Iron Read Online Free PDF Page B

I can see it.”
    “What does it matter to you?” He pushes against the screen and knocks me back as he opens it. As I’m recovering my balance, he exits his house and raises a gun. He points it at me. “Get the fuck outta here.”
    I stare hard at him. “You don’t have the guts to pull that trigger. You’re weak. Leaving your crew — no — your brothers behind like that. Might as well have killed all of us, Surge included.”
    “Fuck Surge, stop talking about him like he matters. He’s just an old man with old dreams. Like I was ever anything but a disappointment to him. All he’s done is make my life shit.” He shakes the gun and pushes the tip of the barrel closer to me. “Bomb. Leave.” I stand my ground, and he throws his arm around and hits me in the face with the butt of his gun. I groan and push forward, knocking him down onto his ass. I raise my fist to pound his face in, but he shakes his head and jams the gun into my gut.
    I raise my hands up and climb to my feet and step back slowly. For a moment, I almost feel sorry for him. When Surge told me he was disappointed in me, it cut me deep. Deeper than I’d ever been cut before. As I reach the bottom of the steps, I turn away and hurry back to my motorcycle, rounding the corner and dipping out of sight from Rifle. I start the bike up and coast into sight again, straining my eyes on Rifle. His gun is still trained on me, but his arm is slackened, his determination faded. I shake my head and ride away, blasting my engine harder than I have in a long time.
    I don’t know what I expected. That he’d agree with me? He never liked me in the first place. I never liked him, either.
    . . .
    Rifle might know about Cassie being at the bar, but I doubt he’ll do anything about it. If he really wanted to get revenge on me for Rattlesnake, if he even knows about him, he would have done it right there. It’s been less than 24 hours since it happened, so he might not have found out yet. At least I didn’t spill my guts about that little fact.
    I walk into the bar and find Cassie straddling a chair in reverse and facing the pool table. Each of the men have cards in their hands and she’s dealing them out.
    “Poker?” I ask. The men nod, and Cassie smiles, still dealing cards out.
    “I can’t believe you guys don’t ever play poker. Isn’t that like... what all biker gangs do?”
    “I don’t know what clubs you’re talking about, lady,” Sword laughs. “Maybe some TV show?”
    She blushes and looks up at me. She beams, but her smile fades and her face grows pale when she sees the huge bruise on my face.
    “What the hell happened to you?”
    “Long story. But we don’t have time for poker. We need to go back to my place.” The men look at me with disappointment.
    “She can stay here longer, ya know,” Petrol says. “We just started this hand.”
    “No. He’s right,” Surge says, his voice commanding over the others. “He needs to leave and so does she. I have a feeling...”
    “What’s that?” I ask.
    “You just saw Rifle, didn’t you?” He points at my face. “He punched you or something.”
    “I needed to talk to him.”
    “Did you leave him in a body bag?” Driver asks, sounding sincere.
    I ignore his comment and look at Cassie. “We have to go.”
    She nods and drops her cards on the table. The room is silent as she stands up, her chair scraping the floor as it moves a little. She pushes away from the table and grabs my arm as we walk back out of the bar.
    “Wait, Bomb,” Surge calls after me. “Leave your vest.”
    “No,” I answer. “I won’t. But don’t worry, I won’t let you guys get in any more trouble. This shit is between me and Skeletons after all...”
    Surge doesn’t answer, and the front door creaks open as Cassie and I depart. I don’t know what else to say, but I need my vest. It’s important. When we reach my motorcycle, I stare at its painted gas tank for a while. Red and black, the same colors as my