Heart of Steel

by Cathleen Cole

  Cade knew then and there that there was a place for Rat and his skills in the MC. He managed to convince Riot to give him a place to live, which got him away from the corrupt piece of shit who collected homeless children and used them to hustle money for him and the club gained a valuable asset. It hadn’t been easy convincing Riot to bring on a scrawny, twelve-year-old. He hadn’t been able to see how Rat’s tech skills would be able to help them until he’d found the information they needed to blackmail the officers, forcing them to turn from helping the Italian Mafia and instead begin being loyal to our MC.

  Unfortunately, that hadn’t gone over well with Don Accardo and the officers had been killed, in the line of duty of course. Anyone in the life knew that wasn’t the case but that was what was fed to the press. Rat was skilled enough to keep our MCs name out of it though. Not long after the death of those officers the war between the Italian Mafia and Bratva sparked up, taking the heat completely off us and we steered clear. Rat’s been a brother to us ever since. He was twenty-two now and his talent had grown beyond anything I could hope to understand.

  Just by giving the kid Remi’s first name, he’d managed to find five pages’ worth of information on her. I now had her birthdate, home address, work address. I paused and reread the last line, stating her ownership of Mackenzie’s Trucking. We’d been considering switching over from our current shipping company to using theirs.

  We’d been using Harris’s Shipping for the last year, but more than once now they’d fucked up on our shipments. We traded back and forth with our chapter in Long Beach, California. We stole vehicles and bikes here in Texas and broke them down into parts and frames. After grinding down and then etching in new serial numbers, we then shipped them over to Cali. Al and his boys had a chop shop over there and did the same, then sent them our way. That way both chapters could resell the vehicles in different states without having as much suspicion thrown our way.

  Any time Harris’s messed up, the likelihood that we’d be caught, went up. I smiled grimly and told myself to remember to talk to Cade and get approval to make the switch. The garage may be half mine, but we shared everything with the club. So, we always got club approval before any large changes.

  I sat at the island in the clubhouse, reading through the papers, and I marveled at the details Rat had managed to get about her life. Gunnar flopped down on the stool next to me. He glanced over and tried to snatch the papers from me. I shifted them to my left hand and used my right to slam a fist into his side, just below his ribs.

  Gunnar grunted, then glowered at me and flipped me off. The look I shot him had him muttering under his breath. Gunnar got up and poured two cups of coffee and set one next to me. “You going into the garage today?”

  I shook my head and drank from the cup. I had tried to call Remi Sunday afternoon. She hadn’t answered and hadn’t bothered to call back. Clearly, she thought that she could shut me out. She was very wrong; I covered my grim smile with another long swallow of coffee. “I have some stuff to take care of today.” My eyes strayed to the paper where Remi’s entire school schedule was laid out, thanks to Rat. Gunnar just shrugged and hung his head while he nursed his coffee. He wasn’t a morning person.

  Soon we parted ways, and I headed into the city on my bike. I pulled into an empty spot in one of the parking garages on the university’s campus. I strolled across a large grassy area and smirked when I saw more than one of the women watching me walk. Pulling the ladies had never been an issue for me. Typically, I chose not to deal with them. I enjoyed sex, but other than the club bunnies, I usually didn’t waste my time. At least, until that morning last week when I’d seen Remi. Since then, she’d been the only thought in my mind.

  I found the building I’d been looking for and followed the numbered rooms until I found one-twelve. Leaning against the wall opposite the door, I folded my arms and waited. Shouldn’t be too much longer now. A faculty member walked by and she paused as she caught sight of me.

  Her eyes trailed down my tattoos, looked at my vest, then at my face. I gave her a slow smile. She blushed straight to the roots of her mousy brown hair and hurried down the hallway without saying anything to me.

  Keeping my eyes on the door in front of me, I watched as students began to exit the room. As soon as I saw her come out, my dick hardened. Seeing her had that effect on me. She was laughing, looking over at an Asian girl. Remi was involved in whatever the conversation was, so she hadn’t seen me. Her friend spotted me immediately, and she said something I couldn’t hear over the noise in the hallway. She grabbed Remi’s arm, then jerked her head in my direction.

