Sinner's Steel

“Yes. I have boy. He’s eight years old.”

Doreen gave a little sob. “Me too. I got a little boy. He’s just learning to walk. I miss him something fierce.”

Evie’s heart squeezed in her chest. “Who’s looking after him?”

“He lives with my mom. Viper killed his dad. I came to the morgue in Conundrum to see my Axle one last time. That’s when the Si

“Which Si

“The dark one with the long hair is the one who caught me. I think his name is Zane.”

Evie covered her mouth to stifle her moan.

“They thought Viper would pay to get me back ’cause I was wearing his old lady cut,” Doreen continued. “But I told ‘em, Viper doesn’t care about me. He told me that the first time he threw me on his bed. Told me I was nothing but a place for his dick.”

“Oh, God.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ll do everything I can to get you out of here. I’ll call the police…”

“No.” Doreen barked the word so loud Evie stepped back from the door. “This is biker business. You don’t involve the cops or everyone goes down. You gotta find another way.”

Evie heard footsteps on the stairs, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And dammit someone had to answer for this. She stiffened her spine, folded her arms, and glared when Aria

“What are you doing down here?”

She opened her mouth to lie, but what was the point? She was standing right outside the door and Aria

“Yeah, I know.”

Evie took a step toward Aria

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Aria

“She’s imprisoned. And away from her son. That’s hurting her.”

Aria

Evie did as she asked and returned to Aria

“Fuck off you fucking bitch.” Doreen shrieked. “The minute I get outta here, I’m coming for you. It’s your face I’m go

“Our world,” Aria

Still shaken by Doreen’s outburst, Evie paused on the stairs. “But how do people with kids handle this kind of life?”

“You should talk to Dawn, or Dax’s old lady, Sandy,” she said. “Or any of the other old ladies. Most of them choose to keep their family life separate from the club. And that’s fine. There are no rules for old ladies. It’s whatever works for them. And yeah, sometimes their men come home battered, bruised, and broken, but that happens to civilians, too. Boxers, fighters, stuntmen … they all put themselves in danger. The old ladies patch them up, give them heck, and then love them until they do it again. It’s the risk we take to live this life. It’s what we do to survive. But it’s a life of freedom, honor, loyalty, and brotherhood; a life where you make the rules.”

“You love this life.”

Aria

TWENTY-ONE

If you take it apart, and you can’t put it back together, don’t panic. Walk away, clear your head, then start again.

—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL

Evie drove up to the Si

She waved to Shooter and Tank, tinkering with their bikes out front, and turned off the Si

“Can I get out, mom?” Ty didn’t wait for her answer, but pushed open the door. Co

Shortly after moving in with Co

Concerned about Evie’s biker clients ratting her out to the Jacks, Jagger had convinced her to hold back on reopening her business in a new location. As a result, she’d kept herself busy painting Si

They didn’t talk now, except about Ty, and she missed him so much she ached. Although she was still wary about the life he led, now that she’d had some time to think, she was begi

“He’s not here.” Ty ran toward her as she rounded the vehicle, Tank in tow. “Tank says he’s gone away.”