by Harley Wylde
“I’m a bad mom,” she murmured.
“No, you’re a great mom. Everything you’ve done the past six years has been for Coral. Do you know how many parents send their kids out back to play without watching them the entire time? Tons. And you were right. Coral should have been safe inside the compound. There was no reason for you to think she’d vanish from our backyard. Just because someone managed to take a picture, from outside the compound, didn’t mean they could necessarily reach her.” I kissed her again, then set her back on her seat. “Now, let’s go find our daughter.”
I followed the road, circling the compound. While I saw my brothers and the Prospects, I never found Coral or Victoria. But someone did… My phone lit up again. This time it was Slash calling. When I accepted the call, I warned him he was on speaker.
“I don’t have Coral, but I did find Victoria.” Slash sighed. “It’s bad, Steel. I think she tried to protect her little girl and failed horribly.”
My stomach tightened at the news. A quick glance at Rachel was enough to tell me she was close to falling apart. She’d paled and swayed in her seat. I got Slash’s location and sped up, getting to him as fast as I could.
He knelt next to the fence and I saw where someone had cut through it. Victoria lay unmoving on the ground. I got out of the truck and went to kneel next to her. She whimpered and rolled her bug eyes to watch me, but it was clear she wasn’t getting up. Blood soaked her fur and it looked like someone had taken a knife to her. I removed my cut, then pulled my shirt off. I slipped the leather back over my shoulders and used the tee to wrap her. Picking her up, I carried her to the truck.
Rachel held out her arms and I settled Victoria in her lap. She stroked the dog’s head and murmured to her, telling Victoria how brave she’d been. My throat tightened, but fuck if I’d ever admit I was damn close to crying over a dog. Zach hadn’t shown up yet at the compound, but I knew his practice would still take care of Victoria. They might ask some questions, but I had a legitimate reason for Victoria’s injuries.
“Coral’s gone, isn’t she?” Rachel asked softly. “They took my baby.”
“Looks like it, beautiful. Once we get Victoria dropped off, I’m going to find our daughter, and I’ll make those fuckers pay.” I glanced at her. “There’s a few reasons they call me Steel. One of those has to do with the way I punish evil motherfuckers.”
“When you find them…” She turned toward me, holding my gaze. “Make sure they can never hurt another person ever again.”
“Rachel, I don’t think you understand exactly what you’re asking. Darlin’, if I do that, it means they aren’t breathing anymore. I will fuck them up, draw it out and make them suffer, and then I’ll end their miserable lives.”
I heard her shaky indrawn breath and wondered if I’d said too much. She’d run from the Mulligans because they were violent, and I’d just admitted I’d kill someone. Several someones. What came out of her mouth surprised the fuck out of me, and made me damn proud to call her mine. I knew, then and there, she was my equal in every way.
“I want them to hurt,” she said. “I want to make them hurt. Promise me, Isaac. When you find them, before you kill them, I get a chance to make them pay for taking Coral.”
I pulled to a stop at the vet’s office and got out. I went around to her side and lifted Victoria, pausing long enough to kiss Rachel. “Promise, beautiful. As long as Demon doesn’t veto me, I’ll let you get a few hits in.”
I carried Victoria into the clinic, gave them the information they needed, then drove Rachel home. I knew the clinic would call with any word on the little pug. Right now, we had a daughter to find and bring home.
Chapter Eleven
Rachel
I’d never wanted to harm another living being in all my life. Until now. They’d taken Coral. I knew she had to be scared, and she’d probably seen them try to kill Victoria. My poor baby! Steel had been on the phone, pacing, for the last hour. I’d caught bits and pieces of his conversation. He hadn’t even tried to keep me out of the loop.
My hands shook. I’d thrown up when we got home. My stomach still churned, and bile burned the back of my throat. A knock sounded at the front door and I went to answer, knowing Steel needed to focus. I blinked in surprise at the group of women on the doorstep. Zoe waved from the back.
“We thought you could use some support right now,” Zoe said.
