Heart of Steel

by Cathleen Cole

  “Agent Flynn, it’s nice to see you again,” he said charmingly and held out a hand for her to shake.

  A slow, sultry smile spread across her face. “Is it?” She looked down at his hand then back up at him. Uncle Caleb dropped his hand when she refused to shake it. She stepped forward and slowly trailed a nail down the line of buttons on Uncle Caleb’s dress shirt. I fought back a laugh. Now that I wasn’t on the receiving end of her odd interrogation methods it was kind of fun to watch. Her weird way of flirting while questioning you was enough to throw the most seasoned criminals off track and Uncle Caleb had clearly not been in the game long.

  Gunnar leaned over and whispered, “She’s hot.” I just rolled my eyes when Steel grunted in agreement. It didn’t surprise me that the two men found the leggy, blonde cop attractive. Neither would ever go for her but that didn’t stop them from admiring her while she continued to unnerve my uncle.

  “What can we help you with?” Uncle Caleb looked nervous. He kept looking at me, and how calm I was, then back at the agent who was still standing awkwardly close to him.

  “We’re going to need you to come down to the station with us,” she replied smoothly. When she motioned, without turning around, a local police officer came through the door to join them. I looked out front and saw at least four more police cruisers out there. My eyes widened and I bit the insides of my lips. It was probably awful of me that I was getting so much enjoyment out of this. Considering everything he’d done to me over the last year, I didn’t care anymore though.

  Folding my arms over my chest I watched in amusement as Uncle Caleb angrily asked for an explanation. Steel stepped in behind me and wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in his warmth and the unique smell that was his. It was amazing how I’d gone from feeling alone to having a family and feeling safe again in such a short time, all thanks to the man currently holding me in his arms. I leaned back against his chest as Agent Flynn read Uncle Caleb his rights.

  He glared over at me. “This is bullshit!” I didn’t know if he was talking to me or the agents. “You won’t get away with this, Remi.”

  Oh, that answers that question, I guess.

  “This is all your fault, you know!” The local cop turned him around and started patting him down, all while he was spewing nonsense at me.

  “You didn’t deserve this company! You never worked for a fucking thing in your life. Everything was just handed to you. I’ve spent years working and building this business. You and your father used me to make your money and now you think I’m going to take the fall for you? You fucking owe me!” His face was red as a tomato, spit was flying out of his mouth, but he finally stopped talking once those handcuffs snicked into place.

  I stepped out of the protective circle of Steel’s arms to face my lying, thieving, worthless uncle. “You stole from us,” I said, my voice was dead calm and cold as ice. Uncle Caleb’s mouth dropped open and he froze. Every eye in the room was on us now. I wasn’t supposed to have said that, but I was too pissed to care. “You lied to us. You lied to dad.” His chin went up defiantly. I stepped in closer to him. I saw Steel and Gunnar both moving toward me from my peripheral, but Uncle Caleb had his hands cuffed behind his back and the cop had his hands on the cuffs, so I wasn’t worried. I lowered my voice so only he and I could hear. “You transported drugs in my trucks.”

  Caleb’s face drained of all color and his mouth opened and closed, like a fish. I stepped back. No longer would I think of him as family. “I know everything you did. Soon, we’ll know everyone who was involved.” I saw Agent Flynn give me a curious glance, but I avoided her gaze.

  Turning my back on Caleb I looked at Janet who was sitting there in stunned silence. “Janet?” Her glassy eyes met mine. “Could you close up for me?” She nodded and slowly returned the smile I gave her. The cops would be arresting the two truck drivers later tonight as well. I’d be firing the accountant tomorrow and next week would be full of staff meetings, getting everyone used to the new way things would be run at Mackenzie’s but I would deal with all of that as it came. For now, I wanted to get back to the clubhouse and hear what Cade learned from Rhonda.

  My heart felt like it was racing Steel’s motorcycle back to the clubhouse. I was flying high, so happy and free. I squeezed Steel’s waist hard enough that I felt him grunt beneath me and couldn’t help but grin. I had the man I loved, my company wasn’t in danger anymore, my mother was out of my life, and hopefully, we were about to solve a huge problem for the club too.

