Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

“I wasn’t going to be on my own. I was going to be at Nuts & Bolts.”

“Not enough people and Mammoth gets busy. I know Tamara can kick some serious ass, but even she has her limits. And would you really want to put them in danger for no reason?” Gigi asks Opal.

Opal hangs her head, kicking the toe of her shoe against the tile. “I didn’t think of it that way, but now you’re all at risk.”

“There’s no better place for you to be,” Gigi says, looking around the room. “You have a lot of people who’ve been through a lot of shit and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty.”

“I guess.” Opal straightens her back, letting out another loud exhale.

“If you want,” Gigi says, looking toward the back of the shop, “you can set up in the office to have a little more privacy.”

“No,” I snap. “Here’s fine.”

“I’d love to work in the office,” Opal says, overriding my decision because of Gigi’s idea.

“Fuck,” I growl. “The office will work, but keep the door open.”

Opal’s face changes. “Thank you,” she whispers before popping up on her toes to kiss my cheek.

I lean over, giving her full access to my face. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“You’re a pain in the ass,” she murmurs against my skin.

“I’m just trying to keep us alive.”

“I’m not looking to die anytime soon.” Her hand finds my bicep, and she digs her fingers into my muscle. “We have things to do together.”

I raise an eyebrow as I gaze down at her. “Dirty things?”

“Is there anything else?” Opal says with a laugh. “All the things.”

“Anal?” I ask, but I know the answer already.

“Never,” she replies.

“People can hear you,” Gigi chimes in before making a gagging sound. “So gross.”

Opal’s face lights up. “I love your family.”

“We love you too,” Gigi tells her.

“I second that,” Rebel says, popping her head into the back area.

“They’re so nosy, though,” I tell Opal.

“And bossy…like you.” Opal smiles at me as she moves toward her laptop, snatching it up and heading to the office without a second glance.

“Lay off a bit. Give her a little space,” Gigi tells me.

“Don’t do that,” Pike says. “Shit’s too dangerous right now. We’ve been there, done that.”

“Come on,” Gigi grumbles. “You’re all overreacting.”

“Darlin’,” Pike drawls, leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed and calm, “We’ve been in their shoes. There’s no such thing as overreacting. They let their guard down, and they could end up dead.”

“You’re overdramatic,” Gigi says to him, shaking her head to herself.

“I’m taking no chances,” I tell them as I sit down at my station and start prepping for my first appointment. “In a few days, if he does nothing, I’ll dial it back.”

“Revenge doesn’t have a timeline. Don’t get too comfortable.”

“Am I supposed to look over my shoulder forever?”

Pike shrugs. “Maybe, man. As long as he’s out walking the streets, he’ll always be a threat.”

“Maybe he was just shit-talking. Maybe now that he’s free, he’ll drop whatever beef he has against me and move on with his life.”

Gigi stands and stretches, pressing her fingers into her back. “Oh yeah. I’m sure he’ll forget you and become an upstanding member of the community. He won’t look at you like you stole his girl.”

“I didn’t steal his girl.”

“Whatever you say, bud. The way he sees it and reality are probably two very different things. A man who thinks clearly doesn’t put a tracking device in a person’s car. Don’t think rationally,” she says. “You need to lean into the irrational.”

“You think Stone has ever thought rationally?” Lily adds as she walks into the back to grab something out of a cabinet.

“I’ve always used my head.”

“Oh please. The wrong one, maybe,” Lily teases, riffling through the cabinet. “Got it.” She pulls out a box, holding it up like we’re about to clap, but no one does.

“I’m trying to do better…be better.”

Lily ruffles my hair as she stalks by, heading to the piercing room. “And I’m proud of you, too.”

“It’s like you’re growing up before our very eyes,” Gigi teases me.

I lift both hands in the air, giving my middle fingers to everyone. I know they’re joking, but it’s at my expense.

“You’re super touchy lately. You on the rag?” Pike asks, adding on to the bullshit from the women in the shop.

“Yeah, brother. I think we’re in sync.”

He laughs as he turns his back to me, going back to work. The day is only beginning, but I can already tell it’s going to be a long one.

“Stone,” Rebel calls from the front, “you have a visitor.”

“Ooh,” everyone in the back says, being assholes.