“Yeah, whatever it is can’t be good.”
Iron grunted his agreement as they headed back over to the parlor to talk to Reaper.
Iron walked into Ink Bandits and grinned at Roz who was sitting in a chair talking to Laci and Sarah. Walking over, he leaned down and kissed her long and deep, unable to fight the need he had to touch her every chance he got, even with the urgency of the report he needed to relay to Reaper. Roz lifted a hand cupping his face, her hand soft and caressing.
Flame, who was sitting on the counter nearby playing cards with Animal, let out a loud whistle. “Damn, boy, get a room.”
Iron ignored him, slowly finishing his kiss before pulling away and whispering, “Hey, baby.”
When he pulled back he felt satisfaction fill him at the hazy heavy-lidded look on her face. Roz seemed to come back to reality with a slight shake of her head and she blushed but her smile was bright when she muttered in a squeaky voice, “Hi.”
“I missed you,” he told her, reaching up to twirl a section of her wheat-colored hair around his finger. Feelings of possessiveness and lust flooded through his veins in a heady rush of desire that left him needy and a little ticked that he couldn’t drag her home to make love to her.
“You just saw me two hours ago, Iron,” Roz said, her eyes narrowed on him for a moment. Iron grinned. Yeah, it had only been a few hours but lately that seemed like forever. Roz was back in his life and he wished he could spend every minute with her but he had a responsibility to the club that kept pulling him away from her.
“I still missed you,” Iron told her, still playing with her hair.
“Wow, uh, are you okay?” Sarah demanded from next to Roz, bringing his attention to her for a moment. He frowned, unsure what the hell she was asking him that for.
“Of course, why?” Iron asked, his confusion evident in the way he raised his brow and watched her, waiting for an answer to his inquiry.
“Because you’re like all sappy and well––quite frankly that’s really out of character for you.” Sarah was staring at him with a slight frown on her face. Iron glared at her, pissed off that she had actually said that to him.
“I am not being sappy. I can miss my girl if I want to, damn it,” he growled hearing Roz and Laci giggle.
He turned to frown at Roz, feeling his breath catch because her smile was so joyful that it was blinding. It almost made his knees give way because his need for her was so strong. He was struck by her beauty, knowing she was as beautiful now as she had been when they were barely teens and still finding out who they were.
“Dude, now it’s just embarrassing,” Flame piped up from the other side of the room distracting him from Roz with his snickering. Deciding that he’d spent enough time letting Roz know that he worshiped her for the moment, Iron kissed her on the nose. Then he stood up, walking over to the counter. Reaching out, he shoved Flame hard.
Flame went ass over kettle backwards off the counter landing hard on the rubber mat behind it. Iron heard the loud grunt he let out with a satisfied smile spreading over his face. The damned idiot had deserved that for opening his mouth when he shouldn’t have.
“Fuck, dude, what the hell?” the little wussy cried out over the laughter coming from Pansy and Animal and the gasps from the three females.
“Let’s go,” Iron said to Pansy, ignoring the idiot who was getting up off the floor glaring at him while he brushed something powdery off his pants. Iron walked towards Reaper’s office, glancing back at Roz to see her mouth was still hanging open over him shoving Flame. He winked at her before entering Reaper’s office.
Reaper was sitting at his desk going over what looked like the club receipts. He raised a brow at the two of them as they entered before sitting back, his hands setting aside the paperwork he was doing. “Thought you two were watching the Headhunters?”
“We were,” Iron said as they entered, shutting the door behind them. He sat down in the chair in front of Reaper’s desk. Pansy just leaned on the doorframe. “They left about thirty minutes ago. Don’t know what they were doing, it’s just flipping odd. I can’t figure out why they’re watching the club and the parlor.”
