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“Okay.” Brett clapped his hands, and I turned to him. “All staff will start making food and drink for the rescue and fire parties. Sandwiches, subs and bottled water. Chips and energy bars. We have an emergency stockpile in the cellar. The items there need bringing up. Kenny, you usually stock take those; you’re in charge of that. Alice and Bunny, you’re with me preparing sandwiches and subs. Everyone else is with Kenny moving supplies.”
“We’ll require vats of coffee,” Magic spoke as people began moving outside and organising themselves.
“I can do that,” a voice said. I turned to spot Silvie from Rage MC standing behind me.
“Yeah, me too,” Clio from Hellfire MC chipped in.
“Good. Make loads of tea and coffee and move them outside. Get a man to carry them as they’ll be heavy, and I don’t want you burning yourselves. We have disposable cups in the cellar. Kenny will bring them up along with long life cream and sugar sachets. We’re going to get hundreds of people up here, so let’s get shit sorted for when they arrive. Yo, Shane, I’ve got thermal flasks in the cellar. Can you organise a few guys to fetch them?” Magic called. Shane from Fallen Warriors nodded and grabbed a couple of his brothers as I followed Brett into the kitchen.
“How come Magic has all this stuff?” I inquired.
“This isn’t the first time the bar’s been used as a staging area. Happens at least twice a year, so we keep a load of stock in the cellars. The bread and subs are frozen, and we use them when needed. We use them in the bar and re-stock with fresh if they get near their use-by date,” Brett replied.
“Okay, what food do we put in these packs?” I asked.
“Either two subs or two sandwiches. Add fruit or small salad, a bag of chips, two energy bars and one of those prepacked muffins. Place four bottles of water with each pack-up,” Brett ordered.
“We’ll run out of produce and salad,” I said, glancing at the piles.
“No, I called Tati at Hellfire. She’s gone to grab extras. This isn’t our first time, and we have a phone tree when we need help,” Brett replied.
“Okay, let’s get preparing packs. Do we require extra for the firefighters already on the ground?” I asked.
“Yes, just keep making them. None will go to waste. Each volunteer will carry the extra food out to those on site. Here comes the first load,” Brett said as we heard cars and bikes arriving. Pretty soon, we listened to a bullhorn shouting orders and further people arriving. Alice and I carried the finished food packages to a table in the shade and began placing them there. There were loads of bodies in the parking lot, and I saw many bikers who’d answered the call to aid.
“Hey, you okay?” Dakota shoved his way through the crowds and reached for me. I burrowed into his arms, and Dakota hugged me tightly.
“Which team are you on?” I asked. No point asking if he was on a team; of course, Dakota would be.
“Firefighting. Hellfire is trained in both, but containing the fire is more important for now. The boy could be running straight into it or racing from it. There’s enough volunteers for the search and rescue. Hellfire isn’t needed there. We are required for the inferno flaring up.”
“Dakota, are you going to be okay? It’s fire,” I whispered, and he nodded his head.
“Bunny, I deal with firebreaks, not the fire. I can’t handle fire, but I’m usually too far away to manage them. If I get too stressed, I remove myself, but it would be worse for me to be on the search and rescue because the blaze is gaining traction. But I need to be out there, and I won’t be alone, Bunny,” Dakota soothed.
“Please be careful,” I begged, and Dakota dropped a kiss on my head.
“Not my first rodeo, baby,” Dakota promised and jogged to Chance’s side as he was called. I vaguely noted they were dressed in firefighter uniforms, and they were mounting trucks to move out.
“Bunny, come on; we need to finish food packs. They’ll start going down quickly,” Alice said, and I hurried back to the kitchen. An hour later, my hands ached from making so many sandwiches and packing them up, but Brett finally called for a break. Tati, Silvie, and Clio had joined us in preparing the pack-ups, so we’d got ahead of ourselves.
“Here, take this tray, girls, and grab a coffee,” Brett ordered and shoved a platter into my palms.
“Are you coming?” I asked. Brett nodded.
“In a few, I’m phoning Phoenix and placing another order for food. She’ll get someone to bring it up,” Brett said, and we left the kitchen. We sank onto a bench and placed the meal on the table. Approximately twenty men were milling around, and Axel from Rage and Big Al came over. Big Al dropped a kiss on Tati’s head before sneaking a sandwich.
“Any news?” Tati asked as Axel lumbered away and brought us coffees.
“None, the fire is still moving, and the wind has changed direction. A bunch of hotshots were caught off guard, but they’re safe. Hellfire and another team are digging firebreaks, but the wind is blowing it towards the bar.” I swallowed hard; the smoke had become thicker, but there were several hills between us and it.
“Will we have to evacuate?” I asked Big Al, worried.
“Never know, girl. But Axel and I are to get you women to safety. We drove trucks, not bikes, as did most of Hellfire. Our priority is you, so don’t you fret about it,” Big Al tried reassuring me. I dreaded the thought of leaving the bar. It had become home, and I knew Magic had poured heart and soul into it. Then my mind turned to what I had hidden in my bedroom, and I gulped audibly.
“Bunny?” Big Al asked gently.
“Can I speak to you upstairs?” I whispered, and Big Al sent me a concerned gaze before offering a sharp nod. Tati shot us a curious glance but said nothing as I led Big Al into the bar.
