Fucker. I smirked and raised my middle finger at Booth, making my brothers chuckle. We watched in silence as Ford’s fingers flew over the keys on his computer, waiting for him to bring up the security images.
“Okay, Pres, here we go.”
We all looked at the large screen we had set up. I watched on the monitor as I pulled into the compound’s car park behind Darth and Deck, grimacing at the picture of Callie on the back of my bike. I didn’t want to look at this, but I had to. There might be a clue somewhere on the tapes that could lead us to the culprit. It still didn’t dispel the feeling that by having Callie on my bike, I somehow cheated on Mia.
Callie’s red painted nails clung to my biceps, and the smirk on her face was one of victory when she looked over and saw Mia coming out of the main door. Mia’s smile was breathtaking. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and she was dressed in shorts and that silly tee with flip-flops on her feet. Fuck, she was so beautiful. My beauty.
“Callie knows how to play the game, doesn’t she?” Deck said from his position across from me. A low growl left his throat as he continued to watch the monitor.
“Fucking oath she does, brother,” I agreed readily. Hatred for the bitch consumed me. How was I so fucking stupid?
On the table, Booth’s phone started ringing, and the ringtone of an Ed Sheeran song made us all snicker.
“Get fucked, the lot of ya,” Booth said with a goofy grin on his face as he answered the phone and put it on speaker.
“Hey, Honey, you’re on speaker, so no sexy talk.”
“You don’t have to worry about that from me, Booth.” Rogue’s digitally enhanced voice filled the room, and we all froze.
What the fuck? How did he have Stella’s phone? Booth let out a string of really creative curses.
“Now, now, Vincent, that wasn’t very nice. In fact, if you speak to me like that again, I will end your wife’s life and the life of your spawn, so shut the fuck up and listen to me,” Rogue shouted, anger edging the voice he created. Anger and something else—like he was offended. Why would he be offended by anything we said to him? This was the game he played with us—he taunted us, and we taunted back. He enjoyed the game so far, too much so, but still, now he sounded almost out of control. Not in charge anymore.
“You want to tell me why you have my wife’s phone.” Booth growled, his jaw clenched so tight I was worried his teeth were going to crack.
Rogue let out a maniacal laugh, and I didn’t know about my brothers, but it sent a shiver of dread down my spine.
“I don’t have her phone, Booth. I know what ringtone you have for her. I am smarter than you, Vincent. I know more than your computer geek, just like I know that Deck and the pretty little teacher are getting married, and I know that the slut stripper Rainn is living all on her own now.”
Mannix thumped his fists down hard on the table.
“You touch Rainn and God help me....” Anger vibrated from my brother. Somewhere along the way, his feelings for the dancer had changed. In which direction was yet to be seen.
“God won’t be able to help you, Mannix Steel. Nothing will stop me until every woman from that club is dead.” This guy was fucking crazy, unstable and very fucking dangerous.
“If you try to go after my woman or daughter again, there won’t be a corner in the world where you can hide from me, Rogue,” Deck threatened. His wedding was this weekend. Nothing would stop him from marrying Teach—absolutely nothing. But this threat was real, so maybe postponing was a good idea. Giving Rogue easy targets didn’t seem smart. We were soldiers, and using precision and calculation was how we worked and how we survived. Having a wedding ceremony out in the open wasn’t a good or calculated move.
“Don’t worry, Deck. You will get married. I’m busy this weekend, anyway,” The arsehole said flippantly.
Damn, this fucker had a huge set of brass balls to think taunting these men was a good idea.
“This game you are playing with us definitely has consequences for you, arsehole,” Creed spoke for the first time since we sat down. His usual MO was to sit back and listen while he kept his legendary temper in check. Always.
“Ah, Creed, so nice to hear from you. You are normally so quiet during these calls. You out of all of these men know what it feels like to lose one’s wife, don’t you, Creed. I am so sorry you didn’t die right along with your pretty little pregnant wife that day, but it wasn’t your time. I wanted you to suffer, and, boy, you haven’t let me down.” Rogue laughed.