“Yeah, I don’t like it, that’s why I wanted them watched. We need to keep an eye on these buffoons. Who the hell knows what they might be up to,” Reaper said, sighing as he rubbed his face with one hand, rocking back and forth in the chair. “I don’t know if they’re bold enough to try stealing women from the Blue Bird or if they’re looking for the women from that last shipment for some reason. Whatever it is, I know it’s something I’m not going to like one damned bit.”
“That’s a given, boss,” Pansy grunted, making Iron glance at him.
“I’ll talk to Lock. I want them followed when they leave next time. This shit is too close to home and I want to know what the fuck they’re up to. I am not in the mood to have them pull some stupid shit here,” Reaper told them, standing up to pace behind the desk, a frown marring his brow. Iron couldn’t blame him because the thought that they may try to grab Roz again made him furious.
“I don’t think any of us want that. Church is in four days. I’ve been wondering what’s gonna happen when the majority of the club is there with us and the women are here with only the prospects. Could be an issue,” Pansy said from his spot, earning two narrow-eyed glares from Iron and Reaper. Iron hadn’t thought of that but as usual the quiet man, who always seemed to process a situation from every angle simultaneously, was right. That could be what the Headhunters were waiting on, Iron thought, a pit opening up in his stomach.
Church was usually held at a warehouse halfway between Death Rider’s half of the territory and Reaper’s. This time it was going to include a meet with the Red Devils, which meant that they were going to be even farther away if shit went haywire because that meet wouldn’t be at Church. They trusted the Red Devils MC only so far and taking them to their meeting place wasn’t something any of them were willing to do.
“Fuck, that’s something I didn’t think about. I’ll have to call Death. We need to leave someone behind because I am not leaving my old lady without protection despite her being damned good at taking care of herself,” Reaper growled, his fist hitting the desk, just as angry at the thought of something happening to Sarah as Iron was about the possibility that Roz might be taken from him again.
“I’m not leaving Rozzy here alone either,” Iron growled, leaning forward in the chair, his scowl dark. Roz was too important to him for him to even think about allowing something to happen to her while he was at a meet.
Wasn’t fucking happening.
He would die first.
“I see. Am I to assume that a patching will need to be on the agenda at church?” Reaper asked. He’d stopped pacing, his agitation settling some with Iron’s words, and he grinned widely at Iron.
“Yeah,” Iron told him, his sigh heavy. It was a bitch when your brothers knew you were obsessed with your woman. Iron shook his head because he didn’t care that he’d likely get teased about his need for Roz. “But I’m not taking no for an answer, just a warning. I got approval to bring her into the family a long damned time ago and that didn’t expire because she wasn’t around to receive the protection,” Iron said firmly, his face impassive because he wasn’t about to let Roz go a second time.
“Hmm, I guess that’s true but it will still have to be talked about. No need to put it to another vote, you already won that right years ago,” Reaper said after a long moment of silence in which Iron sweated, worried that Reaper might argue with him about his right to patch Roz.
Iron felt a rush of gratification slip through him at Reaper’s agreement, his body relaxing back into the chair. He was glad he didn’t have to worry that some idiot would decide to argue with him over whether or not she could be his old lady. Most of the men wouldn’t but a few were a pain in the ass because they didn’t trust women, some because they were just assholes, but others had legitimate reasons to hate women because they were used o
r hurt in the past by a woman they were close to.
Iron didn’t want to wait till next vote if they voted against him to see if they would allow him to take Roz as his old lady, he wanted his patch on her now. He needed his mark of ownership on her in order to stay sane. Iron nodded his thanks to Reaper, seeing the man’s quickly hidden smile with no small amount of annoyance.
Fuck, they were going to give him shit over this, he just knew it. Assholes.
“We’ll pick this up again later. Right now we need to figure out what the hell these damned Headhunters are up to. Iron, I want you and Burner to start looking into the reasons they might be watching us. They have to be looking for something. See if the two of you can’t figure it out.” Reaper ran a hand over his face looking grim, the tiny smile nowhere in sight.
Iron nodded. “Sure thing, boss. I’ll have him meet me at the rec center. We can start looking into this tonight. I want to know as soon as possible what the hell they’re up to.”
