Savage (Steel Heretics MC Book 3), page 1
Savage
Steel Heretics MC
Book Three
Hazel Parker
Copyright 2023 by Hazel Parker - All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Hallie
Chapter 2
Gunner
Chapter 3
Hallie
Chapter 4
Gunner
Chapter 5
Hallie
Chapter 6
Gunner
Chapter 7
Hallie
Chapter 8
Gunner
Chapter 9
Hallie
Chapter 10
Gunner
Chapter 11
Hallie
Chapter 12
Gunner
Chapter 13
Hallie
Chapter 14
Gunner
Chapter 15
Hallie
Chapter 16
Gunner
Chapter 17
Hallie
Chapter 18
Gunner
Chapter 19
Hallie
Chapter 20
Gunner
Chapter 21
Hallie
Chapter 22
Gunner
Chapter 23
Hallie
Chapter 24
Gunner
Chapter 25
Hallie
Chapter 26
Gunner
Chapter 27
Hallie
Chapter 28
Gunner
Chapter 29
Hallie
Chapter 30
Gunner
Epilogue
Hallie
NEXT BOOK
Grab Book Four HERE
Chapter 1
Hallie
"Mom, are you even listening to me?" Iris furrowed her brows at me, irritation written all over her face. "I swear, you never listen to anything."
I jerked my head away from the front door of the café. "Yeah, I'm listening. I'm sorry. I just keep thinking that I might see someone I know."
She rolled her eyes at me, her nine-year-old self not lacking any sass. "You say that any time we go anywhere here."
"That’s because it’s the truth. This is a lot smaller town than San Francisco, and I grew up here.”
And he lives here.
But there was no way to would be discussing my former love life with my daughter. She asked enough hard questions as it was.
“Okay, but who cares if you see someone you know? You just duck and hide anyway. No one ever sees you.”
Jeez, she’s too smart for her own good.
“You’re a mess,” I nudged her under the table, both of us smiling. She went back to happily eating her ice cream, and my eyes shifted back to the door. It had been ten years since I’d been in Sans Verta, and it was like nothing had changed in the somewhat small town…
Right down to the motorcycle club, the Steel Heretics, running the whole place.
Their support stickers and banners still hung in the café where they always had, but I did my best not to even look at them. Those wrench head outlaws were the reason for my heartbreak ten years ago—a heartbreak that still hurt if I thought about him too long.
“All done!” Iris quipped as she set down her napkin. “Granny was right, this ice cream is amazing. I can’t wait to tell her all about it.”
“I’m sure she’ll love to hear about it.” I laughed at the thought of my mom. Despite me leaving town, we’d stayed close. She had always traveled to visit us. Besides…
It was much safer that way.
“Let’s go!” Iris was already out of the booth, tugging on my hand.
I smiled at my daughter before sliding out of the old red and black booth. My faded jeans and t-shirt had flecks of magenta paint on them, and my ashy blonde hair was up in a messy bun on my head. I’d spent the entire day painting Iris’s room and hadn’t even bothered to clean up too much.
“Are you excited for school next week?” I pulled the café door open, the warm, dry air seeping in.
“I guess,” she muttered in reply, suddenly much less giddy.
“You make friends easier than anyone else I’ve ever met.” I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be good.”
Before anything more could be said, the familiar sound of a loud Harley Davidson engine echoed down Main Street. I froze in my tracks, my heart stumbling over itself like I had never heard the noise before.
“What is that?” Iris pointed to the origin of my panic, the sight of a shiny black motorcycle and helmet-clad biker rolling up to park… Right next to my Mazda SUV.
It could be anyone. It might not be someone you know.
But the reassurance I was trying to give myself wasn’t working, my chest was still starting to feel tight. I pulled Iris toward the SUV, refusing to look at whoever was getting off the bike. More than likely, whoever it was, wouldn’t even know who I was—or remember me. There was only a handful of men who might know me…
And they weren’t even bikers back then.
“Hallie?” A voice called as Iris climbed into the back seat, the door still open. “Holy shit, is that you?”
Everything in my body came unglued at the sound of his voice, my mind filling with the images of his fingertips on my curves and his lips caressing my flesh… My wet memories were interrupted by a gentle hand landing on my shoulder, burning up the skin beneath my white t-shirt.
I spun around, locking my gaze with dusty emerald green eyes. “Gunner…” was all I managed to choke out. I took in his broad, strong six-foot-two frame. He had definitely grown in muscle since we had been together, but even with all that brawn, he still had this boyish charm to his facial features. His blonde hair was cut short, and his face clean-shaven. He didn’t really look like a biker.
But the black leather vest with all the club lingo gave him away.
A smile stretched across his face, his grin rattling something inside me. “How have you been? What’re you doing back in town? Your mom said that you weren’t ever coming back—you said you weren’t ever coming back.”