In a flash, Creed was up and out of his chair, picking it up and hurling it across the room. A guttural roar left his throat, and it was at that exact moment I recognised the pain Creed had been carrying around with him since that fateful day. Never once had I seen him break... until now. Darth stood up and manhandled Creed out of the room with Creed fighting him every step of the way, but Darth outweighed him. Hell, Darth outweighed all of us. The term brick shithouse came to mind.
Silently simmering, we all waited until Darth had Creed were safely out of the room.
“That wasn’t very smart, Rogue. Creed is not the kind of man you want going after you,” Booth warned, the snarl on his face taking me back to our days in the army. Booth would snarl when he was ready to take the enemy out, and he knew the odds were in his favour. Unleashing Creed’s legendary temper definitely had the odds in our favour.
The silence coming from the other end of the line was a telltale sign that Rogue was most definitely worried. Was that a flaw in this arsehole’s game?
“Tell the cripple he better watch his whore twenty-four seven because I am coming after her,” Rogue said, the ominous warning heard by us all before he severed the connection.
“Motherfucker,” I roared. “There is no way in hell he is getting anywhere near Mia.” Wasn’t fucking happening.
Holding up his hand, Booth silenced me.
“No, he is not. And that goes for every other woman he has threatened,” Booth promised.
“Ford, I want Mannix and you to stay here and go through those cameras. Someone is giving him intel, and it is someone in this compound. For him to know Stella’s ringtone means that someone heard it ring here in the compound and told him. For him to know Rainn is living alone again means he heard that from someone here in the compound. Find that someone.” He shouted the last part as he stood up and looked at the prospects.
“Perimeter passes every hour. Be alert, be armed, and be prepared to shoot. No fuck ups or you’re out. I’m not kidding. You guys have dropped the ball once too many times lately. If you want to be a part of the Wounded Souls, act accordingly. This is not Sons of Anarchy, so the drinking and fucking around and letting the women get off the compound without detail stops now. Fucking got it?” He narrowed his eyes at them, giving them the famous Booth glare. Many a soldier had shit themselves, quite literally, being on the receiving end of that glare. I had never shit myself, but there had been some major quivering in my boots going on.
“Yes, sir,” they all answered at once.
Booth was right. The prospects had been approaching their probationary years here like it was one big booze and sex fest. If they had any hope of obtaining a member patch, heads had better be pulled out of arses. And if they let any of the women out of the compound again without a detail, I would shove my foot up their arses myself. If any of the women or Shiloh—if my woman got hurt again because they couldn’t do their jobs, I would rip their heads off and shit down their necks.
“I am not your father. I am your fucking president, so get serious or get the fuck out.” Booth dismissed them and then turned to Deck and me.
“Creed needs us,” he said. It was just three words, but they held deep meaning. What Rogue had just laid out was that he killed Lila. He’d caused the motorcycle accident that took her life and scarred Creed for life in more ways than one.
28
Mia
The sound of breaking glass startled me from my sexual coma. I sat up and listened f
or more noises, but when I heard a loud, guttural roar, I jumped out of bed as fast as I could. Searching frantically for something to put on, I spied one of Cooper’s T-shirts. Perfect. I grabbed it and pulled it hastily over my head before making my way out of our room, sans panties, but there was no time. I knew the voice that belonged to that emotionally filled roar.
Creed.
The commotion got louder as I entered the main room of the compound, and I was shocked when I saw Creed yelling and shouting as he threw glasses against the wall. One after another, he picked them and hurled them as hard as he could. Darth was standing close beside him, offering him glass after glass. The girls of the flock all stood huddled together, looks of despair and sadness on their faces, all with tears on their cheeks. What on earth was going on? I didn’t know, but what I did know was Creed was breaking apart. I had to do something. I couldn’t let him do this alone. Creed had always been there for me, and even though I might not be in love with him like I was with Steel, I loved him as one of my closest friends.
