Sketch: A Steel Paragons MC Novel (The Coast: Book 12)

by Eve R. Hart

  I was pretty sure it was her sister that was missing along with my son and Sketch. If she could be strong enough to make sure I was okay, then I could do the same for her.

  “I’m fine,” I told her with a small smile. “I wish I could do more.”

  She took a seat across the table from me and her smile was sad.

  “Me too,” she said softly. “I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put faith in the club. They watch each other’s backs and if something like this happens, the world gets put on pause until they find their people.”

  That made me feel both grateful and sad at the same time.

  Situations where they have to “find their people” shouldn’t have been a thing. And it certainly shouldn’t have been something that sounded like it happened frequently. How often did dangerous things happen to the people of this club? Was this a regular occurrence?

  I wasn’t happy about that knowing Tripp was a part of it. Knowing that Tripp looked at these people as family and would lay down his life to protect them. It was one thing to say that, to even believe it would be true if it came to it, but it was quite another to have that tested time and time again.

  He was my son, of course, I wasn’t happy to think about something like that. Any mother out there worth her weight in salt wouldn’t be either.

  Then there was Sketch. With my feelings for him, I just couldn’t.

  Maybe I should have run.

  Taken myself somewhere else and started over. I couldn’t cut Tripp out of my life but I could leave Sketch behind.

  Couldn’t I?

  Tears came to the surface and I knew I was already in too deep.

  “How do you do it?” I asked her. I hadn’t meant to voice that question, but it was out there now. I imagined this was really hard on her too.

  “I saw what the club did for my sister when our parents cut her off,” she said with a small smile on her face. “They took her in and treated her like she was one of them. I think they would have even if she hadn’t been Brand’s. They all look out for her, especially Blade and Sketch. Most of us have been through something and the club has been there to help hold us up after. To help put us back together. They’ll stop at nothing to give you the peace of mind you might need to move on.”

  I didn’t understand. I’d never been through anything traumatic or hard. Even my divorce wasn’t really that bad. My life had been turned upside down but I wasn’t hurt, just a little lost, I guess. I could tell she was talking about something that didn’t even compare to that. But I did understand what she was saying about the club.

  Hearing her talk pulled at my heartstrings. These women were all strong even if they didn’t show it on the surface. What that told me was they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t want to be. They wouldn’t withstand the danger and the tense moments if the good didn’t outweigh the bad.

  “Then, there was what happened with me,” she said, her eyes going hazy like she was starting to slip into a bad memory. “All I will say, something happened that changed my life forever. I was angry after. Angry at the club. At Bryan, my man. Angry at life. I wanted to know everything. I even wanted to get revenge for myself.”

  I swallowed hard. With the way Abigail had opened up to me, and now Laurel, I was emotionally torn open. I was sure it showed because I didn’t have the strength to hold back.

  “Bryan refused to leave my side even though I wanted nothing more than to push him away. And he took care of the ugliness so that the darkness wouldn’t touch me anymore. He’s everything to me, and the club is just an extension of that. More support. More love. Just… more everything.”

  “I think I’m starting to see that,” I said with a wet laugh.

  “I sound like I’m trying to sell you something.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. “I swear I’m not. I just have been where you are and I almost lost the best thing in my life. I don’t want you to push us away because of this. And from what I’m gathering, you care for Sketch. He’s got a special place in all of our hearts, and if he found someone to love him… well, I certainly don’t want to lose you.”

  We both laughed quietly.

  I could see what she was saying.

  Sketch was very unique. I wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get under my skin and latch onto my heart, but he had.

  The only thing I could come up with was that when you find real, true love, it didn’t matter how different the two people are. It didn’t matter the gaps between them or how opposite they looked from the outside. All that mattered was that they cared for each other, and worshiped that love every single day so that it would never stop growing.

  “So, Laurel, tell me how I can help?” I asked, jumping in with everything.

  I wouldn’t say these people needed me, but maybe I needed them.

  “How good are you with kids?” she asked with a raised brow almost as if she already suspected the answer.

  Tripp might have been grown now and I might not have been around while he was a baby, but I loved kids. I always had.

  That said, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to start over at my age.

  But that wasn’t the point right now.

  “I love them. Do you have any toys around here?”

  “Girl, we have a whole closet in the laundry room. Toys, games, arts and crafts. You name it, it’s probably in there. Iron has a tendency to go on shopping sprees and I swear every time I turn around, I find something new for the kids in there.” She stood, a little laugh falling from her lips as if she thought the President was a little ridiculous. But it was clear to see how much she loved and admired the leader.

  I was quick to realize that there was a lot more to the Steel Paragons Motorcycle Club than I could have ever imagined. Now, being in the middle of it, I was easily starting to see why Tripp, Sketch, and everyone else around me were protective of the club. And why they had so much faith in it.

  I got up and followed behind Laurel, wanting to help in any way that I could.

  Not only that, but I could very much use a distraction right about now.