Reaper nodded signaling the meeting was over. Iron got up moving towards the door and a grim faced Pansy, who followed him out.
It was six days later when shit hit the fan in a big way. Iron and Roz were just finishing up dinner when they heard shots outside. Iron looked towards the window, a cold sense of dread filling him. Roz wore a worried frown as she set the dishes in the sink in the rec center kitchen. They’d eaten some stir-fry that Laci had made earlier that evening when they’d gotten back from a short trip to Titusville. Laci had left it on the stove for them before she’d headed to bed knowing that they’d be home in time to eat.
Iron moved to the window trying to see what was going on but couldn’t see anything through the window. Iron and the rest of the men were armed 24/7 per Reaper’s orders starting three days ago when they had talked about the Headhunters lurking around at church. The meet with the Red Devils had been moved to this week and they had discussed the issues with the Headhunters instead. Iron moved towards the door, his face covered in a grim scowl.
Burner was supposed to come over tonight to discuss theories on what the Headhunters might be up to. They were going over some satellite feeds they’d hacked into that showed movements in the area. Iron was not happy to discover that the Headhunters’ base camp was closer than they realized. Burner thought they might be planning a coup. Iron didn’t know if they were stupid enough to try and take some of the territory.
Iron snorted. Yeah, like they were going to allow that.
“Stay here,” he barked at Roz, wanting her to be safe. Roz had been standing by the sink looking out that little window and she’d just moved towards the door when she saw him headed there. Roz turned a narrowed-eyed look on him from across the counter. He ignored it, still headed to the door. Iron’s momentum was stopped by her quietly asked question.
“Do you really think I am going to let you go out there with no backup?”
Iron turned back to her, hearing another volley of gunfire outside. He had armed her the night he returned from church. He felt confident she could handle a weapon after taking her to the gun range. Roz was a decent shot even on a moving target but he wasn’t about to allow her to be in danger if he could help it. He wanted her armed in case she was forced to defend herself, but he wasn’t about to allow her to walk into a dangerous situation.
“Yes, I do,” Iron clipped, his voice hard, his fist clenching around the weapon he’d pulled out getting ready to head outside to see what was going on out there. Roz’s steely blue eyes watched him, fear evident in her tense body.
“Well that’s not going to happen,” Roz growled.
Iron cupped her face, kissing her forehead before stepping back with a serious expression.
“Look, I don’t have time for this. I am only going to say this once, okay. I can’t keep my head in the game if I know you’re in the line of fire, so keep your pretty little ass in here and lock the damned door behind me. Only open the door for me or one of my brothers and use your gun if someone wearing a Headhunter cut breaks in here.” Iron didn’t wait for her response, just headed out the door.
“Lock it behind me,” Iron said when he was standing outside looking back at her. Her legs were planted apart and her arms were crossed where she stood a few inches from the door. She didn’t look too happy with him either but Iron didn’t care as long as she was safe.
“Fine,” Roz agreed looking unhappy but she moved forward and locked the door. Hearing the light click that indicated she had locked it, he headed towards the sound of the gunfire, believing it was around the side of the rec center where they normally parked their bikes.
It was pitch black outside because the sun had gone down about forty minutes ago. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust as he neared the area where the gunfire was coming from. Staying low and close to the building, he moved around so that he could see what was happening.
As he peered around the building, he saw Burner was pinned down by his bike, shooting back at three Headhunters. Two other Headhunters were down on the ground. Burner must have taken them out, but Iron could tell he must be almost out of bullets because he wasn’t returning fire very often. He didn’t know what had made them so bold because Headhunters were usually cowards and attacking on Blue Bandits home turf was just fucking stupid.
Iron moved into a position to give Burner cover fire so that he could move to safety, letting out a whistle to let him know he was in place behind the AC unit. Burner nodded, his face relieved, confirming Iron’s suspicions that Burner was almost out of bullets. He must have only had the one clip with him.
