Melted Iron (Blue Bandits MC Book 3)

by Michelle Woods

  Dear God, if it was would she be able to handle that?

  “It’s Robby’s. I was seeing him for three months and we were pretty exclusive until––until he kicked me out a few weeks ago,” Grace wailed, her eyes pouring out tears and Roz breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Why would Robby deny it’s his baby if you two were living together?” Roz asked, wondering if she just had shitty taste in men or if the man had reason to believe she’d been with other men. Roz didn’t know the woman well and if she’d been kicked out of Robby’s bed only a few weeks ago, then the day when she’d gotten naked and laid in wait for Iron hadn’t been long afterwards.

  “He thinks it’s not his because I told him–– I told him I was sleeping with Iron to make him jealous,” Grace finally confessed and it brought what had happened with Iron into focus for Roz. She shook her head. When would women like Grace learn that using men against each other only led to heartbreak?

  “Well that wasn’t very smart,” Roz couldn’t help muttering under her breath but to Grace she said, “Did you explain to him that it wasn’t true?”

  “I tried.” Grace began to sob again and Roz rubbed her back wondering how the hell she always got involved in these kinds of messes. For goodness sakes, the woman was in her man’s bed naked and here she was trying to help her.

  Damn her soft heart.

  “Maybe try again if you really care for him and see if you can’t explain,” Roz told her.

  “He won’t believe me. But,” Grace raised a teary-eyed face to her and a speculative look appeared on her face. Roz knew that she was going to regret being nice the minute the woman smiled.

  “Maybe you could explain it. He would believe you and I could do a paternity thingy and then he’d have to believe me that it’s his baby.” Grace was excited now and she looked so hopeful with her tearstains and the pleading lost puppy look on her face.

  Roz sighed wearily, her shoulders tensing. She knew she should tell the woman to get a fucking life, that she wasn’t going to help her after what she’d tried to do to separate her and Iron, but she just couldn’t kick a woman when she was down.

  “Well a paternity test can’t be done until the pregnancy’s in the fourteenth week. How far along are you?” she asked. Seeing Grace’s face fall, she knew she wasn’t that far along.

  “Only seven weeks.” Grace looked so heartbroken that Roz rushed to reassure her because she was such a sucker, internally shaking her head at her need to fix everyone.

  “I’m sure if I talk to Robby he will wait to get the results of the test at least before he refuses to believe you again,” Roz said still rubbing Grace’s back.

  “You really think so?” Grace asked, again with that hopeful puppy look in her eyes.

  “Well there’s only one way to find out. Why don’t we go together to talk to him,” Roz said, knowing that this was a ridiculous plan but she couldn’t really bring herself to refuse to try and help the other woman if for no other reason than that her baby deserved two parents.

  “You’re really nice. I feel bad about what I did the other day, but I just wanted to make Robby so jealous he’d take me back. I’d gotten mad and told him Iron was better in bed than he was. I figured that sleeping with Iron was the best way to do it. I mean he’d kicked me out over Iron because I did tell him that,” Grace said, staring at Roz with a remorseful expression.

  It was all she could do not to roll her eyes at the woman because it was the height of stupidity to think that sleeping with another man would make her relationship with the man she did want better. Women like Grace were idiots when it came to men. All sleeping with Iron would have done was driven Robby further away.

  “Well I guess I am. Now should we get you cleaned up so that we can go talk to Robby?” Roz asked, trying to hide her disgust with the woman’s idiocy when it came to relationships.

  “Oh yes, thank you, Roz. I really am sorry about the other day,” Grace said earnestly, grabbing her hand to squeeze it. Roz figured she was actually sincere when she apologized and she supposed it wasn’t Grace’s fault that she was stupid. Some women were just idiots and Roz bet Grace wasn’t always hateful like she had been that day in Iron’s room.

