Steel 4: Blackthorne MC #4 (7 page)
Read Steel 4: Blackthorne MC #4 Online
Authors: Carrie Cox
Tags: #romance, #serials, #billionaire brothers, #billionaire, #Alpha Male
“Good morning, Damien,” Jackson said.
He received a grunt from Damien in reply. It was pretty clear that Damien was jealous of Jackson’s closeness to his brother and resented him for it.
As much as I hated Damien when I first met him, I couldn’t help thinking that the Blackthorne crew might be better off if it had Damien at its helm.
Nancy bustled up to the table. “I’ve cooked more bacon. Would you like some more, Victor?” she asked, giving him a sweet smile.
Victor patted his washboard stomach. “No, thanks, sweetheart. I’m full to the brim, but it was delicious.” He gave her a charming smile.
Damien scowled.
Nancy put a fresh supply of toast in the centre of the table. “What can I get you?” she asked, looking at Nick and I in turn.
“I’ll just have some toast, thanks,” I said, reaching for a slice.
Nancy turned her attention to Nick. “The usual, Nick?”
Nick gave Nancy a smile that left Victor’s in the shade. He was so gorgeous it hurt to look at him sometimes.
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
Nancy flushed with pleasure and bustled away from the table again.
Jackson passed me the butter by sliding it across the table. I looked up at him and our gazes clashed. I wasn’t about to thank him, though.
Screw being polite
. I was quite able to reach for the butter on my own.
I scowled at Jackson and then looked down at my toast as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“I’ve got a new job for you, Nick,” Victor said.
My eyes flickered up and rested on Victor. A job? Did that mean he was sending Nick away? I didn’t think I could stand it here without him.
“What’s the job?” Nick asked casually and took a sip of his coffee.
“Collecting the donations.”
I’d heard enough over the past few days to realize that when Victor referred to donations he was actually talking about the protection money they took from various establishments in the area.
“I’d like you to go with Chad and Tom like usual, but this time, Jackson’s going to go with you, too.” Victor gave a cold smile and enjoyed Nick’s reaction.
Nick visibly tensed as his eyes flickered over to Jackson. The two men stared at each other for a moment before Nick shrugged. I could tell it was an effort for him not to protest.
“Fine,” Nick said bluntly. “Whatever you think works.”
Victor nodded slowly. “Good. It’s nice to see we’re on the same page.”
Jackson and Victor exchanged a look that made me nervous. Were they planning something?
With Nick gone, along with Chad, Tom and Jackson, I would feel lost here.
But what Victor said next surprised me, “You can take Ella with you.”
He looked at me and scowled. “I don’t want to see her miserable face moping about without you. It seems as if this thing between you two isn’t about to end, so it looks like I’m going to have to get used to it.”
Victor shifted his gaze back to Nick. “I still expect total commitment from you, though. I don’t want you getting distracted on the job. Understand?”
Nick nodded. “Of course.”
Nancy returned and set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Nick. He thanked her and then started digging in as I picked at my toast. I didn’t understand how he could have such a healthy appetite after everything that had happened.
Damien Blackthorne cleared his throat. “I couldn’t help noticing that my name was not on the list.” He glared at his brother.
“And do you have a problem with that?” Victor snarled.
It was quite obvious that Damien did have a problem with that, a
big
problem. But instead of saying so, he just shrugged.
“Nothing to do with me,” Damien said. “You’re the one in charge, after all.”
I couldn’t be the only one to have picked up on the contempt in Damien’s voice.
I held my breath as I waited for Victor’s response. I expected him to explode.
He looked at his brother coldly before picking up his coffee and taking a sip.
When he set the cup back down on the table, he said, “That’s right. I’m the one in charge. And nobody should forget that, including you, Damien.”
Damien’s skin flushed hot red, and I saw a muscle jump in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He pushed his plate away from him in disgust and stood up, scraping the chair against the floor loudly.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” he growled and then stalked out of the bar.
After everyone had gone, leaving us alone at the table, I turned to Nick. “Is this a bad thing?”
“A bad thing?”
“The fact that Victor is sending us off somewhere to collect the donations, does that mean he’s getting us out of the way for some ulterior motive?”
Nick shook his head slowly. “No, this is back to normal for Victor. That’s how he is. One moment he’s exploding in anger, and in the next moment, everything is right as rain and business as usual. It normally takes us a couple of days to go around to all the properties. We’ll stay overnight in a couple of places. It’s not really a risky job. The guys we visit are pretty loyal to Victor and don’t put up much of a fuss.”
He smiled at me and then reached out and covered my hand with his. “I’m glad you’re coming with me, though. I would have worried if I’d had to leave you here.”
I tried to match Nick’s smile and feel positive about this. Any chance to get away from the Blackthorne club and Victor, even for a short time, had to be a good thing.
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The Desire Series
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Steel
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Steel part four