Page 46

Chapter forty-six

It took me long enough to realize Bailee has been avoiding me today. I don’t know why, and as much as I want to find out, I just don’t have the time to focus on it right now. If something is wrong, I have to trust that she’ll let me know.

She went back to work yesterday at Sinful Saloon, and she’s been working on taking pics of the club and shit. Something to do with setting up websites.

As long as she stays safe and it keeps her mind busy, I’m good with it.

Shit is still crazy around the club after Hendrick and Sage were taken right out from under our noses recently. Sage ended up in a coma, and Crow has been losing his shit on the person who took them.

Aheizer Castellano.

Big Daddy Castellano.

The husband of the woman his father had an affair with.

Shit’s fucked-up.

Crow needs other shit to focus on, but as long as his woman is under, he’s not going to stop.

I pull my phone from my pocket to shoot off a message to Bailee.

STEEL

Where are you?

I thought she’d ignore me like she has been all day, but I’m surprised when I get a message back so quickly.

HUMMINGBIRD

At the park taking pictures.

The distance sits heavily between us, so after letting Bryson know I’m heading out, I make my way to Bailee’s location.

Things don’t go exactly as planned, though, because when I near my Bronco, I catch a fucking Night Skulls member sneaking out from under it. My heart pounds as I can think of only a few reasons he’d be under there.

I don’t think he expected me to show up because panic overtakes his face. His head swivels as he takes in all the people around us before resolution clouds his face and he pulls something from his pocket.

My eyes widen when I realize what it is.

A fucking detonator.

There’s a goddamn bomb under my Bronco.

I jump from my still moving bike, clenching my jaw when metal screeches against the concrete as it goes sliding out from under me.

“Bomb!” I roar, running toward the Night Skulls fucker. “Fuckin’ run!”

It takes people a minute to comprehend what’s happening and then chaos ensues. Parents grab their children and run screaming away from the Bronco. My eyes find Bailee just as that motherfucker presses the button.

There’s a millisecond of silence between the time I tackle him and the loud explosion that roars through the air.

Heat sears my back as the blast licks against me while I rain my fists down on his face. Bailee screams my name, and I want to fucking reassure her that I’m okay, but I keep my focus on making sure this maggot stays down.

Once he’s subdued, I pull my phone out and call Wraith. “Downtown. The park. Night Skulls just took out my Bronco with a bomb. There was fuckin’ kids around.”

“We’re on our way.”

Bailee finally finds me, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re okay.”

“Favor, Hummingbird. Grab me those zip ties in my side bag.”

She doesn’t question it, just hurries to it while holding her side. I make a note to check on her when she gets back over here.

People are crying, terrified about what just happened in a usually safe space.

I run my eyes around the area, satisfied when I don’t spot any casualties. Just a lot of scared fucking people.

Bailee hurries back with the zip ties, and I roll the unconscious Night Skull over, roughly jerking his arms behind him. I take them from her and slide the ties over his hands, pulling them tight enough that they’re probably cutting off his circulation.

“You hurt?” I ask, nodding to where she’s holding her side.

“I’m okay. Just landed on my side when the blast went off.”

I finish putting a pair of ties around his ankles before I climb to my feet. “Let me see.”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m seriously okay, bossman. We need to go check on the others.”

The crying kids are about the only thing that can pull my attention away from her. The air around us rumbles with the loud pipes of bikes heading toward us, and I step in front of Bailee. I pull my gun from the holster under my cut and hold it at the ready until the familiar riders come into view. My club brothers pull up, creating a barrier of leather, chrome, and chains around us.

Bailee squeezes my shoulder, letting me know she’s going to check on everyone while I fill Wraith and the others in on what happened.

I kick the Night Skull in the side and spit on him before turning to my brothers. “Fucker blew up my Bronco with kids around. My woman would’ve been in it if I didn’t get here in time.”

Wraith nods and pulls his phone out while barking orders at the others. “Phantom, Blade, check and see if anyone needs help. Jake said units are on their way.” He puts the phone to his ear. “Crux, get a cage and get to the park. You got six minutes.”

“Fuck, Prez. You’re going to get him a speeding ticket,” Ronin remarks.

“Naw. Jake’s boys know our van. They’ll let him be. Crow, you’ll go back to the warehouse with Steel and see what you can get from this fucker. Ronin, Thrasher, I’ll need you to stick around for cleanup once Jake clears the scene. Tweek, you’re good with kids. If the parents let you, see if you can help calm them down.” Wraith turns back to me. “What do you need?”