  Twenty minutes later she climbed into Grace’s car and they headed over to Robby’s house. He lived near the rec center so she would be able to walk home after she had tried to sort this out with Robby and Grace. She waited while Grace knocked on the door, her face pale as she waited on the man to answer. It didn’t take long and a short man with brown hair and a mustache opened the door glaring at Grace.

  “What do you want? I told you not to come back here,” Robby said harshly to Grace, whose face paled even further and her lower lip trembled. Roz sighed because she wasn’t in the mood for further water works today.

  “Look, can we just come inside to talk for a moment? I think you need to know a few things before you dismiss her,” Roz said, trying to avert the crying jag she could see coming.

  “Who are you?” Robby asked snidely, his glare now on her.

  “I’m Roz. Iron’s girlfriend,” she told him, not knowing what to call herself because she wasn’t really his girlfriend but she was something to him and she was pretty sure that he loved her as much as she loved him.

  “And you’re here with this whore because––?” Robby asked making Roz a little angry. She knew that Grace likely deserved his snide tone and his disdain with what she had tried to do but she couldn’t let him treat her that way in front of her, it wasn’t right.

  “Stop calling her a whore. She might have lied to you but that’s no reason for you to bad mouth her. Now, can we go inside and sit down to talk for a little while, please.”

  Robby looked from her to Grace and back again for a long moment before finally relenting with a nod and holding the door for them to enter. Grace sat down at the table in one of the four chairs that were around it. She was pale and her face was sweaty. It worried Roz because the stress Grace was under wasn’t good for the baby.

  She was surprised when Robby walked over to the refrigerator, grabbing a grape juice bottle and pouring a glass. He then set it down in front of Grace commanding her gruffly, “Drink.”

  Roz realized then that despite his rudeness and the things he had said to her he cared about Grace. Roz was glad because that meant this would likely be an easier sell than she had originally thought. Grace lifted the juice and drank while Roz took a seat beside her while Robby stood leaning on the kitchen counter watching Grace.

  “So, I’m here because Grace came to the clinic today to get a paternity test,” Roz finally said when the silence in the room got the better of her.

  “And the results said?” Robby asked, looking at her intently.

  “The test can’t be done until she’s further along.”

  Robby’s face lost the intensity and he frowned. “So why did you come here?”

  “Because one, she lied about sleeping with Iron and two, you would have to come with her to get the test anyway in order to affirm that the baby is yours,” Roz informed him.

  “It’s true, Robby. I lied about that, but I’m not lying about the baby being yours. I haven’t been with anyone since a month before we got together, I swear!” Grace cried.

  Robby snorted. “And how can I take your word for it when you lied to me once already?”

  “I only told you that because I was mad that you were flirting with Penny at the diner,” Grace moaned, looking petulant.

  “What? Not this again! I told you that nothing is going on with Penny and me. She’s just a friend and all I did was smile at her anyway. It’s crazy that you’re still on about that,” Robby said, looking a little petulant himself.

  “But you’re always talking about how Penny does the best waffles and how she loves to play cards on the weekends with you and Harris.” Grace leaned forward, her eyes bright with unshed tears and she looked so sad that Roz wanted to hug her again.

  “I––well those things are true
, but it wasn’t because I like her better than you, Grace. It was just me talking about a friend and I hate to say it, sweetheart, but you’re a terrible cook. You burnt boiled eggs.”

  “I forgot about them!” Grace wailed, bursting into tears. Robby sighed before he knelt down in front of her, pulling her into his shoulder and rubbing her back.

  “Fine, you can move back in but we will take that paternity test to see if the baby’s mine though. And I will try not to talk about Penny as much, just stop wailing, okay,” Robby said, holding her to him. He nodded at Roz who indicated she was going to leave. She’d had enough of this dog and pony show and it seemed that the couple might be able to work this out on their own.

  She walked to the door pushing it open, sighing in relief as she headed back to the rec center across the street and down a block. Looking up at the sky as she headed home, she realized it really was a nice day out to enjoy a walk.

