. Why shouldn't I go back to Gabi's? Maybe she wouldn't be too pissed about me running off like that this morning. She seemed like a reasonable girl, maybe I could make up some bullshit about needing to hurry over here for visiting hours. Chicks love sad stories about old people. I bet I could even squeeze out a tear or two, and maybe she'd comfort me by letting me fall asleep on her tits.
    Yeah, those tits were definitely worth swallowing some pride for. 
    I straddled my bike and pulled out of the parking lot into the bright winter sunshine. I had a huge pickup truck still parked on the street in North Philly. I wondered how long I could leave it there before the PPA towed it. Fuck, they probably already did, the money-grubbing bastards. Well fuck it, free parking. I'll deal with that later.
    Besides, I felt better on my bike.
    I pulled out on to the divided highway, feeling the smooth rumble of my engine. Right on cue, my mind went to its familiar, pleasant blank. Riding had a way of shutting everything off except the essentials. It kept the bad shit at bay for as long as I was on top of the machine. I could control my bike much better than I could control anything else, so I rode as much as I could, even in the winter sunshine.
    Luckily my asshole brain somehow remembered how to get to Gabi's from here. I rolled through town, slowing at the crosswalks, looking to see if I saw any familiar faces. But I was just as anonymous here, in my purported hometown, as I was in the huge, unfeeling city of Philadelphia. I wasn't sure how that made me feel, so I decided to ignore it.
    This was just another place. I was just another guy, heading over to the apartment of just another girl.
    There was no sign of the silver hatchback on the street. I cursed under my breath. What the fuck was I going to do, wait around here all day? Who knew when she was going to come back?
    I looked up and down the street. Everyone was at work, all the self-respecting citizens of Lenape, New Jersey had abandoned their people-holders and headed somewhere else for work. The whole town seemed empty.
    I swung my leg over my bike, absently rubbing the stiffness from my bad leg. There were no eyes on me. I yanked the black watchcap from my