Page 39 of Steel

Banks stops wiggling, and even if his eyes are wide open, he’s no longer there.

Releasing him, I flex my fingers and let them stretch. They’re cramped from my grip, but it’s still not enough to release the tension. I wish it would have taken longer for this piece of shit to die so I could have enjoyed it.

“We could have gotten more.” Soul feels for a pulse, but he isn’t going to find one. “Seven more toes and ten fingers at least.”

“He wouldn’t have talked.” And I was done letting him fucking breathe after what he did to Tempe. “There’s a reason Titan sent him. He was low enough on the totem pole to be disposable but reliable enough that if he got caught, he wouldn’t be a liability.”

“You’re probably right.” Soul steps back.

Havoc shakes his head. “Let’s hope so.”

My men are questioning my motives. And it’s all because of the brushfire ripping through my life in the form of Tempe Evans.

“I’m right.” I crack my knuckles. “Besides, at least now we know the Iron Sinners are behind all this.”

“We could have at least kept him around long enough to see if he could tie them to the flash drive.” Legacy tucks his thumbs in his pockets.

I glance over at Ghost. “Let him worry about that.”

Ghost nods. He’s been working on it all day and getting nowhere, but I know he will. He’s never let me down.

“What do you want us to do with him?” Havoc glances at Banks’s body.

“Send a message. I want the Iron Sinners to know we’re done taking hits. No more defense. It’s our turn.”

11

Steel

It’s three in themorning when I finally make it through the front door. Any other night, I would have crashed in my room at the clubhouse, but something felt empty about it when I got there. So I turned around and made the short drive to the neighborhood.

It’s the strangers in my house.

The unease of the night still wearing thin on my bones.

That’s all that makes sense when there’s no other reason I’d be compelled to show up at a house I barely ever sleep in.

Peeling off my cut, I hang it right inside the front door. As I do, movement in the kitchen draws my attention.

The house is dark, so I reach behind my back and pull out my gun, holding it firmly at my side as I quietly make my way through the house. The compound is fenced and monitored from every corner, but it doesn’t mean no one has ever found a way to sneak past.

Peeking around the corner into the kitchen, I spot bare legs sticking out the bottom of the refrigerator, so I holster my gun.

“You’re up early.” I step into the room.

Tempe lets out a little yelp as she jolts upright. Her frame is lit by the glow from inside the refrigerator.

“Jameson.” Her eyes are wide when she spots me leaning against the doorframe.

I never should have told Austin my first name because every time Tempe uses it, something warm churns in my chest. A biker’s life shouldn’t be comforting, yet somehow, that’s what her presence is.

“Don’t look so surprised, wildfire. I live here, remember?” Walking into the kitchen, I slide onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island.

“I know. But you’re the one who said you ‘never stay here.’” She throws up air quotes, tossing my words back at me.

“Maybe I’m just keeping you on your toes.”

After all, it’s what she gets for keeping me on mine.

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