Free BLAZE by Jessica Coulter Smith Page B

he ever had kids, and his daughter even thought about stepping foot inside the clubhouse on a party night, he’d tan her ass then lock her in her room until she was sixty. Hell. Kids. Blaze didn’t even know what to do with a small person, but the thought of a grizzly cub didn’t exactly scare the shit out of him. Maybe he was getting too old for this shit, but his pa had been a member of the Steel Riders until his death at the age of fifty. Blaze had patched in at age seventeen and then taken off for the Navy for a few tours of duty before finally coming home where he belonged.
    Yeah, there’s a clue for you, genius. He died before he was even old enough to collect social security. Do you want to leave your kids fatherless too? He shook his head. Hell, he didn’t know any other way of life. Selling drugs, fixing bikes, stealing cars…he didn’t know how to do anything else. Sit in some stuffy office eight hours a day? Not likely.
    Re-up with the Navy? Hell, he was too old for that shit now. Who the hell would hire him in the civilian world? If his sheer size didn’t intimidate them, his full sleeves and tattooed chest probably would.
    Besides, getting into the brotherhood was a hell of a lot easier than getting out.
    They’d given him time off to serve his country, like he’d been led to do, but getting out permanently? No, if he was lucky enough to find a mate and have cubs, he’d just have to do his best to ensure the darker side of his life didn’t touch them. Fuck. He didn’t even know why he was thinking of this shit. There hadn’t been a steady girl in his life since high school, and even she had been using him. After he’d dumped that
    treacherous bitch, he’d decided it would be a different woman every night. Now he wondered if maybe he’d been wrong to follow that path.
    The door slammed shut behind him and boots trod across the porch. When Flash
    leaned against the rail next to him, Blaze gave him a nod.
    “What the fuck are you doing out here when the party is in there?” Flash asked, pointing toward the door.
    “I don’t know, man. Just didn’t feel like partying tonight.”
    “Must be some heavy shit on your mind if you’re giving up easy pussy and all
    the booze you can drink. But then, I’ve noticed lately that you aren’t your usual carefree self.”
    Blaze snorted. “Carefree?”
    “All right. Bad choice of phrase. But you have to admit, you haven’t been
    yourself lately. You know, if you’re having a problem, your brothers are ready to stand beside you.”
    “It’s not that kind of problem, but thanks. Nice to know you’d have my back.”
    Flash stared out into the darkness. “This have anything to do with Celia? She
    didn’t look too happy when she came back inside tonight.”
    “She’s decided she wants to be my old lady and I’m supposed to be grateful
    some skank wants to use me to climb the social ladder in the clubhouse. I’ve told her to leave me the fuck alone, but she doesn’t seem to be getting the message. I’m sorry I ever fucked her, and if I could take it back, I would.”
    “That your only problem with her?”
    “No one wants to hear what I have to say about Celia. The Pres blew me off and so did the VP. Far as they’re concerned, she’s just a party girl like the rest of them, ready to suck cock and bend over at the crook of a finger.”
    “But you think there’s more to her than that.”
    Blaze nodded. “I think she’s trying to steal from us, at the very least. I caught her in the Pres’ office snooping around and she gave me some bullshit story about trying to find the bathroom.”
    “I’ve been watching her lately, when she thinks no one is looking. There’s a
    coldness in her eyes, as if she’s plotting our destruction. I’ve wondered if a rival club didn’t send her in as a mole. I have to admit, she’s damn good at what she does. Could even be a pro.”
    Blaze regarded him. “Think she might be? Maybe her pimp sent her in to