  Remi’s whiskey-colored eyes met mine, and she looked stunned. The hallway began to clear out as the two girls just stood there and watched me warily. I waited for the kids from her class to move and took a few minutes to run my eyes over her. She was in jeans today and a university t-shirt that she’d tied in a knot at her lower back so that the end of it stopped at the beginning of her jeans. She wore a pair of white and orange sneakers that matched her shirt. Her dark hair was loose, and it was hanging down her back.

  My eyes shifted to the girl next to her. She looked tiny next to Remi. Not delicate, but much shorter. She had long, black hair and eyes so dark they looked black from across the hall. She had a pretty face which had a pinched, worried look on it. It was obvious that they were friends since she hadn’t left when it became clear I was waiting to speak with Remi. She also knew who I was.

  From the minute she’d seen me, I’d seen recognition in her face. I couldn’t stop the rush of satisfaction at knowing she’d told her friends about me. She’d told them enough that this girl, without ever having seen me before, knew exactly who I was in a crowded hallway. Well, not so crowded anymore. Finally, it thinned out, and I made my way over to where they were standing. “Ladies.”

  I read the suspicion on Remi’s face. She’d had time to get over her surprise at seeing me, but now I could tell she was riding on anger, suspicion, and curiosity. I wondered which was going to win out. Anger, I hoped.

  “What are you doing here Steel?” She hissed at me, clearly wondering how I’d managed to track her down. She looked around and saw a few people that had stopped in the hall to watch us curiously.

  “I came to see you. Let’s talk.” I motioned for her to walk ahead of me. She shook her head, then she and her friend shared a silent look.

  “Uh, hi. I’m Julie.” She held out her hand. I stared at it for a minute, then took it. It was tiny in my huge grip. “We have to get to our next class so…” She started to shift as though to walk away, and Remi went to follow. My arm shot out and I put my palm on the wall next to Remi’s head, preventing her from following Julie.

  “You go right ahead, Julie. Remi will catch up to you later.” I spoke the words to the other girl, but I kept my eyes on Remi’s. Hers widened slightly, and then she licked her lips. I narrowed my eyes as I watched that pretty pink tongue moisten her plump lips. I imagined what they’d look like wrapped around my cock.

  Neither girl said anything. I could see out of my peripheral that Julie was glancing back and forth between Remi and me, unsure of what to do. “Rem?” Her voice was hesitant.

  “It’s okay, Julie.” Remi finally said, her eyes breaking from mine to smile at her friend. “I’ll catch up in a few minutes.” Julie still hesitated, but when I turned my head to stare at her, she seemed to lose her nerve. She murmured her agreement then hurried down the hallway, away from us.

  Chapter 16

  Remi

  He was here. Steel was standing directly in front of me, entirely too close for comfort, since we were in public. I saw a group of girls come around the corner and stop, shock on their faces when they spotted him. I knew exactly what they were seeing, a sexy, huge, rough-looking biker. He was wearing a black t-shirt under his cut, blue jeans, and a pair of black combat boots.

  If the girls stared much longer, they were going to start drooling. I wasn’t entirely trusting myself
not to either. The girl in front flicked her eyes over and they met mine. I may not be claiming Steel as mine but that didn’t mean I was going to sit here while this girl eye fucked him in front of me either. I shot her a filthy look that finally got her moving. Steel hadn’t seemed to notice. He was staring at me again. That intense, pale gaze set me on edge.

  “Seriously, Steel. Why are you here?”

  He took my hand and started leading me out of the building. I let him just pull me along in his wake. He crossed the courtyard and found a shady spot under a tree. Releasing my hand, he leaned against the trunk and folded his arms over that huge chest. I refused to look down at it. If I did, I’d start picturing him naked. There had been a lot of that over the last few days. But I’d been firm with myself, and I hadn’t answered when he’d called. I wasn’t going to get tangled up with this guy, physically or emotionally. That traitorous voice in my head whispered, ‘liar’. I ignored it.