  When we parked Steel reached back and swung me around until I was straddling him. Laughing I looked down at him as Gunnar muttered something and wandered toward the clubhouse. “Thank you.”

  He cocked his head slightly. “For what?”

  How could I explain it to him? I shook my head, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and unable to articulate what he’d given back to me. He leaned forward and crushed me in his arms.

  “You’ve done that for me too.” His voice was soft, almost a purr. He wouldn’t let me pull back to see his face. I was too close to tears to speak so I made some sort of questioning noise. He understood me, as he always seemed to. “I may not have lost my family, or my purpose, like you did.” He wasn’t wrong with that assessment. “But having you has made what I had so much better.”

  Now I was beyond speechless. Steel wasn’t the sweet words kind of guy. So, getting them now, when he knew I needed them most tipped me over the edge. Tears spilled down my cheeks and suddenly he was wiping them gently away. Those rough fingers were caressing my skin, causing sparks to ignite wherever he touched. He kissed me gently, my tears wetting our lips, and I wondered how it would be possible to love this man more than I did at this moment?

  “Would you two hurry the fuck up!” The yell had me jolting in Steel’s arms and him cursing. Riggs chuckled from where he stood a few feet away. We’d been so wrapped up in each other we hadn’t even heard him approach. “Cade needs to talk with you both.”

  Once again, we found ourselves sitting around the kitchen island. Once we’d gone through what had happened with Caleb it was Cade’s turn. The grim set of his mouth told me it wasn’t good news. “We found out who your uncle is working with…”

  “Caleb,” I interrupted him. Everyone looked at me curiously. “He’s not my uncle anymore.”

  Cade nodded and continued. “We found out who Caleb’s contact is for the Guzman Cartel.”

  My phone blared out the ringtone set for Bridget. The loud tone in the tense quiet of the room made me jump. “Sorry! I’ll set it to silent.” I pulled my phone out and stared at it for a second before I looked up at Cade. My stomach was in knots, Bridget never called first. She always texted; it was as though calling was an affront to her. He frowned at me, but I hit the answer button and held the phone up to my ear. “Bridge?”

  “Ah, Señorita Mackenzie, si?” An unknown voice asked me. My gaze shot to Steel then to Gunnar. I silently put the phone on speaker.

  “Yes, this is Remi Mackenzie. Who is this and why are you on Bridget’s phone?” The guys around me had all stiffened but stayed quiet as we all waited on the answer.

  “We’ll need you to deliver Rhonda and Caleb to us by… eleven p.m., if you’d like to see your chiquita here alive again,” came the reply.

  The breath was trapped in my chest. I wanted to sit down and sob, but I didn’t have the time or luxury. “How do I know you even have Bridget?”

  I heard the muffled sound of someone speaking over the phone then the next voice had my heart clenching in my chest. “R… Remi?” Bridget’s voice sounded watery and terrified. I looked over and saw Gunnar’s fists clenched so hard around the edge of the table top I was surprised he hadn’t cracked it.

  “Hey Bridge,” I said softly, calmly. “I’m going to come get you, okay?”

  I heard her breath shudder out over the line, and I knew she was crying. In my mind I could see the tears dripping down her face and it killed me knowing she was in danger. “
Okay.”

  “Are you alright? Have they hurt you?”

  “Fin. Enough!” There was a shuffling sound as I imagine the guy ripped the phone out of her hand. “She is fine, for now.” He rattled off an address, which I saw Rat hurrying to put into his computer. “You will meet us there and we will exchange them for her. Come alone, just you and them or we will kill her.” I heard someone nearby cry out at the man’s announcement.

  “That’s not what we arranged, Miguel!”

  I gasped. I knew that voice as well as I’d known my own father’s. The sound of someone being hit echoed loudly over the phone.

  “Daaaadddyy!” Bridget’s scream had all the men around me stifling curses as they tried not to alert her captors that they were listening in on the conversation.

  The man’s voice came back on the line, slightly out of breath. “Bring Rhonda and Caleb tonight,” he growled.