I stepped back and let them enter. Zoe went straight to the kitchen, and I saw she had something in her hands. The others followed. I walked into the kitchen to see Zoe opening various cabinets.
“You do have a kettle, right?” she asked.
“I think so.” I vaguely remembered one, but I wasn’t sure where Steel kept it. He stalked past me, went to the cabinet by the fridge and pulled down a black enamel kettle. I shot him a smile as he passed me again, heading back to the living room, the phone still pressed to his ear.
“Sit and I’ll make some herbal tea,” Zoe said.
Two Asian women sat at the table, watching me. The younger gave me a small smile. “I’m Meiling. I belong to Dingo, and this is my mother, China.”
Two Hispanic ladies sat to their right. The one on the left gave me a wave. “I’m Elena. Outlaw is mine.”
Right. Outlaw. The man who had used a computer to legally -- or not so legally -- marry me and Steel. I made a mental note not to get on her bad side in case her husband took offense and did something horrible without having to leave the comfort of his home. To me, that made him scarier than all the others.
The other one snickered. “Do you say that to his face? Because I’m pretty sure he claimed your ass and not the other way around. I’m Lilian, by the way, and I’m with Dragon.”
“And we’ve already met,” said Zoe. She carried a steaming mug to the table, then shoved a chair out with her foot. “Sit. You need to drink this.”
I nearly collapsed onto the chair and accepted the cup from her. I blew across the surface, trying to cool it, before I took a cautious sip. It scalded my tongue, but I didn’t much care. I didn’t even taste it. The fact these ladies had come, knowing I needed someone, warmed my heart. I was a stranger to them, yet they’d taken the time to come and give me comfort. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt like I had family supporting me. I knew these ladies were part of my new family, the one I’d gotten when I married Steel.
“They’ll find her,” Elena said.
“When I got kidnapped, Dragon didn’t stop until he had me safe in his arms again,” Lilian said. “I was pregnant with our twins at the time. Trust me. The club won’t rest until Coral is back home.”
“Wait. You were kidnapped? I thought we were supposed to be safe here? But Coral is missing, Victoria may die, and you were kidnapped?” I asked, feeling as if I might come unraveled at any moment.
“I wasn’t here when it happened,” Lilian said.
Meiling snorted and poked a finger at Lilian. “Yeah, because this one thought it was an awesome idea to run away instead of her facing her daddy, and her baby-daddy.”
“Um.” I glanced between them. “I’m lost.”
Lilian rolled her eyes. “I’m adopted. The President of the club, Grizzly? You’ve met him?”
I nodded, thinking of the big gruff man.
“He’s my dad. He also adopted Adalia, but she offered to keep all our kids. You’ll have to meet her later.”
“Or more accurately, Badger heard someone broke into the compound and threatened to tie her ass to the bed if she tried to leave,” said Meiling.
“Badger is her… husband?” I asked.
Meiling nodded, then frowned. “You know, I’m not honestly sure if they’re married or not, but Adalia definitely belongs to Badger. The man goes psycho if he thinks anything will happen to her.”
“Well, he did do time for her,” Elena said.
My head was spinning and I couldn’t keep up. It was all information overload. My stomach gurgled and I shot up off my chair, racing to
the bathroom. I hit my knees and barely made it over the toilet before I threw up. Tears burned my eyes as I heaved until there was nothing left to come up, and even then I struggled to stop.
I felt a presence behind me. Before I could turn, Steel was kneeling next to me, his hand on my back. “Hey, beautiful. You doing okay?”
I sniffled. “Do I look like I’m okay?”
He cracked a smile. “Fair enough. You want to rinse your mouth and come sit down again? Or do you need to stay here a minute longer?”
A throat cleared and Meiling came into the room. “Not to put my nose where it doesn’t belong but I’m going to assume you’re like all the other men around here, which means the two of you have probably been fucking like bunnies. Any chance she’s pregnant?”