  If I sat around much longer, I’d do nothing but worry myself to death.

  I took a deep breath and did my best to release at least some of my anxiety.

  Tripp and Sketch had to be alright, as well as everyone else that was caught up in whatever was going on. I refused to believe anything else.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Cable

  You ever feel like life is too good to be true?

  Sometimes I felt that way.

  With all the shit I’d seen in my life and being around the club, it was hard not to think that. Especially when everything seemed to be going so well.

  Maybe I’d been waiting for this moment.

  I might have even said I’d invited it in with all the negative thoughts. I tried not to let them in that often, but it happened.

  Claire.

  I loved her so much.

  I had since the moment I saw her eyes.

  I wasn’t aware of it then, but that one picture had pulled me in.

  It didn’t matter how I found her. It didn’t matter all the things she’d been through. I loved her. Every single thing about her.

  And now, I loved her even more. I didn’t even know that I could. But the moment she told me we were going to have a baby together, my world got brighter. That light only grew the moment I held Beau in my arms for the first time. It might sound sappy, but that light was still growing.

  But it could only burn so bright before it burned out, right?

  Was this that moment?

  I really fucking hoped not.

  I couldn’t lose them.

  I would lose myself if I did.

  There would be no reason for me to go on.

  This wasn’t supposed to happen. Hadn’t she been through enough? All I wanted was to give her the best life. Laughter and comfort and love. But this was far from it.

  I couldn’t figure out what we were missing. What the hell I was mi
ssing.

  I tried to focus but it was hard, and I couldn’t shut down even though that was what my mind wanted to do. The club needed me. My woman and child needed me. And I felt so useless.

  If Claire were here, she wouldn’t let me lose hope.

  So, I pushed on as if she were right by my side. That was the only way she would ever be again.

  If I could just figure out…

  My eyes bounced around from all the different feeds of the container yard.

  In my gut, I felt like something wasn’t right.

  But logically, it all looked normal.

  The time of day. The angle of the sun. The little movements of nature all around.

  Nothing was out of place.

  Even the brief moments of the people on patrol.

  Except…

  “What the fuck?!” I growled out.

  Iron had called not fifteen minutes ago after he made it to the container yard and had a chance to check things out.

  He’d found Colby not far from the front gate. Shot, but not dead, thank God.

  Then he’d found Tripp and the Prospect that had been on patrol with him.

  Luckily Tripp was still alive, but he was unconscious.

  Iron couldn’t say the same for the Prospect.

  So, if Tripp was unconscious and on his way back to the compound, then why was he walking right by the camera looking like he was fine? By himself, no less.

  Since I knew Iron and a few of the brothers were riding in, I hadn’t bothered to pull up the main cameras. I’d been too focused on the corners where people might sneak in. I hadn’t even noticed if they came on the screen.

  But when I rewound and watched the front gates, nothing was going on. I went back even more. Then forward again.

  They weren’t there.

  This footage wasn’t right.

  But how the fuck had this happened?

  I couldn’t begin to wrap my head around it.

  Whoever it was, they were good. Really damn good. Because they’d gone through and taken a whole day of our footage and looped it in place of today’s.

  And I hadn’t caught onto any of it. How long had this person been watching us? How long had they been waiting for this moment?

  I called Iron right away.

  He didn’t sound like he blamed me, but he rarely let his emotions show. It didn’t matter, because I blamed myself completely.

  They rolled back into the compound not long after that and I was waiting in the lounge.

  Brand and Blade walked in a moment after that and I couldn’t even tell you how heavy and antsy the room felt now. Those feelings only grew as Iron filled them in. Brand and I shared a look, we both knew what the other was going through and the understanding was there on his face. However, it wasn’t there long. In the blink of an eye, he let the darkness take over and with a deadly stare, I knew he was ready to get down to it.

  Knight and Mason had come back as well.

  It was time to regroup and hunt this asshole down.

  “I don’t know how I missed it,” I said. I was angry at myself and full of disappointment.

  “Let it go,” Iron said. His tone calm but also stern. “We need to think now. If Monty is somehow behind this, where the hell would he take them?”

  “The church,” Knight said, his tone low and gravelly.

  I was sure he was right back at that time when Gwen had been taken. Sketch had been the one to help us find the place from what I remembered. He knew it well because he’d stayed there many times before.

  It made sense. We’d checked every other place and we hadn’t found anything. Why didn’t I think of that? It hadn’t been on the list from back when we were trying to find Claire and the women that Keften had taken. But that wasn’t a good excuse. I should have remembered.

  Iron took out his phone and by the way his fingers were working over the screen, I knew he was sending out a text.

  “Let’s go. I got others heading there to meet us,” he said a moment later.

  We all felt the same thing right now.

  It had to be it.

  I refused to believe anything else because I had to save my woman. I had to keep her and Beau safe.

  I had to save Sketch and Cami.

