Beast
A Steele Riders MC Novel
C.M. Steele
Contents
Beast & Mary
Untitled
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
Epilogue
Epilogue
To Audrey, Evelyn, & Yvette
I couldn’t have done it without you ladies!
Beast & Mary
A witness to a crime, Mary Stark lands herself in Steeleville, under the care and protection of DA William “Beast” Brandon and the Steele Riders.
Unbeknownst to her, she’ll be living with Beast until the trial. She’s been warned of his gruff and surly behavior when it comes to people invading his home and messing it up, but accidents happen.
Bad timing, a surprise arrival, no towels, and a lot of emotions gives one hell of a first impression for Beast and Mary.
The attraction instant.
The need constant.
They both feel the sizzling heat between them, but she’s under roof, and it would be unethical for him to stake his claim.
Can he hold out until the trial?
Will someone try to steal their happily ever after?
Beast
A Steele Riders MC Novel
C.M. Steele
Copyrighted © 2020
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written expressed permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover design: C.M. Steele
Cover Image: Deposit Photos
The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
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Chapter 1
Beast
After a long morning dealing with jury selection for a murder case, I finally arrive at the office. I have a couple of hours of work to do.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Brandon,” Erica, the receptionist, greets me with a cheerful grin as I step off the elevator. She’d been hired a year ago to help manage most of the office tasks that aren’t fulfilled by our paralegals.
“Good morning, Ms. Forrester. Is Francisco in?” My paralegal does his job well, and it’s the only reason that he still has this job. He annoys the fuck out of me on a daily basis with his squirrely and nervous movements. He should be down the hall, doing research in our personal library.
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you. Please make sure I’m not disturbed for the next hour.”
“Yes, Mr. Brandon.”
When I enter my spacious office, I see the files and reference books with tabs marking the pages that I’ve requested have been added to my desk. There are three attorneys in this office, so the caseloads get sorted by seniority and priority. I’m a district attorney for Ellis County, which covers Steeleville and several other cities and towns. Most of the time I have a small caseload, but lately, with more cartel violence and hardcore drug busts, my load has increased. As soon as I prosecute and file away a case, another is slapped onto my desk. We weren’t nowhere near as busy as Dallas County, but we had a much smaller team to handle the growing cases.
After scanning the complaints listed for each case, I run my hands through my short, freshly cut hair, hoping to get these cases to trial or settled soon. A knock at my door only increases my frustration because my ass wants to go home, but I know whoever is here to interrupt me will drag my day on. I check my watch, ready to ream Erica a new one, but it’s been over an hour.
“Enter,” I command, knowing it’s my squirrely little assistant who is scared of his own shadow. Why he was given to me is confusing as fuck. I don’t waste time, and having served in the Special Forces, I didn’t have time for those who dilly-dallied when it was important.
“What do you need, Francisco?” I questioned, looking up at the sensitive young man. He stands there, rocking from one foot to the other.
“Um. Detective Spencer from Dallas is here to see you.” We’re not supposed to be meeting yet. He’s lending a hand with information on the Cortes Cartel. I wonder if he has another lead for me.
“Send him in.” Now he’s someone I’d gladly kill time with.
“Hello, Charles,” I stand, walk around my desk, and shake his hand.
“Hello, Will.” He pulls me in for a one-armed hug. We’ve known each other for the past two years after teaming up on a major sex trafficking case. He’s been an ally when it comes to the cartels.
Francisco lingers, knowing that I like to offer my guests a drink. “Take a seat. Would you like some coffee?” I take my seat.
“Sure, cream and sugar, please.” I nod to my assistant, making sure he heard Spencer’s preference.
“Same for you, sir?” my assistant asks, stammering in his words.
“Yes. Thank you, Francisco.” He leaves, closing the door behind him. I’m glad to see him go. Why the hell is he so skittish around me?
“Damn, you have him shaking in his boots.” He shakes his head and chuckles.
“I didn’t do shit to him. It irks me that he seems afraid.” I tap my pen on my desk and sigh. “Anyways, what brings you to see me? Anything I need to inform Steele about?” He knows that Boomer does what he has to do to keep his town safe and secure, even if it’s skirting the law.
“No, um…” He doesn’t seem nervous, but whatever brought him here, it’s important.
Wrinkling my brow, I lean in with my elbows on my desk, and ask, “What’s up, Charles?”
