Page 35 of Steel

I hold her stare, not giving an inch to someone I don’t know.

Soon, those lips of hers quirk to the side, and she lifts a brow. “So, you’re the girl we’re risking our asses for hiding you from the club?”

I wince, hating the reminder as guilt claws my insides. “I never expected anyone to hide me from the Dirty Mavericks. I only wanted protection from the other club after me.”

“Then why did Reva tell us we aren’t allowed to let anyone know you’re here?”

“You’ll have to ask Steel,” I reply with a shrug. “Look, I’m not okay with other innocent people getting caught up in my trouble. If you feel safer telling them, it’s honestly okay. I don’t want you all betraying anyone on my account.”

“Why are you hiding from the other club?”

Biting my lip, I stare at her and twirl the pen in my hand as I struggle with whether to trust her or not. I don’t know this girl, but if Reva told her why I’m here, that means she does trust her, and that holds weight with me since I trust Reva.

The woman leans back in the booth, folds her arms under her breasts, and narrows her eyes. There’s something mesmerizing about a woman with pasty-covered nipples and glittery breasts being a badass bitch as she protects her own.

“I’m not risking myself or my best friends without knowing why the fuck we’re doing it. So, baby cakes, you either tell me why you’re hiding from them, or I call Wraith right now and tell him that Steel is going behind their backs.”

My next move happens so fast that I don’t know who I surprise more, her or myself.

I’m around to her side of the booth with the tip of my pen resting against her jugular. “Threaten me all you want, but do not ever fucking threaten Steel, you understand? I don’t know you, but I do know him. He may have an issue touching you, but I do not.” When she doesn’t say anything, I dig the pen in deeper. “Do you understand me?”

“Lee, what are you doing, girl?”

I ignore Reva as I stare this woman in the eye. Finally, she drops her gaze and gives a barely perceptible nod. “Understood. I apologize.”

Pain shoots up my leg and side when I stand, and black spots dance in my vision.

“Goddamn stubborn woman,” Reva says as she grabs the back of my shirt and guides me back to my seat. “You’ve probably just reopened your wounds because you’re trying to be a badass.”

“She shouldn’t have threatened Steel,” I reply tightly.

“Kenna?” Reva says sharply. “What the fuck?”

Kenna shakes her head. “You can be mad all you want, Reva, but I’m always going to protect you all. I don’t like this. Hiding things from the club could get us all killed.”

“And I told you that Steel wouldn’t let that happen. We’re only following our boss’s orders,” Reva snaps back. “If there’s anything that’s going to get us killed, it’s going to be your fucking ass threatening a man who’s got more blood on his hands than we’ve probably seen leak from our bodies our entire lives.”

Reva gently lifts my leg and rolls up the thin material of yoga pants she loaned me. “Fucking threatening a goddamn biker,” she mutters. “What the hell is wrong with that girl?”

“She’s protecting the people she loves.”

Reva peers up at me. “So were you.”

With a scowl, I glance away. “Don’t be ridiculous. I care about him. He’s a good friend, but I’ve been there and done that. Got the t-shirt and shredded heart to show for it. But I don’t really do well with people threatening anyone I’m friends with either.”

“Sure thing, firefly.”

After making sure my wounds are still okay, she gets back to work with stern warnings to Kenna to behave. I don’t apologize to her, instead choosing to focus back on the order forms in front of me.

Throughout the rest of the night, the other girls make their way over and introduce themselves to me, and I instantly fall in love with Reva’s little crew. They’re funny, kind, and a bit badass.

Lennox, who goes by Lennie to her friends and Kitty on stage, is a blonde-haired beauty with eyes that remind me of the clearest, greenest part of the ocean on a bright summer day. They sparkle when she talks about her daughter, Chalee, and her son, Kellan, resembling the glass you’d find after lightning strikes sand at the beach. Until Steel and his club took over Sinful Saloon, she hated working here, but being a single mom who is also trying to provide a great life for her kids, she did what she had to do. She said she doesn’t dread coming into work anymore, and she never throws up after her dances like she used to. Now, being on stage actually makes her feel powerful and in control of herself and her sexuality.

Georgia Rose, who goes by Pretty Peach on stage, is a quiet and kind beauty with a charming smile and wicked sense of humor. When I caught her gyrating against the pole, her ashy-brown hair danced with her to the middle of her back. But the thing with Georgia Rose, I learned, is that if you peer closely, there’s old pain hidden in her gunmetal-blue eyes. Except when she talks about the daughter she’s raised on her own for a longtime now. Only then does the pain fade away, replaced with love and happiness.

Reva tells me that Farryn is off tonight, so I’ll get a chance to meet her tomorrow. After connecting with the others, I’m excited to meet her and see where her personality fits in with the group.

When Reva warns us that one of the members of the Dirty Mavericks was here, Kenna rushes me to the dressing rooms, assuring me the guys don’t come in here without notice from Reva or Lennox. While we’re waiting for the all-clear, I learn a little more about her, and my heart breaks when I realize that she started stripping to keep her baby brother out of foster care. It was the only way she could earn quick cash to provide a stable home for him after her mom got locked up for drug trafficking and prostitution. Working at Sinful Saloon has allowed her to put him through college, something she never got to do, and being able to do that is something I can tell she’s damn proud of. When I ask her why she still works here instead of going back to school, she said it gives her the security she needs. If the day comes where she’s ready to put up her heels and step down from the stage, she wants to make sure she has the nest egg to be able to do it without worrying about food or bills.

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