“Got to check on Lee and my bike. Had to lay the damn thing down to catch him.”

The guys grimace as their eyes drift to my bike.

“Go. We got this. We’ll keep an eye on this asshole until Crux gets here, then you can head to the warehouse,” Wraith orders.

Bailee’s helping a mom wrangle her kids, and I run my eyes over her body as I jog over. I wish for fucking once that I had X-ray vision so I can check under her clothes for injuries. I wait as she gets the kids settled next to their mother and runs a hand over the little boy’s head with a gentle smile.

She turns to me with a question in her eyes.

“Check on you,” I tell her, reaching for the hem of her shirt.

Bailee shoves my hand away in exasperation. “I told you, I’m fine.”

I growl, ready to move her hands until a loud familiar whistle breaks through the air and interrupts us.

“I know.” She kisses me again. “Go take care of that.”

“Ronin and Thrasher will be around if you need them.”

I have to trust my brothers will keep an eye on my woman while I try to get information out of the Night Skulls assholes.

Crow has my bike standing up and is inspecting it for damage when I walk over to him. “Gonna need some love, but she’s not too torn up. Couple deep scratches that I should be able to get out and a touch-up on her paint, she’ll be good to go.”

“Good to make it to the warehouse?” I ask him.

“Fire her up,” Crow replies as I swing my leg over the seat.

Flicking my wrist, I bring her to life and let her rumble underneath me. I grin at Crow. “Purrs like my favorite kitten.”

He glances over at Crux and the cage then turns back to me with a maniacal grin. “Looks like they’re ready to head to the warehouse.”

Wicked delight unfurls inside me as my fingers tighten around the handlebars. I find Bailee in the crowd, reassuring myself that she’s fine, and I relax when Thrasher stands next to her with his massive fucking arms folded over his chest as he stares people down. Bailee blows me a kiss, and the tightness in my chest loosens as I wink at her.

“Let’s roll out,” Crow says when I nod at him.

As we ride to the warehouse, I closely monitor my bike for any late signs of damage. Thankfully, my baby rides as smooth as she did before I laid her down.

Crux backs the van up to the warehouse doors and climbs out. He jogs over and lifts them while I slide from my bike to meet him at the back of the van. The Night Skulls member hangs from a hook in the middle of the van with his legs chained to the hook in the floor so he can’t go anywhere.

He stares at me blankly, with no fear of his predicament in his eyes. Didn’t expect there to be from one of Killer’s men, but it’s still a shock. Most people have something they fear. It’s just a matter of finding what it is. Killer and his men . . . I doubt they have souls. Without one of those, can you really feel any emotion?

Crow steps up into the back of the cage with a syringe in his hand and smiles wickedly at him. “Nighty night.” The man jerks his head to the side, but Crow just tuts and grabs a handful of his hair before jabbing the needle into his neck. “And five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one.”

The man’s puffy eyes fall closed, and his body drops into deadweight from the hook. Needing to be sure he’s out, I slide the knife from my pocket and bring it to his cheek. With a quick flick of my wrist, I glide the blade along his skin, watching as it splits open. His body doesn’t twitch, so I wipe the blade on his cut and shove it back into my pocket.

“He’s out,” I confirm. “Crux, keep a gun on him just in case.”

I help Crow unlatch his feet, then we lift him from the hook. The cage rocks as we drop him heavily to the floor. Crow jumps out, grabbing the man’s ankles and yanking him toward him and the open back doors. Once I clear out of the cage, I heft the body over my shoulder and carry him to the middle of the warehouse. Crow helps me settle him on the hook as Crux grabs some heavy-duty chains to wrap around his legs, anchoring them to the hooks poking out of the concrete floor. Once he’s secure, I pull my t-shirt and cut off, hanging them from one of the pegs in the wall.

There are so many options for torture on the worktable. Digging through them, I find everything I need to try to get him to give me the information we need to find Killer.

I told Wraith about Emmy Lou’s idea to turn what we have over to their FBI contact, and he’s given me the okay to give her his information. She told me she’d have Max reach out to Wraith as soon as he can. In the meantime, we’re not going to stop coming for Killer as he comes for us because there’s no way in hell he’s getting his hands on my woman.

After I have everything I want to use on the cart, I wheel it over in front of the unconscious man.

I roll my head along my shoulders as I get ready then pick up the large hunting knife. Sliding the blade under the shoulders of his cut, I slice through the worn leather before moving to the other shoulder. His cut drops to the floor, but not before I catch the road name on the front.

My lips twitch.

Cookie .

I move on to his shirt and jeans until they’re laying in tatters on the floor.

