Steel (Devil's Fury MC 5) Read online

  She smiled. “I slept more last night than I have in years. I’m sure I’ll be fine to go back tomorrow.”

  I wasn’t going to tell the woman she couldn’t work. If she wanted to be at the diner for a shift, then I’d make sure she got there. It wasn’t like she was mine. Hell, even if she were, I’d feel like an ass if I put her on lockdown unless it was absolutely necessary. My brothers might prefer to keep their women home, but I’d lived longer than most of the ones who had paired off, and I liked an independent woman who wanted to take care of herself. Well, older than all except Blades. Even though he and China weren’t officially together, and her circumstances were different. There was a chance he’d never claim her, despite the fact they lived together.

  “Find out when your shift starts and ends,” I said. “I don’t want you trying to get there, or back here, on your own. It would only take a second for someone to snatch you off the street.”

  “I thought coming here would mean a fresh start,” she said.

  “It will, but not until the Mulligans are handled. They’re not the kind of people you can hide from, Rachel. I’m sure Patrick was charming in high school, but you really stepped in a nest of rattlers when you paired off with him.”

  Rachel finished her coffee. She stared at the table as if it were the most fascinating thing ever, and I wondered what thoughts were swirling through her mind. I knew hearing about the Mulligans had to be a bit overwhelming. She had to have figured out they were bad news. She’d run from them after all.

  My phone rang and I answered when I saw it was the Pres calling. “You need something, Pres?”

  “Is there a reason I’m hearing secondhand that you have a woman and kid in your house?”

  I winced. Shit. I should have called or texted him last night. “Rachel passed out at the diner and little Coral was with her. They’ve been staying at the motel on the edge of town. You know as well as I do it’s not a safe place for the two of them. Brought them here for the time being.”

  Grizzly growled and I heard him stomping, then a door slam. Great. I’d be willing to bet he was on his way to my place. “Don’t fucking move. Any of you. And, Steel, you know you can’t do shit like this.”

  Yeah, I knew it, but I’d done it anyway. And I’d do it again in a second. I hung up and waited for the Pres to show, and hoped like hell he didn’t scare the shit out of the girls.

  Chapter Five

  Rachel

  I didn’t know who, or what, a Pres was, but the look on Steel’s face said whoever was heading this way wasn’t happy. Since I’d been sitting within feet of him, I knew the call had been about me and Coral. Was Steel in trouble for bringing us here? It hadn’t even occurred to me he’d need permission. He’d said this was his house. If it was his, why did someone else have the authority to say whether or not we could be here?

  Before I could gather the courage to ask, I heard the front door open and heavy steps entered the house. There was a pause and I heard my daughter speaking. My heart nearly stopped and I started to jump up, but Steel reached over to grab my wrist, holding me in place. He gave a quick shake of his head and I sat down. It seemed Steel trusted Coral with whomever had entered his house.

  A large mountain of a man with a long beard came into the kitchen and took the seat between me and Steel. My heart slammed against my ribs as I wanted to bolt from the room. Steel kept his hand on my wrist, holding me in place. The man studied me, no hint of a smile on his face. Was it Steel in trouble? Or me? I didn’t want to be on this man’s bad side. He looked like he could break me in half without the slightest bit of effort.

  “You’re scaring her,” Steel said. “Her pulse is racing.”

  The man leaned back in the chair and folded his arms over his large chest. “My name’s Grizzly and the Devil’s Fury is my club. I’m the President, and you, little girl, are on my turf.”

  Oh shit. Had I just traded one set of criminals for another? Steel had said his hands weren’t clean, but I’d figured he’d been protecting someone. What if these people were no better than the Mulligans?

  “Pres.” There was a warning tone in Steel’s voice, but I didn’t understand it. “Would you back the hell off? She’s not here for nefarious purposes. She’s in trouble, much like every other woman living at the compound.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Grizzly said, narrowing his gaze at Steel before turning back to me. “Saw your daughter in the living room. If the two of you need help, you’ll find it here. We might be rough around the edges, but we’d never turn away a woman or kid in need.”