Everything went still. The air thinned and I struggled to breathe a moment. Pregnant? I wasn’t on birth control, and Steel hadn’t used a condom any of the times we’d been together. Meiling was right about how often we’d had sex. But a baby? I tried to remember when I’d had my last period and realized I’d missed it by nearly a week. That would have meant I got pregnant possibly the very first time we had sex. If anything, past experience told me it only took once.
“Rachel.” My gaze lifted to Steel’s. “Darlin’, could you be pregnant?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe? I didn’t even think about it, but I’m late.”
“Not to eavesdrop,” Zoe yelled from the hallway, “but I’m totally listening and I happen to have some pregnancy tests at home. I’ll get Guardian or Dagger to drop a few off if you’d like to have them. I’m sure one of my guys can be spared for a few minutes.”
“Why do you have pregnancy tests?” Meiling asked. “You’re already knocked up.”
“You’re pregnant?” I asked.
Zoe nodded. “I’m not really showing yet, plus I’m a little on the chunky side to begin with. Probably be another month or two before I have a noticeable baby bump. Well, something you can see through my clothes.” She lifted the hem of her top and I saw the soft swell of her belly.
“Congratulations.”
She flashed me a smile. “I’ll just go make that call. I brought a few types of tea. When I get off the phone, I’ll brew some peppermint. It should help settle your stomach.”
I nodded and let Steel help me off the floor. While I got cleaned up, the others left, leaving me alone with my husband. I leaned into him. He’d said he’d wanted a family, but I didn’t know if he’d planned to have more kids right away. Looked like the decision was out of our hands.
He tipped my chin up, his fingers caressing my jaw. “Beautiful girl, I have no idea what’s going through your mind right now.”
“I want to be happy about a possible pregnancy, but then I remember Coral is out there, possibly hurt and scared. Victoria could be dying. And I just… What if we can’t get her back? What if she’s gone, Isaac?”
“She’s not gone. They need her, Rachel. Nothing is going to happen to our daughter. I’ll track the assholes down, get her back, and we’ll put all this behind us.”
I knew I needed to trust he’d keep his word. Steel hadn’t given me a reason to doubt him. What scared me the most was him leaving to get Coral, and neither of them coming home. If Steel went to confront the Mulligans, they could hurt him. Kill him. When I’d dated Patrick I’d had no idea who his family was, or their connections. Now that I did, it scared the hell out of me. I clung to Steel, too frightened to let go.
Zoe popped her head around the doorway, then stuck out a hand. She had two boxes. “I lucked out. Guardian was already home picking up something, he dropped these off.”
Steel took them from her, then shut the door. He ripped into the package and held the stick out to me. “I’m assuming you’ve done this before, with Coral, and don’t need instructions.”
My cheeks heated. “Are you going to stay here while I…”
“Pee on the stick?” he asked, a smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah, I’m staying here with you. I’ve had my mouth on your pussy, put my dick in there. You taking a pregnancy test isn’t going to gross me out or chase me off. Although, maybe you should take both. Can you stop peeing mid-stream?”
I sighed and took it from him, then dropped my pants and panties. I hovered over the toilet, feeling more than a little mortified, as I took the pregnancy test. He handed me the second one after I set the first test on the counter. When I’d finished, I set it on the counter next to the other one. While I cleaned up, Steel studied the little sticks and read the fine print inside the boxes. It seemed they were different types, and didn’t show results the same way.
“It says three minutes on both of them,” he said. He pulled out his phone and set the timer before tugging me into his arms. “You know, if these tests come back positive, there’s no fucking way I’m letting you go into a room with the Mulligans, or anything else involved with taking Coral. Your safety, and that of our child, will come first.”
“That’s hardly fair. And sexist.”
“Really? You want to go there?”
No, I didn’t. I already knew I’d lose. It wasn’t that Steel didn’t find me capable, but he had alpha-protector written all over him. If he thought for one minute I could get hurt, or the baby could, then he’d do whatever it took to keep me safe. It was just the sort of man he was. It hadn’t taken me long to learn that about him.
