Steel: A Dark MC Romance (A Dark and Dirty Sinners’ MC Book 4)

by Serena Akeroyd

  “How’s he being shipped back?”

  “Cargo crate.”

  “What if they mess with the temps? I’ve heard about animals being killed down there.”

  “Then if that happens, it’s tough shit. Nothing we can do. But I don’t want him overdosing.”

  “You seriously want me to call Stone over ketamine and appropriate dosing?”

  He heaved a sigh. “It would be a kindness.”

  I pulled my cell away to gape at it. “A kindness? Since when am I fucking kind?”

  “Since you broke her fucking heart and left her a wreck? I think she deserves some shitty piece of niceness from you right now.”

  Getting mad was an understatement to how I was feeling, but I gritted my teeth. “I’ll call her.” He’d left me no choice. Just because I kept distance between us at all times didn’t mean it didn’t kill me to hear that she needed a ‘shitty piece of niceness’ from me.

  “Good. When you find out the dosages, you’re to give him the drug, then you’re to pack him in the crate. There’ll be an official there who’ll load him on board. You’ll be taking the same flight with him for that first leg.”

  “Okay,” I said softly, still annoyed and still at a loss. No matter how down Stone was, she wouldn’t want to hear from me. Rex knew that. Had someone died?

  No, he’d tell me if that was the case. And anyway, the only people who mattered to Stone, who were her family, were mine too, right? So, no, it wasn’t a death.

  “Your name isn’t linked to his shipping crate, so there shouldn’t be any issues when you land in Belfast. From there, you’ll be grabbing a transatlantic flight to JFK while he gets shipped over in a cargo plane.”

  I hummed. “Even better. I don’t feel like serving twenty to life for trafficking that piece of shit.”

  Rex laughed. “As if I wouldn’t look after you.”

  I laughed back, even though I was uneasy. Not about business, just about Stone. “Is everything okay over there?”

  “Yeah, just a little…”

  “What?” I prompted when he hesitated.

  “Link’s beating himself up over this shit.”

  “Can’t say I blame him. He was a dumb fuck for not tying Lily to him in the first place.”

  “Yeah. I’m not sure where his head is at with that. Sin’s already claimed Tiff. Lock, stock, and barrel. Ring’s on her finger, and I know the second she’s good to travel, he’s taking her away to get married for real now that they did the deed in court.” I could hear his cut rustle as he shrugged. “It’s clear he’s a fucking fool for Lily so—”

  “I guess we never know what goes on behind closed doors, but there must be a reason why he’s put shit off the way he did.”

  “Knowing Link, it’ll be sentimental.”

  My lips curved at that. Even though they didn’t particularly want to. Link was a stone-cold killer. He had a larger rap sheet than some death row inmates, but yeah, he could be sentimental.

  I could see that.

  “He still hasn’t put a ring on her finger?”

  “No. Not even a diamond.” Another sigh. “I wish he would. He’d stop moping around the place. Both Tiff and Lily look like shit, Steel. Fuck, I wish their bruises would heal. It’s a constant reminder of my fuck up.”

  I winced. “It’s all our fuck up. We shouldn’t have set Prospects on them. Should have put a full-time brother on each woman.”

  “We don’t have the men for that,” Rex countered.

  “No, but there are ways of making sure they’re safe. I’ll talk to Sin about it.”

  “It’s the new businesses. We’ve stretched ourselves thin, bro.”

  “Yeah, we have,” I conceded, and as Secretary, I knew that more than anyone as I had to deal with most of the rotas and schedules for the brothers.

  While we outsourced a lot of the jobs to people in town, our new businesses—a strip joint, garage, diner, and bar—were mostly secured by our people. Some jobs were held by brothers too, like with security in the strip joint.

  “Fucking money laundering—why’s it gotta suck so hard getting rich?”

  My lips twitched. “Would you prefer to pay taxes?”

  He sniffed. “Okay. I’ll stop whining.”

  I rubbed my chin. “How’s it going without Storm there?”

