Blade: A Steel Paragons MC Novel (The Coast: Book 11)

by Hart, Eve R.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  CHAPTER ONE Blade

  CHAPTER TWO Harley

  CHAPTER THREE Blade

  CHAPTER FOUR Harley

  CHAPTER FIVE Blade

  CHAPTER SIX Harley

  CHAPTER SEVEN Blade

  CHAPTER EIGHT Harley

  CHAPTER NINE Blade

  CHAPTER TEN Harley

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Harley

  CHAPTER TWELVE Blade

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN Blade

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN Blade

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN Harley

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN Blade

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Harley

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Harley

  CHAPTER NINETEEN Blade

  CHAPTER TWENTY Harley

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Blade

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Blade

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Harley

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Harley

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Blade

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Harley

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Blade

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Harley

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Harley

  CHAPTER THIRTY Blade

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Find Her

  Other Works

  Blade

  A Steel Paragons MC Novel

  (The Coast: Book 11)

  By Eve R. Hart

  Copyright © 2020 Eve R. Hart

  All right reserved.

  The scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. This book or any portion thereof my not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations used in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writers imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is purely coincidental.

  Warning: This book is intended for readers 18 years and older. This book contains violence, harsh language, and explicit sex scenes.

  Cover image credit Shutterstock.com- New_World

  https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/725998681

  Dedication

  For confident women,

  tiny dogs,

  and the color red.

  Prologue

  Blade

  I felt it.

  I don’t have a fucking clue how I did, but it was like every part of my body was itching.

  This weird tingle spread through my veins and I knew something wasn’t right.

  I hadn’t even thought, just reacted, pushing Mouse back a second before I got knocked on my ass.

  Everything went dark and I couldn’t tell if my lids were closed or not.

  I was able to breathe, I knew that much because I’d opened my mouth and drawn in a gasping breath clogged with dust.

  I coughed hard and it hurt like fuck.

  Was this how I’d go out?

  Trapped in darkness and clueless as to how the fuck I got here?

  Was Mouse okay? The other brothers? Dade? Tripp?

  How many of us had gone in? I couldn’t remember.

  Gathering my strength, I tried to crawl out from under the shit that was crushing me. But I couldn’t move.

  Yeah, this was fuckin’ bad.

  But I refused to go out easily.

  Or at least that was the last thought before I could no longer hold on to reality.

  I woke up in a bed.

  In a fucking hospital.

  But hell, I was alive.

  It had been a close call but I’d beaten the grim reaper at his game. This time.

  It hadn’t come without its costs though, and I’d be reminded of it every day.

  Would I do it again? Fuck yes.

  Because despite my asshole attitude, they gave me a chance. They let me in and treated me like I was worth something.

  So, yeah, I’d do it again.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Blade

  Never thought I’d enjoy being on a bike.

  Never gave it much thought before.

  That was until I met the Steel Paragons and started hanging on the outer rim of their club. At first, I had an in because I worked at the ink shop they owned.

  That was a story in itself.

  I’d heard a new shop was opening up and basically demanded my way in. I wasn’t sure they’d go for it, but they did. And I was still there. I loved my job even if I didn’t always like the clientele. I figured one day I’d get to move on from doing the shit jobs. However, that day hadn’t come yet. I think they liked to torture me with those butterfly and tramp stamp jobs. Only now, it included infinity symbols in some weird place like the side of the wrist. And they expected you to do that shit tiny because… because reasons. Who the fuck knew? It was cool to have a tattoo but not something noticeable off the bat?

  I’d never get it and I didn’t want to.

  I had ink on my neck for fuck’s sake.

  Anyway.

  After enough time in the shop and hanging around the club, I started to feel like I wanted to grab me a slice of that. So, as stupid as it might have been, I found a guy selling his bike and bought it right away. Then I told Brand that I wanted in.

  I was shocked when they gave me the chance and pushed down the side of me that had to do shit my own way and fuck everyone else. Eventually, I got my patch and felt like I could be a part of something bigger than me.

  However, I was still struggling with feeling like I was one of them.

  A brother.

  I realized that it was probably more on me than them. I wasn’t one to open up. Hell, most of the time I didn’t like to talk. And despite the fact that I now had a place at the table, I still felt like I was a little on the outside most of the time.

  Charming.

  If it wasn’t for him I’d probably be lost. Well, more lost.

  He was the one I trusted most to have my back. The only one I’d let as close as I could let someone get.

  “You good?” Iron asked as I climbed off my bike and got my feet under me.

  Long rides weren’t as fun as they once were.