The timer went off and he picked up both tests, a grin spreading across his lips. He kissed me hard and deep, making my knees go weak. I glanced at the sticks. One had two lines, the other said “positive.” Looked like I was having a baby.
“You have made me the happiest man, beautiful. Go drink your tea and sit with the ladies. I’m going to find out exactly who has Coral, where they took her, then I’m getting our daughter back. She needs to know she’s going to be a big sister.”
I went to the kitchen and sat down again. My emotions were pinging all over the place and my mind was seconds from coming apart. It was all too much at once. I could tell they were anxious to hear the news. When I told them the tests were positive, Zoe squealed like a teenager and threw her arms around me.
“This is so exciting! Our babies will grow up together. All of ours. Elena’s little Valeria is nearly a year. Same for Lilian’s Ronan and Mila. Adalia’s Gunner is about a year and a half, same for Meiling’s Wen. And now our babies will be born close together.”
“So, everyone has either recently had a baby, or is pregnant.” I let that sink in a moment. “Would it be wrong to spike their beer supply with something that suppresses sperm? Is there such a thing?”
Meiling snickered. “I don’t think anything could kill the super sperm the Devil’s Fury seem to have.”
China glanced at her daughter, warmth lighting her eyes. “And it started with you.”
I didn’t understand and the confusion must have shown on my face. Meiling took pity on me to explain.
“I didn’t know I had parents,” she said. “I went into foster care when I was a toddler. My mother was sent somewhere awful, and my dad was sent to prison for something he didn’t do. I didn’t find out until after I’d met Dingo that my dad was a member of this club, and both he and my mother were alive.”
I glanced from one woman to another, studying each and every one. Meiling seemed to have had a tragic past. Lilian had said she was adopted, and she’d been kidnapped. It made me wonder about the others. “Did something bad happen to each of you?”
China and Meiling shared a look. It was China who spoke. “My daughter and I were both turned into prostitutes. Except she was a teenager before she suffered that fate. We’re… healing. Some days are easier than others. Dingo accepted her, saw her for the jewel she is, and loves her. And Blades… there is a lot of history between us. He hasn’t claimed me, but we live together here at the compound. I still struggle with all I’ve been forced to do and don’t feel worthy of him.”
My heart broke for the both of them. I looked a
t Elena, who gave me a sad smile.
“I’m also adopted. But not by anyone here. An evil preacher took me in, tried to marry me off to a guy who was really bad news. Outlaw kept me safe and I fell in love with him.”
Lilian braced her arms on the table. “I told you I was adopted by Grizzly, but didn’t say why. Another club, the Devil’s Boneyard, went to Colombia to rescue one of their men. I’d been held captive, forced to service fighters who were just as much as slave as I was. The Devil’s Boneyard brought me to the US and Grizzly took me into his home. I was only a teenager back then.
“I also have another adopted sister. Shella. She’s not here right now. My dad sent her to the Devil’s Boneyard for a bit, and she apparently took off. Her mother was a drug addict, but Shella’s half-sister is the daughter of a Boneyard member. Irish kept his daughter and Grizzly brought Shella home.”
I glanced at Zoe, wondering if she had a similar story. She traced a pattern on the table a moment, and when she spoke, her accent was far thicker than I’d ever heard before.
“I agreed to work in a sweatshop in order to bring Luis to the US, except the man had no intention of keeping his word. Someone overthrew him, and I was brought here with a handful of other women. Outlaw married me to Dagger, much the way he did with you and Steel. Then I fell for him and Guardian. Dagger and a few others went to Mexico to bring Luis home.”
I had a feeling there was more to it than that. It was obviously these women had suffered greatly, perhaps more so than me. Yes, Coral had been taken, but I hadn’t been raped, abused, or suffered in other ways. I’d run from the Mulligans so they wouldn’t take my daughter, and while there had been strange accidents, I hadn’t been physically hurt yet. I’d worried they’d stop at nothing to get her. Even kill me. But as I studied these strong women, I knew it could have been worse.
“I admire you. All of you,” I said.
