Page 35

Chapter thirty-five

My thoughts are heavy when I wake up in the morning.

Seeing the damage they did to Steel weighs on me because I know he wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for me bringing this damn mess to him in the first place. I wasn’t lying when I told him there were other avenues I could have used to pursue this shit with Killer. Granted, he was also right when he said those connections wouldn’t know Killer half as well as the club does.

He could have easily lost his spot with them last night. If they didn’t love him as much as they do, or if they’d viewed his actions as a big betrayal to the club, it could have gone a lot worse than him just getting his ass beat. Thankfully, they decided against stripping him of his rank. That would have caused him greater pain than his physical injuries do.

Steel is sleeping peacefully, so I decide not to disturb him. He needs as much rest as possible until we have to go to the clubhouse today.

He mentioned to me last night before he fell asleep that Wraith wants us to come in, and that I need to bring the film canister with us. I agreed with him this time because there’s no way it’s worth something happening to him, Lyric, or me. He trusts his club, so it’s past time that I put my trust in them too.

I just hope the film is still secure in the hiding spot I’d found for it when Killer was chasing after me. If it’s not, we’re screwed, and I’m terrified to find out what that’ll mean for me and Steel.

Before heading into the kitchen to get started on breakfast, I creep over to Lyric’s room. She had such a rough night, and I need her to be okay. The amount of pain and anger that kid had inside her terrified the crap out of me. It’s not an amount that is healthy for someone her age.

I wonder how Steel would react if I mentioned therapy for her. I think it’d be something that could help her work through these huge feelings she’s burdened with. There are only so many times I can take her outside to scream her heart out until even that’s not enough. She’s going to need help beyond what either of us can give her.

As much as it scares me to bring it up to him for fear of stepping out of my place, I know that I’ll do it with only her best interest at heart.

When I quietly push the door open, Lyric is spread across her bed, her arms and legs extending in different directions.

The poor girl slept hard and couldn’t get comfortable.

Usually, she stays tucked into the burrito she has us roll her into.

Not wanting to wake her, I watch her chest rise and fall in gentle waves before backing out of the room and shutting the door behind me.

I’m not sure what I want to make for breakfast until I make it into the kitchen and open the fridge to scan the supplies inside. Looks like we’re doing western-style omelets, hashbrowns, toast, and a side of bacon this morning.

The time passes faster than I anticipated as I lose myself in the process of blending ingredients, dicing vegetables, and tossing bacon onto the griddle. It’s easy stuff that doesn’t need much concentration, so I work on getting a pot of coffee going for me and Steel. Grabbing some oranges from the pantry, I squeeze Lyric some fresh orange juice too.

My thoughts drift back to when Steel told me that Heather messaged him. I’d be lying to myself if I said it doesn’t have me concerned. Everything about that woman concerns me, but I keep my mouth shut about it because I don’t feel like it’s my place. I’m so worried I’m going to do something to overstep where I’m welcomed and it’ll cost me Lyric. Losing any time with her would devastate me, and that in itself is terrifying. Not only do I worry about losing Steel, but now I’ve got another person who has managed to crawl into my heart and take up residence. That means double the pain when something happens between me and Steel.

I don’t want to believe it will, but when it comes to him, I’m sort of a pessimist. He doesn’t exactly have the best track record with me. Hell, with Heather either. So, while I may not let him know it or show it to anyone else, that fear resides in me.

What will be left of me when I have neither of them in my life any longer?

It’s not a future I want to imagine.

That future is desolate and devoid of any happiness.

There’s always been something about Heather that I don’t trust. Shoot, even before I met her, she had my hackles rising. I’d chalked it up to me being jealous because she had Steel and his kid, but the longer I’m around Lyric, the more I realize maybe it’s been my intuition telling me something I need to hear.

She’s not a good person. Not just for what she did with her daughter in the room, but because of what she did to Steel. He may eventually let it go, but the feeling of being violated will never go away when he thinks back on it. I hope for his sake and the sake of his future relationships that he doesn’t think about it often. With time, he’ll heal from it, despite him not believing he has anything he needs to heal from, because I’ll fight like hell to make sure he does.

Arms snake around me, and I squeal. The bacon grease pops at the same time and lands on my hand, setting my skin on fire.

“Dammit, woman.”

I turn and smack him in the arm with the spatula. “Don’t you ‘dammit woman’ me, Jericho. You’re the bright one who decided to sneak up on me while I was cooking. How the hell did I not hear you coming anyway?”