“Crux, boots,” I order, moving away and dropping the knife back on the cart.

Grabbing the pliers, I twirl them around as I stroll back over to him with a whistle. “Wake him up.”

He comes awake with a jerk, his eyes bouncing around the warehouse then down to his naked body. He glances back at me with a smirk on his puffy, bruised lips. “Looks like a party, boys.”

Crow chuckles. “For us.”

“Where’s Killer hidin’?” I ask, stepping up to him, my fingers opening and closing the pliers.

“You’re wasting your time, man,” he tells me seriously. “I’m not gonna tell you shit about him.”

I snatch a handful of his hair, holding him in place. Crow covers the lower part of his face with his hand, placing his fingers so his thumb and index finger set right where his jawbones connect. When he pushes in, Cookie’s mouth pops open wide enough for me to get the pliers in and grab the first tooth. As soon as I have a good hold, I yank the tooth out then toss it onto the floor.

“Where’s Killer?”

When Crow releases his mouth, Cookie spits a mouthful of blood near my boots then says, “Probably fucking your mom.”

Crow grabs him again, and we start over with another tooth, pulling out multiple this round.

Around and around we go with him giving us nothing more than taunts to rile us up.

His teeth, fingernails, and toenails are gone, and his skin is flayed open. No matter what I do, nothing makes him flip on his president. If I didn’t hate his fucking guts so badly, I’d admire that kind of loyalty.

“Tell me,” he croaks, his words slurred, “does your woman’s pussy taste as good as she looks? I’d like to shove my face down there and try—”

His words are cut off with a grunt when I jam a screwdriver into his side. When he laughs, blood dribbles from his mouth and down his chin. “Killer has some buyers who’d love that little girl of yours. She’ll go for a pret—”

Red mists my face.

“Well, that’s one way to shut him up,” Crow remarks, staring at the screwdriver sticking out of Cookie’s ear.

“Goddammit,” I roar, disappointed that I let him goad me into it.

“We’ll get him, brother,” Crow says, placing his hand on my shoulder.

Tweek, Chimera, and Jagger are working hard to find anything digital on him as much as Emmy Lou and Willow are. It’s taking longer than normal, which leads us to believe that Killer also has a hacker in his club who’s helping keep him hidden.

“Get this cleaned up,” I order Crux.

This was fucking useless. We didn’t get anything except a damn mess.

I miss Steel.

It’s hard to fathom missing someone you see every day and are around constantly, but here I am.

Steel’s here, but he’s not. There’s been so much going on over the last few months that even when he’s here, the problems still have a hold of him.

It’s one of the reasons I wanted to keep what happened with Heather a secret. More than that, there’s still a part that’s scared to say anything because what if he doesn’t believe me? What if he takes her side? I don’t know where that would leave us. I do, but I don’t like thinking about it. I have hope that he knows me enough to know I’d never do anything that would hurt Lyric. Or him, for that matter.

Since the attack, I get texts randomly threatening me and everyone I love. With each one that comes through, my heart gets heavier with the choice weighing on me.

Lyric is still safe for now. I check on her anytime I can throughout her day.

Steel’s Bronco blowing up was a warning that my time is running out.

Me or everyone else.

I’m just so thankful no one was caught in the blast. It would have been too much on my soul.

I woke up this morning needing a distraction from the countdown in my head. I need to think on a decision that’s getting easier to make the more Killer comes after us, but the thought of leaving Steel and Lyric threatens to bring me to my knees.

After a few hours at work, I realize it isn’t where I want to be. Sinful Saloon isn’t busy at this time of day, so Reva is cool with me heading home.

I’m climbing into the car Steel’s parents dropped off to us when my phone pings with a message.

STEEL

Heather wants to meet. Goin’ now.

My fingers tighten around my phone as I read over his message.

And so, it begins.

My throat constricts as I set the phone in the cup holder and turn over the engine, my thoughts running chaotically through my head.

Keaton and Poe sit in the lot, waiting for me to leave so they can follow. For a minute, I consider running away from whatever Heather’s cooking up, consider trying to lose them, but I don’t have experience doing something like that. It can’t be hard, can it? I’m in a car, and they’re on bikes.

I could leave him before he leaves me, but then it wouldn’t just be him I abandon.

No.

He said he loves me, so I need to trust him. Need to have hope he has more faith in me than whatever lies Heather is telling him about what happened.

Not ready to go back home yet now that I know he’s not there, I head into town. There’s a little girl who has a birthday soon, and what better way to distract myself than searching for presents for her?

