Page 41 of Sinner's Steel
“Evie!” Zane bolted from the Sinner SUV and crossed the lawn to Evie. Ripping the suitcase from her hand, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Relief flooded him, becoming a shuddery ache as she melted into his body. She was okay. His Evie was alive. Even when he’d received the text from Tank, he hadn’t believed it. He had to see her for himself. Hold her. Assure himself it wasn’t all a dream.
“Zane, I can’t breathe.” She pushed gently at his shoulders and he loosened his hold, but he couldn’t let her go.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”
He tried to release her. But no. His arms weren’t cooperating. He wanted her here against his chest, feeling her heartbeat forever.
“Baby, you’ve got to let me go.”
Baby.She’d started using that term of endearment her last year of high school, when Zane would meet her after work, dirty from a day hauling lumber and framing buildings, when he looked nothing like a baby and more like the kind of man who shouldn’t be spending time with a girl like her. But he loved the term of endearment. Loved that it was only for him.
With a sigh he released her. Still unable to speak, he lifted Ty in his arms, and grabbed Evie’s hand, half dragging, half pulling her to the vehicle parked outside her house. The boy weighed almost nothing, and he wondered if Evie had been feeding him right. How much were eight-year-old boys supposed to weigh? Maybe he would ask Dax. With five boys under his belt, Dax would know everything about raising a son. Less, though, about relationship troubles he and Sandy had been happily married since they graduated from high school.
“Keys.” Evie held out her hand after Zane unlocked the door to one of the club’s black SUVs.
Zane settled Ty in the back seat, finally finding his voice. “I drive when there’s a woman in the car. That’s how it is.”
“I drive when my son is in the car. And that’s how it is.” She put her hands on her hips and glared. Zane fought back the urge to just lift her and deposit her in the front seat. This wasn’t the time for feminist bullshit. They were in danger and it was his job to protect them.
“You can fight me all you want,” he said. “But I’m in control of any vehicle I ride in, especially when I got you and Ty to look after.”
“So, it’s a macho thing?” She released a sigh. “Would you really feel that much less of a man if I drove?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.” She yanked open the passenger door. “Far be it from me to dent your masculine pride, since it is one of your more attractive qualities.”
Zane straightened his back, puffed out his chest and fought back the urge to fist pump. His woman appreciated his protective nature, the essence of his maleness. And she was letting him drive.
After Evie and Ty were securely buckled in, Zane slid into the vehicle and hit reverse. The tires squealed as he kicked the vehicle into drive and accelerated down the road.
“Slow down,” Evie protested. “This is a school zone and no one is behind us. There’s no need for excessive speed when there’s a child in the vehicle.”
“This isn’t excessive speed. I’m just wanting to drive faster than that kid on his tricycle.” He gestured out the window. “Maybe we should stop and ask him for a tow.”
Evie’s cheeks reddened. “Sarcasm doesn’t become you.”
“Neither does your bullshit. You always loved speed.”
She’d also loved drag races, occasionally cutting class, and dating guys who set Zane’s teeth on edge—the fringe elements of high school who had their own bands, spent time in juvenile detention, or rode motorcycles to school. Jagger had figured it was a case of opposites attract, but Zane had a different view. Evie was one of them. She just couldn’t admit it.
“This is like the movies.” Ty bounced in his seat. “I can’t even read the street signs we’re going so fast.”
Zane glanced up in the rearview mirror and spotted four bikes at the end of the road. Black Jacks. “Son of a bitch. How the fuck did they get here so fast? And where are the goddamned Sinners?”
“Language,” Evie warned.
“I’ll swear all I want when we got fucking Black Jacks on our tail,” he growled. “And I already squared it away with Ty. I put fifty bucks in his swear jar as advance payment.”
“Zane says we’ll be able to afford to take the fucking space shuttle to the fucking moon now that he’s around.” Ty rattled his swear jaw and Evie turned and glared.
“Ty. You are now down two quarters, and if I ever hear that kind of language again—”
“I’m just saying what Zane said.” Ty caught Zane’s glance in the rearview mirror and smiled. Well, damn. His son was no fool. But he’d have to be more careful or he’d get them both in trouble.
Pulling his gaze away, Ty peered out the back window. “Why are those bikers chasing us?”
“’Cause they want something they can’t have.” Zane cranked the wheel to the left and the vehicle dipped as they took a sharp corner. Evie sucked in a breath and Ty gave an excited shout.
