“Maybe I am.” She pressed a key into his hand. “And we have a new house to try it out.”
“What’s this?”
“The start of our new life together, I hope.” Her smile wavered when he scowled.
“You bought a house without me? What happened to the idea of making big purchases together?”
Evie slid her arms around his waist. “You seemed to have trouble with the concept so I just followed your lead.”
How could he complain when he’d just been handed the key to his dream—a life with Evie and Ty, a family and a home, and her acceptance of his brothers and his life with the MC? Only the impending court hearing loomed over his head. But if Evie wasn’t worried, then he’d put his concerns aside and deal with it when the day came.
“Well then…” He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “I guess you won’t have a problem with the gift I got Ty.” He called Ty over and they walked toward the garage, reaching the front door just as Jagger stepped out. He gave Zane a nod to let him know everything was set and made a quick exit.
“Now I’m really worried,” Evie said as she entered the garage. “You and Jagger together equals trouble.”
Zane flicked on the lights, although there was enough light streaming through the open door to illuminate the space. He wanted to be sure Ty got a good view.
“Ready, Ty?” His heart thrummed in anticipation. He couldn’t remember being this excited about giving a gift since he’d given Evie the picture frame so long ago. With one last glance over at Evie, he tugged away the sheet in the corner.
“No way!” Ty’s eyes widened.” You got me a dirt bike? Mom’s going to kill you!”
“Yes she is,” Evie said from the doorway, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Zane bit back a laugh. “I got him a kick-ass helmet and safety suit so damn thick, he’s gonna bounce when he falls.”
“When? Not if he falls?”
“I won’t fall,” Ty said.
“We all fall. The trick is to get back on the bike and keep riding. That lesson took me a lifetime to learn.” He gave Evie a questioning look and she sighed.
“I guess I can’t really say no since I did buy us a house in Oak Village right next door to Ty’s best friend.”
“This is the best day ever.” Ty raced over to hug them both, before returning to inspect his bike.
“I got something for you, too.” Zane reached for the bag Jagger had left on the workbench in the corner, but as he pulled the zipper, memories assailed him: the frame he had worked so hard to perfect, the picture that had been so hard to part with, Evie and Jagger in the kitchen, and the pain that had sent him running into the forest. He pushed back the memories and focused on what came after: Evie’s tears when she saw the picture, their night together, and Ty. They had been through hell, but now they were back together. Loved and forgiven. A family.
With only one thing missing.
He pulled the cut from the bag and handed it to her, his mouth going dry when she opened it and spun it around so she could read the back.
“Property of Zane.” A smile spread across her face. “I’ve waited eighteen years to be yours.”
“You were always mine. Ever since that day on the playground.”
He reached into the bag again and pulled out a second cut, then called Ty over. “We don’t usually give prospect cuts to kids, but what you did at Viper’s place—protecting your mom, and helping out your old man—Ty, you made me damn proud. The executive board agreed that showing courage like that deserves a reward.” He held out the small prospect vest with the Sinner’s Tribe logo emblazoned across the back, and slid it over Ty’s shoulders.
A grin spread across Ty’s face and he posed in front of his new bike. “How do I look, Dad?”
“Like my son.” He put his arm around his Evie and pulled her close. “Our son.”
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
“Zane. Stop. Please.”
Evie’s voice rang out in the forest, and Zane slowed his pace. He’d never felt such joy as he did today, save for the last time he had been to Stanton Creek.
He stopped under the willow tree and sucked the warm Montana summer air into his lungs. He would do anything for her, even if it meant his heart bursting all over again.
Evie heaved in a breath as she came up behind him, her steps barely audible in the soft grass. “What’s wrong? Why did you leave? Jagger said you bolted out of the courthouse and didn’t even tell him what happened. I was so worried. I didn’t know where you were. And then I figured you might come here. What did the judge say? I won’t lose you, Zane. If we have to, we’ll go on the run.”
For a moment, he couldn’t speak. How could he explain the emotions he’d kept bottled up inside for the last few months, the hopes and dreams that had come true when the judge dismissed the case?