  “Wait, was that Mr. Jordan?” I was desperately trying to piece together what was going on and stall for time. The click and dial tone told me he’d hung up on me.

  “Fuck!” Gunnar slammed a fist on the table making me jolt.

  “Caleb was the middleman between Brent Jordan and Miguel Guzman. That’s what Rhonda told me after you left,” Cade said grimly. “I had no idea they’d go after Bridget. I’m sorry man.” He looked over at Gunnar. Gunnar looked miserable and I didn’t blame him.

  “So, Bridget’s dad has been selling cocaine?” I asked, confused. “Why would he do that? He’s a former mayor.”

  “No, he’s been having the Lycans sell cocaine and taking a cut of the money. He gets money and has someone to do any of the dirty work he needs done.” Cade explained.

  “So why is Guzman here now?” Steel asked. “Why does he have Bridget and her dad and what does he want with Caleb and Rhonda?”

  “He must have heard about the FBI raid and come to the same conclusion as Rhonda,” I said dully. Cade and a few of the others nodded in agreement.

  “They probably think they’re going to rat them out,” Axel added.

  “Do you think they’ve heard about Caleb being arrested yet?” I asked. Anxiety was currently ripping my stomach apart. This had gone from a great plan to hell on Earth pretty quickly. I’d never meant for Bridget to get caught in the crossfire.

  “It’s unlikely,” Steel said. “It just happened about an hour ago. I doubt anyone has heard yet.”

  “How am I supposed to find Rhonda and get Caleb out of FBI custody in,” I glanced at my phone, “six hours?” Hopelessness seeped into every fiber of my being. Bridget was like a sister to me. I looked around the table at the grim faces around me and took a deep breath. It didn’t matter. Bridget had come for me when I needed her, and I wasn’t going to let her down.

  “I’m going to need a gun.” The horror on Steel’s face at my announcement would have been funny if the situation wasn’t so grave. He’d learn sooner rather than later that I’d walk through hell for my family. If that meant facing down a cartel to get one of them back, then so be it.

  COMING SOON!

  The Viking’s Princess

  Prologue

  Bridget

  “Bridget!”

  I glanced over and stopped walking when my dad pulled up next to me in his Lexus. I shifted my school bag higher up onto my shoulder and smiled. “Hi dad.” Stepping off the curb I leaned in through the window and kissed his cheek. “Did I forget a lunch date?”

  “No, sweetheart, but I thought I’d take you out if you had time?” He smiled at me but looked a little stressed. I had a few more classes today but nothing that I couldn’t skip.

  “Sure!” I walked around and dropped my bag and purse into the back seat before sliding in next to him. I watched my father’s face as he navigated the roads leading us off the University of Texas campus and into the heart of Austin. His mouth was pinched at the corners and those heavy brows were furrowed with worry. I knew him too well for him to be able to hide it.

  “Are we going to Masalinas?” It was one of my father’s favorite restaurants and his go-to for comfort food. Although I wasn’t sure you could count five-star dining as comfort food, but he did.

  “Not today, pumpkin.” He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and glanced into the rear-view mirror before making a lane change.

  “Okay, dad what’s going on?” I shifted in my seat so that I was facing him and folded my arms over my chest. His eyes met mine for a brief second before flashing to the road in front of us then again to the rear-view mirror. I looked through the back window. He was acting like someone was following us.

  “Sit facing forward, Bridget,” he snapped at me.

  I immediately did as he asked, my mouth dropping open. My father rarely yelled at me and usually it was only when I’d done something to test his patience, like bring home a guy I knew he’d flip out about. He wasn’t in the habit of yelling at me for no reason.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. I realized we were leaving the Austin city limits and heading out of town.

  He sighed and his gaze met and held my own. I searched those blue eyes that were so like mine and found doubt, fear, and an apology. “We need to leave town for a bit, pumpkin. I’ve already sent your mother to her sisters.” My mouth fell open, but he spoke right through my sputtered protests. “I’m in a little bit of a bind. It’s not forever, just for a while.”

  “A WHILE?!” I stared at him in shock. “Dad, I have school. And my friends. What kind of trouble are you in?” I shook my head in disbelief. Dad was the former mayor of Austin. He ran in high society circles. What could possibly have happened that had him spiriting his family away with literally the clothes on our backs?