He fired at the three Headhunters, watching them duck behind the trees as Burner made his way to his side. He fired again when one of them poked his head out intending to shoot Burner in the back. He dove back behind the tree line and Burner slid behind the AC unit safely.
“Fuck. Damn, am I glad you heard this shit. I’m almost out. You have a second clip on you?” Burner asked, kneeling beside him.
Iron handed him another clip before shooting the Headhunter who poked his head from around the tree he was taking cover behind. The man fell and didn’t move, Iron’s bullet having landed between his eyes.
“What made them start shooting at you? And what the hell are they doing out this way? Doesn’t make a damned bit of sense because this isn’t a high profile area,” Iron told Burner as they returned fire on the two men who were popping out to shoot at them.
“Fuck, I don’t know unless they’re here for me. Maybe that’s what this has been about. I fucked their club up royally then defected. All I know is I got off my bike and those bastards starting shooting at me.” Burner landed a shot on the arm of one of the Headhunters, making him drop the gun and cry out, falling down.
“Maybe, or it could be they’re after Roz and the other women who live here,” Iron replied grimly, feeling anger roar through him at the thought. Iron took a shot at the man who’d popped out, missing him but when he jumped to the side, Burner shot him in the chest and he went down, falling to his knees. The man he’d shot in the arm had recovered and he sent another volley their way but he went down moments later when Iron and Burner both shot him again.
Iron and Burner waited to see if anyone else was shooting before they both stood, looking over at the men’s bodies. Satisfied that they were dead or at least out for the moment, Burner walked over to his bike crouching to check it, letting out a curse.
“Fuck, they shot the damned frame all to hell. Damned fucking Headhunters.”
Iron didn’t blame Burner for being pissed. If it were his bike he’d be ticked too. He would have to have Mike over at the body shop work on it and it was never cheap to get it fixed because Mike was the best body man in their territory. Iron knew that despite his expensiveness he was worth every penny.
“That’s a shame. The flame work was nice,” Iron said, looking at the red flames that now had four holes in them.
“Yeah, had a guy do it when I was undercover. He was a Headhunter so doubt he’d be will
ing to fix it. Mike might be damned good at body work, but he isn’t good with custom paint.” Burner slapped the seat, his face contorted into a dark frown. Light was suddenly shone into their faces and they both raised their guns aiming at the person holding the flashlight.
“Iron, it’s me,” Roz said, jumping to the side.
“Fuck,” Iron said, lowering his gun “What the hell are you doing out here? I told you to stay inside, damn it!” He moved towards her quickly, his heart pounding. If the Headhunters had won this shootout then she would have been walking right into danger and that scared the shit out of him, making his tone harsh.
“Relax, I waited until I didn’t hear any more shooting,” Roz hissed back at him, allowing him to jerk her to his chest, his chin resting on her head. He clutched her tightly, his head swirling with thoughts of what could have happened if they hadn’t won. He knew he was holding her too tightly when she tried to wiggle away from him a little but he couldn’t seem to let her go.
“What if I was shot and that was why they stopped shooting? Or if one of us shot you instead of waiting to see who was coming up on us?” Iron demanded, his heart still pounding in his ears, fear a cold tingle running up his spine.
“That’s not what happened so just let it go. I had to see if you were okay,” Roz muttered, shoving at his chest until he finally allowed a bit of space between them. Burner was standing by his bike still inspecting the damage.
“It wasn’t a good idea coming out here, sugar. He’s right,” Burner told her, running his hand over one of the holes. Roz stepped closer to him, pulling away from Iron completely.
“Wow, they really shot your bike up, didn’t they?” she said, likely trying to change the subject, and Burner looked up at her grimly nodding.
“Yeah they did,” Burner grumbled. His face contorted in rage before he growled, “Stupid fucking Headhunters!”
Melted Iron (Blue Bandits MC Book 3) Page 13