  “So, all the growling, stomping, and glaring was what? A scare tactic?” I asked.

  “Something like that,” he said, a smile crossing his lips. “Needed to make sure you have what it takes.”

  I glanced from Grizzly to Steel, then back again. “What does that mean?”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, then slid it across the table to Steel. I didn’t know which of them to watch, but when Steel started cussing and jumped up from the table, I wondered if I needed to worry. What the hell was on that paper?

  “Are you shitting me right now?” Steel asked. “What the fuck was Outlaw thinking?”

  “You’d have to ask him,” Grizzly said. “I’ll give you some time to explain things to your girl here, but let me know when you’re ready for a property cut.”

  I could hear the words coming out of his mouth, but it was like he was speaking a foreign language. I had no idea what he was talking about, or why Steel looked pissed. The man had been calm and cool since I’d first met him, but he looked ready to put his fist through a wall. Or a person. I didn’t know who Outlaw was, but I hoped he was fast because if Steel went after him, I had a feeling he’d beat the poor man.

  Grizzly stood and walked out, and I heard the front door shut. Steel kept pacing and looking at the paper in his hand, then muttering under his breath. I was so damn confused. Who was Outlaw and what did he have to do with me being here? What was a property cut? And why had he called me Steel’s girl? We were complete strangers. It was nice of him to help me, but that’s all it was.

  “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” I said.

  He stopped and sat again, the paper crumpled in his hand. “Seems you’re about to get a crash course on what it means for me to be part of this club, and for you to be here.”

  That sounded… ominous.

  “This club is my family, one I chose. We don’t follow the letter of the law, not the ones outside these gates anyway. We make our own rules. Grizzly is in charge, and there are other officers of higher rank than me, but they’re under the Pres. I should have asked before bringing you here. This is my house, but it’s on Devil’s Fury property.”

  “And he’s mad you didn’t ask before bringing me here?” I asked.

  “Not exactly. Oh, he’s pissed I didn’t follow protocol, and I’m sure I’ll be fined or assigned some shit job I don’t like as penance. Thing is, the women in this compound typically fall into two categories. The club whores and the old ladies.”

  My brow wrinkled. The word whore made that one self-explanatory, but old ladies? Were there senior citizens running around this place? It seemed a little odd.

  Steel smirked. “Old ladies as in women claimed by club members. Most marry their women, but some don’t. At least that’s how it’s working for this club. And before you ask, the club whores are here of their own free will. They aren’t forced to come here. For whatever reason, they’re here because they want to be.”

  I couldn’t imagine willingly sleeping with a bunch of men, but other than my time with Patrick, I hadn’t been with anyone else. We’d only slept together a few times, and I hadn’t much cared for the experience. I still didn’t understand why he was telling me all this unless… My eyes widened. “Am I expected to be a club whore?”

  Steel closed his eyes and a look of pain crossed his features. “No. Not just no, but hell no. You are not now
nor will you ever be a club whore.”

  “Then why did you tell me all that?” I asked.

  He smoothed out the paper in his hand and slid it over to me. I read it. Four times, but I still didn’t understand what I was seeing. It was a marriage certificate for me and someone named Isaac Crowley. Who the hell was that? I’d have remembered if I married someone. The only guy I’d seriously dated in my entire life was Patrick Mulligan, and look how it had turned out!

  “I don’t know Isaac Crowley,” I said.

  “Actually you do. Just not by that name.” He sighed. “Isaac Crowley is my given name. I go by Steel around here. To call me anything else in the presence of my club or even out around town would be considered disrespectful. I earned my road name.”

  Wait. Had he just said…”We’re married?”

  “Thanks to the club hacker, yes. I have no fucking clue what the asshole was thinking when he pulled this stunt, but I know damn well he’ll refuse to reverse it. Ever since he found his woman, he thinks the rest of us need to settle down too. Doesn’t matter that you might not have wanted this. I’ll talk to Outlaw, but I already know it won’t do me a damn bit of good.”

