Page 23 of Steel

“Looks good, but nothing beats your natural eye color, Hummingbird,” Steel says softly.

“Has my appearance changed enough?”

He grunts and glances over at me. Heat flashes in his eyes quickly before he banks it. “Yeah. Doubt you’ll run into anyone as familiar with you as me or your family and friends, so it should hold.”

We’ve only been on the road for about fifteen minutes when the rumbling of my stomach fills the cab. He doesn’t say anything, just flips on his blinker at the next place we come to and pulls through the drive-thru.

I let the quiet stew between us while I eat my burger, but by the time I’m finished, the silence has my skin crawling. I’m not used to it, and I don’t like it.

“Will you tell me more about Lyric? Is she anything like you?”

His jaw clenches, and he works it back and forth. Lyric is a touchy subject for him, at least with me. If he gives me pieces of his daughter, then he’s making me real, and sometimes, I think Steel is scared of real.

“Yeah,” he replies gruffly. “My attitude is all over that girl.”

“I bet that’s fun. A miniature version of you is bound to keep anyone’s hands full. Is she in school?”

“First grade. Smart. Real smart. Loves to read. Last meeting with her teacher, she was readin’ at seventh grade level. Tested in math at fifth grade level.”

My lips curl softly at the pride in his voice. “Have they given her that gifted test to see if she needs to move to a higher grade?”

“Not yet, but it’s something her teacher is talkin’ to others about.”

Snagging a fry from the bag, I pop it in my mouth while I decide whether I want to touch on the subject of his custody arrangement. He’s not shutting me out yet, but that might have him do it.

“Does she live with you?”

“No,” he snaps, and I know it’s the end of our conversation.

With a heavy sigh, I finish my fries and change the subject. “How’s the club?”

“Good. Wraith is married now. Crow is still fightin’ what he feels for Sage, with her but not. We all know his big ass is already wrapped around her finger. Like hell he’ll admit it, though. The rest of them are doin’ good. Fightin’, fuckin’, and ridin’, same as always.”

We spend a few more minutes chatting casually about the club. He fills me in on some of the new members, mainlyprospects, and the club girls, which I grit my teeth about because of what he told me last night.

“Deacon and Willow, they got, what, three kids now?”

“Yeah. They’re all good. You remember his son, Xander?” He nods. “That boy is freaking twenty already and graduated high school two years ago. It seems like yesterday they were pulling him out of that crap life of his. Roselyn is six, and she’s so much of a handful, you’d think she’s sixteen already. Storm . . .” My voice softens when I think of her. “Storm is quiet and kind, but, man, if you piss that little four-and-a-half-year-old off, she definitely lives up to her name.”

We talk about the rest of the crew, and when he mentions Emmy Lou’s name, my heart squeezes in my chest. Not because he says it buthowhe says it. Does he even realize how reverently he speaks her name? How the hell is anyone supposed to compete with that? Especially when she’s in his life. It’s not that I worry about anything happening with her. That woman is so in love with her husband, I’d be surprised if she even sees any other guy. But you can’t have a person’s heart if it’s already taken.

Not that I want Steel’s. It’s wrapped in barbed wire, and I’ve been cut too many times by it.

The vault surrounding my heart tightens as I reinforce the walls. I’m not going to let him break me again over another woman.

After the mention of her, my mind detaches, and I just check out of the conversation. It’s not a healthy way to cope, but it’s one I learned when I was younger. Right now, I’m thankful for it.

He obviously doesn’t care because the rest of the ride into Brighton is filled with tension-filled silence.

I don’t know where we go from here, but I’m putting my trust in him. Though given the way he’s broken my heart before, it’s probably a stupid idea.

The good thing is, I don’t have to trust him with my heart . . .

Just my life.

Chapter six

Normally, the quiet betweenus is comfortable, but this time has my skin tightening. I’m sure she thinks I don’t realize she checked out after I started talking about Emmy Lou. If it wasn’t for the hurt I sensed coming from her, I would think she was just jealous. What I can’t figure out is why me talking about Em hurts her. She knows we’re only friends. Hell, I got over my infatuation with Em the first time I fucked Bailee.

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