Looking to make sure the door is closed, he says, “I need to call in that favor already.” Wow, that’s quick.
“Yeah?” I question, wondering how big the favor is. He gave me some basic information that wasn’t anything I couldn’t get without a lot of leg work, but the fact that he showed up instead of calling tells me he needs something much bigger.
He opens his suit jacket and makes himself more comfortable, then continues, “I have a witness I need to put into protective custody, but she’s as stubborn as a mule. She doesn’t want to be alone where she knows no one.”
“And you want me to do what?” I have a feeling where this is going.
“I want you to find her a lowkey job and place to stay in Steeleville. The population is small, and they won’t know to l
ook for her there.”
“Is it just her?” Relocating when a witness has a family can be very difficult.
“Yes, she doesn’t have any family and very few friends. She’s a college student who works part-time as a librarian.” If she doesn’t have anyone, what difference does being alone make here or in fucking New York? Some people are very peculiar.
“We don’t have a library in Steeleville,” I inform him. The town is on the way up, but time and money play a big part in building new businesses.
“Damn, my ex-wife would say that’s a travesty.”
Chuckling, I nod. “I agree, but there are so many other businesses that need to be built that actually make money.” There’s a light rap on the door, then Francisco walks in with a rolling cart and our coffees.
“Thank you. Can you prepare the Wilkins file for this week?”
“I’ll have it done before I leave today.”
“Fantastic.” He leaves the office, closing the door behind him.
“Anyways, I want to take her away from that. You know if they are going to go hunting for her, they’re going to check local libraries.”
“So what led her to need WP?”
“She witnessed a shooting after locking up the library. She was almost to her car when Serrano noticed her. The next day, he’d been waiting for her. She turned around and went straight to the police. It was the best option for her.” She’s got brains. It’s a no-win situation because guys like that. That accidental encounter sealed her fate. She had to run.
He’s got a very valid point. “How old is she?”
“Twenty.” Damn, she’s very young, but an idea strikes me. It’s one place they might not try looking for her at.
“Then I know that she’s not allowed to drink, but she can work at Panhandles. They’re looking for a bartender. It’s out of her element. There’s a bakery being built, but it’s not close to being ready. One of the Riders owns the bar, so we won’t have any trouble.”
“It might work. I think we can set that up. I need to move her today, so can you talk to your guys like right now?”
“I’ll give Boss a call. He’ll be discreet. But as to the matter of the apartment, I don’t know if there’s a place for her to stay.”
His face falls as he grunts out, “Damn.”
“You know, I have a spare bedroom in my house that I leave for one of the Riders should they need it. She can stay with me.” I don’t know why I offered; I’m not the type of person who gets along with strangers. Hell, even with the Riders, I’m still reserved. They know I’d help them out if necessary, but I don’t like people in my home. As a lawyer, I have cases I can’t discuss and having someone come in and start snooping around my place
He has a shit-eating grin on his face, giving him a much older look. “That can work. You’re a damn saint. I can’t thank you enough. The case should be coming up in January. After that, she can go back to her normal life, or so we hope.” That’s only three months away.
“What’s her name?”
He lowers his voice to reply. “Mary Stark. She’s agreed to change it to Mary Baldwin. Please give them a call over there and not a peep about it to anyone outside those you trust.” Sometimes it’s good to keep their first names, sometimes it’s not, but since she’s coming to Steeleville, I’m not worried about them finding her. The Riders are very protective of the town, and with surveillance systems in place, she would be more protected than anywhere else.
“Will do.” Spencer knows that I can be trusted because I have no skin in the game. I don’t owe anyone anything; that can’t be said by many these days. So many people are under the thumb of the drug and human traffickers that you can’t be sure who’s still clean.
I walk him out to the elevators, waiting for him to get on before I head back to my office to give Boss a call.
Using a secure line, I dial Boss’s secure line. We can’t have anyone listening in for this girl’s sake. “Hey, I need you to do me a favor. I’m sending in someone to take the job as a bartender. I can’t say more than that, but she has no experience.”
“Oh, okay. Work stuff?” he asks, knowing if it’s a “need to know” situation.
“Yes. She’ll be there in a little bit. I’m going to have her move into my guest bedroom that’s set up at the house.” I can’t shake the feeling that this favor may be a dangerous one. I know nothing about the woman, and I can’t really look her up because someone might be watching any record requests on her name.