  “You didn’t answer your phone.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Contrary to what you must think, my life doesn’t revolve around you. Nor is my phone on me every minute of every day.” I was proud of myself for how calm I sounded. His arrogance was infuriating.

  “Why didn’t you call me back?”

  I was shocked. This guy had come to my campus in the middle of the day, found my classroom, all because I hadn’t returned his call? My eyes narrowed when the thought hit me again.

  “How did you know where to find me?” I had only told him my first name at the party, and he hadn’t gotten many other details that night. I certainly hadn’t told him anything that should have allowed him to track me down.

  He just shrugged. “I have my ways.”

  I looked at him in amazement. “Does anyone ever tell you no?”

  Now he grinned. It was shockingly charming. I blinked and then wished for the cold, gruff guy back. It was easier to keep my distance from him. The man standing in front of me, smiling at me like that wouldn’t be as easy to avoid.

  “Rarely.”

  That didn’t surprise me in the least. He had a confident air of authority. He moved like he expected everyone to get out of his way. He spoke like I’d obey his every command. My eyes narrowed. Well, obeying demands wasn’t something I usually did. I didn’t rebel much as a kid, but dad figured out pretty quickly that if he didn’t want me to do something, forbidding it was the worst thing he could do. It just ensured I would go ahead and do it.

  The thought of my father had sadness jolting through me. This was how it went. In the weeks and few months that followed his death, I’d get dragged under the surface of my grief and sadness. I’d stayed there, never coming up for air. Now, I lived back on the surface, above those emotions. But every once in a while, a wave would come out of nowhere, a memory, and break over my head, shoving me back under until I struggled long enough to break to the surface again.

  Steel shoved up from the tree and closed the distance between us. His brows were pulled together and there was something in his eyes. Was that… concern? He cupped my cheek, swiping his thumb over my skin, sending flutters from where he touched me down to my stomach. “What just happened?”

  I stared at him blankly. It was taking all of me to not lean into his caress.

  Damn it, Remi, I berated myself. You’re not supposed to be seeing or talking with him. You certainly aren’t supposed to be letting him touch you. Remember what happened last time? I asked myself. ‘oh boy, do I remember,’ the voice responded wickedly.

  I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what you mean? You were asking me why I hadn’t called you back,” I started to answer, but he cut me off.

  “Right, and I was enjoying watching you get all fired up. You’re sexy when you’re pissed, Remi.” I blushed. His compliments were so blatant and hot. “Then, it was gone.” He searched my eyes. He didn’t need to say it, he saw the sadness. When it overwhelmed me, there was no way for me to avoid showing it to those around me.

  Stupid expressive eyes.

  “It’s nothing.” I sighed. “Look, Steel. I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. That was pretty shitty of me. But this,” I motioned back and forth between us, “isn’t something I can do.”

  He cocked his head and somehow, he managed to look adorable, like a puppy. Okay, he looked like a fierce rottweiler puppy. He dropped his hand, then shoved them both into the pockets of his jeans. He pinned me with a flat look.

  Uh oh, I thought, the adorable puppy has left the building.

  “You can’t do what? Exactly?”

  “This.” I motioned again, but he just raised his brows and waited. “I have too much going on for a relationship.” His brows remained up.

  Shit. “Not that I’m saying that’s what you were going for, but you called me for a reason.” When a slow smirk spread across his face, I hurried on. “And I don’t do the one-night thing. If that’s what you’re looking for I suggest you go elsewhere.” His silence was starting to unnerve me. I knew I was babbling, but it was far too late to get my voice to stop. “Not that I want you to stay even if it wasn’t a one-night thing because I don’t have time for…”

  “This.” He interrupted me; the smirk still pinned to his face. The ass. He was enjoying this.

  “Exactly,” I said. I was irritated that he was getting enjoyment from my discomfort. How was I supposed to be comfortable around him? My head kept screaming at me to run in the opposite direction. My body kept trying to get me to lean into him so that I could smell the distinct smell of oil and citrus.

