Hard as Steel (14 page)

She wiped her hands on the apron she wore, turned around, but the sound of shoes on the pavement had her stopping. Looking around, she thought she’d see a prospect, or one of the club members that had stayed back coming outside. She didn’t see anyone though. Eloise was a few steps away from rounding the corner of the side of the club when someone grabbed her from behind, slammed a hand over her mouth, and hauled her backward. Whoever had her was strong, but she could feel him behind her, and knew he wasn’t very large, not compared to Steel.

She struggled, but he dragged her deeper into the darkness. The sound of the front door opening and closing, of men laughing and cursing, came through, but the hand that covered her mouth was unyielding and she couldn’t make a sound for help. The stench of garbage and alcohol filled her nose. Eloise was pressed up against the side of the garage, the trashcans surrounding her making her gag.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when she saw who held her against her will she fought harder. Hanson, that piece of shit was right in front of her, his body pressed to hers, and his smile wide even in the shadowy recesses of this space.

“You know, this was a lot easier than I thought it would be.” His breath smelled so heavily of liquor and stale cigarette smoke.

She gagged, and the fear that she would choke on her own vomit slammed into her.

“I’ve been waiting, bitch, waiting for the right time. Your little boyfriend and his asshole friend came to the store, trying to scare me into staying away.”

Eloise felt her eyes widen at his words.

He chuckled almost sinisterly. “Yeah, I want you, and our little party was stopped by that asshole.” He looked at her right in the eye. “It’s a shame he got in the middle of it, but it doesn’t matter, because I have you now, and he isn’t here.”

Eloise shook her head and struggled against his hold, but it was no use. He was bigger and stronger than she was. She needed to play this safe, and maybe she could get out of this intact.

“Before it was me wanting you, and although it still is, it is also about making my fucking point. No one messes with me, no matter what club they are in.”

There was laughter in the front of the clubhouse, and Eloise struggled harder. She tried to bring her knee up and get him in the crotch, but he had his leg wedged between her thighs, making that impossible.

“Next time those MC fuckers want to hurt and threaten me, there will be repercussions involved.” His words were slurred, but his drunkenness wasn’t what frightened her. He pressed his crotch into her and ground his erection into her belly.

Bile rose in her throat. He took a step back from her, and the surprise that she had enough room to breathe, and to even kick and fight back had her reacting instantly. But he had planned this, and when she went to make that first move he brought his fist to the side of her head. He used so much force her entire body spun around and crashed back into the brick wall. The force went through her whole body, but before she could regain herself, he had his hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her off her feet.

“I just wanted to play,” he ground out. He brought his fist to the side of her head again, and again. Blood filled her mouth, and she couldn’t hold it, especially not when he hit her again. A mouthful of spit and blood sprayed from her mouth and covered his face and chest.

“Please,” she wheezed out.

“You stupid fucking cunt. I’m going to make you pay for that.” He spat out, and spittle came from his mouth with as much force as his anger. He tossed her against the brick wall once more.

The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before, so mind numbing and crippling that even breathing hurt. But he wasn’t done yet, that was clear from his words and his anger as he kicked her when she was down. Eloise knew one thing: she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He derived his strength and pleasure from hurting others.

He came after her again, and when he wrapped his hand around her throat once more, hauled her up, and pressed her to the wall, she used that moment to bring her knee up. Her entire body protested as pain washed through her.

He wasn’t prepared for her act of rebellion, and that worked in her favor as she made contact with his dick. He grunted and the hold on her throat loosened. He tossed her aside like she was nothing but a rag doll, like she was nothing but the trash that surrounded them.

Hanson stumbled back a few paces after she kneed him, but she saw his rage start to escalate and numb out his pain. He charged at her once he seemed to get his bearing again, and she tried to move forward, out from the side of the garage so she could be seen. This low sound left him, one that sounded like he housed the very devil himself inside of him. She wanted to scream, but her throat was so raw from him choking her, and her jaw hurt from his blows that her breath came out like wheezes. She tried to stand and run, but he kicked her in the belly, and she fell back to the ground.

“Eloise, you out here? Berry said you took out the trash a while ago.”

She struggled to stand when she heard Greys voice, a prospect in the club.

“Eloise? Where the fuck are you?” Greys called out again. “Come on. Steel will have my balls for lunch if I lose track of you.”

Reaching her hand out, she prayed to whoever would listen to her that Greys saw her, or came looking for her over here.

“Shh.” Hanson said and pulled her up off the ground. He pulled her to his body, breathed his rank breath in her ear, and cupped her breast.

A small whimper left her, but even that tiny noise hurt her throat. Eloise closed her eyes when he breathed against the side of her face harder this time. “Help…” That lone word sounded pathetic coming from her.

“Come on, girl. I don’t want my ass kicked by Steel or the other patched in members.” A beat of silence passed. “Fuck, where the hell are you?”

Hot tears were a steady stream down her cheeks when she heard the gun cock behind her, and felt the cold, hard butt of the barrel press against her temple. All she could do was close her eyes and wish things had been different.

“If you’re quiet, you’ll be okay.”

No she wouldn’t. Death might be welcome compared to what Hanson had planned for her. He started dragging her backward, but she saw an opportunity and went for it. Kicking her leg out, she knocked over one of the aluminum trashcans, sending it crashing to the ground. Trash fell from the inside, but the sound was what she’d been aiming for.

“You fucking cunt,” Hanson said low.