“I… I moved back.” I forced myself to be truthful with him, just thankful that Iris was in the backseat of the car—with the door open—and that she wasn’t getting a glimpse of the man she got her eyes from. “I see you finally joined.” My words came out a little bitter, enough that even Gunner caught them.
“Viper and Axle are in it, too. A lot has changed since you were here…”
“Yeah, it doesn’t really look like it,” I motioned around me. “The town looks exactly the same.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess so.” His large hand rubbed the back of his neck. “I just can’t believe you’re here—I tried to call a few times…”
“I changed my number once I moved to San Francisco.” I was careful about my word choice, not wanting to insinuate the reason I changed it. “I just wanted to start over.”
“So then what brings you back?” He leaned against the side of my silver SUV, his taught biceps and forearms bracing against it, giving me a spectacular view. My inner thighs squeezed as I thought about those arms wrapped around me…
But I brushed it off. “I lost my job at the bank I worked for and couldn’t find another job that could pay the bills.”
Or all my debt.
“Ah, I get that. Working at bank sounds… fun.”
I rolled my eyes at the smirk on his face. “It wasn’t bad, and it was just fine. I met a lot of people that I liked. I’ll be starting here at Vision, actually. Taylor Green helped me get the job.”
“Holy shit, Taylor Green?” Gunner laughed. “I didn’t even know your old best friend was even living in town still. I thought she had gone off to chase her dreams of acting in like New York City or something.”
“I don’t think she made it very long,” I giggled, catching myself relaxing in his presence. That’s the way things had always been between us. The sex had been fiery, but the friendship goofy, everything coming so easy. “She’s really excited though. She’s married now, too.”
“Oh yeah? Who’d she marry?” Gunner’s face shifted a little when he said the word marry, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about the same thing that I was—all those times that we said we would get married someday.
“Some guy named Dalton Huskins,” I answered him, ignoring the sadness looming over my head. “I don’t think he’s from here.”
And good for her for that.
“Ah, well, congrats to her, I guess…” his voice trailed off as he met my gaze full on, and despite all that time passing, he still carried his emotions in his eyes—and the spark was clearly still there. “Hal, it’s so good to see you.” His voice was husky and deep, the years having matured it in a way that made the woman in me want to rip her clothes off.
I bet he has this effect on all the women around here.
“It’s good to see you, too.” I pushed away the thoughts of all the women who hung around the cl
“Mom!” Iris’s voice called from the back seat. “Come on!”
Gunner’s eyes went wide as Iris stuck her head out, standing on the edge of the floorboards and peeking over the top of the door.
“Hang on just a second,” I called back to her before turning to Gunner. “Um, that’s Iris.” I pointed over my shoulder awkwardly, trying not to show the fact I was fucking freaking out internally. Would he see the resemblance?
“You have a daughter?” He gave her a wave from where he was standing, and then his eyes dropped to my left hand.
“Yeah, I’m a single mom,” I said softly. “We do okay.”
He nodded, growing silent for a few moments.
“Mom! I want to go tell Granny about the ice cream! Come on!”
I let out a sharp exhale, shaking my head. “I have to go, but um, it was nice to see you, Gunner. You look great.” Hope the club was worth losing me.
“You look amazing,” he perked up as I gave Iris a look and shut her door. Gunner opened my door for me, and I leaned in to start the car and get the air conditioner going. “Hallie, wait,” he stopped me as I went to climb in.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s catch up? I… I don’t have anything going on tonight. I could buy you dinner—the both of you.”
I shook my head. There was no way in hell I was going to be putting Gunner and Iris in close quarters. All it would take is my daughter to start talking—or tell him her age—and he might be able to put it all together.
“Come on, Hal, just a catchup…” His eyes pleaded with me in a way that made my mind go fuzzy. I mean, yeah, things had ended badly between us, but I was stuck in this town for the unforeseeable future. Might as well keep things cordial.
“My mom can watch Iris,” I said, running my hands along the leather steering wheel. “I could probably make dinner work.”
“Okay, I can pick you up from your mom’s house—just like old times?” He was starting to sound more enthusiastic by the second, and while every ounce of me wanted to join him…
I was the one who had been shattered into a million pieces.
It was his choice.
“I’d rather just meet you wherever you’d like to go.” I kept my eyes focused on my hands.
“I can drive my truck,” he offered, like his motorcycle was the reason I didn’t want him to pick me up. I loved going on motorcycle rides—that had nothing to do with it.
“Just tell me where to meet you, and I’ll be there.”
“Okay, it’s just I was thinking we could eat out of town. The only place around to really eat is here.” Gunner gestured to the café. “And you just ate here. That doesn’t seem very fair,” he added with a chuckle. “Besides, I can take you somewhere nice. I’m not broke anymore.”
