Page 14 of Steel

So, while he’s gently washing the blood, dirt, and other filth away, I start at the beginning. “There’s this spot in the woods not far from my house that I’ve been wanting to take pictures of. You know the ones I’m talking about?” He nods but stays focused on cleaning me. “I’d already been out there for a while, and the sun was almost down by the time I stumbled upon them. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but something was urging me to keep quiet, so I took my boots off before I went farther. As soon as I saw them, I began to take pictures because I knew . . . I just knew something bad was about to happen.” I swallow tightly. “I didn’t expect to capture someone’s murder, Steel, but I couldn’t turn away when I heard the fear in the man’s voice. Swirly. That’s what they called him.” His head jerks up at the name and his hand stills. “The one who shot him . . . Swirly called him Killer.”

“Fuck,” Steel bursts out causing me to flinch.

It jars my leg, and I let out a whimper as the wound stings.

“Shit. You okay?”

“Yeah.” I blow out a breath. “By that reaction, you know who I’m talking about?”

Steel grunts as an expression so dark crosses his face, and the fear I’d been shoving back slithers through my system. Killer isn’t a good person. That much is obvious from the lack of remorse he had for shooting a man in the head point blank, but the look on Steel’s face tells me that isn’t even half of it.

“Most people consider the devil the evilest of evil. Killer is worse than that, Lee. The man doesn’t give a fuck who you are. Man, woman, child, animal . . . he’ll kill you for accidentally brushin’ against him, and he’ll do it in fuckin’ public. Motherfucker has been in and out of prison so many damn times, but for reasons that aren’t hard to figure out, the charges never stick. Then the person responsible for puttin’ him there end up floatin’ down the river without eyes, ears, and tongue.”

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” I murmur.

Steel resumes washing the grime from me as he continues our conversation. “Killer and his club are the last fuckin’ people you want comin’ after you.”

Moisture gathers in my eyes as I stare down at the top of his head. “No matter what that man did, he doesn’t deserve to be left for the animals to gnaw on. Someone has to lead recovery teams to his body.”

“Goddammit, Lee. Knew you and your fuckin’ soft-ass heart would land you in a situation like this. You think they’re just goin’ to leave his body there now that there’s a witness? They’re goin’ to move it somewhere else and still come after you.”

“It’s not like I was looking to stumble upon them, Jericho. I was out shooting like always and heard the terror in that man’s voice. I had to make sure he was okay. When I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do that, I had to do whatever I could to help find him justice, which was only going to happen by capturing everything on camera. What I had to witness isn’t something I’mgoing to just forget. It’s burned into my fucking brain, and it’s all I see when I close my eyes,” I finish softly.

He knows how bad it’s messed with me if I’m cursing.

I find myself staring up at the ceiling as he lathers up my hair. The soothing movements and gentle scratching on my scalp calm me. My eyes drift closed until he tilts my head to the left to rinse the soap out of my hair. It takes longer doing it this way, but I don’t care because it feels good to have someone take care of me.

Someone?

No. I don’t want just anyone to take care of me. I want him.

My Steel.

My Jericho.

My bossman.

Even after the bullshit toxicity I walked away from three years ago.

Sadly, I think it’s always going to be him.

“Come on, Hummingbird,” he murmurs. “Let’s get you to bed. Got to hit the road after the doc comes in the morning.”

He dries me off the best he can, wrapping one threadbare towel around my body and another around my hair. Then he carries me back to the sleeping area and places me in bed.

“Can’t do anything about your underwear, but I should have a clean shirt in the Bronco. You’ll be good until I get back?” I nod, and he places the gun he left me with in the vehicle on the nightstand beside me. “Something feels off, you aim to kill. Can’t have you lockin’ the door because you’re not supposed to be on your feet, and it’ll take too long to get it unlocked. So, stick with your gut. I’ll announce myself if there’s nothing wrong out there.”

“I could just sleep in the towel, ya know.”

He shakes his head with a glare. “That thing will come undone in the middle of you sleepin’ and I’ll be left starin’ at your titsuntil I fall asleep. There’s only so many times I can turn away before my control snaps and I’m nibblin’ on them dusty pink nipples. Puttin’ a shirt on you is the only way to keep that from happenin’.”

“Bet you didn’t think about underwear and my pussy on display either did you,” I mutter as he stomps out the door.

It’s only minutes before he’s back and helping me slide a warm, clean shirt on. His jaw sharpens when his eyes drop to my thighs.

Just thought of that, did you, bossman?

After checking everything to make sure we’re safe for the night, Steel settles into bed. He’s lying on his back with his hands folded behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, and I’m on my side staring at him.

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