  I had to keep this club whole.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Sketch

  Getting free had actually been easier than I thought it would be. That damn cream was a fucking miracle, let me tell you.

  However, we were stuck in a windowless room with no clue what waited on the other side.

  Oh, and I had no fuckin’ plan.

  “Sketch?” Cami asked as we stood in a little circle.

  “I’m thinkin’. I’m thinkin’.” But I didn’t have shit popping in my head like I’d hoped I would. “I’m gonna go out there and you two stay here. Wait for me to come get you.”

  “No,” Claire said as she pinned me with her eyes. “I can’t let you go alone.”

  “Same here,” Cami chimed in, though she didn’t sound as confident. I couldn’t blame her.

  It made me feel damn special that they wanted to stick by my side. Made me feel loved and all that shit.

  “Can’t let you do that,” I told them. “Gotta make sure it’s safe first.”

  Before we could argue about it some more, the door handle turned.

  Without even thinking, I sprung into action.

  Some guy walked through the door, his eyes going wide once he saw the three of us standing there unbound. But I was on him before he had a chance to call out for backup.

  With my hand over his mouth, I dragged him into the room and lightly kicked the door closed again.

  “Search him,” I said with urgency.

  Then he got freaked out and scared, and started flailing around.

  I wasn’t all that strong so I couldn’t take the chance on him getting away from me. My eyes closed, and after a second ticked by, I snapped his neck.

  Cami gasped behind me.

  I never wanted her to see any of this shit.

  Claire either, but I knew she’d seen her fair share of the things she shouldn’t.

  However, there wasn’t time to get into that shit now.

  I eased his body to the floor and didn’t give it another thought as I searched him.

  Came up with a gun and a knife.

  No phone, so that sucked, but at least I had something to work with.

  As I stood back up, I felt a little light-headed. I needed to eat. Or I was leaking more blood than I’d hoped. Maybe my head had been hit one too many times. Whatever it was, it wasn’t like I could fix it now. Just had to push on.

  “Stay here, away from the door and keep low. If shots get fired, I don’t want ‘em coming through the wall and hitting you.”

  They held on to each other as they lowered back down to the ground.

  “What is…” Claire’s words drifted off and I fucking smiled.

  The ground vibrated and a second later, the beautiful sound of beastly rumbling pipes hit my ears.

  Of course they would come now and steal my damn thunder.

  But I couldn’t really hate it.

  Now I was pumped up. Maybe I could take out everyone before they even dismounted their damn bikes.

  I shot the girls a smile, sure that it came off looking like someone that needed to be headed for the loony bin.

  Then I opened the door and popped out of the room. I fired shot after shot, easily clearing out the four people standing in the office.

  Fuckhead and Monty weren’t in here, but that didn’t mean I was letting them go.

  I stocked up and continued on.

  Shots rang out in the distance and I made my way to where the action was going down. I popped a few off, making all the little goons fall.

  “The fuck?” Iron called out as I stepped into view.

  I let out a long whistle as I looked around at all the dead bodies that lined the floor of the huge main room of the church.
/>
  “I was handling it,” I told him with a shrug. “Thanks for the backup.”

  Then I fell serious.

  “Where is Beau?”

  “He’s not with you? Claire and Cami?” Iron asked.

  “Girls are in the back room. Unharmed. But they took Beau.”

  Everyone broke off going in all different directions. He had to be here.

  Cable looked about ready to kill some more, and I couldn’t blame him.

  Brand rushed past me, heading down the hall to his woman.

  “Where would they be?” Iron asked me.

  I took another look around, really taking in each body on the floor. The head fucker wasn’t here. Neither was Monty or Vass. Guess the first sign of trouble, they bolted.

  So unfortunately, that meant this shit wasn’t over.

  “Prez! Cable!” Lake called as he ran inside. He didn’t say anything else as he ran back out the front.

  Every single one of us took off and when we got outside, our attention followed Lake’s gaze. You woulda thought that fucker was looking at the fuckin’ clouds.

  Then I heard it. Pretty sure all of us did. That fussy whimper that came from babies right before they started to cry.

  “Vass, get the fuck down here,” I ordered. Nah, I wasn’t being nice. I was done with this shit.

  “He said he’d get me a baby. If I can’t keep him then no one can have him!”

  I knew what was going on here. She was too far gone. Seen it one too many times with my moms.

  She straddled the deep peak of the roof. I wasn’t sure how long it would hold up. Hell, back when we stayed here, I’d crawl up there and it was always like Russian Roulette whether the thing would take my weight or not. It was a rush, what could I say? Plus, it was the only place no one would follow me. I guess the few moments of silence under the stars was worth the risk.

  “Get off the fuckin’ roof!” I screamed, hangin’ on by a fuckin’ thread.

  Brothers moved in like they were plannin’ on trying to catch them if they came tumbling down.

  “How the fuck did she get up there?” Iron asked, his eyes scanning the surrounding area.