7

STEEL

“If there isn’t a club member here, then you are the security for the women here,” I yelled at both of the barbacks, who were new employees of the Bar and Grill. My regular guys took off to Bali for a month to make some big dollars during the busiest tourist season there. I couldn’t blame them for that because they had tuition to pay, plus other expenses, but I couldn’t wait until I got them back. I intended to increase their pay rate so they didn’t feel like they had to go away again.

“It ain’t our job to protect the bartenders. We get paid to stock the alcohol,” one of the idiots backchatted.

I clenched my fist against my thigh, and without even looking at it, I knew it had to be turning white from squeezing it so tightly. I wanted to fucking kill this little shit, and just maybe I would if I got another look at the marks on Mia’s wrist. I swore my vision blurred for a second when I first saw what was going down.

“Is that right? Well, if you stock the bar, why is Rainn trekking down to the cellar for scotch and hooking up kegs?” I’d looked to my side and noticed Rainn standing there with a bottle of Glenfiddich 21 Year Old scotch whisky and the keys to the keg cellar.

“Because they were too busy flirting with the waitresses to see, let alone give a shit,” Rainn answered for them. The sexy dancer stalked to the bar and slammed the pricey scotch down on the wood surface, not at all concerned that it cost over two hundred dollars per bottle for that shit. She then turned to me. “You should have been here, too, Steel. Mia pulled a double tonight, and without a patch here, this lot of idiots just play up, and the bimbo waitresses do, too,” the redhead scolded me in only a way Rainn could—with plenty of sass and fire.

I held back my smirk, knowing if I didn’t, I might very well have sore balls for the next week. My mind briefly wandered back to the time Mannix got a knee to his jewels from her one day when he’d pissed her off, so I simply nodded my head because she was right. I dropped the ball tonight and let my thing with Callie cloud my judgement, which put Mia in a potentially dangerous situation.

“I get it, Rainn, and I promise it won’t happen again. Let’s get this staff shit sorted out, and then I will see you and Mia home,” I said as I searched around the room for Mia and felt a surge of relief when I spied her bag and jacket behind the bar. Why I felt that relief, I really didn’t want to deal with just yet. Having feelings for two women at once was kinda crazy, but having feelings for sisters was monumentally fucked up. And I had a feeling Mia wasn’t going to make my life easy by just saying, ‘Yes, Steel. Three bags full, Steel.’ She was going to fight me, kicking and screaming, after my behaviour of late. Then, of course, there was the elephant in the room named Callie, which needed figuring out, too. I did know I didn’t enjoy her using me and shit anymore, and my opinion of her had lowered quite a bit after her treatment of Mia at the compound.

“She’s gone home already,” Rainn said, interrupting my thought process.

Huh? She what? “Gone?”

“Yep. She left when she ran out of the bar.”

I stalked over to where Mia’s bag and jacket were sitting, and when I opened the zip, I didn’t need to search too deep to find her car keys. Panic flooded me even more than before as, in my head, I quickly tried to calculate how long it had been since she left.

“How did she leave with her keys and money still here?” I asked, holding up her bag and shaking it in the air. Jesus Christ, would she have just started walking? Watching the horror pass across Rainn’s face, I was going with yes. Fuck. That silly, sweet, sexy woman. Snatching up her jacket, I passed the barbacks and said, “You have work until the end of next week. You can stay till then and make some money or piss off now. I don’t give a fuck. Rainn, you choose what to do with the waitress staff, and then call Ford with your decision. Get him to contact the boys in Bali and get them back ASAP. Tell him to offer them whatever he has to—just get them back.” I yelled the last part as I made my way down the corridor to the back entrance that opened to the staff car park. The first thing I saw as I threw open the heavy door was Mia’s brand new car sitting under the bright lighting the club had upgraded to when we bought the Bar and Grill.

