Page 47 of Riding the Line (Steel Saints MC #1)

I headed towards Dalton on heavy feet. The motel rooms I passed were filled with children, sleeping or snacking or just huddled together for comfort.

They seemed to finally realize they were safe, but I knew they would never be the same.

I glanced in a few of the rooms, searching again for a familiar face.

But, unfortunately, I didn’t see any signs of the girls who had started this whole thing.

I made my way up the back stairs, not really sure what I would find. The hallway was dark, except for a sliver of light peeking out from underneath his door. I knocked, then pushed the door open. Dalton sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. “Hey, you. Thought you might need some company.”

His voice was quiet, rough. The charming, funny man I knew was hidden under a river of pain. A pain I felt as strongly as if it were my own.

“Not sure what I need right now.”

I walked over to him, and knelt between his knees. Reaching up, I held his face between my hands and coaxed him to look at me. “You’re not alone, Dalton. I’m here. It’s okay.”

“How could I not see it? Why didn’t we do something sooner?”

“Baby, those kinds of questions are only good for stirring up ghosts. They don’t do anything for the living. You survived. You took it back. And now you will rebuild.”

He leaned into my touch, just barely. A sort of surrender. Then he surged forward, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up. He turned us both around, laying me in the bed and hovering over me. I ran my hands down his back as he buried his face in my hair.

One last time, I told myself. He needed me just as much as I needed him.

One last time. I held him close to me, letting the silence fill all the places words couldn’t reach.

When he leaned back and his lips found mine, I kissed him eagerly.

At first, it was a desperate, aching need for each other.

But the desire soon heated the moment beyond something sweet.

When his tongue swept across my lips, I opened for him and wrapped my legs around his waist. He devoured the taste of me as I began to move, rubbing myself on the hardened length of him I could feel through his jeans.

He kissed a trail down my jaw and over my throat, before pausing at my collarbone.

He sat up, reaching for his shirt, but I stopped him, wanting to do it myself.

Words weren’t needed as I slowly peeled his shirt from his tanned skin, as if I could lift the weight from his shoulders with every button undone.

I ran my hands down his chest to the top of his pants, and unbuttoned those too.

When I moved to take my own clothes off, he grabbed my hands in one of his and leaned down to whisper in my ear, “My turn, baby girl.”

He undressed me carefully, his hands leaving hot trails of desire over every inch of my skin.

Throwing my pants to the side, he kissed my thigh and spread my legs with something akin to reverence.

Lowering his head, he blew softly across my exposed pussy, and I moaned at the sensation.

Looking up at me, he sucked my clit into his mouth and I bucked as pleasure ransacked my body.

His tongue lavished my most sensitive spot as his fingers spread my lips and swirled in the wetness he found there.

Making a deep, guttural sound of approval, Dalton finally broke eye contact as he devoted his full attention to eating me out like I was his last meal.

I bucked again, and he moved an arm across my hips to pin me in place. His tongue pushed inside of me, licking my inner walls, and the man tongue-fucked me until my legs shook.

“Dalton, oh my fucking God, baby…”

My eyes rolled back in my head when he gently nipped at my clit, sucking it back into his mouth and moving his fingers back inside of me.

He pushed another finger inside of me, stretching me deliciously, and looked up at me.

His eyes were hooded with desire, and I whimpered when he pushed a third finger into my pussy, and started stroking my G-spot.

“Such a good girl. Come for me, Vixen. I want to watch you shatter.”

His filthy words were always my undoing, and this time was no different. My whole body locked up, nearly lifting me off the bed as I came with a shout. The whole clubhouse must have heard me scream his name.

When I relaxed back into the pillows, he pulled his fingers out and held them to my lips.

Dutifully, I sucked them clean before he began playing with my tits.

His rubbing his calloused thumb over my nipple had the pink flesh completely erect, and I cried out again when he pinched it.

I ran my hands through his hair, guiding his lips closer to mine, needing to taste him.

Taste us. He kissed me with none of the ferocity he had shown my pussy, instead taking his time and savoring me.

With one quick, hard thrust, his cock was inside me and he swallowed the whimper that escaped me.

He pushed himself up over me, and I grabbed his hips as he fucked me.

He moved inside me like he was chasing something he’d lost long ago, and I met him with everything I had left.

It wasn’t about release—it was about remembering we were alive.

I felt another orgasm build inside me, a fire burning deep in me.

His eyes closed in ecstasy as he increased his pace even more.

We moved together like it was the only thing keeping us from unraveling.

He moved one hand to my sore, swollen clit again and tweaked it just right.

I shattered around him, and he yelled as he pumped his seed inside me.

The ride was a long one, and he collapsed on top of me.

When we had both made it back down to earth, he rolled so we were both on our sides.

I held him as the broken parts became whole. And, though he didn’t know it, he held me while the whole parts broke.

I twisted until I was on my back, reclined against the headrest. His head was on my lap, and I played with his hair.

Soon enough, he fell asleep—the exhaustion finally taking hold of him.

I watched him sleep until footsteps made me look up, and I found Mac quietly making his way towards us.

I smiled softly, and patted the bed next to me.

He took off his shirt, leaving it in his wake, and crawled into bed.

He pulled the rumpled blankets behind him as he lay down, and I helped him to cover me and his brother.

He lay back against the pillows, and tangled his legs with mine.

“You okay?” I whispered.

“Better now.”