  Married. I was married to the man sitting across from me. Someone I’d just met. We hadn’t even gone on a date or kissed! How could we possibly be husband and wife? What the hell kind of place had I come to? Normal people didn’t do things like this. They just didn’t.

  Steel placed his phone on the table, then tapped the screen until the name Outlaw lit up and I heard it ringing as he placed the call on speaker.

  “Steel, I take it Grizzly gave you the good news,” the man I assumed was Outlaw said by way of greeting.

  “Good news? You asshole! Did it ever occur to you Rachel might not want to be saddled with an old goat like me? She’s not said much of anything since I showed her the marriage certificate. I think you traumatized her. You undo this shit right the fuck now,” Steel said with a hint of growl in his voice.

  “Can’t. And I won’t,” Outlaw said.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  The line went quiet a moment. “Now who’s the asshole? You didn’t tell me she was listening to this conversation.”

  So he’d wanted to keep me in the dark about all this? My lips pressed together and I felt the blood pumping through my veins. If that man had been here in this kitchen, I might have throttled him. I wasn’t some pawn in a game. I was a person! And I had Coral to think about too. What right did he have to mess with our lives this way? Or Steel’s life for that matter.

  “She’s looking a little homicidal,” Steel said. “I’d tread carefully.”

  “Fine. You want to know why I married the two of you? I’ll tell you, Rachel. It’s because you and that little girl need as much protection as possible. Since Patrick Mulligan signed away his rights, it means Coral can easily be adopted… by your husband.”

  Everything in me went still. Coral adopted by Steel? My gaze lifted to his and I saw he was just as surprised as me. But the idea didn’t seem to repulse him. For that matter, he’d only seemed angry over the marriage because he’d worried how I would react, thought it wasn’t fair to me. What had he called himself? An old goat? He had to know that silver foxes were sexy, didn’t he?

  “Steel can adopt Coral?” I asked. “So he’d be her father? And Patrick couldn’t touch her?”

  “Technically, he’s not supposed to have contact with her already. Steel being her adopted father wouldn’t change much, except the law would be on our side if we needed them to step in. More than that, if you and Coral belong to Steel, then this club will go to hell and back for the two of you. Because you’re family,” Outlaw said. “How long has it been since you had one of those?”

  Too long. I held Steel’s gaze, trying to judge how he felt about all this. The thought of being married to a stranger was a bit frightening, but he’d been so good to us. I might have had reservations about his motives before, but things had changed rather quickly. Actions spoke louder and all that.

  “Looks like we need to talk,” Steel said. “I’ll call you back in a bit.”

  “I have a feeling I know where this is going. I’ll start on the adoption paperwork. You’ll be Coral’s dad, officially, by tonight.”

  I heard a squeal, then my darling little girl raced into the room and threw herself at Steel. He caught her easily, a smile on his face. It seemed he wasn’t the least bit worried about suddenly becoming a father to Coral. And judging the look of pure bliss on my daughter’s face, she was thrilled to have Steel as a dad. Since she’d never truly had one before, I had to wonder if she’d secretly yearned for a father all this time and just never said anything to me.

  I reached over to press the button to end the call, and Steel gave me a wink. Coral clung to him. My heart ached over the fact she’d been without a father all these years. It hadn’t seemed to bother her, but now I knew differently. No matter what I’d done for my child, it wasn’t enough. I hadn’t been able to give her the one thing she apparently wanted most. Until now, and making Steel her dad wasn’t even my doing. It was all thanks to a man I’d never met.

  “Are you really my daddy?” Coral asked.

  “Is that all right with you?” Steel drew back enough to look down at her in his arms. Coral nodded eagerly. “Then yes, I’m really your daddy.”

  Coral shot a smile my way, a smile that lit up her entire face. “I have a daddy!”

