Sinner's Steel

A moan broke the stillness. The sound of rapid, panting breaths, the crack of flesh on bone. Bill. Shirtless and on his knees in front of the helmet display, his hands and feet tied, blood trickling down his chest. Black Jacks scattered around the shop. Co

Viper. Holding a knife in the air.

Everyone turned away from her, watching the show.

“Please.” Bill groaned. “I don’t know nothing about missing weapons. I swear it.”

Viper sliced the knife across Bill’s shoulder, leaving a thick red trail down to his heart. Bill shrieked, the pain in his voice stabbing through Evie’s chest. Without thinking, she ran for the cash register where Bill kept his shotgun.

“Morning, kitten. I was just coming in to see you.” Viper turned, wiped the sweat from his brow with bloody fingers, leaving a smear across his forehead. His dark, soulless eyes froze her mid-step. He sheathed his knife and stretched out his hand, gesturing her forward as Bill keened to the side.

“Please stop. Don’t hurt him anymore.” She saw no point asking why he was beating on Bill, or even pretending she didn’t know. Time was of the essence, the shotgun was in reach, and she had no interest in games.

Viper mocked a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid we have to hurt him. Then we have to kill him. He tried to cheat us and steal our weapons. No one disrespects the Jacks. I thought you got that message last night.”

Oh, she got the message. Loud and clear. He didn’t need the veiled threats to remind her that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life the night she agreed to that first date. She reached under the counter and felt around for the gun.

“Come give me a kiss, Evangeline.” He cupped his groin and made a lewd gesture with his hips. “Nothing gets a man off more than a good beating. And there’s no point looking for the weapon. Your friend already tried that, and you can see the result.”

Evie glanced over at Co

“I gave you an order; I expect you to obey.” Viper snapped his fingers and pointed at the floor beside him, a thin smile gracing the merciless slash of his mouth. “Now. Or I’ll kill him in front of you.”

So this was the side he had hidden from her beneath a veneer of civility. His cold, dark, malevolent gaze sent a chill through her body, but not as much as the implacable resolve on his face. Bill was going to die unless she saved him. And yet, without a gun, what could she do?

She trailed her hand along the shelf under the counter as she walked, her fingers brushing papers, pens, and, finally, the packing knife Co

“Please.” She begged when she reached him. “Don’t do this.”

“There’s a good kitten.” Viper put an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. Evie bent as far back as she could, trying not to touch his shirt, even as the acrid scents of blood, sweat, and leather assailed her nostrils. But Viper tightened his grip and pulled her closer, grinding his erection into her stomach. Evie fought back the bile that rose in her throat. God, the violence turned him on.

“After I’m done here, I’m going to take you back to the clubhouse and I’m go

“I thought you wanted me because I was different from the others.” Evie wondered how much of this was posturing and how much was real. She couldn’t reconcile the beast of a man who held her now with the charming biker who had wined and dined her over the past four weeks.

“But you’re not,” he said. “You made the wrong choice last night when you got on that Si

“You have an old lady?” She looked at him aghast and laughter erupted from Viper’s chest.

“Yeah, I got an old lady. And a clubhouse full of sweet butts to soothe the ache from playing games with you. Did you think you were the only one? Or that you could get me all wound up and then walk away? Man like me has needs, kitten. Booze, drugs, women, sex, and goddamn justice for what the Si

Evie swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I told you last night … I’m not with them.”

He pulled her hair so hard she feared he would rip it from her scalp. “That why you jumped on that Si

“That damn pussy you’ve been keeping under lock and key better be as sweet as your fucking mouth.” He held her against him and drew a weapon from beneath his cut. “Now stay right here while I teach Bill what happens when you fuck with Jacks.”

She turned her head, gasping. “I’ll come with you if you let Bill go.”

“Only place Bill is going is to ground,” he growled. “And you’re going with me because I say. There is no negotiating.”

“No!” Heart pounding, she slid the knife from her sleeve and plunged it into his shoulder.

“Fucking bitch.” Viper shoved her away and ripped out the knife. His face contorted in a snarl and then he tossed the knife to the side and stalked toward her. Evie scrambled to her feet, but before she could run, he was on her, his hand around her throat, his body coming at her like a freight train. He slammed her up against the wall so hard, her vision blurred and then he pressed his lips to her ear, keeping his voice so low only she could hear. “Why the fuck did you do that? Why? I thought you learned your lesson last night. Nothing you do is go

Sweat trickled down her breasts and she heard Co

“I’m sorry,” she whispered when Bill looked up at her, his eyes glazed over with pain. “I tried.”

“S’okay.” His voice cracked. “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Take care of my store, love. Look after yourself.”

The crack of the gunshot came so close she caught her breath, stiffened. Bill slumped to the ground and Evie screamed, her knees shaking so hard, she would have fallen if Viper hadn’t grabbed her with his free hand.