  Chapter 15

  Roz was about halfway to the rec center from Robby’s house when she felt as if she were being watched. Turning to peer down the alley next to the building she was walking beside, she saw nothing except shadowed areas and the trash burners. She stood staring for a long moment because she couldn’t seem to shake the sensation that she was being followed but nothing moved in the alley.

  Roz shook her head figuring she must be imagining things. It was the middle of the day and the likelihood that someone was watching her, much less following her, was slim to none. She heard the roaring of a bike pull up nearby and turned towards the sound, finding a glaring Iron stomping towards her. Roz was unsure why he looked so angry. Iron grabbed her, jerking her into his arms when he was close enough to do so, and she went willingly despite the rough manhandling. Iron was holding her so tightly that she almost couldn’t breathe.

  “Geez, let up a little. You’re holding me too tight,” Roz moaned, trying to wiggle away from him. Iron let his hold on her loosen a little before looking down at her with a dark scowl on his face.

  “What the hell are you doing walking down the street by yourself?” Iron demanded.

  “Well first of all, I’m thirty-two, not five, and I was just walking to the rec center. I was only a block away since I was at Robby’s house. I’m pretty sure that I can walk that far without assistance.”

  Iron’s scowl darkened and his hold tightened again making her push against his chest, trying to get him to let her go.

  “What the hell were you doing out here alone, Roz? And wait, why were you at Robby’s?” Iron asked, his voice arctic and his green eyes narrowed to slits as he watched her face. His hands tightened and he looked like he was ready to kill someone, making her realize he was thinking up terrible scenarios in his head about her and Robby.

  Roz wanted to snap at him that she’d been there screwing the man because that was how he was acting but that would make her no better than Grace and she wasn’t going to slip down that slippery slope. With a sigh of annoyance, she replied, “I was helping Grace.”

  “What the fuck for after that scene the other night?” Iron asked, looking at her like she’d lost her mind. She wasn’t sure he was too far off the mark on this one because really, the woman hadn’t deserved her help. Roz’s only excuse was that she had a soft heart and when someone was hurting she wanted to fix it.

  “Granted, she likely didn’t deserve my help but I’ve always been a sucker for babies,” Roz told him with an exasperated roll of her eyes.

  Iron paled and he spat out coldly, “Grace is pregnant?”

  “Yes, Iron, she is,” Roz told him, raising a brow at his reaction.

  “Well it’s not mine!” he burst out,looking green around the gills and Roz almost laughed at how quickly he rushed to assure her that the kid wasn’t his. “Our one night together was over six months ago and I used a medi-condom because I never trust the women I sleep with. I swear, baby, it’s not mine,” Iron growled, shaking her a little.

  “I know it’s not yours, Iron. Relax for goodness sakes before your head explodes. It’s Robby’s,” Roz said, trying to calm him down before he had a stroke. Geez, that vein in his forehead looked like it was going to blow at any second.

  After a moment he seemed to process that and he let out a sigh of relief before he kissed her forehead gently, only to scowl at her again moments later.

  “You still shouldn’t be out alone with the Headhunters lurking around here. Why didn’t someone come with you?” Iron asked, looking pissed.

  “I guess because I didn’t ask them too?” Roz said.

  “That shouldn’t have mattered. One of them should have come with you,” Iron insisted, scowling down at her again, his arms tight bands around her.

  “Well, it might also have something to do with the fact that I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving,” Roz finally told him, her hands resting on his shoulders.

  “Damn it, Roz! You have to be careful. You know what happened to Burner the other day and we aren’t sure what the hell the Headhunters are up to.” Iron’s voice was harsh and he was scowling again.

  “I am able to take care of myself, Iron. In case you didn’t hear me a moment ago, I’ll say it again. I’m not a five year old.” Roz sighed, shaking her head.

  He was overreacting to her deciding to walk home when it was only a block away. Even with the Headhunters lurking around, they weren’t going to grab her in broad daylight because someone would see them. He was being ridiculous.

  “I know that, Roz, but I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.” Iron was staring down at her with intense sincerity.