Unfortunately, there isn’t much at the shops in town that I felt fit my girl, so I walk out of the last shop empty-handed.

Something up the street catches my eye, and when I latch onto what was begging for my attention, my breath catches in my throat. Knowing what she did to him and how it affected him, I can’t believe Steel’s actually got his arms around Heather as she snuggles into his chest.

Honestly, I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s just like our past all over again. He leaves her and comes to me. He leaves me and goes to her. Round and round in an ugly toxic circle.

I don’t know. I thought this time was going to be different.

Will I ever learn?

Bailee wanted to go to work today. I didn’t think it was a good idea after the shit that happened yesterday, but she begged me, saying she couldn’t sit around thinking about what happened.

I never have a damn chance against those beautiful begging eyes of hers.

Dad brought us a spare vehicle to use as we wait for the insurance payout on the Bronco.

Keaton and Poe are on Bailee duty for as long as she wants to be there today. If I didn’t have other shit to do to protect her from Killer, I’d be sitting on her ass myself.

I’m about to climb on my spare bike when my cell rings. I groan when I see Heather’s name. Fucking last thing I want to do right now is deal with whatever bullshit she’s got going, but she’s my kid’s mom.

“What?” I answer.

“Steel?” she croaks.

Her voice has me straightening on the seat. “What’s goin’ on?”

She sniffles. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Got shit to do,” I tell her with a sigh.

“Please,” she pleads. “It’s important.”

Worried it might be about Lyric, I cave. “Miriam’s. Twenty minutes.”

Fuck.

I shoot off a text to Lee, letting her know I’m meeting Heather because she wants to talk, then I scrub a hand over my face.

I’m not in the mood for Heather today. Hell, not any other day either, but she’s Lyric’s mom and I’m stuck with her.

My mind is so fucking messy as I make the ride to the diner that it takes me a bit to register her appearance when I pull up and walk to her outside table. Her eyes are bruised, there’s a bandage over the bridge of her nose, and scratches run down the length of her neck.

“The fuck happened?” I growl.

I may despise her, but she’s still the mother of my kid. Hell, I had a relationship with her for nearly seven years on and off, so seeing her like this makes me uncomfortable.

“You won’t like it,” she whispers.

“Lot of shit I don’t like lately,” I mutter, dropping into the chair across from her. “Lyric in danger from whoever did it?”

“Considering you’re with the person who did it, yeah,” Heather snaps.

“The fuck?” I whisper, my head jerking back.

“You heard me, Steel. Your precious Bailee did this,” she snaps, waving her hand around her face.

“The hell she do that for?” I ask, raising a brow, not sure I believe this for a second.

“Why else? Because she’s jealous.” She sniffles, her eyes watering. “I told her Lyric misses her mom and that she isn’t me. She didn’t like that and just attacked me. Told me that she’s Lyric’s mom now. Steel, I was so scared,” she cries.

I sit stunned, unable to understand the words coming from her mouth. My Hummingbird beating her ass? Attacking her because she’s jealous? It doesn’t make sense. Bailee knows that Lyric loves her, and she’s never tried to take over Heather’s role. That’s not the woman I love.

But then I recall the way she’s kind of been avoiding me. The way she evaded my hands when I tried to check on the side she kept holding.

My eyes run over Heather’s injuries again, remembering Bailee didn’t have any.

Lyric does miss her mom, and there’s still a part of me that feels guilty she doesn’t have both parents together like I did growing up, but this makes no damn sense.

Could Bailee really have done what Heather’s accusing her of? After seeing her in action and hearing the story of her past, I know she has the skills.

I nod absentmindedly and climb to my feet. “Thanks for tellin’ me.”

Heather jumps from her seat and into my arms before I can process what’s happening.

I stiffen, hating the way my skin crawls at her touch. Not wanting to cause a scene in public, I wrap one arm around her and pat her on the back before pulling away.

“Steel, I don’t want her around Lyric. She’s dangerous,” Heather demands in a hard tone.

“Lee won’t hurt her,” I growl.

Heather shrugs. “I can’t know that. Look what she did to me over nothing. I won’t have her around our daughter. Don’t make me cause problems.”

As much as I want to snap her fucking neck for the threat, my daughter wouldn’t appreciate it. The last fucking thing I need on my plate right now is Heather kicking up a mess.

I can’t give in to her demand. Lyric loves Bailee, and after what I heard in the kitchen between them, it’d destroy my little girl to keep Bailee away from her. Hell, it’d destroy my woman.

“I’ll figure it out,” I mutter, turning away from her and striding to my bike.