Page 184 of Steel

My biggest insecurity is standing right in front of me, and I’m about to learn how much pull she actually has with Steel and how much he trusts me over the mother of his child.

The fog in my head is growing more dense, and I know I need to get this wound tended to before I lose much more blood. So, I do what I should have done from the beginning. I open my mouth and scream.

And scream.

And scream.

I keep screaming even after they rush out in a panic, not wanting to be caught and have their plan ruined.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Bailee,” Reeva chants, pulling her shirt off and holding it against the wound in my side. “We need to get you to the hospital, and I need to call Steel.”

Terror overtakes me when I think of all the ways that could go wrong if Killer finds out. “No. No hospital, and no Steel.”

“That’s not a good idea, Firefly. This is a lot of blood.”

In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve never seen Reeva get flustered about anything, but the idea of me being wounded and not getting help or informing her boss has her in fits.

“I’ll be okay. Just get me out of these cuffs and find me a needle and thread.”

“You need to let Steel know, babe.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“Goddammit,” she spits, keeping one hand on her bloody shirt at my side and using the other to grab her phone. “You’re gonna owe me huge.”

I close my eyes, but they don’t fall for long before her hand connects with my face.

“Open them, babe.”

She turns her attention back to her phone when I blink up at her. “Georgia Rose, go to my office and grab my keys. Then get in my desk and grab the first aid kit from the bottom drawer. Bring everything to me in the women’s bathroom. Don’t say a fucking word to anyone.”

“I’m going to live,” I reassure her. “Believe it or not, this is child’s play compared to the shit my dad did to me.”

“You’ve lived one hell of a life, girl,” she says, shaking her head sadly.

“If only you knew,” I breath out.

“Oh, sweet baby beef cakes,” Georgia Rose exclaims when she steps into the bathroom and locks the door behind her. “What can I do?”

“Find the handcuff key and unlock her hands.”

Once I’m free, they help me sit up against the stall. Reeva digs through the first aid kit, grabbing some gloves, a small travel size bottle of peroxide and alcohol, and a whole ass suture kit.

She sees my curiosity and shakes her head. “Don’t ask.”

“I can do it,” I mumble, holding out my hand.

Reeva gently pushes my hand away as Georgia Rose grabs the pair of scissors. She leans around Reeva and cuts my shirt, pulling it away from the wound so Reeva can get to it.

I close my eyes and lean my head back, disassociating from the pain. I suppose I should be thankful for the hell my father put me through. Who would have thought I’d grow up needing the things I learned at his vicious hands?

The threats uttered in my ear by the Night Skulls member plays on an endless loop in my head.

My life for theirs.

Forhers.

Can Steel protect her enough if I do tell him? Will they really leave the Dirty Mavericks alone if I hand myself over?

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