Page 20 of Riding the Line (Steel Saints MC #1)

Dalton walked me to the door of my apartment on Sunday night. We lingered there, neither of us eager to end the magic of the weekend.

“Thank you for this weekend, Dalton. I’ll never forget it.”

No matter what happened—even when I returned to Charleston, even when they would come to hate me—I would cherish these moments.

The stabbing sadness in my heart must have been evident on my face because his brow furrowed. “We’ll do it again, Vixen. I promise. Whenever you want, just say the word.”

I smiled at him, and he cupped my cheek. If only that were the reason for the hurt, if only he could make it go away so easily. He kissed me softly, and I couldn’t help but lean into his touch. I had become truly addicted to the taste of him.

I jumped about ten feet in the air when my door swung violently open, and he moved in front of me protectively. But it was just Holly and Maria, whooping like a couple of children.

“It’s about damn time, really. I was starting to wonder if you were ever gonna make a move. Slacker,” Holly said, shoulder-bumped Dalton.

He protested, “She sets bikes on fire. I wasn’t about to make another unwanted pass at the pretty, crazy lady.”

I feigned innocence. “Hey, I’m right here, you know!”

He winked at me, and Maria stepped into the hallway, a glass of wine in one hand, and with the other, shooed him towards the elevator. “Go on, move it. I need some tea to go with this Chardonnay.”

He shook his head and, with one final kiss, headed for the elevator. I sighed when he disappeared from sight, and Holly pulled me into my apartment. “Girl, you are pistol-whipped! ”

I took the glass of wine she offered as she sipped on her own. “Y’all, now isn’t really the time for a powwow. I’m tired! Plus, it’s almost seven at night!”

Maria curled up on my couch while Holly claimed the single armchair. Patting the empty seat next to her, Maria smiled at me. “ Hermana , I done ordered us a couple of pizzas. Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve had some in-house romance? You will not deprive me of this.”

I groaned. “Pizza?”

My resolve began to crumble, and Holly’s keen eyes zoned in like a bird of prey. “Pizza… supreme, add pineapple, stuffed crust.” She wiggled her fingers at me, and I plopped dramatically on the couch next to Maria, almost spilling my wine. They had ordered my favorite, the extortionists.

“I hope it gets here soon.”

Maria squealed and leaned towards me. “Girl, spill. Where have you even been?”

I held up my hands. “Hold up, if I spill, you guys gotta do the same.” I still had a job to do—I had to remember that. Part of me was feeling like I had a lot to make up for after the events of the weekend.

Holly raised an eyebrow. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything. Why isn’t Mac in charge? Where does Greyson run off to? Who the Saints are, who they want to be. I want to know everything about…”

I hesitated, and Maria placed an encouraging hand on my knee. “Tell us, hermana .”

I looked up at her, fighting the tears that suddenly came to my eyes. “I want to know everything about the men I think I may be falling for,” I whispered.

Maria placed her glass on the coffee table, and threw her arms around me. “It’s overdue. We’ll tell you everything we know—since those boys are taking their sweet time about it. ”

Holly crossed her legs, settling further into the armchair. “And that’s a lot of shit too. Good thing we ordered two pizzas.”

I grabbed the afghan off the back of the couch, and wrapped myself in it.

I truly did want to know more about Dalton and Mac.

After the weekend, I knew my feelings for Dalton went way past friends with benefits.

As for Mac, I really thought there could be something there.

However, I wasn’t completely honest about my reasons for wanting this information.

And embarking on this latest betrayal against the two women I had grown to love like sisters made me feel like absolute trash—the lowest of the low.

“So what do you want to know first?”

“Mm, I dunno. Maybe why Mac isn’t in charge when he clearly should be? Greyson is an ass, he’s never there, yet he wears the pres patch?”

Holly and Maria exchanged a glance before Maria said, “Girl, now that’s a story.

See, Mac and Dalton’s old man was the president.

Which should’ve made Mac next in line. But remember when we said their mom passed away?

Afterwards, their dad just… checked out, you know?

He stayed home. Barely ate, drank himself stupid.

It wasn’t Hannah’s time. She was the glue that held everyone together.

She didn’t take crap from anyone, and her boys adored her. ”

I hadn’t read much about their mom, and curiosity got the better of me. “How did she die?”

Holly looked down, but not before I saw the tear slide down her cheek.

