Page 92 of Steel

Fuck. Just want to get the hell out of her space right now, but I need to get her calmed down before Lyric comes home because she’s going to have to deal with her until I get back over here with the cage.

“Don’t hate you, Heather. Just don’t feel shit for you at all,” I reply truthfully, popping my eyes back open to meet hers. “Clean yourself up. Goin’ to grab the cage. Make sure Lyra is ready when I get back.”

“It’s a school night,” she mutters.

“Don’t give a fuck. She’s comin’ with me, and I’ll get her to school in the morning. May not be high now, but you’ve been on something recently. Not lettin’ you take care of her overnight ‘til I get time to come back and go through the place.” She rolls her eyes with a huff, but I’m done dealing with her shit. “Get her shit ready.”

As if I didn’t have enough fucking problems already on my plate, now I’ve got to worry when or if she’s going to go against me anyway and open her mouth to the club about me and Bailee. Can only hope my threat will quell whatever damn urge she’s got under her skin and that her love for her daughter will hold her off.

If I hold my breath on any of it, afraid I’ll be dead before then.

The angry shout of my bike’s pipes carries me to my house, where I switch out for my Bronco. Thankfully, when I get back to Heather’s, she has Lyric’s duffel bag packed and waiting by the door. She tries to talk to me again, but I just ain’t got it in me to say anything more than what’s been said. Shit’s gonna get right between us or it ain’t. That’s all there is to it. I’d like to have a decent enough relationship with her for our daughter, but it won’t bother me any if we don’t have one at all.

Especially if it’s just more of her toxic brand of bullshit.

We both wait on the steps of her apartment as Lyric’s bus stops at the edge of the parking lot and begins letting the kids off.

Lyric is walking with another girl and a boy.

Folding my arms over my chest, I lean my hip against the railing as I observe her interactions with them. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to do this part of being her dad.

She and the girl seem to be pretty close. The boy . . . my lips twitch when I spot the surreptitious glances he keeps tossing my daughter. The little boy has a crush on her, and Lyric barely even recognizes him.

I straighten and narrow my eyes when I see her peek over at him and give him a small smile.

Nope. No. Didn’t see it. My little girl ain’t having a crush. Ain’t no way.

“Daddy,” Lyric screeches, yanking me from my thoughts.

Jogging down the steps, I meet her on the sidewalk, lifting her into a tight hug and placing a kiss on the top of her head before setting her back to her feet. “Hey, Princess. Good day at school?”

She smiles up at me as she slides her hand into mine. “The best.”

I listen to her tell me about her day at school as I lead us back up the walkway of the apartments. She barely takes a breath, so I only need to interject an ‘uh-huh’ and a ‘really’ here and there, even an occasional grunt. In the two minutes it takes us to reach Heather and Lyric’s duffel bag, she’s packed an entire day’s worth of activities, drama, and kiddie gossip into our conversation.

“What’s going on?” she asks when we stop in front of Heather.

Heather’s smile is stiff when she aims it at Lyric, then she flicks a glance at me before reaching out to hug her. Our daughter trembles and snuggles against her mom, that one small move conveying how much she misses that touch from her.

“You’re having a sleepover at your dad’s.”

Lyric glances between us, her brows drawn together. “But I have school tomorrow.”

“Goin’ to take you,” I tell her, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“But . . .” She peers at Heather, and her bottom lip wobbles.

Just that damn sight alone has me needing to break something.

Heather sighs, reaching down to pluck the duffel from the ground and holding it out to me. “That’s enough, Lyric. The dramatics aren’t needed. You’re going to your dad’s because I got shit to do.”

“Watch it,” I warn her, not liking the tone she’s taking with Lyric.

I’m half tempted to carve her fucking eyes out when she rolls them at me again. She must see it written on my face too because she wipes hers clean.

It’s easy to get Lyric to go after that. She’s already started to shut down, and I fucking hate it. Wish shit didn’t have to be this way. Wish she had an easier life. Unfortunately, this is the life she got when she got me as her father.

One thing I do know is that I need to make plans to get my two girls together again because after this disaster with Heather, Lyric is going to need someone other than me to show her that love she’s seeking from her mom but not finding. I thought at one time she was. I thought, at one time, that Heather actually loved her daughter. Hell, somewhere inside her, I do still think that.

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