Heart of Steel: A Satan's Savages MC Novel #1 (22 page)

The beer in my mouth comes spraying out as I laugh so hard. Poor Doug, now he’s getting beered… just because. He grabs a tea towel and starts to dry himself as the vein in his neck pops and pulses and his eyes furrow together. He looks angrier and angrier by the second as everyone laughs at him.

FIM walks in and starts laughing as he looks at his yet again, wet brother and walks behind the bar picking up a tea towel to help dry him off, but Doug smacks his hand away.

“Fuck off, this is bullshit. Brothers my arse.” He throws the tea towel down on the bar and storms out of the clubroom with all of us watching. The rest of the clubroom continue to laugh at him except for me, Knucklehead and FIM.

I’m actually concerned by that reaction… and concerned about Doug. I really don’t think he’s cut out for club life. But I like FIM and I think he’ll be perfect.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I smile hoping it’s a message from Willow. Pulling it out I swipe the screen to see it’s a message from Bullet, Prez of the Bendigo Chapter.

Bullet:
Steel, hoping you can help a brother out. We need a shipment by the weekend. We had a deal in place, but our supplier fell through last minute. Can you help us out?

I smile knowing we can help them. We have a stash of ecstasy in the basement and we could run it up to them, it’s Thursday now. If we left today, we’d get it to them in time. I look up wondering who I’ll get to do the run. Then I remember the normal mules would have been Alex and Jake, the two prospects we lost in the 5113 battle. I brought in FIM and Doug to replace them. They have mule history, why not trial them on their first run?

Glancing up at FIM, I figure I may as well suss it out.

“FIM,” I call out nodding my head for him to come across. This isn’t really my decision to make, but I’m making it.

He looks over and walks up then pours another beer for me.

“I might have a first run for you and Doug. It’d be up to Bendigo with some cargo. Do you think you and your brother are up to it?”

FIM’s eyes open wide and he nods but doesn’t say anything.

“We’d be trustin’ you not to get pulled over by
the heat
. So you gotta drive straight, obey the law, and stay under the radar.”

He nods and grabs my shoulder squeezing it reassuringly. “We got this. We know how to mule, and we’ll get the cargo to Bendigo. Don’t worry about a thing. You just tell us where to go, what time to be there, and we’ll do it. This is what we’ve been waiting for. To prove ourselves to you, Steel.”

I nod and smile. “Good, ‘cause if you fuck up, you’re out. If you really fuck up, I’ll send you to Jigsaw.”

He nods and exhales. “We got this. When do we leave?”

I run my hand through my hair. “You’ll leave tomorrow. So go get Doug. Stop him from sulkin’. I’ll get Ryder to set up your Hogs with the cargo. Then the Prez will give the deets on the location and you can get organised. Check in with Techie every time you stop. We need to know how the cargo is travellin’.”

“Sure thing. And don’t worry, we won’t fuck this up.”

I raise my eyebrow. “You better not.”

I slap his shoulder and look over at Ryder, who nods and walks over. “VP, something going down?”

“Cargo shipment to Bendigo. Four parcels of Twilight Zone. Two in the cargo of each Hog. One for FIM, the other Doug.”

Ryder simply nods in understanding of my code and walks off. The thing about Ryder is he never questions or answers back. That’s what makes him a great brother. He’d do anything you ask without fail. That’s why I trust him implicitly. This shipment of cargo will hopefully make or break FIM and Doug. If they can pull this off, it will show their worth to the club. If they don’t, then they’ll end up in the hands of Jigsaw, and nothing I say or do will be able to stop that from happening.

“Go find Doug,” I request. FIM nods and strides off out of sight.

Taking a deep breath, I better catch up with Dad to tell him what’s going on. He needs to know why a shipment is heading out. Finding him in the assembly room smoking a cigar and looking over a porno magazine, I cringe as I walk in.

“Oi, Dad. Just lettin’ you know a shipment of Twilight Zone is headin’ to Bendigo tomorrow. Bullet messaged me for a handout. Said we’d help.”

He looks up and nods. “Righto! Send Knucklehead and Ryder.”

This is the part I’m not looking forward to.

Taking a deep breath, I stand taller and straighten my stature. “I already assigned FIM and Doug—”

“What?
That wasn’t your decision to make kid—”

“Well, I made it. They’re gonna need to prove their worth to the club and this is how.”

Silence fills the room as Dad looks away from me and back to his magazine. That tells me that he thinks I’m right. He huffs and shakes his head. “It’s too soon.”

