Page 21 of Steel

“To the bathroom. I need to pee, and then I’d like something to put on before the doctor gets here.”

I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to be close to him again, so I rest my head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. It’s one of my most favorite melodies.

Not that I’ll make myself vulnerable enough to tell him that.

Not again.

Lesson learned. Got the t-shirt. Yada, yada, yada.

My mind drifts back to last night and everything that happened. I was shocked when he told me he was with two club girls when I called. More than that, I was hurt. I don’t even know why because we’ve not had anything to do with each other the last three years except for an occasional text here and there. It shouldn’t have hurt much, if at all.

Unfortunately, it did, and that doesn’t bode well for my heart. I’m stronger this time, though. My days of being a doormat for him are over. I’ve been with other men in the three yearswe’ve been apart, and I’ve learned the joy of casual sex. It’s fun, orgasmic, and the best part is no emotions have to be involved other than lust. After the crap I went through with this man, there was no way I was getting emotionally invested in another person so soon.

I think the part that shocked and hurt me the most, though, is that it’s over for good between him and Heather. I waited so long and gave him so much of myself just waiting and hoping he would see how toxic their on-and-off-again relationship was. He knew how I felt about him because it wasn’t something I hid, and I thought he cared at least a little about me, so knowing he would rather bang club girls and other women instead of coming to me after they were over for good proves that he really didn’t feel anything. I truly was nothing more than a side piece he used whenever he and Heather split up.

Knowing that will make it so much easier to keep my heart out of it this time. We’ll get this mess taken care of with the Night Skulls, and then I’ll be out of his life. This time for good. No reaching out by text, no calling when I’m in trouble, nothing. A clean slate where I delete his number, block him, and forget he exists. It shouldn’t be too hard since I haven’t reached out to him in a year anyway.

Until I was in a bind, and he was the only option I could think of to help me out of it.

Steel steps out the bathroom door after passing me the panties he hand-washed for me last night. When I’m finished using the restroom and sliding the panties up my legs, I hop over to the sink as softly as I can. Thankfully, it’s close enough that I can do it in two small hops. I lean against the wall to take the weight off my leg while I lather my hands and stare at myself in the mirror.

I’m a mess, but why does it matter when I’m basically going to be a new person today anyway. It might be refreshing to put on another life. The hue of my blue eyes has darkened from the painI’m in, and sweat beads on my lip from the struggle of something as simple as putting on my panties.

Freaking murdering assholes.

The door pops open and Steel’s eyes meet mine. Seeing that I’m ready, he pushes the door wide and lifts me into his arms.

He’s about to place me on the bed when the echo of a fist banging against the metal door of our room reaches us. Steel freezes as his gaze bounces from me to the door.

“Go,” I murmur low enough that it only reaches his ears.

He sets me on the mattress and grabs his gun from the nightstand, padding barefoot to the door, the carpet under his feet muffling his steps. There’s a tiny slit between the window and the curtain that he uses to find out who is on the other side.

“Doc,” he says quietly, the tension releasing from his shoulders.

Steel continues to stay alert with his gun at the ready as he moves the chair and unlocks the door, opening it to reveal the stern-faced doctor.

“I don’t have long. Let’s get these X-rays and go over your labs, then we can all be on our way, barring everything looks okay.”

The doctor’s visit is only about thirty minutes before he’s standing and going over the wound care instructions one last time.

“I’d prefer not to get another call from you, Steel, but if it’s a life-threatening emergency, give me one.” He looks back at me. “Take care of your leg and make sure you rest it as much as you can.”

Steel walks the doctor out, probably for stern warnings not to open his mouth about last night and this morning. I don’t know why he needs to. Anyone can look at that doctor and see the fear in his eyes. He won’t say anything because he knows exactly what will happen to him if he does.

Steel’s face and eyes are blank when he comes back in, and my throat tightens because I’m not used to this side of him. The small amount of time I got with him, he never closed himself off, though he didn’t exactly keep himself open either.

He walks around the room, collecting our things and setting them on the table by the door. “Goin’ to have to go in what you got on. I’ll stop on the way to where we’re goin’ and grab you some leggings or something.” His eyes drop to the wound on my thigh. “Shorts would probably be better.”

I sigh. “We’re going to have to go to my place sometime to get me some clothes if I’m staying a while. All I have is what I had on yesterday and your shirt that I’m wearing now.”

Steel shakes his head. “Not happenin’, Hummingbird. Killer will be watchin’ your house. If they found your car, then they’ve found everything you’ve left behind, including your name and address. Know you wanted to leave your brother out of this, but we need to let him know. They need to be on alert because Killer won’t fuckin’ hesitate to use anyone you love to get to you.”

“My phone is in your Bronco,” I tell him in a thickened voice.

The people I love have already been through enough hell, and here I am about to add more to it.

Why did I have to go into the woods that day? There are so many other places I want to get on film that I could have gone to instead.

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