by Cox, Carrie;
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Blurb
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A Note from Carrie
Carrie's Books
STEEL #4
Carrie Cox
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Copyright © 2015 Carrie Cox
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
STEEL by Carrie Cox is an addictive new motorcycle club romance novella serial perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and readers of Nicole Snow.
Once you’ve had your first bad boy biker, there’s no going back…
Ella Anderson had no idea what she was getting herself into when she gave into temptation and agreed to a one night stand with hot, tattooed biker, Nick Steel.
Drawn into the Blackthorne Motorcycle Club, Ella finds it hard to work out who she can trust. Is Ella finally going to escape or will her ties to Nick hold her back?
(This romance contains steamy love scenes and lots of twists and turns.)
ebook categories
—> Romance Anthologies
—> Outlaw romance
—> Motorcycle Club romance
—> Alpha Male
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
1
Ella
“Please, Ella, let me in. Talk to me.” Nick’s voice came from outside the bedroom door. It had been two days since Chad and Tom had refused to take me with them to Vegas, following Victor Blackthorne’s orders. I was still furious.
I’d pretty much stayed in my room the whole time apart from mealtimes. As mad as I was, I knew I couldn’t keep on like this, though. I needed to make a plan. I intended to escape on my own.
“Go away, Nick.”
If I had to give him marks for persistence, he’d get ten out of ten. I knew the other members of the crew were teasing him about it. I’d overheard them at dinner last night, but I didn’t care. I’d been taken in for too long by his act. I really thought he wanted to help me. The joke was on me.
I ignored Nick for another ten minutes until he finally fell silent and I heard his footsteps retreating.
I waited for a couple more minutes then opened the bedroom door a crack, peeking out into the dark corridor to make sure he really had gone.
It was empty.
There was no lock on the bedroom door so the only thing keeping Nick out was me telling him to go to hell. At least he was respecting my wishes. I suppose that should count for something…
I could feel my willpower weakening. No! It didn’t count for anything. I needed to harden my heart to him.
I couldn’t rely on anyone else.
This wasn’t some fairytale, and I wasn’t a Princess waiting to be rescued. I needed to save myself.
I walked down the corridor, carefully keeping an eye out for Nick, but he seemed to have disappeared. I could smell the bacon cooking and made my way to the kitchen. Nancy and Teresa were in there preparing breakfast.
Nancy was frying the bacon and had a skillet of eggs next to her. “Morning, Ella.”
“Morning.” I smiled Nancy. “That smells good.”
“Not as good as these are going to smell in a couple of minutes,” Teresa said. “I’m making pancakes. Do you want some?”
I looked at the gloopy batter mixture she was stirring. “Sure, thanks.”
She took a handful of blueberries from a bowl by her side on the stainless steel counter.
“Just like my mom used to make,” she said. “Pancakes aren’t the same without blueberries.”
I often wondered about Teresa and the other girls here at the Blackthorn club. It was very isolated so surely they must miss their families.
“Anything I can do?”
Nancy nodded at the cupboard beside the sink. “You could get a few plates out, please.”
I did as Nancy asked as Teresa chattered away about how her mother’s pancakes were the best in the world. Then Teresa turned to me and said, “I’m going into Dorset City later. Do you want to come?”
Nancy dropped a spoon against the skillet with a large clang, making both Teresa and I turn around.
“No!” Nancy said loudly.
When Teresa and I stared at her in shock, she continued, “I mean… that’s not a good idea. Victor wouldn’t like it, Ella.”
When Nancy turned back to the skillet, and turned her attention back to the eggs Teresa looked at me and mouthed, “Damn, girl, what did you do?”
“Absolutely nothing,” I muttered.
Breakfast was an awkward meal. Victor often ate on his own but today he was in the bar with the rest of us. I glared at him angrily. But he didn’t even look at me.
I was so tired of this pathetic game. I decided I wasn’t going to play it any more.
I forced myself to eat my pancakes, which were really good, but my appetite was reduced to almost nothing by Victor’s presence.
He chatted away happily as I glared at him from my table across the room.
The bar, like most bars and nightclubs, didn’t look so good during the day. The bright sunlight showed up the dust and scratched wooden panels.
Victor’s face was much the same. The glare of sunlight highlighted his scar and made him look even more evil.
Nancy was sharing his table, and she kept sending me anxious looks. I didn’t have anything against her. Nancy had always been kind to me. But I really didn’t understand how she could live with someone like Victor and his brother, Damien.
Damien was sitting on his brother’s right hand side as he’d taken advantage of Jackson’s absence.
Both Jackson and Nick were missing this morning. I had no idea where they were. There tended to be two sittings for breakfast every day. A late sitting, like this one, and another earlier one around eight AM.