“Didn’t want you to.”

“Well, that was dangerous,” I huff, hiding the smile that wants to be set free at the thought of him wanting to give me morning cuddles.

“I live dangerously, baby girl,” he says.

“Don’t remind me,” I tease, letting out another squeal when he nips at the side of my neck.

“Ought to bend you over this counter and fuck that pretty pussy of yours until she’s weepin’ for me.”

A shiver of desire dances over my body. “As delightful as that sounds, breakfast will burn, and we have a little girl who will be bouncing into this room before long to see if her favorite person is here.”

“Knows I usually am when she’s here.”

“Oh, I was talking about me.”

“You’re her favorite person now? When the hell did that happen?”

He sounds so put out that a laugh bursts from the middle of my chest, and I turn back around so I can see him again. “It’s okay, bossman. You have to come in second some time or another.”

Steel scowls so fiercely at me, and I break out into a fit of giggles again. “The hell?”

“Let’s see . . . I scream with her, I paint her nails, I let her paint mine. She gets to do my hair and put makeup on me. I teach her to cook. What about you?”

“Looks like I’m gettin’ my nails painted today,” he mutters, looking down at his bruised and swollen hands and curling his top lip.

Lyric comes stumbling into the kitchen rubbing at her eyes. It takes her a minute to realize who is in here, and when she does, I watch with a full heart as she screams her daddy’s name before taking off running to him. Her eyes widen too late when she catches on to his appearance, and she tries skidding to a stop. Unfortunately, she’s got footed pajamas on and ends up barreling into him.

Steel lets out a sharp grunt before he falls into the counter with a deep wince.

I twist my fingers together to keep from reaching out to check on him, because from the way he holds her tight and buries his face into the hair on the top of her head, I know he doesn’t want anything to take his time away from her. Instead of reaching out, I lock my worries down and satisfy myself with watching them.

There’s no doubting the love those two share for each other. Their father-daughter bond is strong, and I hope he knows I was only teasing him about being her favorite. I could tell his thoughts were starting to turn inward, and I wanted to do something to pull him out of his head. Sex would usually work, but not when we have a six-year-old in the house or when he’s struggling to stand because he’s been beaten, which means settling for something PG.

Lyric finally pulls out of his arms and folds hers over her chest as she surveys him with critical eyes. Her toes start tapping, and I have to turn my head to the side and scrub a hand across my mouth to hide the smirk that wants to break free.

“Who did this to you?” she asks.

“The club did, Princess.”

Lyric gasps, her eyes widening a fraction before narrowing again. “Did they have a reason to?”

“You know they wouldn’t if they didn’t, Lyric,” Steel says.

“Did you at least hit them back?” Lyric demands.

Steel chuckles. “Bloodthirsty, yeah? Of course, I did. For the most part.”

She nods. “Good.” Then she turns to me. “Hiya, Bee.”

“Hey, pretty girl. Are you ready for some breakfast?”

Lyric pecks her dad on the cheek before skipping over to me. “What are we having?”

I’m so glad to see her in a better mood this morning than she was last night. That version of her scared the crap out of me.

“Western-style omelets, hashbrowns, bacon, and a side of toast. Does that sound okay, or do you want something else?”

“Sounds super yummy,” she declares, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I turn the stovetop off before hugging her back. “It does sound super yummy. Why don’t you go have a seat beside your dad and I’ll get the plates ready.”

“‘Kay. Love you.”

Man, those words from her will always warm my heart. They’re words I never thought I’d hear from her. Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d be here right now. Not after the way the past was left between us. But no matter what happens from here on out, I’ll never find it in me to regret this time with Steel because being with him this time brought Lyric into my life.

“Love you too, little bit.”

Grabbing the plates from the cabinet, I fill them full with food, smiling as they banter back and forth.

These two are mine.

Mine.

And I’ll do whatever the hell I have to in order to make sure they’re always safe.

Lyric and Steel dive into their plates as soon as I set them down in front of them.

“Princess, you need to paint my nails,” Steel says abruptly.

When I glance at him, he has a little pout hiding behind his beard and mustache. I snicker, bringing a forkful of food to my mouth.

“Really?” Lyric questions, bouncing in her seat.

“You don’t ever ask me,” he pouts, and I have to hide my smile behind a bite of food again.