He pushed her forward, and she landed on her hands, the gravel scraping up her palms. Then the sound of a gun firing was so close that her ears rang. Then another shot was fired; Hanson grunted, and she felt something warm and wet land on her bare calf.

Eloise looked behind her, saw Hanson holding his stomach, and then he ran off in the other direction. She looked in front of her, saw Greys running toward her, this horrified look on his face, and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Her heart thundered, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t even think straight.

“Oh shit,” Greys said.

Everything was becoming more distant, her eyes heavier, and she just rested her head on the gravel, wanting to sleep and forget about all of this. Every part of her body hurt.

“Shit, Eloise. Stay with me,” Greys said, pushed her hair out of her face, and then shouted out to someone else that they needed to call Steel immediately. “Stay with me; everything will be okay.”

She sure as hell hoped so because right now it seemed far from it.

S
teel paced in
the hospital waiting room while he and most of his brothers waited for the doctor to come back. Eloise had been unconscious when Greys had brought her here. There hadn’t been any time to call an ambulance or the cops. It was easier to bring her here themselves. It had taken Steel over an hour to get back to the club after handling business with Zeke. He didn’t like being away from Eloise any length of time, but when it came to business with the club, he didn’t have a choice. Demon didn’t mind who he fucked as long as the club came first and would always come first.

“She went out to take the trash?”

“Yes. We didn’t suspect anything threatening, Steel. I swear it to you on my very life,” Greys said.

“Where the fuck is Hanson now?” Steel wanted to kill the bastard when he first attacked Eloise, now he was going to take his time in killing him.

“Locked up in the shed I keep at the back of the clubhouse,” Demon said. Deanna wasn’t with him as all the other women had been told to remain at home or the clubhouse.

“I’m going to kill him, Demon. He’s done, finished.”

“I agree. The moment we know Eloise is safe, we’ll finish him, brother.”

He turned to look at Greys. Steel respected the kid and would one day make a great brother. He was close to being patched in after showing the whole club his loyalty.

“Do you want me to go and wait,” Greys asked.

The last time one of the club women was supposed to be watched and ended up taken and hurt, Demon had killed the prospect when he’d failed. This wasn’t a fail. He didn’t expect the prospects to be walking side by side with the women. Even he couldn’t handle that kind of care.

“No, this isn’t your fault.”

Steel knew the blame was entirely on Hanson. No one could have predicted when that fucker was going to strike back. After the warning he’d given him, he really didn’t think the bastard would have the balls to try it again. He’d underestimated him, but that wasn’t ever going to happen again. Hanson was living out his final hours.

“She was smashed up pretty bad. I should have fucking known when she didn’t come straight in. Fuck,” Greys said, standing up and pacing. “I should have known.”

Greys kept repeating the same words over and over again.

“Sit down,” Steel said. “You couldn’t have prepared for this.”

He’d not been there in time to see the mess that Hanson had created, but from the look on Greys face, it was bad.

Sitting down on the nearest seat, he stared at the clock, willing the doctor to put him out of his misery. He couldn’t handle this, not knowing what was happening to her. Eloise had gotten under his fucking skin and he loved her. He’d never loved anyone in his whole life and the first woman he did, there was a risk she was going to be taken away from him. No, he couldn’t allow it nor would he accept it. If the doctors came out and told him anything but good news, he’d kill every single one of them. No one was telling him bad news, not today.

The minutes passed; and the clock seemed to take its time.

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

He was going to smash the fucking clock in a minute if they didn’t hurry up.

Suddenly the door opened, and the doctor called his name.

“I gave them your information as her next of kin,” Greys said.

Yep, the prospect was going to get a patch all right.

With his brothers at his back, he listened to everything the doctor said. Eloise’s jaw and nose were broken, but they’d repaired them. She’d be in a lot of pain, but with time the bruising and swelling would go down. She had several cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder, which had been re-set.

The list seemed to go on and on.

“We’re going to keep her at least overnight, and probably several days, in case of a concussion and because she needs sedated for her pain.”

Steel grew angrier by the second. When he got his hands on that piece of shit he was going to tear him limb from fucking limb. Before he was finished, he was going to make sure Hanson begged for death long before he ever allowed him the pleasure of experiencing it.

“I want to see her.” He couldn’t settle the score until he saw Eloise.

“She’s asleep right now, heavily sedated.”

“I don’t give a fuck. I want to see her.”

The doctor nodded. “She’s only allowed two visitors at a time.”

Steel looked toward Demon, his Prez.

“I’m right behind you.”

They followed the doctor past the double doors then down a long, busy corridor. Steel didn’t like the twisted feeling he was getting deep in his gut. He knew it was going to be bad. The long list of problems wasn’t going to make for his perfect Eloise now. He didn’t care about the risk of scars; he loved her no matter what. Steel was more concerned with how it was going to affect the woman he loved. She’d been attacked and he’d not been there to protect her. He’d pay to help her heal inside and out.

“Be prepared,” the doctor said. “She’s badly bruised, and the swelling has started—”

“Just fucking show me,” he said.

The doctor pulled back the curtain, and the sight before him twisted Steel’s stomach. He wasn’t repulsed. Eloise was his woman. He’d fallen in love with her and would love her to the day he died. No, he was disgusted with himself. He’d not been at the clubhouse; otherwise he’d have been the one to follow her out into the dark. His obsession for her wouldn’t have allowed him not to go out. He’d have used the opportunity for privacy, and to fuck her against the wall, otherwise he’d have taken the trash out for her.

“I’ll give you a couple of minutes.”