“Creed,” I called out softly. I didn’t need to yell because Creed had some weird kind of sixth sense when it came to me. Sometimes, I wondered why we never got together. The times when I thought there was no hope for Steel and me, I couldn’t help wondering why Creed never took that first step with me. There were many occasions when we were alone together—driving me to and from work and helping me lock up the Bar and Grill—but he never had, not even saying anything. At least, not with words. His eyes, however, said a lot. Like now, his eyes were tormented, in pain, devastated.
“Creed, sweetheart, I’m here,” I called out again, getting his attention. The glass in his hand, which was about to be hurled at the wall, dropped, and somehow, it didn’t break as it fell at his feet. His head dropped to his chest as he took in a shuddering breath, then another, and another. His arms lifted out to me, and it was an opening I took.
Rushing to him, I ignored the warning looks from the flock. Creed would never ever hurt me. I bypassed his hand and, instead, threw myself against him, wrapping my arms around his waist. His arms banded around me, holding me tightly to him. The embrace was a little too tight, but I didn’t say a word in protest. This man was breaking, and one thing Creed Stephens didn’t do was break.
“He killed her, gorgeous. He killed my Lila Rose,” he cried into my neck. I could feel his tears wet my skin, and my heart started to break for him. Creed was a strong, silent, and always there for you kind of man. For Creed, emotions were always locked away, buried with his young wife.
“Talk to me, sweetheart,” I whispered, going up on my tiptoes to reach his ear. I didn’t want anyone to hear me. He showed everyone his temper with smashing the glasses, but they didn’t get to see his tears.
“Get me out of here, gorgeous. Please,” he begged without lifting his head, his grip on my waist digging into my skin through the thin T-shirt.
“Okay, Creed, let’s go to your room,” I suggested, but he didn’t make any move to go.
We stayed where we were, and his soft sobs into my neck the only sounds in the room. But a noise from behind me grabbed my attention. A growl. This growl, I also knew all too well.
Steel.
Not able to turn around to see what had him growling, I heard heavy foot stomps coming my way, and then a warm, hard body pressed up against me.
“Beauty, you know I love your arse, but what I don’t like is this T-shirt riding up and showing off the bottom of your arse cheeks,” he scolded me. Without moving from Creed’s embrace, I reached behind me with one arm, got a handful of Steel’s leather cut, and pulled him closer, using him not only to shield my naked rear end from prying eyes but for comfort, too. Without needing to be told, Steel came willingly, pressing himself into me and making me the middle element of this comfort cuddle.
Steel snaked one arm around me and hooked the other around Creed’s neck.
“We have your back, brother. You are never alone, Creed,” Steel affirmed. I couldn’t see Creed’s face or Steel’s, but I wished I could. Their silence was deafening, and the way these men communicated with looks, glares, and chin lifts was quite fascinating, something the other ladies and I had discussed in great length one night over a plate of Stella’s vanilla slices.
I knew Steel and Creed were partners in the Commando’s Sniper team and spent very long periods of time together waiting and... well, I really had no idea what else they did. Maybe Steel would tell me, and maybe he wouldn’t, but I was with him no matter what he decided to share or not share. But when Creed released one of his hands from my hip and grabbed hold of Steel’s arm, pulling him closer against me, I was sure these two beautiful men came to some sort of conclusion. The fact that I was still in Creed’s embrace despite my attire—my man was quite protective of my derriere—told Creed that Steel was okay with it, that everything would be okay.
“Beauty, why don’t you and Creed go talk in his room? Then, when you’re finished, we can talk about you not wearing panties in the main room where eyes other than mine can see that sweet butt of yours,” Steel said with a growl as he pressed his denim-covered semi-hard cock into my bare arse. Creed barked out a strangled laugh. It was not a good laugh, nor had any real humour to it, but it was a start.
Eventually, the Wounded Souls would find Rogue, and hopefully, before he got to me again.
Then everything would be okay.