“Hmm…really? Is there more I should know?” he asks, knowing my hatred for company.
“No, nothing like that. It’s happening right away, so no time for anything else.”
“Do you want me to take her to your place and get her settled?” They know the key code to my house because Cyber hooked up our houses with added or special security features.
“I won’t be out of the office until eight, so that might be a good idea.” It’s Friday, and I refuse to work weekends, so I work late.
“Okay. After I show her around behind the bar and stockroom, I’ll take her there.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.”
“I’ll put it on your tab,” he jokes. I hang up and get back to my files. Honestly, there’s not that much, but I just feel that Steeleville needs me more. I’m tempted to toss in the towel and leave the D.A.s office to venture into private practice. I handle contracts for Boomer when he needs them, but mostly I’m good at destroying the defense and winning my cases.
I might leave work earlier because a part of me is already dreading having some random woman I never met staying in my home. God knows what she’s going to be doing with my things.
I’ve got a damn headache building behind my eye. I’m extremely neat, and anything out of place bothers me a little, but when it’s in my house, I expect it to be clean and organized all the time. The guys know that, so I tend to join them out or at someone’s place, so they don’t mess up my furniture or spill beer everywhere.
My desk phone rings, and it’s the reception desk. “What’s up?”
“Sir, I’m leaving for the night in about ten minutes. Do you need me to do anything before I go?”
“No. Thank you. Have a great weekend.”
“You, too.” She ends the call, and I check the time. Shit, the night has passed by in a blink of an eye. It’s ten to five.
Chapter 2
Mary
I pack my things as quick as I can before they come looking for me. Last night the library was broken into, and the employee files in the office had been ransacked. Spencer called me this morning telling me to pack whatever I can and be ready to run. This perpetual fear of looking over my shoulder is freaking me out. I’ve already dropped ten pounds this week. Why the fuck did, I have to witness a shooting? Fuck, I’m lucky I got away before the guy shot me too, but it now feels like a foregone conclusion that he’ll get me.
A knock at my door sends the brush in my hands flying through the air. “Shit,” I whisper. They probably heard that. Ducking down, I look through the bottom edge of the window and breathe a sigh of relief. It’s just Detective Spencer.
I open the door and say, “You scared the shit out of me.”
He quickly enters and closes the door. “Sorry, I didn’t want to call you and have it traced. Are you ready to go?”
“You’ve found me a place?” I practically squeal.
“Yes, it’s about an hour away in a remote town. It’s safe, and you’ll have a place to stay and a temporary job until this all blows over.” I hug him, forgetting myself. He freezes and stiffens, so I pull away.
“Where?” I question, rocking back and forth on my heels. My inner child comes out. It’s like when a kid is told they are going on vacation or that their parents have a surprise for them. Not that I got those moments in my life.
“I’ll tell you on the way. I don’t want to stay here any longer. It’s not safe.” I pick up my hairbrush off the floor, stuffing it in my bag, and then wal
k into my bedroom where my other bags are ready. “Is this everything?”
“Everything important.” I leave my purse with my IDs and cards. I’ve already cleared out my bank accounts because I can’t use it anywhere they can track me. It’s scary and exciting, but mostly scary. He walks up and takes the heavier suitcase while I carry the duffle and my bookbag. Leaving my textbooks here makes me cry. They cost me a fortune in student loans that I can’t get back, but maybe when it’s all over, I can return to my old life.
We sneak into his car and pull away as inconspicuously as possible. It’s insane how an everyday action changed my world from peacefully organized to living life on the run. I can’t believe that I have to give up my life. Two and a half years of college for nothing.
“So, where are you taking me?” I ask him as he hits the dirt road a block from my apartment building.
“We’re going down southwest to Steeleville,” he states, checking his mirrors for anyone following us.
I play around with the name of the town in my head, but I can’t place it. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Most people haven’t. It’s a small town that’s just building up. You’ll be safe there.” A big knot develops in my stomach.
“We might be followed,” I blurt out, panicking.
“Do you see anyone behind us?” He rolls his eyes at me like I’m acting too paranoid, but he doesn’t have a killer hunting him down.
“The nearest car is about half a mile behind,” I say, leaning back in my seat to get myself under control.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says, patting my hand. I nod, and then we settle into a silence. Although my mind hasn’t stopped spinning through all the possibilities of what’s to come.
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