Page 55 of Steel

“Promise me that you won’t be stupid and get back together with Heather. You and Bailee deserve to be happy too. A happy dad is all that little girl is going to need to have a good life. Make sure to remember that when you’re thinking about playing martyr.” She sucks in a sharp breath, and because I’m a grown fucking man, I’m damn familiar with that sound. “And tell the club, for fuck’s sake.”

Emmy Lou ends the call abruptly, and the smile fades from my face as I pull the phone from my ear.

Healthy co-parenting. Is that something that could be possible with Heather when she has a hard enough time being healthy herself? She says she’s clean, but it’s words I’ve heard a million fucking times with actions that have proven the opposite. The thought of any other option with Heather has the back of my throat burning in acid.

With a sigh, I climb to my feet and head back inside, locking up behind me before I head toward my room. I’m assuming that’s where Heather is sleeping. Too fucking bad because I’m about to wake her and make her ass move to the couch. She’s lucky I’m not being the asshole she deserves and make her fucking leave.

That was my intention, but when I get to my room and find her naked and sprawled out on my bed asleep, a growl of disgust bursts from my chest. I clench my fists, fighting the burning need to grab my knife and bury it into her throat. My reactionis so visceral that I turn and hurry from the room, worried I’ll end up killing my daughter’s mother for something I’m still struggling to understand.

The couch it is.

The house is still quiet when I get out of the shower. After my reaction earlier to Heather being naked in my bed, I needed to clear my head so I could get some sleep. I didn’t want to leave the house because Lyric was here, so a shower was my only option. If I went to the garage, I’d never get any sleep because once I start a project, I never want to stop.

What I didn’t do was bring some fucking clothes with me, which means I’m going to have to go back into the bedroom . . . wheresheis.

I wipe the steam from the mirror and wrap my fingers around the lip of the sink as I stare at my reflection. There is something moving in the depths of my eyes that I don’t like. Something I want to look away from. Instead of giving it a name, because a name means it’s real, I grind my jaw together and work on shoving it into the steel vault that holds captive all the other shit that makes me uncomfortable. One day, they’ll all make their escape, and then everyone around me better have their last will and testament complete just to be safe.

Wrapping a towel around my waist, I take a deep breath and head into the bedroom. Thankfully, Heather is still asleep when I go in.

My mind drifts to Bailee and Emmy Lou’s words as I dig through my dresser. I’m still not sure if any of the shit she said matters. There’s a lot of past shit between me and Bailee, and I don’t know how to navigate that kind of stuff.

I’m lost so deep in my thoughts about Bailee that when bare tits brush against my back, my dick twitches until her fucking scent hits my nostrils. It snaps me straight the fuck out of my head to realize who it is. Waves of revulsion roll over me, and I jerk away and spin so fast, she almost falls on her ass.

“The fuck you think you’re doin’? Fuckin’ warned you about touchin’ me without my permission,” I bark, watching her face pale as fear flashes in her eyes.

But then her eyes drop to the claw marks on my abdomen, and she glances over my shoulder to the mirror, seeing the ones Bailee also left behind on my back.

It’s impressive how quickly color comes back to her face as rage fills her eyes. She points her finger at my stomach, and her lips pull back from her teeth. “Are those fucking claw marks?” she screeches. “They are, aren’t they? What the hell, Steel? We’re supposed to be working on us!”

Fuck, that goddamn screeching is annoying. “Shut the fuck up before you wake Lyric.”

I scrub my hands over my face, not wanting to fucking deal with this right now, but since she’s awake, we might as well get it over with. Should have known the lie was gonna come back to bite me in the ass.

“Get dressed. Got to talk,” I order, sliding my boxers up under the towel and doing the same with my sweats before removing it. Her eyes keep fixating on the claw marks, so I go ahead and slide the shirt over my head. The tension releases from me, and the sensation of spiders crawling over my skin disappears as soon as I can no longer feel her eyes on my body.

Thankfully, she puts her clothes on while she mumbles curses under her breath. Once she’s covered, I wave a hand at the bed for her to take a seat, but she glares at me and shakes her head.

She folds her arms over her chest and scowls at me with glassy eyes. “Sounds like I’d rather be standing for this conversation.”

“Your choice,” I reply with a shrug, leaning back against the dresser. “Not goin’ to work out.”

“What?” she cries, shaking her head. “No. You promised if I got clean, we’d try again.”

“Didn’t make a promise, Heather. You did. Hope you’ll keep that promise for our daughter’s sake.”

Tears pour from her eyes, and I watch them fall without feeling anything. There used to be a time when they’d at least make me uncomfortable, but now, I just feel indifferent.

“Please don’t do this. Think about Lyric. You know she wants her family to be together and happy.”

I shake my head. “No, what my girl wants are happy parents. Don’t have to be together to be happy, Heather. Lyric will thrive better with parents who can co-parent healthily. Never been healthy between me and you. Toxic. Always fuckin’ toxic. That’ll fuck our daughter up quicker than anything.”

When I see the glint in her eyes and the hardness settle on her face, I know it’s fixing to get ugly.

Same fucking shit with this woman.

“It won’t matter if I take her. You know I’ll get full custody.” A sneer of derision is aimed my way. “You’re a fucking biker. What judge is ever going to give custody to someone who belongs to a brotherhood of criminals over her own mother?”

My lips curl at the corners. “You’re a dumb bitch. Given you so many chances, yet you constantly step all over them. Done with the threats. Not goin’ to take my daughter away from me because we both know you’ll stop breathin’ the day you fuckin’ try.”

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