Page 91 of Steel

Jordan, Poe, and Marcus came to the club together, and other than Keaton and Axel, I think they’re going to be some of the best prospects we’ve had at the club since Jagger was patched in. They all come from shit backgrounds with stories they haven’t been ready to share yet. There was something we saw in each of them that we saw in ourselves, which made the choice to allowthem to prospect pretty fucking easy. Only time will tell whether they have the balls to become patched members or not.

Got faith, though. This life ain’t easy, but those boys ain’t ever known what that was to begin with.

It doesn’t take me long to catch up with Heather.

As much as I want to rip her a fucking new asshole, I keep my shit locked down ‘til we’re behind closed doors. Don’t need any problems for Lyric around here.

I glance at the time on my phone. Won’t be long before my girl is coming home from school, and I want to get gone so I can get my cage and get back here to grab her. Not comfortable leaving her here knowing Heather’s used again recently. Fucking hate it’s come down to me having to end up going for custody, but no way am I taking the chance something happens to my kid because her mom’s too high out of her mind to take care of her properly.

“Not sure why I got to keep repeatin’ myself with you. You don’t fuckin’ own me, Heather. The only spot you got in my life is the role of my kid’s mom. What I do, who I fuck, who I choose to have in my life, you don’t get a goddamn say. You know why Lyric was braggin’ ‘bout Bee to you and the shit she did with her? ‘Cause she took time to pay attention to our girl. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Lyric is fuckin’ starvin’ for your attention. You ever paint her nails? Because I can’t remember a time you did.” She doesn’t answer, just stares at me with fire raging in her eyes. “That’s what I thought. Stop worryin’ about me and start worryin’ about your fuckin’ daughter. Don’t love you, Heather, but our daughter does. Focus on that. I’m not yours. It’s time to let it the fuck go.”

The laugh that comes from her is abrasive.

“When are you going to learn, Steel? You’ve always been mine. From the first moment we met. You and me were always meant to be. We were always meant to be connected together.Beedoesn’t get to have you.”

Her eyes brighten and take on a manic light as she stares at me, and alarm bells go off in my head. Her words bounce around in there as my mind latches onto them and begins deciphering their meaning.

My body locks up tight as they register.

Flexing my fingers, I plant my legs wide as I hold myself steady on the wave of rage that rushes over me. “Heather,” I say, a deep tone to my voice that has her coming to a still and paying attention, “twice the condoms broke when we were fuckin’ before Lyric was conceived. Shit’s never happened to me in all the goddamn years I been fuckin’.”

Heather folds her arms over her chest and lifts her chin. “If you want to know something, Steel, just ask me.”

“The fuck you do?”

When she smiles, a shudder travels up my spine.

“Oh, well, I snuck into your wallet after that first time we had sex.” She wrinkles her nose. “You were really drunk—for some reason, I think it had to do with Emmy Lou—so it was pretty easy to dig through your wallet and the condoms you had in there. Then I made sure to keep myself accessible to you, so you’d use them with me and no one else. I did the same to the ones I bought.” She smiles wider. “I bought the same kind. Of course, I didn’t do it to all of them. It’d be too suspicious if they all broke every time we made love. We got lucky, though, because they only had to break twice before I became pregnant with Lyric.”

It starts with the pounding in my ears as I stare at the fucking stupid-ass happy smile on her face. An increased amount ofblood travels to my extremities, sending adrenaline rushing through my system.

I stare at this woman I’ve spent the better part of the last seven years with, and I have no fucking clue who the hell she is.

“You trapped me?” I ask in a soft voice.

The smile fades from her face, and her throat tightens as she swallows hard. “It’s not like that, Steel. We’re meant to be together. I had to make sure you knew that, and it worked. You love Lyric. Look at all the time we had together because of it.”

Cracking my neck from side to side, I keep staring at her. “You fuckin’ trapped me.”

This fucking bitch.

Heather rolls her eyes with a huff. “Stop being dramatic, Steel. I didn’t trap you. I made sure we would always be together.”

“You’re fuckin’ done,” I growl, clenching my fists so tightly that my nails pierce my skin.

She runs her fingers through her hair and lets out an acerbic laugh. “Go ahead. I’ll tell the club all about your precious Bailee.”

I must have given something away because she snickers again, poking her tongue out to wet her lips. “You didn’t think I’d recognize the name? No, you just thought I was that stupid. Did you think Lyric wouldn’t tell me what her name was when I asked, Steel? My daughter loves me. I’m her mom, not Bailee.”

Never thought there’d really be a day I’d consider putting my hands on the mother of my child, but today’s proving me wrong. If anything happens to Bailee because Heather chooses to be a bitch to get back at me, I don’t really think there’d be much that’d save either of us from my wrath.

Before I get time to think about my actions, my fingers wrap around her throat, ensnaring her, and I drag her to me. “Since you seemed to not be listenin’ when I talked before, I suggest you listen good now. Bailee’s name stays out of your mouth. You open it to anyone, ‘specially to my club, I’ll be takin’ Lyric fromyou and then I’ll put a bullet between your eyes without a second thought. Clear?”

Her tanned skin turns ashen, and her dull eyes spark with fear. When she doesn’t answer me, I tighten my fingers to cut off more of her airway. “You clear?” Heather nods, her expression confirming her belief in my words. I loosen my hold on her and fling her away from me. “I’ll be here to help you out ‘cause you’re my girl’s mom, but that’s where me and you end. Don’t know how many times I gotta tell you. Won’t do it again. You’re lucky I ain’t already taken Lyric after all the fuckups you’ve had with her. Only reason I ain’t is ‘cause she fuckin’ loves your ass. Despite my better judgment, you get one more chance. This is it, Heather. You fuck up again, she’s comin’ with me for good, and you’re gone to get help or out of her life.”

Tears fill her eyes and spill over as she wraps her twitching arms around herself. “You hate me.”

I close my eyes with a sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

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