Page 187 of Steel

“Go. We got this. We’ll keep an eye on this asshole until Crux gets here, then you can head to the warehouse,” Wraith orders.

Bailee’s helping a mom wrangle her kids, and I run my eyes over her body as I jog over. I wish for fucking once that I had X-ray vision so I can check under her clothes for injuries. I wait asshe gets the kids settled next to their mother and runs a hand over the little boy’s head with a gentle smile.

She turns to me with a question in her eyes.

“Check on you,” I tell her, reaching for the hem of her shirt.

Bailee shoves my hand away in exasperation. “I told you, I’m fine.”

I growl, ready to move her hands until a loud familiar whistle breaks through the air and interrupts us.

“I know.” She kisses me again. “Go take care of that.”

“Ronin and Thrasher will be around if you need them.”

I have to trust my brothers will keep an eye on my woman while I try to get information out of the Night Skulls assholes.

Crow has my bike standing up and is inspecting it for damage when I walk over to him. “Gonna need some love, but she’s not too torn up. Couple deep scratches that I should be able to get out and a touch-up on her paint, she’ll be good to go.”

“Good to make it to the warehouse?” I ask him.

“Fire her up,” Crow replies as I swing my leg over the seat.

Flicking my wrist, I bring her to life and let her rumble underneath me. I grin at Crow. “Purrs like my favorite kitten.”

He glances over at Crux and the cage then turns back to me with a maniacal grin. “Looks like they’re ready to head to the warehouse.”

Wicked delight unfurls inside me as my fingers tighten around the handlebars. I find Bailee in the crowd, reassuring myself that she’s fine, and I relax when Thrasher stands next to her with his massive fucking arms folded over his chest as he stares people down. Bailee blows me a kiss, and the tightness in my chest loosens as I wink at her.

“Let’s roll out,” Crow says when I nod at him.

As we ride to the warehouse, I closely monitor my bike for any late signs of damage. Thankfully, my baby rides as smooth as she did before I laid her down.

Crux backs the van up to the warehouse doors and climbs out. He jogs over and lifts them while I slide from my bike to meet him at the back of the van. The Night Skulls member hangs from a hook in the middle of the van with his legs chained to the hook in the floor so he can’t go anywhere.

He stares at me blankly, with no fear of his predicament in his eyes. Didn’t expect there to be from one of Killer’s men, but it’s still a shock. Most people have something they fear. It’s just a matter of finding what it is. Killer and his men . . . I doubt they have souls. Without one of those, can you really feel any emotion?

Crow steps up into the back of the cage with a syringe in his hand and smiles wickedly at him. “Nighty night.” The man jerks his head to the side, but Crow just tuts and grabs a handful of his hair before jabbing the needle into his neck. “And five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one.”

The man’s puffy eyes fall closed, and his body drops into deadweight from the hook. Needing to be sure he’s out, I slide the knife from my pocket and bring it to his cheek. With a quick flick of my wrist, I glide the blade along his skin, watching as it splits open. His body doesn’t twitch, so I wipe the blade on his cut and shove it back into my pocket.

“He’s out,” I confirm. “Crux, keep a gun on him just in case.”

I help Crow unlatch his feet, then we lift him from the hook. The cage rocks as we drop him heavily to the floor. Crow jumps out, grabbing the man’s ankles and yanking him toward him and the open back doors. Once I clear out of the cage, I heft the body over my shoulder and carry him to the middle of the warehouse. Crow helps me settle him on the hook as Crux grabs some heavy-duty chains to wrap around his legs, anchoring them to the hooks poking out of the concrete floor. Once he’s secure, I pull my t-shirt and cut off, hanging them from one of the pegs in the wall.

There are so many options for torture on the worktable. Digging through them, I find everything I need to try to get him to give me the information we need to find Killer.

I told Wraith about Emmy Lou’s idea to turn what we have over to their FBI contact, and he’s given me the okay to give her his information. She told me she’d have Max reach out to Wraith as soon as he can. In the meantime, we’re not going to stop coming for Killer as he comes for us because there’s no way in hell he’s getting his hands on my woman.

After I have everything I want to use on the cart, I wheel it over in front of the unconscious man.

I roll my head along my shoulders as I get ready then pick up the large hunting knife. Sliding the blade under the shoulders of his cut, I slice through the worn leather before moving to the other shoulder. His cut drops to the floor, but not before I catch the road name on the front.

My lips twitch.

Cookie.

I move on to his shirt and jeans until they’re laying in tatters on the floor.

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