  “Didn’t realize how much the dumb fuck did, to be honest.”

  “Ain’t it always the way. I’m sure he’s glad you miss him.”

  Rex snorted. “You’re all heart.”

  I grinned. “I know. We might need to bring in staff to man the strip joint,” I said slowly, thinking out loud. It wasn’t my place to think about security—that was Sin’s role as our new Enforcer. And though Nyx was the new VP, having taken over Storm’s position, Nyx’s heart wasn’t in admin like it was in mine and Storm’s.

  Yeah, how cool was I?

  My heart was in fucking paper pushing.

  But only for my brothers.

  If you’d stuck me in an office and had me working a nine to five from twenty, I’d have lost my fucking mind. For my family? My MC? Sure, I could do this shit, and I was pretty goddamn good at it too.

  “Nyx and Sin have already suggested that, but they don’t trust anyone.”

  “What about the security company who manned the Donavan place? We looked into them. They’re shady as fuck.”

  “Do we really want a shady as fuck corporate security team in our little strip joint?”

  “Maybe not, but how about we poach a couple of men? I’d prefer them on the joint and our guys on our women.”

  Rex heaved a sigh. “True. Honestly, I’m thinking about setting someone on Rachel.”

  Ah, his lady love.

  Almost snickering, I told him dryly, “I’m sure she’d love that.”

  His lack of a reply told me how little he was looking forward to that conversation.

  Rachel was as independent as Stone, and if I made the suggestion to her, she’d give me the dead eye.

  I wondered if Stone would need the extra security, but I figured she’d be safe because she was in New York City, not back at the compound anymore.

  I tried not to think about that and how much the distance between us fucking hurt.

  Everything was for a reason, and even if the reason sucked balls, it didn’t take away what mattered most.

  At least, it didn’t to me.

  I dug my thumb and forefinger into my eyes and rubbed away some of the sleep gathered there. Jet lag had been a bitch to get over, and while it wasn’t the first time I’d endured it, throw in the heat and some killer allergies, yeah, I was glad this stay in Cambodia was over.

  I was ready for home in a big way.

  Heaving a sigh, Rex grunted. “I’ll pass on the suggestion to Nyx. Maybe it’ll work itself out.”

  I just hummed. I knew we needed outside help, or we needed to start pushing our brothers into doing more for the club. The notion had me muttering, “Guys like Cruz are wasted just dicking around the clubhouse, Rex.” Well, Cruz had other nastier jobs around the place, but mostly he was on hand at the compound.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Same with Hawk. He’s a good security guy. Might be time to step up the game so he can be patched in.”

  “What about North?”

  “He’s useless. More interested in pussy, but Hawk? He’s a serious motherfucker, and he’s invested. Giulia got hurt, and even though they’re stupid taking Dog’s” —their father— “side, he loves her. It’s clear to see.”

  “We need to have a reshuffle. Jaxson is probably ready to be patched in too. Things have been busy. We need to get shit back on track.” He sighed. “Trouble is, I keep saying that and some other clusterfuck goes down, and I can’t get shit back in order.”

  His OCD was probably messing with his mind more than anything else.

  Dude was beyond anal-retentive, and that wasn’t me being like Link and being butt-minded. It was just how it was.

&
nbsp; No way could we run as much as we did, with as few men as we had, without someone like Rex in charge.

  “Once this dumb fuck is no more, things will calm down some,” I soothed.

  Rex snorted. “If you think that’s true, then you’re the one who’s fucking high on ketamine.”

  My lips curved. “If only,” I replied mournfully. “Maybe it would take away from the petri dish in my butt crack.”

  “Again with the ass?” Rex chuckled. “Anyway, you’ll get the details in a text. Maverick will be sending it on the secure burner.”

  “Understood.”

  “Talk to Stone, Steel.”

  The order got my back up, but I blew out a breath and muttered, “Okay.”

  “Be good to have you back home, brother.”

  “Same, Rex. Same. See you soon.”

  “You will.”