One hand still wrapped in Dalton’s hair, I reached for Mac with my other. I began to hum softly, a song my mother had sung to me when I was young. Dalton began to snore softly, and eventually his brother fell asleep too.

I was tired, but my mind was racing too quickly to even consider rest. I stared at the ceiling, tears burning my eyes.

This was it. The mission was over. With what the boys had left behind, there was nothing left for me to bring to the table.

The good guys had won. Yet, here I was, feeling like I had lost not only the battle, but the war.

My cover, the story I had been living for a year—it was unraveling as they slept blissfully unaware.

Men I loved. Men I had betrayed. The tears ran fast down my face.

But I refused to make a sound, not risking waking them.

They needed the rest, needed peace. And when that call came, I would give that to them, even though it would sting at first. I would walk away, and leave this all behind.

I would pray they would find a way to forgive me, and that I would learn to forgive myself.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep and I blinked, trying to figure out what had woken me.

That’s when I registered the buzzing in my back pocket.

The boys stirred and, as gently as I could, I extracted myself from the bed before making my way to the hallway where I answered the call from an unknown number.

My hands were shaking, and I couldn’t deny the dread in my heart.

“Hello?”

“Hello, detective.”

“Lieutenant Hartwell?” I was surprised to hear my old boss’s voice on the other end of the line. He was not who I’d been expecting.

“It’s over, Katie. Time to come home.”

“Home… to South Carolina?”

“You did well, detective. The DiAngelos have been dismantled and, from what we have been told, several children have been rescued. DiAngelo trade deals are collapsing all over the country. It’s good work.”

“What about—” I cleared my throat, forcing myself to sound calm, “what about everyone here? The Steel Saints?”

“Say your goodbyes, but it’s time. Debriefing is eight a.m. Monday.”

“Copy.”

“See you then.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead, and I bit back a sob.

Almost blindly, I stumbled back into the bedroom and into Dalton’s bathroom.

Quietly shutting the door behind me, I turned to face the mirror.

Nicole Moore stared back at me. But Nicole was a lie.

And Katie… Katie had fallen in love. I sank down, letting the cold tile embrace me like an old friend.

I had been so stupid. I knew this day was coming.

I had told myself over and over again that developing feelings was a bad move.

But the heart wants what the heart wants.

And now it felt like mine was shattering all over the bathroom floor .

After an eternity, I came out of the bathroom and a voice said, “You okay, Vixen?”

I startled and looked over at Mac, who had woken up at some point.

I gave him a smile, hoping he couldn’t see my tear tracks in the dark.

“I’m fine, handsome. Go back to sleep. All my stuff is in your room, so I’m going to take a shower real quick.

Then I’ll be back.” I nearly choked on the words, but walked over to him and leaned down to give him a kiss. “I love you.”

He reached up, caressing my cheek. “I love you too, gorgeous.”

I practically ran out of the room. When I got to Mac’s, I headed straight for the nightstand where I knew he kept a notepad and pen.

I held the pen over the paper, at a complete loss for what to even say.

What words could possibly convey the sorrow I felt, and how much I loved them.

My tears fell faster, splattering on the paper.

The scratch of pen on paper was the only sound I could hear in the still of quickly approaching night.

I had no need for any of the clothes here, so I didn’t bother to grab them.

On my way out of the room, I stopped and stared at the picture of Mac, Dalton, and me with our bikes.

I bit my lip and, before I could change my mind, took the picture from the frame and tucked it into my pocket.

One last glance behind me and, fully aware I was taking the coward’s way out, I headed to what had once been my home.

On top of Mac’s dresser was the tear-stained paper I had left behind.

The only words written were a desperate plea.

“Please forgive me.”

I stood in the doorway for one final heartbeat, breathing in the smell of motor oil and cologne—everything I loved was in this room. And everything I could no longer have.

I tried to turn off every thought as I walked past members of the club.

People, good people, I had come to know and care for like family over the past year.

If they sensed something was wrong, they didn’t say anything.

Rodney asked me if I wanted a drink, to celebrate the new leadership.

I couldn’t even say no—I just pretended like I hadn’t heard him.

I found my Triumph where I had left it. Breaking every speed limit, I headed to the cute little house I had made my home.

Every memory hit like a knife the second I crossed the threshold.

I pried the loose board in the back of the closet away from the others to get my passport, secondary phone, and spare cash out.

I had more than enough for a ticket home.

I shoved it all into a bag and used the phone Dalton had given me to order an Uber to the airport.

Katie didn’t ride motorcycles.

When I threw the phone on the bed, my eyes landed on the giant stuffed fox, and I froze.

Shaking my head, tears yet again blurring my eyes, I forced myself to turn away.

But I stopped by the mall strip picture sitting on my dresser.

Sandwiched between Maria and Holly, my happy and carefree smile wasn’t fake.

I tucked that next to the other picture in my pocket.

In the back of the Uber, I texted a number I knew by heart, and hoped she wouldn’t hate me too much.

Shelly, my former best friend and old partner.

I wasn’t really sure what—if anything—they’d told her, but I knew when I got back to South Carolina, I was going to need a friend, not to mention a ride.

After a brief back and forth, her insisting I prove I was who I said I was, she readily agreed to meet me there.

“Girl, I have so much to tell you! Right after I beat the shit out of you for just pulling some Oompa Loompa shit.”

Shelly’s metaphors had never made sense, but the chuckle that escaped me was a raspy surprise.

“I’ll see you soon.”

She sent back a flurry of emojis, and I steeled myself for the beginning of the end.