  Tears misted my eyes and I felt my throat grow tight. “Yes, you do, sweetheart.”

  Steel caught my gaze, squeezed Coral a little tighter, then set her back down on her feet. “Why don’t you give me and your momma a few minutes? Pick out something to wear. You can watch a little TV, but you’ll need to take a bath soon. We’ll all get cleaned up and go somewhere to celebrate.”

  Coral shot out of the room, more excited than I’d seen her in a while. If ever. I knew Steel making her his daughter had to be the highlight of her life. I twirled the coffee cup on the table in front of me, wishing it was full so I’d have something to do, even if I wasn’t necessarily thirsty.

  I didn’t know what to say to him. According to that paper, we were married, even if we hadn’t said vows. We didn’t know much about one another, and I had no idea if he meant for this to be a real marriage or one of convenience. He’d mentioned club whores. Maybe that was a good place to start. Did he intend to keep sleeping with those women? Because if he did, there was no way I’d welcome him into my bed, not now and not ever.

  “Probably not the way you saw yourself getting married,” he said.

  “Not exactly. Although, to be fair, I hadn’t really thought about getting married. Coral has been my main focus, and with the Mulligans causing problems, dating wasn’t high on my list of things to accomplish.”

  “I’ve told you how the club works, or the basics. I’m sure you still have questions.”

  I nodded. I did, but I wasn’t sure how to voice them. “What do you expect from me?”

  “At my age, I figured I’d never find a woman and settle down. I’m not some randy twenty-year-old hanging out at the clubhouse every night, and I don’t date that often. I’m set in my ways and like everything just so. Then there’s the not-so-legal side of my life. There are women out there who wouldn’t mind. My brothers are proof of that since five of them have women. But finding one to accept me and my club? Didn’t think it was in the cards.”

  “But you wanted someone to share your life?” I asked. “Kids?”

  “Yeah. I wanted a woman and kids. Spent some time in Mexico not too long ago. Found some children the cartel was either going to train as soldiers or sell to the highest bidder. I stayed until I’d made sure each one was safely relocated and would have a shot at a decent life.” He drummed his fingers on the table a moment. “I’m not a saint. Just a man who believes women and children should be protected. And before you ask, yes, I would kill to keep you and Coral safe, or my brothers and their families.”

 
“Would or have?” I asked.

  “Both.” His lips twitched as if he fought back a smile. “I killed in the name of defending my country. I’ve killed to defend this club. I have my own sense of right and wrong that doesn’t always mesh well with law enforcement, but I’ve never spent time in jail and I don’t plan to start now.”

  “You still didn’t answer my other question,” I reminded him.

  “What I expect is for you to be faithful. If I find out you’re running around behind my back, there will be consequences. And before you get all riled up, I’m not saying you’re the type to do such a thing, but it’s been known to happen, especially when someone as young and pretty as you ends up with an old bastard like me.”

  “You’re not old,” I said. “Haven’t you heard that silver foxes are hot?”

  He snorted and ran a hand over his beard. “Got the silver part right at any rate. Look, I know you don’t know me, but that’s the beauty of a marriage. We have plenty of time to learn more about one another. I don’t expect you to share my bed right now. Eventually? Yes. But from this moment on, I won’t kiss or sleep with another woman. That paper from Outlaw might not mean much to you, but it does to me. And for the record, I’m clean. Haven’t been with a woman in a while, and I’ve been tested since then. So that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”

  I looked at the paper in the center of the table. It wasn’t that it didn’t mean something to me, but it scared me. The only relationship I’d had was still haunting me. I wasn’t sure I could trust my judgment when it came to men. Putting those fears aside, I really didn’t have a clue how to be a wife to someone. There were days I didn’t think I even had the mom thing figured out.

  “One day at a time. Right now, we should get cleaned up and head out. I promised Coral we’d celebrate, and I intend to keep my vow to her.”

  I reached across the table and placed my hand over his. “Thank you. Not just for bringing us here last night, but for… everything.”