  “I didn’t say I was in trouble,” he said indignantly, his face turning a mottled shade of red. It was the same shade it always turned when he was lying. I eyed the back seat where my bag and purse were. If he was going to force me to leave the city the least, I was going to do was text Gunnar. I’d dropped my cell phone into my purse before getting into the car though, so I was going to have to turn around to get it. He’d already yelled at me for turning around once. I bided my time; I’d get my phone in a few minutes when he was more distracted.

  “Oh daddy,” I said softly. “What did you do?”

  He glared at me and opened his mouth to speak but before he could I saw a vehicle pull up alongside us and the world exploded. Or that’s what it felt like anyway. It took my breath away and I couldn’t even scream as a car hit us so hard from dad’s side of the car that it sent us careening off the highway and down a grassy embankment. I gripped the door and my seat hard, trying to breathe. Dad’s window had exploded upon impact and I could see blood running down his face from where fragments of glass had cut him. He was fighting with the wheel, trying to stop the car from spinning out of control in the grass.

  I thought for sure he’d stop the car so that we could call the cops to report the accident. Instead, as soon as he righted the wheel and had the machine under control he stomped on the gas and shot across the embankment toward the exit ramp that was there. I let out a little squeal as we cut off a car and zipped down the lane. The long blare of a horn told me we’d come close to another collision.

  Glancing behind us I saw two black vehicles race after us down the exit ramp. “They’re following us,” my voice sounded hollow, even to me. Dad let out a string of curses that would have made my mother gasp and put on more speed. I whipped around just in time to see us shoot across the intersection at the end of the road, against the red light.

  “Fuck!” I yelled and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see my death coming. When nothing hit us, I peeked one eye open. We were on the other side of the road and speeding away from the freeway. “Okay, enough of the bullshit dad,” I spat out angrily. “Did someone just try to kill us back there?”

  He sighed but started talking. “A cartel is looking for me.”

  My day had started out so normal and now here I was in the fuckin
g twilight zone. “I’m sorry. Did you just say a cartel? Like… a drug cartel? From Mexico?” I asked in complete shock.

  “Look, I don’t have time to get into it, Bridget,” he said irritably.

  I started laughing. Okay, it was a slightly hysterical laugh, but a girl was allowed in the current circumstances. “It seems to me we have nothing but time dad,” I shot back. “Why is there a cartel looking for you? For us?” I amended. His mouth twisted into a hard frown at that.

  “You aren’t involved in this. You were never supposed to be involved,” he muttered the last sentence.

  I threw my hands up in exasperation. Clearly, he wasn’t planning on telling me anything. He was driving like a mad man through some smaller town outside of Austin. All that lay beyond it, as far as the eye could see was cattle farming land. I’d never been in this area before, so I had no clue where we were.

  I also never knew my dad could drive like a race car driver, but he was doing just that. I wonder if that’s why he always insisted on driving a manual? I eyed him as he downshifted around a tight corner then worked the clutch and shifter in tandem to gain speed out of the turn.

  Suddenly, he slammed on the breaks and I thanked God I was wearing my seat belt as I slammed a hand on the dashboard to help stop my forward momentum. Dad was muttering from the driver’s seat and I looked out in front of us. There were three SUVs blocking the road. He quickly threw the car into reverse and his arm over the back of my seat to look behind us. The sudden stillness that overcame him made dread pool low in my belly. I peeked behind us and found the cars that had chased us off the freeway idling there.

  “Dad… What do we do?” I tried to keep the quaver out of my voice. I wanted to be strong. I quickly took my seatbelt off, just in case we needed to make a run for it.

  “It’s okay, pumpkin. We’ll be okay.” He didn’t sound very sure of himself. I wished I had some kind of weapon. Not that I knew how to use one. Now I wished I had gone, all those years ago when my best friend’s dad had taken her to the gun range to show her how to shoot. He’d been a Marine and had insisted Remi learn how to safely handle firearms. I knew nothing about guns though. That brought me to my next wish. I wish Gunnar was here.