  Truth was, I usually ended up paying for it, feeling the pain for a couple of days after. I had just hit thirty and I never imagined I would feel so old at this age. Then again, I hadn’t exactly taken it easy on my body. But it was worth it and made me feel like I was carrying my weight with the club.

  I didn’t use my pain as an excuse to get out of shit.

  I wasn’t that type of person.

  No matter what they needed or how much it temporarily hurt, I’d always be there for my club.

  Pain was just an illusion anyway.

  It was there to remind us that we’d pushed too far and the thing about me, there was never a too far.

  “Good,” I told him as I stood tall.

  “Let’s get unloaded and go grab a beer,” he said, clapping me on the back.

  We were here at the South Carolina chapter, dropping off half the shipment before heading to Moon Hill to drop off the other half.

  It would be a long couple of days but it wasn’t like I had much else going on in my life.

  I was just happy to be here, though I did miss my baby. Laurel and Abigail were taking care of her. I told Laurel she didn’t have to given that she now had tw
o brats to take care of and didn’t need to be looking after my dog on top of it, but she had insisted.

  Never could understand why Laurel not only put up with my grumpy ass, but also seemed set on keeping me close.

  She never gave up on me. Never let me slack off after I got out of the hospital all that time ago. She insisted on driving my ass around, staying with me through physical therapy and taking care of Biscuit when I couldn’t get around so great on my own.

  I should have been lucky to be alive.

  And thankful that I had people like her in my life even if she did bug the shit out of me sometimes.

  She was still there, pushing her way into my life years later. I guess she liked being able to look after people. It wasn’t just me, but I got the most of her attention after her kids and man. So, if taking care of Biscuit while I was away set her at ease and made her happy, then it was the least I could do, I guess.

  She was also responsible for most of my girl’s outfits and her pretty, painted nails.

  Things that I didn’t mind so much and it seemed to make Biscuit happy, so I rolled with it. My baby was a badass and it didn’t matter that she looked pretty because she let that shit be known. She had her daddy’s back all the damn time.

  And that was why she was my girl.

  Most days, I had no clue what I’d do without her— my dog, not Laurel. Though life felt complete with Laurel, Cami, and Abigail looking after me too.

  But back to it.

  I was here on a run with five other brothers and two new prospects. Prez came along on this one too. He was still upset about the crates of guns that had gotten yanked sometime around the storm that fucked up the coast. That shit had been put on the back burner while we were catching up and cleaning up, but that didn’t mean that we were letting it go.

  We’d find out who it was.

  And we’d take them down.

  You didn’t fuck with us and I was determined to make sure everyone knew that shit.

  This club had given me something that I’d been needing for a long time, even when I didn’t realize that I needed it. In my mind, that meant I wouldn’t let anyone mess with us or come at us. I’d give my life to protect the club. I was sure I’d already proved that, even before I got my patch or seat at the table.

  I felt like that back then and I still felt that way today.

  After we unloaded, all of us headed inside for some food and beer. We’d party tonight, catch a few hours of shuteye, and then head out in the morning. This was typical, socialize with the other chapters and keep the communication open.

  Me, though, I chose a corner to sit my ass in and watch.

  I wasn’t social and I didn’t try to hide it.

  “Hey,” a guy built much like me walked over and greeted me with a chin jerk.

  Brick.

  Yeah, that was his name.

  “You’re in my seat,” he said sounding like a grumpy asshole.

  I stared at him for a moment before sliding over.

  He flopped down on the couch, beer in hand.

  And that was when I realized he was this chapter’s me.

  “Ride good?” he asked, not looking at me. His tone was clipped like he was trying to be friendly but wasn’t in the mood.

  “Yep,” I answered.

  “Like sports?”

  “Nope.”

  “Good,” he said as he snatched up the remote and changed the channel to some action movie I’d seen a few times before. “Better?”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  Then we let the conversation die, both of us giving just enough to look like we were playing nice.

  A couple of club girls came up to us. Brick eventually took off with one, grunting as a way of saying bye. I returned the grunt and waved off the blonde trying to crawl in my lap.

  I was half-feeling it but the truth was, I knew it would be a long ride tomorrow and I didn’t want to end up any stiffer than I already was.

  It was a pathetic excuse and I knew it, but she didn’t seem to mind as she sauntered off and found someone else to play with.

  I’d find someone when I got home.

  I wasn’t here to play anyway. Even though we were part of the same club, I wasn’t all that comfortable leaving my spot. I might have been watching the movie, but I was keeping an eye on everything around me too. Didn’t want something to happen and not be right there to stop shit before it got out of hand.