“They’re gettin’ antsy. They need a job to do. They’re keen as fuck to feel like they belong. So let’s give ‘em somethin’.”

He shakes his head taking a long draw on his cigar, the grey smoke circling up through the air. “I still think it’s too soon. I’ll go along with it. But if it backfires, it’s on you kid.”

I half smile. “Fine.” I turn and step out of the assembly room feeling like somehow I just won a battle. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend when FIM and Doug return, it will prove I can win the war too.

I need to wind down after dealing with dad, even though it wasn’t the usual all-out fight I thought it was going to be. I still hate arguing with him, so a beer is a must. Sitting down at the bar, I nod at Knucklehead and he walks over and starts to pour me a cold one. While I’m here, I’ll get his opinion in the new prospects.

“So you’re around them the most, what’s your take on FIM and Doug?”

He chuckles and shrugs. “FIM is great, really fucking stealthy, though. He sneaks up on me all the time scaring the shit out of me, but Doug… now Doug, I’m not sure about. Either he’s going to take some time to get used to the club, or he’ll be out. Either way, I just hope FIM stays on because I think he’ll be an asset to us.”

I nod as FIM, Doug, and Ryder come back inside. Taking a long draw of my freshly poured beer, I swallow it quickly feeling the calming sensation hit my brain straight away.

“The Cargo is set for the shipment,” Ryder declares. I nod and pat him on the back. He walks off just as Dad comes over. I chuckle slightly watching FIM and Doug tense up.

“So you’re going on your first run?” Dad questions.

Doug and FIM are tense. Both their shoulders are taut and their faces tight with clenched jaws like they’re scared shitless of Dad. Just like all the new prospects are. It’s actually comical to watch.

“Yes sir,” Doug answers making me laugh.

“Sir? None of that shit! Call me Prez, son. That’s what everyone else calls me. Get this shipment right, and you two guys will be sitting pretty.”

Doug opens his eyes wide. “We get paid for this?”

I smirk and Dad chuckles. “Of course, son. We don’t expect you to do this for nothing. You’re putting your lives on the line here. You get busted by the heat, you guys go down on your own. You don’t bring the club with you. You hear what I’m saying?”

They both nod and I half smile at their enthusiasm. I thought Doug might object, but he doesn’t seem to be affected by the threat of the law.

“We’ll do this right, Prez. You can count on us,” FIM conveys. I nod and slap his shoulder to let him know I’m proud of him. He smiles and nods in return.

Dad inhales sharply. “Good. Don’t make me regret sending you. Follow me, and I’ll tell you where to go,” Dad says and starts moving off. Doug follows and I grab FIM’s arm. He turns and looks at me.

“You take charge of this run, okay? I trust you to do right by the club.”

He nods and taps my hand on his arm. “Don’t worry VP, I won’t let you down.”

I nod and he hoofs it after Dad and Doug. I exhale hoping I’ve chosen the right men for the job. Not just for the sake of my club, but for the sake of the Bendigo Chapter too.

FIM and Doug left for Bendigo yesterday. Today’s Saturday and they should be arriving at the Bendigo clubhouse sometime today. I’m sitting in the clubroom eating my breakfast with my brothers. The aroma of the bacon that’s sizzling in the pan wafts through the clubrooms and invades my senses. I love bacon. Although now when I look at it, it has me thinking about Petunia, but I shrug and eat it anyway.

I’m chatting with Techie and laughing at some stupid bloody riddle Jigsaw has said that makes no sense what-so-ever when my phone alerts me to a text message. Casually I pull it out hoping it’s Willow, like whenever my phone beeps these days.

It’s not, disappointment floods me—it’s Bullet from Bendigo.

Bullet:
You’re prospects arrived with the shipment about half an hour ago. I’m very happy with the product. Our purchaser should be smiling too. Thanks for saving our skin, brother. We owe you.

I take in a deep breath knowing FIM and Doug haven’t let us down. They’ve been checking in with Techie on their ride up there, but you can never be too sure with newbies. Of course, Techie has been surveilling them the whole time. Plus, we had a brother tail them just in case keeping out of sight.

Me:
Glad all is good. Happy to help anytime, you know that.

I type out another text, once I’ve sent that one to Bullet.

Me:
FIM, good job on delivering the packages. You can either have a rest at Bendigo or come right back. Whatever you want to do?

This is a test, to see how well they fit into the brotherhood. Let’s see if FIM takes the bait.

FIM:
Thanks, Steel. I think Doug and I will stay in Bendigo for a bit. Have some lunch, chat with our Bendigo brothers. Get to know them then head back.