  Roz felt her heart pound in her ears as she looked up at him. His gaze was filled with deep emotional turmoil and she knew that his fears had more to do with her faked death and the sense of loss that still brought him than anything she’d done today. Sighing because she knew that they were both still dealing with issues their long separation had created, she reached up cupping his cheek.

  “I’m fine, Iron, and if it makes you worry less, next time I’ll bring along a babysitter.”

  “Rozzy, it’s not that they’re there to keep you in line. Having them with you would be only for your protection,” Iron whispered against her temple, his lips gently caressing her.

  “I know but it still feels like they’d be my babysitters,” Roz said against his chest, her face buried into his warmth. “And I’ve been on my own for a long time. It’s hard to think I need to consult others before doing something I’ve set my mind to.”

  His masculine scent was teasing her senses, making her body relax into his. Roz felt desire spark, flooding through her veins like fire, making her cling to him.

  Iron groaned. “I know but try, for me, okay baby?” he asked and she nodded, feeling the hard press of his thickened cock against her. Desire filled his eyes and he pulled her from the street towards his bike, leading her there with a suddenly wicked smile.

  Iron climbed on and motioned for her to follow suit and Roz sighed, getting on the bike to ride the short distance to the rec center. Even after weeks of riding with him she still wasn’t sure if she liked it. Roz knew that Iron found it funny that she wasn’t too comfortable on his bike but since her body was burning up with desire she didn’t argue with him.

  Climbing on behind him, her arms around his waist, she leaned into his back feeling the hard throb of the motor against her crotch, a shiver passing over her. The bike lurched and she held on while the bike ate up the short distance between them and the rec center. When he pulled up, Iron waited until she was off the bike before he climbed off, letting out a wicked laugh and scooping her up, throwing her over his shoulder, and carrying her towards the rec center.

  “Iron! Put me down,” Roz cried, giggling as she began hitting his ass with her hands trying to get him to put her down but only succeeding in making him laugh harder.

  “Not a chance,” he growled.

  He held her legs and caressed her ass with a hard hand making her remember the last time he’d carried her like t
his. She’d gotten into a catfight with Maryann again when she was seventeen. She’d been dating him for six months by then. She remembered the way Maryann had thrown her beer at her and Roz had responded by grabbing her by the hair and slamming her head into the wall repeatedly.

  Iron, wanting to stop her, grabbed her around the waist, threw her over his shoulder and carried her screeching form from the party they’d been at. He shoved her into his truck and took her back to his place. That was the night things had gotten out of hand and he’d almost made love to her. Roz smiled at the memory before glancing behind them to see two men wearing Headhunters cuts coming up quickly behind them.

  She was going to warn Iron when she was quickly set on her feet. Iron steadied her beside him and she saw that there were two more Headhunters in front of them. Iron tried to get to his gun but it was too late and the men who’d been in front of them grabbed him, jerking his arms behind his back and shoving him hard on the ground.

  “Run, Roz,” Iron commanded but she wasn’t about to leave him here it just wasn’t happening. She didn’t have a chance anyway because one of the men behind them grabbed her arm. He squeezed roughly, making her cry out in pain, unable to hold it in.

  “Oh no, stay, sugar. Umm––aren’t you sweet,” the man who held her wrist said, pulling her towards him, his eyes trained on her as he forced her closer to him. His breath was stale and his teeth were rotted and when he was close enough he licked over her cheek. Roz felt bile rise in her throat and she whimpered, her stomach revolting.

  “Leave her alone, you sick fuck!” Iron growled from his position on the ground. The man who had his arm twisted behind him held him there and began laughing.

  “Aw, look boys, he’s upset we’re messing with his bitch. Maybe we should make him watch while we fuck her. Think he’d like that?” Snide laughter came from the men who held them.

  The four men standing around them were very sure that they’d won but Roz knew they didn’t realize that they weren’t alone here. She knew that since they’d found the Headhunters in their territory they’d been leaving several men here during the day. All she had to do was get their attention. Roz opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could.