  I got a little nap on that very couch I was sitting on. I waited until the party died down before I even thought about closing my eyes. Iron got a room and I understood that. The rest of us were left to find a spot to crash. This chapter seemed pretty full but I couldn’t say that was a bad thing.

  The next day, the old ladies made sure we headed off with full bellies. Wasn’t going to complain about that.

  We hit Moon Hill and I was ready for a break.

  This chapter felt more settled than South Carolina. Most of the men at the table having old ladies and kids was probably the reason for that.

  And those kids were currently running around like they owned the place.

  This would be our chapter soon if the brothers kept dropping like flies and trying to keep their women knocked up. Hell, with the way B-ry and Laurel were going, they’d have the club overrun with kids in no time.

  Did I hate it?

  Nah, because the women seemed happy and as long as the women were happy, the men were happy.

  Which meant the club was happy.

  I wasn’t great with kids, mostly because I scared them and didn’t know what the fuck to do with them. Laurel tried a few times, but I handed those kids back over the moment she shoved them in my arms.

  Kids, they weren’t my thing. Not right now. Maybe if I found someone special enough to put up with my ass I might change my mind. But right now, if they weren’t mine, I didn’t want to deal with them.

  And let’s be real, I was never going to find that woman.

  I was lucky if I could find one to put up with me for a couple of hours. Or maybe it was more the other way around.

  Fucking, that I was good at. But once they tried to talk to me after the fun was done, I was telling them bye. Not so much telling them as pointing them to the door.

  Think what you want, it worked for me.

  No sense in letting them stick around and get comfortable when we both knew it wasn’t gonna work out, right? So, in a way, I was doing the right thing.

  There was a cookout and all the women and kids were there. Plus that crazy old bat, Ethel. I think I’d spoken two words to her since I first met her a couple of years ago, but I loved sitting in the background and listening to what she had to say. If I had a grandma, I’d want her to be like that. A woman that said fuck what you were supposed to do and just be yourself. Let me tell you, she wasn’t shy about anything. And those fingers, yeah, she might have been old, but that woman still had a good grip. Tight as my ass was, I’d feel that pinch for a while to come.

  Something about that old woman always made me laugh on the inside.

  Seeing the way the club just accepted it did something to me too.

  I think I was still grappling with the fact that they took you as you were. That the club wasn’t about changing you and making you fit what they thought you should be. It was about accepting each one of us for who we were and shit like that.

  Standing in the back yard of the Moon Hill chapter, I saw where we would be in the next few years.

  Kids and shit everywhere.

  A kind of settled chaos in the air.

  Tank’s kid, the oldest of the bunch, sat on the outside watching the younger ones like it was his job. Diesel’s kid was spinning circles around that older stoic kid wearing something that looked like a princess dress. The VP was walking around with a little girl in his arms. Their Prez rocked two little girls that looked less girly than Diesel’s kid, while his eyes were on a little boy I would badly guess was a few years older. Couldn’t say for sure because I wasn�
��t good with kids and ages. And there were a few more running around and chasing each other.

  And it was like I saw it. Saw the future of this chapter. Saw how Tank’s kid would always look out for the new generation. Saw the link between him and Diesel’s girl. Saw how Axe’s girls were going to rule the club and stress their dad out in a handful of years.

  That thought alone made me chuckle.

  It made me think of B-ry back home.

  That was the near future for him too.

  “A lot goin’ on around here,” Iron said as he tossed a wayward ball back to one of the kids. That man had a smile on his face I was sure of it.

  “Yep,” I said watching him closely as he lowered himself down into the chair beside me.

  “Comin’ here always makes me feel like I’m doing something right,” he said with a short chuckle. I said nothing, waiting for him to further explain. “This was what I had growing up. Good dad, good club. Always wanted to make that happen but it’s hard to find the right place you fit in sometimes. Got lucky, I found it.”

  “Right,” I said with a nod. I wasn’t sure what he expected me to say here.

  His head turned, his eyes pinning me with humor in them.

  “You don’t feel that way?” he asked.

  “Always been on my own. Life is easier that way,” I said, sending him a glare behind my shades that I was sure he felt. “If you don’t have any attachments then you don’t feel the sting from losing them.”

  “That’s true,” he replied with a slow nod of his head. He looked away from me again. “But you had to know that the club came with attachments whether you were lookin’ for them or not.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed and realized my mistake.

  Iron saw through me.

  Saw the things I was looking for but still had a hard time admitting after all these years.

  “You’ll get it one day,” he told me, then patted my leg as he stood up.

  He walked away without another word and I let the things he said roll around in my head.

  Get it or not, I was still here.

  And I didn’t see myself going anywhere despite all of that.