  The confidence in his voice set my nerves on the right track.

  Truth was, I’d known when I’d been sent over here that there was a risk I’d land in jail. Not twenty to life in a pretty Fed joint either, but some shithole prison in Asia. But to hook as big of a cunt as Donavan Lancaster? That was something I’d risk shit for.

  I liked Lily. Didn’t necessarily like that she’d tied my bro down, but fuck, if it could happen to Nyx, it could happen to anyone, so why not Link?

  In fact, all my brothers were starting to drop like flies.

  Three Old Ladies in less than six months?

  Jesus.

  Something was in the fucking water.

  Speaking of Old Ladies… I twisted my phone around and stared at the cover photo I’d had as my background for way too fucking long to count.

  It was Stone.

  Of course.

  She was twenty-three in this pic. It was one of my favorites.

  She didn’t know how many pictures I had of her, and I knew if she did, she’d call me a stalker psycho, which I probably was, but this one made me fucking happy.

  It was her first day at med school—a year younger than her classmates because she was a true overachiever—her first day on the path to a new life, and it was both a reminder and a reset.

  A reminder because it gave me the wherewithal to stay the fuck away from her.

  A reset because I loved looking at her and it set me back on track.

  Still, the idea of calling her, especially over this, made my balls crawl up into my body.

  She and Giulia, Nyx’s bitch, were cut from the same cloth—ball busters. But Stone hadn’t always been that way. I’d turned her into that.

  A part of me wondered if she’d still be soft and gooey in the fucking middle, like a s’more that I never stopped wanting to lap up, but I knew I wasn’t allowed that anymore.

  She was my favorite treat that was denied to me because of choices I’d made along the way, ones I’d had no say in, but primarily because of what I wanted for her.

  That made her all the more tantalizing, of course.

  Grunting at my stupidity, I tried to stop gawking at her picture, but it was hard.

  In all these years, she hadn’t changed that much. Her light brown hair still curled too much for her liking, so she wore it in a pixie cut. Back then, it had made her look like a little fairy, but now that she was in her thirties? The short cut made her cheekbones pop.

  She looked like an ice queen now, and I had to admit it looked good on her.

  Those light brown locks were shorn at the sides with a little length on top. Just enough to soften shit up without making her look butch, but not enough to get in her face.

  I loved long hair on a bitch. Loved tangling my hand in it and tugging her head back, but on Stone? She was perfect as she was.

  With those glinting gray eyes, lips that were cushioned and pillowy, made to suck me off, and a facial structure that belonged on a catwalk, she was my kryptonite.

  Everything about her, from her abundant curves to her height, was forged to make me burn.

  I gritted my teeth, physically pained by the notion of calling her, but I did as my Prez asked, because Rex wouldn’t have made me do this unless I needed to.

  So obey I would.

  Even if it fucking killed me.

  Stone

  I rubbed a hand over my face, trying not to get overwhelmed with what I was dealing with.

  So much was up in the air right now, and I was at a complete and utter loss as to how to process it. All I wanted was to be sitting in my tiny apartment with Mrs. Biggins, my cat, curled up on my lap, hissing and spitting at every loud noise the TV made. But I wasn’t there.

  I wasn’t at home, I was at work, and I’d just learned that we’d lost Angela, a stage four pancreatic cancer patient who’d been such a fucking fighter that greeting her at the start of every shift had become a way to set up my day.

  Sneaking in there to talk smack with her had been the highlight of my working hours, and learning she’d died while I was sleeping?

  It screwed with my head.

  Big time.

  I’d never get used to patients dying. I couldn’t harden my heart to it, couldn’t make myself turn to ice. I was with doctors and surgeons who could do that, and I was pretty sure it made them shittier at their jobs for it, but who was I to judge?

  My method wasn’t working, but I couldn’t face the prospect of changing.

  This was me.

  This was what made patients respond to my care.

  I blew out a breath, rubbing a hand through my greasy hair as I stared out at the parking lot.