“I’m free.” He braced himself, and turned to face her. “All the charges have been dropped.”
“Oh.” She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh Zane. I’m so happy.” She threw herself into his arms, her new riding leathers creaking. He’d bought her a full set of leathers for the trip to Stanton. And after she’d tried them on in their bedroom, he stripped them right off her. He had a wild streak when it came to his old lady, and the sight of her in leather had given him all sorts of ideas.
He was having those ideas right now. His Evie was beautiful in the twilight, her hair shining to gold, almost the same color as the late summer leaves of the willow tree.
“Come sit with me.” She pulled away. “Here by the creek like we used to do. Tell me all about it.”
Zane shook his head. “I promised if this day came, I would give you a choice. I need to know, Evie. Do we live or leave the life? It’s up to you.”
Her beautiful face softened. “I made my choice a long time ago. Wherever you go, whatever you do, however you live your life, I want to be with you”
Zane’s heart squeezed in his chest. He was nothing and came from nothing. And yet, he had made something of his life. He had a family now, and enough money that assured they would want for nothing. He had his brothers, a home, a kick-ass bike, and an embarrassing, but safe, Volvo. And he had dared to hope. Twenty-eight years old and he still wanted the girl he’d met when he was ten.
“It’s always been you,” she said. “Ever since the day we first met. I’ve loved you since I was eight years old and I’ll love you always.”
His world shifted, darkness becoming light, despair turning to desire. Although he had dreamed of this moment, wanted her with an intensity that took his breath away, he reigned it all in and kissed her with a gentleness that belied the torrent of emotions flooding through his body.
She sighed into his mouth and he crushed her against him as he had last night when they thought it might be their last time together. Sensation overwhelmed him: the coffee and cream taste on her lips, her scent of jasmine and the open road, the warm summer breeze, the softness of her body beneath her leathers.
“I have a present for you.” She handed him a package wrapped in pink tissue paper. “It’s nothing big. I’m sure what Jagger got you…”
“Jagger got me a custom set of pipes that he was planning to take back if I wound up in jail.” He gave her a wry smile. “So unless you got the same thing, I’ll love it. And even if it is, I’ll love it, because it came from you.”
He tore off the paper and stared at the photograph in the handmade frame, painted with Evie’s signature style. Jagger had taken the picture of him, Evie, and Ty on the couch one afternoon while they were playing a new video game. Zane had managed to survive for the first ten levels before Evie ripped off his head with her feline claws.
Emotion welled up in his throat. “It’s good.”
“Good?” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know how long it took me to make that frame?”
Yeah, he knew. Because he had made one nine years ago, never imagining that one day it would be sitting on the man
tle in the home he shared with Evie and their son.
Gently, he drew her down to the forest floor. He had hoped for this moment, dreamed of this moment. His heart made whole again.
And he made love to his beautiful Evie under the setting sun on the last day of summer in Stanton.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Monique, Alex, and the team at St. Martin’s Press for the magnitude of what you do, and to my agent, Laura Bradford, who never gives up hope that I will learn American spelling. To my fabulous Street Team, Sarah’s Sassy Readers, for all your enthusiasm and support, and to Danielle Gorman for keeping me organized. To Danielle Barclay and Mandy Lawler for your boundless energy and creative ideas. And, finally, to my own little tribe for their patience, love, support and blueberry and cucumber kebabs.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
SINNER’S STEEL
Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Castille.
All rights reserved.
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eISBN: 978-1-4668-6042-1
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / October 2015
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Don’t miss the final book in this sizzling series by Sarah Castille
Chaos Bound
Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Read on for an excerpt from the next book by
SARAH CASTILLE
NICO
Coming soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
“You think I won’t hurt you because you’re a woman?” Nico tugged his weapon from its holster and held it under Mia’s chin, tilting her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I don’t give a damn about tradition, bella. All I care about is making sure justice is done.”
“Holy shit. Oh god. Mia!” Jules sucked in a deep breath and Mia cut her off before she screamed.
“I’ll be fine, Jules. He’s not going to shoot me in a public place with family all around. But you go. Let Dante know we’re here.” She didn’t drop her gaze from Nico’s, didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of seeing her scared because, dammit, she hadn’t done anything wrong. And she wasn’t going to be intimidated by anyone ever again.