“Daddy, will you let me paint your nails?” she asks sweetly, batting her lashes.

Steel shrugs like he didn’t just get his way. “I guess.”

Lyric turns to me with a smile. “What color do you think?”

“Hmm.” I tap the handle of my fork against my chin. “I think something super bright would look fantastic on him, what do you think?”

“Oh! I have that really, really bright pink.”

“Perfect. After breakfast,” I finish when she lifts from her chair.

Lyric sticks her bottom lip out, dropping back into her seat, and I toss a wadded-up napkin at her. “Don’t you stick that lip out at me, little bit. Nutrition first, then you can beautify your dad.”

“Oh, all right.”

“That’s my girl,” I reply with a wink, shoving the last bite into my mouth.

Lyric hurries through her breakfast and then jumps from the seat with a happy laugh.

As soon as she’s out of sight, Steel glares at me playfully. “Neon pink? Really?”

I laugh and lift a shoulder before climbing to my feet to clean up the kitchen. “You’re the one who fell for the bullshit I spit out when I was trying to distract you. Do you really think we’d ever compete with each other? Besides, you’ll look perfect sporting bright pink.”

Steel comes up behind me and grabs the back of my neck in a gentle hold, guiding me around until I’m facing him. “You’re trouble.”

“Well, yeah, you already knew that,” I reply, scrunching up my nose and lifting to my toes to brush my lips across his.

I go to pull away, but he tightens his hold, sliding his tongue in to meet mine. Our tongues dance together to a song that’s slowly becoming my favorite. Steel knows how to fucking kiss, that much is for sure. He takes his time, building the heat between us until I’m left a complete mess and needing more.

There’s something so intoxicating about this man, and I want to crawl inside him to stay forever.

Thankfully, he doesn’t let us get too carried away considering bare feet are smacking against the hardwood floor as Lyric comes barreling back toward us.

Steel pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. I close my eyes, savoring the feel of him against me and soaking in the way he holds me so gently, as if I’m the most precious thing to him.

“Guys.”

We laugh and pull apart after another quick kiss.

Despite the whine in her voice, Lyric stares at us with a huge smile and happy, sparkling eyes.

They get settled at the kitchen table to paint his nails, and I finish cleaning up the kitchen while listening to them laugh and tease each other. I check over at the progress occasionally, worried about whether Steel is going to wear it or not, but he surprises me when I find his shoulders loose and his face full of love and laughter. I don’t know why I was concerned because that man will do anything his daughter wants.

Even sport bright pink nail polish like it’s an everyday occurrence.

I finish cleaning up before they get done because they can’t seem to stop goofing off, so I take a seat at the table and enjoy watching them together.

After painting his pinky, she puts the cap on the polish with a flourish. “Now, blow on them, Daddy.”

Steel lifts his hands to his face and sends puffs of air over his pink nails before testing them to make sure they’re dry. Then he holds them up next to his face and bats the lashes of his puffy eyes at me and Lyric. “What do you think? Does it clash with the color of my eyes?”

Lyric falls back in her seat with a mouthful of giggles. “So pretty, Daddy.”

“I agree. Pink is definitely your color, bossman.”

He glances back at Lyric. “Thank you, Princess.”

She climbs from her chair, grabs her polish, and steps toward him. She pats his cheek gently. “Anytime you want to look pretty, you come find me, Daddy. I’ll fix you up quick.”

When she skips out of the room singing one of her favorite songs, he just watches her with a face full of love until she’s out of sight, then he turns to me.

“You two are handfuls.”

“Would you really have us any other way?” I ask with a wink.

“Fuck no.” He sighs. “Guess we need to get dressed. Gotta get her to my parents’ and then we got shit to do.”

Just the reminder of what we have to do today has my jovial mood dropping.

Right.

The film and facing the club.

Sounds like so much fun.

Steel reads my pensive mood because he grabs me by the hips when I go to move out of the kitchen and pulls me in between his thighs. “Shit’s good, baby girl. We’ll handle Killer now that the club knows why he’s been after us. Told you I got you. Meant it.”

“I know. I’m just ready for this all to be over with.”

“Soon.”

“Hopefully,” I murmur, not liking the dread that’s building in my gut.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Dark clouds are rolling in, warning of the impending danger that’s soon to be heading our way. They’re ominous and full of malicious intent, seeking their next targets.

Mother Nature is giving us a preview of what’s to come, and it scares the hell out of me.