————
Walking down the long hall in the dark, I felt a shiver move through me, partly from the cold, and partly from the fact I was wearing very little. Before Creed and I left to talk, Steel forced a pair of his workout shorts on me. I mean, he literally got down on his haunches, helped my feet through the legs of the shorts, and pulled them up my legs. The man was crazy. The whole time he was mumbling, “There is no way that moody prick is going to get a glimpse of what is mine.”
See? Crazy.
I was so tired, both physically and emotionally. Creed really let me in, and for the first time in our years of knowing each other, he unleashed.
Holy shit, did he unleash. My heart broke as his story unfolded. He’d loved his wife so much. They had been expecting their first child when a car hit them on his motorcycle, killing her and their baby instantly. And scarring Creed for life.
It was a humbling experience to hold a strong, muscled, alpha soldier while he sobbed uncontrollably. It would mean something to me for the rest of my life that he trusted me to confide in. He asked me not to repeat any of the more personal details, and I would honour that.
————
Returning to Steel’s and my room, I tiptoed quietly to my side of the bed and removed the shorts Steel wrestled onto me hours before. I didn’t want to wake Steel. The last day had been an exercise in stress in the first degree, and despite his tough act, I knew he was exhausted. Most people would be after a fifteen-day run. Then after an eight-hour motorcycle ride back, finding out for sure you were going to be a father, then arguing with your baby mama because you returned with your ex-sex partner on the back of your bike, and then having said baby mama nearly run over and almost losing the baby, all in one day. Yeah, anyone would be tired after all that.
I pulled back the covers and slipped gently into bed, resisting the temptation to groan in appreciation. This was the softest mattress I’d ever had the privilege to lay on.
“He okay?” Steel’s sleep-roughened voice asked as his arms came around me, pulling me hard against his naked chest.
Sighing, I snuggled and wiggled until I was contented and comfortable. I liked to sleep with Steel’s body completely aligned with mine. He found it funny but always complied with my need.
“Hmm, he will be, babe. He has support from five of the best men I know, five men who understand his need for privacy right now,” I whispered sleepily. Steel would never ask me what Creed confided in me, and I would never tell.
“And he has you, too, Beauty.”
“Yes, he does,” I agreed quietly. I turned in his
arms so I was facing him and ran a finger over his stubbled chin. I loved his stubble. I was glad he didn’t want to grow a full-on beard like Darth because that would be a bit too much. It suited Darth, but I preferred to see my man’s whole face. The sexy devil just did things to me that should be illegal. Moving my finger to his lips, I traced their softness, smiling when he took it between his teeth and gave it a gentle bite.
“I love you so much, Beauty. You are my happy place,” he declared. The tenderness in his eyes took my breath away.
Swallowing the giant lump in my throat, I gave him a bright smile.
“You are my happily ever after, Cooper Steel, my knight in leather, the love of my life.” Pressing a kiss to his lips, I stayed there, our lips still touching and our bodies so close you wouldn’t know where I started and where he began. I closed my eyes and stored this moment in my memory. Another moment with Steel I would never forget and never wanted to.
29
STEEL
“Unca Coop, will you lub your baby more than me?”
My hand stopped midway to my mouth, the piece of toast and Vegemite forgotten.
Shiloh and I were on a breakfast date. I’d missed so many of them while I was on the run, and other than time with my beauty, time with my goddaughter was very important to me. Shiloh stared at me with sweetest, bluest eyes, shiny with unshed tears, and a pouty little mouth. It took everything in me not to laugh. Shiloh had been dealt quite a bit of news lately—Stella and Booth’s new baby, mine and Mia’s baby, and her own baby brother or sister on the way. This was a lot for a four-year-old to take in—especially for a little girl who had been the club’s princess for so long, having all of us to herself.
Shiloh was not a spoilt brat. Yes, all of the club’s members spoilt her, but she wasn’t a brat. We raised her not to be. She had manners and respect. She had rules she had to follow and punishments if she strayed from those rules. We loved her to pieces. She was funny as shit with some of the things that came out of her mouth, the funny and weird nicknames she came up with for everybody, and even the cursing. She was one of a kind, and I couldn’t love her more.
His Beauty_The Wounded Souls Page 15