Page 36 of Iron
Then he laughed and for some strange reason, I relaxed a little.
“That’s one way to put it,” he said with humor in his tone. “But, no. I wanted to be my own man. I would have thought that if anyone would get it, you would.”
I nodded. I did get it.
“Took me many years. I didn’t want to break my dad’s heart by tellin’ him that I wasn’t going to take his place when he stepped down. Since we were a friendly club, we often made a point to be as close to other clubs in the area as we could. The ones that weren’t itchin’ to knife people, that is.”
There was something about listening to him tell me all of this that made me feel like I wanted to smile. Since I didn’t have a reason for it, I refused to let it show on my face.
I stayed silent and listened as he went on, choosing to not let my thoughts take over.
“One of those clubs just so happened to be the Steel Paragons. I would travel and hang out with each chapter from time to time. I got to know everyone, all the while never once telling my dad I wanted to prospect for any club, including his.”
“I don’t understand. How did you become President when you didn’t even belong? I assume there is a level of trust when they let you in and you hadn’t earned that.” My words weren’t mean, simply making a point. I might not have known all the rules of the club but I did have a basic understanding of how motorcycle clubs worked.
“I’m gettin’ there, Pet. Calm down.”
My face scrunched up in a scowl as I let out a small huffy breath.
I wanted him to get to the point, but I also was enjoying hearing him talk. I hated that I felt like I was splitting down the middle, wanting two things and not being able to make up my mind. Iron often made me feel that way. I didn’t want to admit it, but he did. I felt like the time was coming when I could no longer ignore it.
“I wasn’t part of their club but I often helped them out when I was around. I earned their trust as an outsider and held onto it for many years. When the time came, I let it be known what I wanted and left it up to them to decide. It wasn’t easy and I was honestly a little surprised when they came back to me later down the road with an offer to lead the new chapter they were setting up.”
“How did your father take it?” The question came out of my mouth before I realized it. Had I really wondered that? And why did it matter?
Iron’s eyes looked down at me and I could see the tiny flicker of shock there, but it was almost like he was happy about it.
“My pops wasn’t stupid, he knew something like this was comin’ one day. He told me he was proud of me and that I could never let him down. It was a big thing to me.”
“I can imagine,” I said softly. “With you spending most of your life trying to keep the balance but realizing that you had to do the right thing for yourself in the end.” My hand reached up and my fingers ran over his beard. I couldn’t explain why I felt the need to touch it right now.
“Now, it’s your turn. Tell me.”
I sighed as my head turned away from him. He began running his hand over my hair as I watched the silent images flicker on the TV. Some men were fighting and I didn’t try to place the show I was viewing, I wouldn’t have had even the faintest of clues.
“I was fourteen. Three men broke into our home. It was dark outside but I was still awake. My father died that night and I…”
How did you tell someone what you had to go through? I didn’t like to bring up those memories because it always made me wonder too many things. It didn’t make me sad. It didn’t make me angry. It didn’t even make me scared. I felt nothing when I looked back and saw that night play out in my mind. And maybe in a way, thatdidscare me. Or at least it should have.
“They took what they wanted. I was too weak to fight them off. They left that night taking my father’s life with them and a part of me I knew I’d never get back. Then later, they took my mom’s life too.”
If Iron was dissatisfied with my answer he didn’t make it known. I didn’t care either way, that was all he was going to get. There wasn’t more to tell about that night, not really. Everything else was just details and even I wasn’t cold enough to know that people couldn’t handle them.
We stayed there for a long time, his fingers in my hair, his warm, muscled thigh warming the side of my face.
I started to drift off and I didn’t fight it.
It wasn’t long before I felt him lift me up and carry me to the bed. Every part of me felt drained and not once did I try to snap myself away.
“I still think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he whispered as he settled himself behind me, plastering his front to my back.
Beautiful wasn’t a word I would have used to describe myself. It wasn’t that I thought I was ugly, I simply didn’t think of it either way.
However, there was something weird that fluttered through me as his words floated into my ear.
Instead of figuring it out, I let myself drift off with the warmth of his body surrounding me.