Dirty money, probably.
“Let’s just eat at the café,” I said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on this—it’s just a catch-up, nothing more.” It felt a little harsh to say that with all the feelings spiraling out of control, but my head was a hell of a lot smarter than it used to be. I knew that for everyone’s sake, the most Gunner and I could do was be friends—er, more like acquaintances.
Very, very distant acquaintances.
“I’ll meet you here around seven, then? Is that a good time for you?” Gunner’s fingertips brushed my white knuckles clenched around the steering wheel, and my breath hitched in response.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I pulled my hands away and reached around him for the door handle, the woodsy, leather scent of him intoxicating. He chuckled, probably noticing my reaction, and stepped out of the way.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yep.” I slammed the door, the cool air still not drying the sweat beading up around my forehead.
Iris popped her head between the front seats, leaning on the console. “Who was that, Mom?”
Your father.
Chapter 2
Gunner
“I saw Hallie,” I panted, feeling like a dumb nineteen-year-old all over again. My hands were clammy, and my head was spinning as I stood there, looking right into the face of Will. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do. I asked her to dinner tonight, and she said yes, but she made it sound like it’s just a catch-up, and I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“Dude, first of all, take a fucking breath.” His smirk was riddled with amusement. “For a guy who says that women never get to him, you’re sure as hell knocked right off your feet with this one.”
“This is the one.” I know I sounded fucking stupid right then, but Will didn’t really know the back story—only Viper and Axle had been there to witness what happened all those years ago.
“Right,” he said with a sigh, running his hands over his face. “Let me get dressed, and then we can have a nice therapy session, okay?” He was teasing me, and I had a strong urge to punch him in the jaw, but I held back. There was no point.
“I’ll see ya in the lounge,” I muttered instead, spinning on the heels of my boots and heading back down the hallway. I still was trying to come to terms with the fact that I would be meeting Hallie for dinner… Or that, honestly, I saw her again at all. At first, I had thought that it was just someone who looked like her, but once I had gotten a better view, I knew.
Sure, she had grown up, and her curves were, well, curvier, but it was in the best fucking way. She’d always been petite but curvy, and her short stature at five-foot-three was just adorable.
And so easy to toss around in bed.
Fuck.
My dick ramped up at the old memories of being buried between her legs. We’d been young, dumb, and desperately in love—or at least I had been. She had begged me to leave town and follow her to San Francisco, but I had begged her to stay here, with me. She had bigger dreams, and she hated the motorcycle club that I fucking idolized.
And she had no idea what the heartbreak had led to.
I shuddered at the thought of the past and the shitty mistakes I had made because I was hurting. It left me in prison for nearly five years. Five. Fucking. Years.
And my guess was that Hallie had no idea of that part of my past.
“Fuck,” I mumbled to myself under my breath, thinking of how sweet and innocent she had been when we were together. I had no idea how she was now—and I mean, she did have a daughter…
And for some reason, that had hit me right in the gut.
It should’ve been us.
“Dude, why are you moping around out here?” Viper, one of my closest friends, called out to me as soon as I plopped down onto the couch. “You look like you just lost your ass at the casino or something.”
“Worse than that.” I let out a sharp breath. “Hallie is back in town.”
He was dead quiet, so I glanced over at him, seeing his eyes widen. “The Hallie.”
“Yep, and I’m meeting her for dinner tonight.”
“Oh fuck,” Viper grunted. “There’s a fuckin’ nightmare. Your head is going to be toast.”
It already is.
My hands were fucking shaking by the time I parked my truck outside of the café, my heart pounding a million miles an hour in my chest. It was like I’d just worked out for three hours at the gym—not that I ever actually did that.
I kept it to two and a half, always.
Kicking open the truck door, I slid out effortlessly. I had dressed nice—well, my version of nice—in a clean white t-shirt and black jeans, opting for my vans instead of worn-out engineer boots. Shrugging my shoulders a few times to loosen the tension, I glanced around for Hallie, but the silver SUV she had been in earlier was nowhere to be found. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, checked the time, and saw that I was only about five minutes early.
Do I wait for her to show up before I go in?
Fuck, I couldn’t remember anything about dating. I hadn’t been on a date since Hallie and I were together…
And I had no idea what I was doing then, either.
My fingers flew to my hair, but I stopped myself from running my fingers through it. I had taken the time to style my hair, smoothing it back, whereas I usually left it messy. Hats were made for a reason.
I stood on the sidewalk for a few moments longer before deciding to go in and grab a booth. Pushing through the doors, I scanned the place, and just as I had expected, she wasn’t inside either. There were a few familiar faces, but no one that I felt the need to stop and talk to. I slid into the back booth, facing the door, and then… I waited.
