Chapter 5 1 - PART 4

I took my purse off my shoulder, unzipped it, and began to rummage through it while muttering to myself about Payton. "Payton, a pain in my ass. She's been a pain in my ass ever since she cut off all the hair on my Barbies. She was only three, and I was too old for Barbies, but they were mine. Couldn't she leave them alone? What's with cutting their hair?" I glanced up at Tank, and continued, "I think that's what psychos do. We should have known then.

She's three, wielding scissors, causing mayhem, and breaking hearts." I kept on blabbering as I searched my purse, finally finding my checkbook. But of course, I still had to find a pen too, so I kept digging and exclaimed, "She was always, always a bad seed."

With my checkbook now in hand, I flipped it open, clicked my pen smartly, put the point to the check, and then I looked up at Steel. "Alright, how much does she owe you?" I asked, feeling quite annoyed about having to bail out Payton again, especially when it involved money and angry bikers.

It was at this moment that I noticed Steel was no longer wearing a scary expression. Instead, he was looking at me like he wanted to laugh, and I have to say, it was a good look on him.

I didn't want to be mesmerized by his good looks, not by his expressions, or the entirety of him - the hair, tattoos, and that sculpted body. All I craved was to head back home, whip up a batch of cookie dough, and devour it in peace.

"Well?" I snapped impatiently.

"Two million, three hundred and fifty-seven thousand, one hundred and seven dollars," Steel replied casually, causing my jaw to drop in utter shock. His quick flash of a white smile, framed by the dark goatee, dazedly registered in some distant part of my brain, and then he added, "and twelve cents."

"Oh my God," I murmured, feeling completely overwhelmed.

Despite my astonishment, Steel was still smiling when he glanced down at my checkbook. "Think you can fit that on one line, peaches?" he teased.

"Oh my God," I repeated, the situation feeling almost too surreal to process.

"Need some mouth-to-mouth?" Steel inquired, leaning in, but I instinctively took a step back, closed my lips tightly, and shook my head. "Shame," he muttered, leaning back.

"My sister owes you over two million dollars?" I whispered in disbelief.

"Yep," Steel replied nonchalantly.

"Over two million dollars?" I repeated, just to make sure I heard it right.

"Yep," Steel confirmed.

"Are you sure there's no accounting mistake?" I asked, trying to hold onto a glimmer of hope.

Steel's smile grew wider, his teeth gleaming white against his tanned skin. Then he crossed his imposing, tattooed arms over his muscular chest and shook his head.

"Maybe it's some foreign currency you're using, like pesos?" I suggested, trying to come up with any possible explanation for the staggering amount.

"Nope," Steel replied, putting any hope of it being a currency mix-up to rest.

"I don't have that kind of money," I informed him, stating the obvious.

"Sweet jacket, peaches, but I was guessing that," he responded, complimenting my jacket while acknowledging my financial limitations.

Well, at least the fluffy fur on my jacket didn't seem to turn him off. However, the grim reality remained that my sister owed him over two million dollars.

"I think it'll take me a while to raise that kind of cash," I explained, and then added with a touch of resignation, "maybe eternity."

"Don't have eternity to wait, darlin'," he said, still grinning so widely that if he burst out laughing, it wouldn't surprise me.

"I figured," I muttered, clicking my pen, snapping shut my checkbook, and stuffing both back into my purse as I felt my mind start to whirl.

I mean, it's only natural to lose your mind when there's a specific reason for it, and that reason happened to have a name – Payton Elizabeth Casey.

I looked up at Tank, feeling an overwhelming need to vent my frustration, and I demanded answers. "Why me? Seriously, why? I'm just innocently born into this world, and then, seven years later, zap! God curses me with the sister from hell. Is it too much to ask for a sister who giggles with you and shares makeup secrets? Or how about a sister who stumbles upon a great sale and immediately calls you to let you in on it? And even better, she scours the racks, stashing great deals that she knows would look hot on you, so you get the chance to grab them before anyone else does. Is it too much to ask for a sister who comes over to watch the modern Hawaii Five-O with you, just so you both can indulge in perving on Steve McGarrett and fantasizing about having a Julsaro? Is it? Is it?" I ended my rant on a shout, feeling the need to release all my pent-up frustration.

"Listen, Penn, babe, I think you need to calm down," Tank muttered, and I could almost see the concern etched on his face as he pondered whether knocking me out might be for my own good.

"Calm?" I yelled. "Calm?" I yelled again, my emotions getting the best of me. I continued to vent, "She owes you guys over two million dollars. She's the one who cut the hair off my Barbies. And she stole the lavalier my grandmother gave me on her deathbed, only to pawn it to buy pot. And let's not forget how she got drunk and stuck her hand down my boyfriend's pants during Thanksgiving dinner. He was a straight-laced guy, went to church and all, but after Payton's antics – and that hand down the pants was just the climax of it all – he thought my family was insane, possibly criminally insane, and he broke up with me a week later. He might have been boring, looking back, but at the time, I liked him! He was my boyfriend!" Now I was shrieking, my frustration reaching its peak.