  It was crammed because it was a holiday weekend, and for the first time, I was glad I wasn’t in the ER today. I didn’t need that shit on top of everything else.

  Just learning that Angela died had devastated me. Throw in a bunch of drunk nutcases who really needed headbutting when I had to be nice to them and patch them up for their dumb fuck antics?

  A mood killer par excellence.

  I heaved in a breath, trying not to cry, but it was hard.

  So damn hard.

  Indy: You doing okay, babe? You’ve been quiet today.

  I gulped at the screen, gulped at my best friend’s concern, and wanted to answer, I really did, but I just couldn’t.

  I just fucking couldn’t.

  I wasn’t okay.

  Angela had died at thirty-two, and she’d left behind a husband who actually gave a fuck about her and a three-year-old.

  A toddler.

  Oliver was going to grow up without his mom now, and while I knew it wasn’t my fault, it felt that way.

  I wasn’t behind her treatment plan, but still, it just felt—

  I rubbed a hand over my face.

  Sucked in some air.

  Ignored the burning in my eyes.

  Indy: Here to talk when you need to.

  Appreciation filtered through me, and I felt bad for ignoring her text, but I just couldn’t speak to anyone right now. I just couldn’t.

  Something wasn’t right in this hospital. My gut told me that. It told me it in so many fucking ways, and I’d been denying it for so long, but no one listened to me.

  No one gave a shit about my opinion in a place like this.

  I was lucky to be working at High Lidren Hospital. It was where the elite came to have their noses worked on and their asses tightened up. More than that, it had a rep for being a great schooling college, and when I’d gotten my place here, I’d been so pumped because I knew it meant good things for the future.

  But being excited about a reputation and actually living with it were two separate things.

  The doctors here believed their shit smelled like roses, the administration was more of a money-grubbing whore than my mama, and something…someone wasn’t right in the wards.

  I refused to think it.

  Refused to think what I was thinking, but the goddamn words still popped up anyway.

  Angel.

  Of.

  Death

  I gulped.

  Reaching up to rub the back of m
y neck, I smiled when Indy sent me another text.

  Indy: I’ll beat your ass if you’re reading this and not opening it.

  Indy was a friend from another life, another time. We shouldn’t still be friends, but we were. When I’d moved away from West Orange, New Jersey, when I’d taken my life from the Satan’s Sinners MC and merged it into this world, I thought she’d drop me, even though her life wasn’t tangled up with the MC either, and as a result, we were on completely different paths. Total opposites.

  But she hadn’t.

  And I was so grateful for that.

  In a world of change, she was one of my only constants, someone I trusted with all of me.

  I wondered if she knew how much I appreciated her. How grateful I was for her friendship—

  My cell buzzed.

  I blinked, taken aback by the name that crossed my screen.

  “My Bloody Valentine” by Good Charlotte played, because I’d set that to his ringtone a long time ago.

  Steel was my bloody valentine, and he didn’t even fucking know it.

  I cleared my throat, and my thumb hovered over the disconnect call button. If I couldn’t deal with talking to Indy, I sure as shit couldn’t deal with Steel and all his crap. His attitude stank, had for years, so I didn’t need that now, but when he hung up and started again?

  My heart skipped a beat.

  There’d already been one health scare this year when I’d been shipped into the Sinners’ compound to tend to three human trafficking victims. I’d been brought there because Nyx had called me from Steel’s phone, making me think the fucker was injured.

  I felt sick at the sight of the name on the screen.

  Since before that initial call a few months back, he hadn’t called me in years.

  And now he was calling again?

  I couldn’t, even if I wanted to, reject the call, but neither was I feeling up to talking.

  My eyes burned as the past and present seemed to collide, but I hit the green button and murmured, “Steel? Are you okay?”

  A sigh sounded down the line. “I swear, you’re only interested in me if I’m bleeding.”

  My jaw clenched. “I think you’ll find it’s the opposite.”

  It would be so easy to snap at him, to argue and give him shit, but I just didn’t have the energy for it.