It was a hell of a long day for Nancy. She had to work in the bar in the evenings, and then be up bright and early to prepare everyone’s breakfast.
She stood up and looked exhausted as she reached for the empty plates. I collected my own, surprised that I had actually polished off the pancakes, despite my apparent lack of appetite.
There was no one else at my table, so I carried my plate through to the kitchen.
When I got to the kitchen, Nancy was holding one hand to her head and was gripping the counter with her other hand. She looked pale and her face was pinched and tense.
I dumped my plate on the counter with a clatter and rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong? Do you want me to get someone?”
Nancy smiled weakly. “No, I’m okay. Just a little tired. Do you think you could do me a favor and collect the plates and load the dishwasher for me today?”
I nodded and watched concerned as Nancy shakily left the kitchen. I decided I would check up on her as soon as I’d finished clearing up after breakfast.
I went back into the main bar. Victor was still sitting at the table.
Damn, that meant I would have to collect his plate as well.
I would have asked one of the girls to help me, but they all seemed to have disappeared already. I s
tarted collecting plates slowly from other tables, biding my time and hoping that Victor would be gone by the time I got round to his table.
No such luck. I’d cleared down the tables, wiped them and loaded the dishwasher in the kitchen. The only thing left to do was Victor’s table.
There was nothing else for it. I would have to go and collect the plates with him still sitting there.
Why was I scared of him? He wasn’t even looking at me.
I walked up slowly behind the table, wishing I was invisible.
I stacked the plates as I went, but when I reached for Victor’s plate, he grabbed my arm suddenly.
I glared down at his thick fingers encircling my wrist. I wouldn’t give him the courtesy of looking at his face.
“Please, let go of my arm.” My voice was cold.
Victor didn’t let go immediately. I could sense his eyes burning into me, he was either trying to read me or trying to intimidate me, but I wasn’t getting sucked into his mind games.
I had already tried to play along with his rules, and it hadn’t worked. He wouldn’t fool me again.
Finally, he let go of my arm, and I carried on stacking the plates before taking them out to the kitchen with my cheeks burning.
As soon as I got out of there, I planned to go straight to the police. I would make sure Victor Blackthorne realized he wasn’t the untouchable man he thought he was.
I kept busy in the kitchen until everyone had left the bar area, and then I helped myself to two extra water bottles. No one would notice. Everyone drank a lot of water here because it was so hot.
I left the kitchen with its stainless steel surfaces gleaming and headed to find Nancy.
When I got to her room, I saw Teresa was sitting beside Nancy’s bed. Nancy was sleeping soundly.
“How is she?” I asked.
“I think she’s going to be okay,” Teresa said. “It looks as if she’s managed to pick up some kind of bug. She’s gonna try and sleep it off.”
I nodded, smiled at Teresa and closed the door behind me before heading back to my room.
I opened the door to the bedroom, stepped inside and then froze.
Nick was there, sitting on the bed.
In front of him, he’d lined up the six bottles of water I’d stockpiled under the bed.
I figured I could never be too prepared, and if I had to walk across the desert to escape I would need plenty of water.
I set the bottles of water I was carrying down on the heavy chest and then turned to glare at him. Why did he have to ruin everything?
Nick looked at me. “I’m so sorry, Ella. I really thought that you were leaving. This wasn’t down to me.”
“And why exactly should I trust anything you say?”
Nick sighed and looked down at the water bottles on the floor. “Promise me you’re not planning to do anything stupid.”
I stayed silent. I wasn’t going to promise him anything.
Nick looked particularly good today. The T-shirt he was wearing clung to his upper body in a way that displayed his tight muscles, and his jeans fit snugly around his muscular thighs.
I bit my lower lip.
Focus, I told myself sternly. I wasn’t shallow enough to be distracted by the way he looked.
I went and sat beside him on the bed. “I suppose it isn’t your fault,” I said.
He frowned and turned to face me. His soft lips parted as if he was about to speak, but I didn’t give him a chance.
“I thought you were someone I could trust, someone I could rely on. It wasn’t fair of me. You told me from the start that you were no hero. It just took a long time for that to sink in. But I’ve got it now. You don’t need to worry anymore. I don’t see you as a hero.”
Nick winced as if my words hurt him, which was my intention. It should have felt good but instead I felt miserable.
He nodded slowly. “I let you down and I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault you don’t have to apologize.”
From outside, a huge bang suddenly sounded, and I jumped. My heart was pounding as I clutched his arm. The noise had sounded like a weapon discharging.
Nick put his arms around me, comforting me.
I looked up into his beautiful eyes, and they made me want to melt. “Was that a gun?”