Bingo!
That’s what I was after. A brother should always stay and mingle with his other chapter members, not just turn and leave. FIM is playing this fucking perfectly. He is club material after all.

Me:
I’m proud of the effort you guys are making. How’s Doug going?

FIM:
He’s in his element. He loves long rides, feeling free, being in the wind and feeling like he’s actually a part of something is really making him feel good.

I smile. Good. Hopefully, this will help Doug fit in.

Me:
Well have a safe journey back, there’s no rush. Keep the shiny side up.

I hit
send
and smile as I wished FIM a safe journey by text message. Techie nudges into my shoulder, so I turn to look at him. And as I face him, he slaps me across the face with a piece of bacon. The grease slides along my face and I wrinkle my nose up as the guys all laugh.

“Great, thanks, bro.” Picking up a napkin, I wipe the greasy fat from my beard.

“Stop texting your Flame at the table. It’s rude.”

I scoff and punch his arm. “For your information you prick, it was Bullet. FIM and Doug made it to Bendigo.”

“Sure, sure! You know I can hack your phone and find out who you were really texting, right?” Techie states and I furrow my brows and purse my lips.

“Bullshit.”

He nods. “No, I am really
that
good.”

Jigsaw laughs as I bring my phone up and show Techie the message from Bullet and he sighs slumping his body.

“Well, that’s fucking boring. I was hoping you were sexting, I need a little excitement in here, there’s too much testosterone.”

I look around the clubroom, all the Aldinga guys are laughing and joking, so I nod. It’s been nice having them, but I like our small intimate clubhouse. Well, no, the clubhouse isn’t small, it’s massive. But we don’t have a huge amount of members, so being over-crowded like this isn’t something we’re used to.

Gator stands up abruptly, his chair scrapes back on the concrete floor loudly over the sounds of the music playing. Everyone looks up at him as he stretches his hands out in front of him cracking his knuckles. “Right boys, we’ve invaded this turf long enough. It’s time to head home,” Gator announces. I must admit a wave of relief floods through me. I love Gator and his brothers. If I needed to go to another chapter it would be Aldinga, but this many bikers in one place is too many and I want my club back.

Everyone follows suit and stands up escorting the Aldinga brothers out of our clubrooms. The laughter and general comradery echo through the room as I grab Techie and we walk out to the compound flanked by our brothers.

Gator steps over to me and I pull him into a man hug slapping his back hard. “Thanks for the hospitality, brother. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you know where I am.”

Pulling back, I smile. “Thanks, Gator. Only too happy to help. You guys sure you’re okay to head back?”

He nods. “Gadget’s got a whole new security system set up, the place is impenetrable. I’ll go straight into talks with the Prez from the Riot Brothers. It seems killing Snake was their aim, I doubt they’ll be back, and I’m not out for vengeance. I don’t need a-fucking-nother battle and I know when a war can’t be won.”

Nodding, I simply huff and fold my arms over my chest. I know exactly what he means. Sometimes you just can’t win, no matter how much you want to fight back.

The squealing of the giant gate grates my ears as Gatekeeper pulls it open. The roar of the bike engines thunder across the expanse of the compound as Gator nods and hops on his Hog. Everyone is saying their goodbyes when a familiar car pulls in through the gates. Everyone looks at the vivid yellow Toyota Yaris Ascent and I freeze on the spot as it drives in through the gates and into a park. All the guys whistle as I rush over to Willow’s car shaking my head. I had no idea she was coming here—now of all times when there are so many brothers around—I just hope no one causes any problems.

She steps out of the car looking sensational in tight as fuck yoga pants and an equally as tight top showing off all her curves. Her flaming red hair hanging beautifully over her shoulders with her retro sunnies on her face, she looks fantastic. My cock twitches instantly, and I can’t help but notice all the wolf-whistling and cheering going on from behind me. The muted slam of her car door jolts my heart back into action at the sight of seeing her. She literally takes my breath away. But as she looks around the compound noticing the extensive amount of brothers, she bites her bottom lip and sinks further into herself. She’s going all shy and I don’t blame her, these guys are cat-calling and probably making her feel like no more than a cheap piece of slutty garbage.

I need to do something to show them she isn’t a club whore and to prove to her that I won’t let them walk all over her. Stepping up, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me. She squeals slightly at the force I’m using and I smirk while leaning in and kissing her passionately, in front of everyone letting them know she’s mine.