“You underestimate me,” he said softly as Jules’ footsteps faded away.
“And you misjudge me.” She palmed her knife and slowly moved her hand to his groin. “I suggest you lower that gun or you won’t be passing on the tradition of shoving your gun in the face of a woman to any Toscani sons.” She jerked her hand upward, just enough so he could feel the blade.
For the briefest of seconds, surprise flickered across his face, but it was so fast she wondered if she’d seen it. His jaw tightened, and he growled. “Drop the knife.”
“Drop the gun.”
He held her gaze for another heartbeat and lowered the weapon. “You are your father’s daughter.”
“If I didn’t hate him so much, I’d take that as a compliment.” Mia hiked up her skirt to tuck the knife away and Nico hissed in a breath.
She looked up, her body heating at the raw desire in his eyes. “You like women with knives?” She slid the knife into its sheath and looked down as she straightened her dress to hide the flush in her cheeks.
“There’s nothing as sexy as a woman with a weapon.” He gave her a slow, sensual smile.
Mia snorted a laugh. “I think sex was the last thing on your mind when I had my knife between your legs.”
The deep rumble of Nico’s voice vibrated through her body. “Sex was all I was thinking about.”
Electricity crackled between them, sparking the connection she’d felt the first time they met. “Are you trying to hit on me at a funeral after pulling a gun on me?”
Nico slid a hand around her waist and pulled her against him, his body hot and hard against hers. “I don’t try. I do. And when there’s something I want, I take it.”
For some curious reason, the intensity of his desire scared her more than his gun. Nico Toscani had clawed his way to the top, eliminating every obstacle in his way through a combination of brute force, fierce intelligence and ruthless determination. He missed nothing, and from the way the corners of his mouth lifted in a half smile, it was clear he hadn’t missed the way her body heated at his touch.
“Too bad for you I’m not available,” she said.
With his free hand he fisted her hair, tugging her head back, holding her firm as he studied her face. He had beautiful eyes, dark and deep with a hint of gold. His heated scrutiny made her blood simmer and pool low in her stomach.
“You got a man?”
“A man” in mafia speak meant a made man, someone who had jumped through the hoops to be inducted into a crime family. If she were attached to a made man—either as a wife, mistress or girlfriend— then he couldn’t touch her without causing the equivalent of a civil war between crime families. It would be considered the ultimate in disrespect.
Mia suspected Nico wasn’t the kind of man who would care if he started a war to get something he wanted. And right now, with the evidence of his desire pressed tight against her belly, she was pretty damn sure he wanted her.
“I don’t have a man. I’m my own boss, and unless you want me to pull out my knife again, you’ll let go of my hair.”
“Hmmm.” He nuzzled her neck, his erection thickening between them. “I’d like to fuck you, bella, with that dress off and only your little knife strapped to your thigh.”
Goddamn it. If he’d been any other devastatingly gorgeous man coming on to her so strong, she would have invited him home for a few hours of hot sex. Hell, she would have considered dragging him into the nearest alley and getting down and dirty with him before the reception. But Nico was the enemy, a powerful and dangerous man, and she couldn’t risk starting a war between their families.
Falling back on the self-defense techniques she’d learned from Bennett, she smashed her hand down on his, trapping it against his head. In one quick move she stepped back and bent over, tucking her chin down and forcing his trapped wrist backward. With a grunt, Nico released her and Mia backed away.
Far from being angry, or showing even a hint of pain, he seemed amused by her escape, and no small bit aroused. He licked his lips, his gaze locking on hers, his body tense as if he were about to pounce.
“You shouldn’t have done that, bella.” His smooth, sensual voice was dark with warning. “Now, I will never let you go.”
About the Author
Sarah Castille is an award-winning author who writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. Her books have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. You can sign up for author updates here.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
ROUGH JUSTICE
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Acknowledgments
Copyright
BEYOND THE CUT
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Acknowledgments
Copyright
SINNER’S STEEL
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 Page 98