“It was two years ago. Jackson and I had just moved in together. She was shopping for a housewarming gift—for me of all people—and someone gunned her down. We never did find out who.” She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“She didn’t deserve that. I mean, no one does, but certainly not Hannah.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but she was like a mom to me. ”

My heart broke for the two men who had their mother stolen from them, and broke even more when I realized they might as well have lost two parents that day from what I’d heard.

“Wait, so Greyson just stepped in after she died?”

Maria shook her head. “Not quite. Like I said, their dad wasn’t able to move on.

So, Mac stepped in for a time. Greyson was just a member of the Saints at that point.

No one really liked him, but we all tolerated him ‘cos he and Mr. Mills grew up together. One day, Mac took him and a few other Saints on a supply run. Diego and Jackson were there. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from the hospital.

There had been a gunfight. I had never been so scared in my life.

I was pregnant with Diego Jr. at the time.

When I got to the hospital, the place was swarming with cops.

Jackson was in surgery but doing okay, and I found Diego pacing outside Mac’s room with his arm in a sling.

Mac was in a coma, and they weren’t sure when—or if—he would wake up. ”

The thought of Mac hurt made it harder to breathe than I cared to admit. To hide the tremor in my hand, I took a sip of wine.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Holly got up to get our pizzas. Maria was quiet, seemingly lost in her memories, but when Holly got back we all grabbed a slice, forgoing plates. After a few moments, she continued.

“Greyson was there, too. He had taken a bullet to the shoulder, and another went through his side. But, somehow, he made all the cops and questions just poof .” She mimed that last word with her hands, and took a sip of wine.

“Next thing we knew, he was giving orders while Mac was in that coma. The Saints… well, let’s just say I begged Diego to leave after a few months under Greyson’s charge.

He started messing around with this one guy, Alexander DiAngelo.

I met the guy once—an absolute douche, and he scared the shit out of me. ”

“But Mac woke up, what, about six months ago, right? Why didn’t he take the reins back?” That was another piece of the puzzle that the file I had been given didn’t cover.

Holly grabbed another piece of pizza and said, “Trust me, we would all like to know.”

Maria was quiet again, and I glanced at her. She seemed determined to look anywhere but at me or Holly all of a sudden.

Holly noticed, too. “You know, don’t you? You know why. Figures—you’ve been mixed in with this group a lot longer than I have.”

Maria shook her head vehemently and bit her lip. “I’m really not supposed to say.”

Holly threw a piece of crust at her head. “Girl, we’re your bestie! Isn’t that right, Nicky?”

I made a general sound of agreement around a mouthful of food.

Maria sighed. “Fine. But you didn’t hear this from me. I only know ‘cos Diego is shit with secrets when he’s had tequila.”

Holly winked and said, “Pinky promise,” holding up her pinky finger. I followed suit.

“Well, supposedly, Dalton was there that night, too. I mean, wherever Mac went, Dalton followed. Greyson evidently pulled Mac out of the line of fire when he got hit, and saved Dalton too. They owe him a life debt. So, Greyson cashed in. Mac and Dalton could basically do whatever they wanted, as long as it didn’t interfere with Greyson’s business with the DiAngelo family. And he got to keep the pres patch.”

Holly said, “That’s some low, dirty shit. I knew I didn’t like that fucker. I’ll just add it to my list of reasons.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, head spinning with everything I had learned. It made sense. I wondered how much it must kill Mac and Dalton inside. The club they grew up in, the club their dad ran, handed over to a slimebag of a man all because he was in the right place at the right time…

“That’s a lot of shit for a girl to process. ”

Holly held up the empty wine bottle. “More wine?”

I checked the time on my phone, and was surprised to see we had been talking for almost two hours. “I’m tired, y’all, it’s been a long weekend. Without much sleep.” I winked at my friends, who groaned.

Maria said, “Now wait a damn minute, I spilled all the tea, but you didn’t even give us a drop.”

I all but dragged them to the door, but couldn’t not give them anything in return.

“Dalton took me to their cabin out by Lake Sinclair. The man is… very talented with his hands, tongue, and other appendages. We swam in the lake, went to the bedroom, ate some food, went to the bedroom, he demolished me in a game of Scrabble, then we went to the bedroom. You get the drift.”

Maria and Holly groaned again, but I insisted I needed sleep. God’s honest truth, I was exhausted. I hugged them both goodbye, but as I went to shut the door, Holly stopped me.