Nick shook his head. “It was just a bike backfiring. You don’t have to worry, Ella. I know I’ve let you down, but I promise you no one will hurt you so long as I’m around.”
He said the words so sincerely and so sweetly I almost believed him.
I was pathetic. I was falling for it again. I pulled away from him and scooted back on the bed. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
“I’m serious.”
I sighed. “I can’t trust you, Nick. I never know if you’re telling me the truth, so it’s better if I just think everything you say is a lie.”
Nick ran a hand through his hair. “Fair enough. I deserved that. But I’ll tell you the truth now if you’ll listen.”
I shrugged, pretending I wasn’t interested, but really I wanted to know what he was going to say.
“What do you want to know?” Nick asked.
What should I ask first? There were so many things I wanted to know. I had so many questions.
2
“When Victor’s bodyguards let you in to speak to him, but made me wait outside…What did Victor say to you?”
Nick nodded slowly as if he’d expected that question.
He looked down at the floor for a few moments and then said, “He told me I needed to get you to stay, to persuade you to stay here.”
I swallowed hard. I believed him. That sounded just like the type of thing Victor would say.
“And how exactly are you supposed to persuade me to stay?”
Nick raised an eyebrow and smiled softly. “How do you think?”
I flushed and took a deep breath.
A million thoughts were racing through my mind. Had this been their game plan all along? Was this the only reason Nick had been paying attention to me?
I turned to him, but before I could ask anything else, he said, “I’m telling you the truth, Ella. I’m sorry if it hurts. But you have to know that I like being with you. I’m not doing it because Victor tells me to.”
I nodded, but I still felt sick.
My next question was inevitable. It was the question that had lingered in the back of my mind since I first realized he was in the Blackthorne MC.
“Why are you part of this? Why did you join in the first place?”
Nick shifted back on the bed and leaned against the wall. “That’s a long story,” he said, giving me a twisted smile. “Are you sure you want to know?”
I nodded.
“Okay, it started with my father. He was part of the MC back in the day, and I thought the world of him. I grew up in Seattle with my mother and only saw my father maybe once a year. But I worshipped him. He died just before my sixteenth birthday. I felt like I’d never really gotten to know him, and I wanted to find out more about him. Does that make sense?”
I nodded again. I wanted to reach out and put my hand over his, but I resisted. Just because he was feeding me a sob story didn’t mean I was going to be taken in.
“After he died. I went off the rails. I loved my mom, but I was too much for her to handle. I decided to come down here and find out about him. My plan was to try and find out all those parts of his character and his past I’d never known.”
Nick smiled and shook his head. “It seemed good at first. I was a sixteen-year-old kid from Seattle, and they let me ride the Harleys, they let me drink whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It was a teenage boy’s dream.”
Nick smiled regretfully. “My mom was always strict and I missed her, but this new world was intoxicating to me.”
I could see how it would be. I pictured Nick as a sixteen-year-old boy suddenly surrounded by all of this. Perhaps too young to realize how serious and dangerous the whole thing was.
>
“Victor was just a young, cocky kid at the time. His father was the one in charge of the Blackthorne crew, and I know you’ll find it hard to believe, but he was even more feared than Victor. No one crossed him. Victor’s father took me under his wing. I don’t know why…maybe I amused him. But I liked him. The night it happened…”
Nick paused and looked at me. His eyes were tormented. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“Yes, please tell me.”
Nick nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay, that night, I tried desperately to protect him. I guess a psychiatrist would have a field day with me. They’d say I was searching for a father figure or some crap like that. Maybe I was, but I was there the night he was ousted from the group. I’ll never forget it.”
I didn’t dare move. Nick was talking as though he were almost in a trance as he remembered. I didn’t want anything to distract him.
“A group of rebels from the crew decided old man Blackthorne was too old school, and they needed some fresh blood, someone new. They intended to replace the old man with Victor.”
Nick closed his eyes and tilted his head back, and I waited for him to continue.
“Victor replaced his own father at the head of the group?” I asked, thinking that was cold. How could he betray his own father?
“That’s not the worst of it,” Nick said. “He didn’t just oust him.” He turned to me, his eyes searching my face as if he was trying to work out whether I was ready to hear what he was going to say next.
I moved closer to him, resting my hand on his leg, and waited for him to continue.
He stared down at my hand as if it was burning a hole through the denim of his jeans.
Then he took a deep breath and said, “Victor murdered his own father so he could take control of the crew.”
My mouth dropped open, “He killed him? His own father?”
My voice was barely a whisper. I couldn’t take this in. I knew Victor was evil, but I hadn’t realized how sick he really was.