"Peaches," Steel called out, and my body immediately swung toward him, realizing that he had moved closer into my space.

I tilted my head back and snapped out a response, "What?"

His hand gently wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer as he leaned in and whispered, "Baby, calm down."

I found myself staring deeply into his captivating blue eyes, and strangely enough, his words had an immediate soothing effect on me.

"Okey dokey," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper, my body responding to his calming presence.

His eyes crinkled with a smile, and yet another shiver ran through me.

With his hand still firmly around my neck, I was well aware that he could feel the tremor running through my body. His fingers tightened slightly, and something in his eyes shifted, making me shiver in a way he couldn't see but I could certainly feel. It was intense.

I knew it was time to make my exit.

"I'd probably have to sell plasma and a kidney, but I doubt that would be enough. So, um, can I just leave my sister to deal with this?" I asked politely, eager to escape the intensity of his grip but also apprehensive about making any sudden moves.

"No one's going to harm you because of Payton," he said softly.

"Okay," I replied, feeling reassured by his words.

"Or anyone else, for that matter," he added.

"Um..." I mumbled, feeling a bit uneasy. "Okay." I said this because I definitely didn't want anyone causing harm to me, whether it's because of Payton or for any other reason. I was really not up for that kind of trouble.

His fingers tightened around my neck, lifting me slightly so I was almost on my toes, and his face came closer. Way closer. Too close. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"I don't think you fully grasp what I'm telling you," he continued speaking softly. "If this Payton situation escalates, and you come into the spotlight, you won't hesitate to mention my name, right?"

Oh no, this didn't bode well. It seemed even worse than owing a biker gang a whopping two million dollars, and let me tell you, there weren't many things that could top that. But, of course, if there were, Payton would undoubtedly uncover them.

"Um... if you're asking if I understand you, like 'yeah, I get you,' then no, I don't get you," I answered him honestly because with Steel, it seemed like honesty was the best policy.

"Alright, peaches, what I'm trying to say is, if you find yourself in a tricky situation, just mention my name. That means protection. Do you get me now?" he explained, his voice firm and serious.

"Um... kind of," I responded, still trying to comprehend it all. "But why would I get myself into a situation like that?"

"Your sister has caused trouble everywhere she's been, whether she lived there or not. And you walked in here with no clue about any of it. So don't blunder into another situation, because others..." he paused, choosing his words carefully, "they might not find you as adorable as I do."

"Okay," I whispered, feeling both flattered that he found me cute and regretful that I didn't follow my initial plan of calling my father or hopping on a plane to France. "If I, um... have to use your name, what does that mean?"

"It means you owe me," he replied, flashing a grin but avoiding a direct answer.

Oh boy, this was getting interesting.

"What do I owe you?" I pressed for clarity.

"I'll have to get on my bike and come to your rescue, and we'll discuss the details later," he said with a wider grin.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I assured him, trying to muster confidence and saying a short prayer in hopes that my reassurance would hold true.

His grin grew even bigger.

Then, he finally released his grip on me but quickly took my purse off my arm. Before I could even react, he began rummaging through it. I chose not to protest and allowed him to continue, considering he had already touched me and I wasn't entirely sure how I'd react if he did so again. One thing was certain - I had a strong inkling that jumping his bones would be high up on the list of possibilities. I also realized that he could easily overpower me to take my purse, so I decided to let him take whatever he wanted. Even my best lip gloss in there was fair game, and if he wanted to give it to one of his ladies, I was more than willing to let it go.

As he emerged from my purse with my cell phone in hand, he deftly flipped it open, pressed some buttons, and then closed it before placing it back inside. Then, with a sly smile, he returned the purse to my arm.

"You have my number, darlin'. If you need it, feel free to use it. And even if you don't need it, but still want to use it, don't hesitate. Do you understand that?" he asked.

I adjusted my purse higher on my shoulder and nodded in agreement. I understood perfectly well. He found me cute.

Suppressing another shiver, I managed to whisper, "Nice to meet you too, Penn."

"Yeah," I whispered back, "later." I turned to find Tank grinning down at me, and I replied, "Later."

"Later, babe," Tank responded, making it sound like he'd genuinely see me again later, which in turn made me have to fight back another shiver.

As I faced the silent biker boys behind me, witnessing all of them smiling, I couldn't help but find this scarier than their usual intimidating demeanor. I raised my hand and called out, "Later."

After receiving a few chin lifts and a simple "Later, darlin'," I wasted no time and made a quick exit from the place.