  Who would have known that combination would smell good?

  He just shook his head at me, but he shot me a full-blown smile at the same time. I wished it would disappear. I couldn’t think straight with those white teeth flashing at me. His eyes were slightly crinkled at the corners and his beard just lent itself to the whole ‘tough guy’ look. I wondered what it would feel like, scratching me as we kissed. Trailing down my body and rubbing on all my tender spots.

  Whoa, girl. I mentally slapped myself and stepped back a tiny bit. I needed distance from him.

  As soon as I focused back on his eyes, I knew that step backward had been a huge mistake. The smile was gone instantly.

  Wish granted, yay…

  But the look that replaced the smile was far more dangerous. He looked hungry. Those gray eyes were boring into mine. It was the same look he had given me when I first saw him, the look of a predator. The realization hit me like a bucket of icy water.

  Vaguely I remembered what our girl scout leader had told us when we were young girls. She’d said that if we ran into any wolves or bears on our nature walks that we should stand our ground, make ourselves look as big as we could, and yell at them to go away. Something told me that wouldn’t work on Steel; besides, I’d just inadvertently triggered his prey drive. He looked like he wanted to chase me down, tackle me, and have his way with me.

  Swallowing hard, I noticed that his eyes dropped as he tracked the movement. I opened my mouth to say something, anything to get him to go back to the smiling man from a few minutes ago. I had been very wrong. This look, the one that said he wanted to devour me, this was the most dangerous look he had, that I’d seen so far anyway. If I wasn’t lying to myself I’d admit that I wanted to see more.

  The shrill sound of the bell made me jump, and I took another few steps back. When he followed me at a much faster pace, I cursed myself. Steel slid his left arm under mine and splayed his hand across my lower back, pulling me into the heat of his body. Everywhere we touched, all I could feel was hard muscle. The thought had me getting a bit lightheaded. His right hand went under my hair to surround the back of my neck. He’d immobilized me. I watched him with wide eyes, wondering if he was going to…

  “Ms. Mackenzie!” I jerked again, although I couldn’t move much, thanks to Steel’s hands on my body. I looked over, then groaned when I saw Mr. Richards moving toward us. He kept shooting Steel worried glances but by the time his gaze would land on me he’d look
irritated and angry again.

  Just great, I thought, this was exactly what this tense situation needed right now. Mr. Richards had stopped next to us. He cleared his throat and pointedly looked where Steel was holding me. Steel didn’t seem inclined to let me go and I wasn’t going to be able to move unless he let me.

  Steel turned that piercing stare onto Mr. Richards. The way the man paled told me that Steel was looking at him in a very threatening manner. Mr. Richard’s mouth opened and closed, closely resembling a fish. I was trying to hold in my laughter, and I didn’t realize my shoulders were shaking with it until Steel shot me an amused glance.

  “Ms. Mackenzie.” Richard’s voice cracked. “Don’t you have a class you should be in?” His resolve was admirable. I wasn’t sure I’d have had the balls to stand here with Steel looking like he might murder me any second, let alone ask questions.

  “I was just about to head that way,” I murmured. I experimentally tried to pull out of Steel’s hands. It worked pretty much the same way it had at the party. He tightened his grip on me then reeled me into his body. Tucking me under his arm, he pressed me up against his side. Steel turned us to face Richards.

  “Leave.”

  I almost choked on my shock. Steel did have an impressive hold on that authoritative attitude.

  He probably would have made a good cop. Well, except for that whole criminal thing. Mr. Richards’s face screwed up in disgust.

  “You’ll need to be the one to leave Mr...?” When Steel didn’t bother to give a name, Richards continued. “You’ll not be allowed to remain here to harass students.”

  “Oh, he’s not harassing me.” I was more than a little surprised that I was defending him. But it was technically the truth. He hadn’t been threatening. Once again, I knew that if I had refused to come out here with him, he wouldn’t have pressed the issue. I’d chosen to come out here. I couldn’t wrap my mind around how my common sense seemed to leave me whenever this biker was around.