A raucous eruption of cheering and whistling echoes through the compound as Willow kisses me back, but hesitantly. She doesn’t understand what’s going on. But that’s okay, as long as Willow doesn’t pull away it’ll be fine. I plunge my tongue into her mouth and she relaxes slightly kissing me back and wrapping her hands around my neck pulling me to her.

Bingo!

Eventually, the jeering turns to laughter. I slowly ease the kiss as my cock is becoming hard and I don’t want a full raging hard-on in front of these guys. Pulling back, I look at her and her cheeks are shining bright red. She’s embarrassed and it makes me smile.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“Hey.” She pulls back. I leave my arm wrapped around her shoulders letting my brothers know not to touch her.

Staring at Gator, who’s grinning at me widely, I give him the two finger salute as I turn and begin walking with Willow toward the clubhouse. “See you later, Gator,” I say. He revs his bike and pulls out of the compound.

Willow starts to giggle as we enter the clubhouse, and I look down at her raising an eyebrow. “And why are you gigglin’, Miss Willow? There was just a big bunch of burly bikers perving on you, and you’re gigglin’?”

She giggles harder. It’s so fucking adorable. “Well, it’s just… you were being very macho in front of them staking your claim on me.”

“I needed to! The brothers can make a claim on any girl who enters the compound, I had to let them know you’re fuckin’ mine, babe.”

Her smile falters slightly and she bites her bottom lip. “Would any of them actually hurt me given the chance?”

I frown and shake my head pulling her to me tightly as we walk through the door and into the clubroom. “None of them will while I’m here, babe. You belong to me and they know that.”

She swallows hard and exhales. “But what if you’re not around? How will I protect myself?”

She’s right. If for some reason she’s alone in the club and I’m not around anything could happen to her. I need to show her how to protect herself. Smiling brightly, I grab her hand and pull her along with me. “Come with me, I have an idea.”

She laughs at my enthusiasm and rushes along behind me as I drag her to the gym. Walking through to the expansive room I let go of her hand leaving her standing there as I step over to the mats and grab two.

She raises her eyebrows and giggles watching me with her arms folded across her chest like an errant child. “Um… what are you doing?”

I chuckle and pull out Wesley, her eyes open wide and she steps back slightly. I roll my eyes and shake my head lowering it. “Relax, babe.” I place Wesley on the bench. “I’m trained in martial arts, and I’m gonna show you a few self-defence moves.”

She looks down at her tight clothing and chews on her lip. “I’m not really wearing the right clothes for this Steel.”

Chuckling, I pull off my cut and shirt placing them on the bench. “You’ll be right!” She looks at my chest and abs chewing on her bottom lip and clenching her thighs together.

I wave her over. “Come at me.”

Her angelic laugh filters through the room as she shakes her head. I scoff and slump my body. “Okay, I’ll come at you then.” My heavy feet pound the floor as I charge toward her. She flinches putting her hands up in front of her face as she cowers behind them. Laughing, I slap her hands away from her face and she frowns while I shake my head.

“That’s not gonna protect you from anythin’! Now when I come at you, bring your knee up in between us as a block or straight into my cock, and your palm up into my nose. Don’t actually do it, just pretend,” I specify because I don’t feel like having bruised balls and a broken nose today.

I race forward and she raises her knee blocking me and brings her palm up toward my nose.

“Good, that will disable your attacker. Then you pull their shoulders down and bring your knee up so their face goes into your knee.”

“Like this?” she asks then pulls on my shoulders and brings her knee up so fast it nearly collides perfectly with my nose. I flinch up—luckily she isn’t holding on firmly—so I can reflect back and then I chuckle.

“Yes, exactly like that. You’re a fast learner.”

“Can you teach me how to throw someone?” She moves her weight from foot to foot like she’s excited. I chuckle and nod, and proceed to show her how to flip someone.

Throwing her gently to the floor, I then ask her to flip me. I purposely don’t budge, even by using all her weight and might. She’s straining and moaning and finally I lift my feet from the ground and let her flip me. But I grab and pull her down with me so we roll over together, her gorgeous body against mine makes me want to stay in this moment forever as I pin her to the floor beneath me.

We both crack up laughing as she looks into my eyes, hers sparkle with a bright intensity that I haven’t seen before. She’s happy, truly happy, and I’ve made her this way.

My blood is pumping through my veins from the workout, and the sound of it thumping in my ears along with the beat of my heart is enhanced, when I lean down and brush my nose along hers. She smells of flowers and strawberries and my need to kiss her is ravenous. So I do so, with everything I have.