“Fucking hell, Mia.” I growled as I passed her car and headed straight for my bike. I couldn’t understand why she would invite danger and walk home. Wait, home? My mind wandered back to earlier when Callie said that mean shit about selling their place. Mia wasn’t living there, so where? Stella and Teach lived at the club, and Vegas lived with Darth most of the time at the club, so there was just one place left. Jumping on my bike, I roared my prized possession after Trigger—my Harley Davidson Super Glide, which had Steel painted in blue on the tank with a painted ghost image of a sniper rifle, dog tags, and the dates of my fallen teammates. Creed did all the painting himself. In fact, Creed painted all our bikes to match our own uniqueness. We pretty well left it all up to him, and he nailed every single bike. His own was the best.

Pulling out of the car park, I pointed my bike in the direction of Rainn’s house.

It didn’t take long before the beam of my headlight picked up a solitary figure walking briskly along the footpath. The huddled form hugged the fence line of the houses, staying as far away from the road as possible. Good girl. At least she remembered some of her self-defence training. Of course, not walking in the dark on your own when an unstable lunatic was gunning for all the women of the Wounded Souls seemed to be forgotten. I revved my engine to warn that I had seen her, then pulled just ahead of her and got off the bike but left it idling.

“What the fuck, Mia? Have you lost your senses?” I shouted at her. I wasn’t mad at her as much as I was scared for her, but I was pissed she wasn’t thinking about her safety at all.

“Steel, please, just go. I am fine, really. Thanks for saving me back there, but you can go back to Callie now,” she said in a small, dejected voice, her hands rubbing her wrists.

I looked closer and saw definite finger marks on the slim wrists. Fucking hell, those fuckers got off far too lightly. I should have ripped their hearts out through their throats. But what hurt more was Mia’s defeated posture, her head down and shoulders slumped. I did this to her. I was just as confused as she was. At least she knew her feelings. I, on the other hand, had no idea why I sent Wes or the prospects away who had been sniffing around Mia.

“Beauty, please, let me take you home. It’s not safe to be walking around at night, and it’s fucking freezing,” I said as I took off my cut and wrapped it around her shoulders, ignoring her protests—which, to be fair, were pitiful. She was chilled to the bone, and I knew she appreciated the instant warmth my cut provided her. I heard her sigh deeply, then watched as she slowly nodded her head. Damn it. Fuck it. Things needed to be said, and I needed to explain myself about Callie.

“Come on, Beauty. Let’s get you home and warm.” I took her hand, being careful not to grab her too high and touch the bruises, and led her to my bike. Mia stood there compliantly as I put on her helmet and fastened it. Once happy everything was properly in place, I straddled my bike, but at the last minute, my leg buckled beneath me for a second, and I nearly fell against the bike. Mia reacted fast, grabbing me by my hand and pulling with all her might to give me the second I needed to gather myself and regain my footing.

“Steel! Are you okay?” she said in a rush. The panic in her voice was clear, and I really fucking liked it. I nearly went arse over in front of her for the second time today, and she didn’t laugh or sneer at me, not Mia. Not my beauty.

“Yeah, Beauty. I’m fine, thanks. Let’s get going. I think both of us need a break today,” I said softly, looking at her intently until I saw something other than resignation. What I saw was understanding and something I was not ready to admit aloud. But the thought of it made me feel pretty fucking good.

We got on the bike and settled like we were old hands at it, and we were. Most of the time, when the club went on runs with the girls, or we dropped Mia off at work, she was with me. Unless Callie joined us, then Mia was with one of the prospects. She was an old hand at being a pillion passenger, and most of us wanted her behind us since it made the trip that much more enjoyable if the person riding with you knew how to let go and trust your abilities as a rider.

With Mia snuggled hard against my back, her hands wound tightly around my waist, and her legs wrapped deliciously around my arse and thighs, I pulled back out onto the deserted road and headed off on the ten-minute drive to Rainn’s place. Confusing thoughts of Mia rolled around in my mind, and there were absolutely none of Callie.