Steel Hearts: Amazing Grace

*****

"Miss Freeman?" An older, well-dressed gentleman asked as she walked out of the apartment with Saxon.

"That would be me," she nodded.

"My name is Samuel McMillan. I'm a lawyer," he approached her holding out a card which she took and looked at curiously. "Do you mind if I explain why I am here?" he asked warmly.

"Sure, as long as my friends can listen in too," she shrugged.

"Thank you. Could we use the table?" Samuel indicated the large dining table.

Grace sat with Beau and Saxon flanking her. Then she sat in a semi daze as Samuel proceeded to tell her about a long-lost relative who had only recently become aware of her existence and wanted to make contact. He had been instructed to deliver her to her family as soon as possible. Today, if she were willing to leave with him, as was her relative's preference.

"Just so I am clear, this is a great Uncle on the Freeman side of my family?" she asked with a frown.

"Yes, your father's uncle, he was estranged from the family before you were born, so you would not have met him," Samuel nodded and pointed to a document listing the man and some details that linked the man to her.

"Well, I couldn't have met him, could I?" she shook her head sadly. You see, when I was found, barely clinging to life, in a rundown van in a notorious trailer park, it made headlines. So much so that when my parents were jailed as child killers for the deaths of my siblings, I was given a new name and a new life, if not new parents. I spent years in hospital before entering the foster system with my new identity. So, I know your full of shit, and given what has been happening recently, unless you tell my boyfriends who sent you here to get me, things won't go well for you," Grace commiserated.

"Perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity," Samuel said. He began to pack his things realising his mistake was possibly catastrophic quickly.

"Isn't due diligence part of your job? Who did you say you work for again?" Beau picked up the card that the man had handed her when she arrived.

"I think perhaps I should be going," the man said, not looking as calm and collected as he had when he arrived.

"I think you should get comfortable until Officer Hutchinson arrives," Mitch said, standing and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Better to keep things all out in the open in case you are here as the sacrificial lamb."

"Ian, call this number, see if it's a real office," Beau said, holding out the card.

"It's real, but he is a client, not a partner," Ian shrugged. "He handed off a card when he came in asking to see our girl. I just wanted to hear his story before letting him know that I knew he was fake. No way was he leaving here with anything except his tail between his legs."

"Looks like you're about to have a bad day," Grace pulled a face. "I hope you got the money upfront for this gig."

"Tell you what," Steve said, taking Graces chair as she got up and went into the kitchen. "Tell me everything you know about the guy who sent you here, and I'll tell detective Hutchinson that you came to us with information not to try and convince our girl to go with you."

"How many boyfriends does that girl have?" Samuel asked, sounding even more unsure of himself now.

"A few, but she has hundreds of brothers now," Steve said. "So how about it. Or I can guess, and you can nod your head if I guess right then you haven't told me anything, have you?" he asked and began naming the men on his list of the Elite.

"Right name wrong generation," Samuel said in a pause between names. He took a deep breath, and then as if resigning himself to the situation he was now in, he began to speak. "I believe the son wants her, and his father is willing to indulge his son to get him to straighten out his life."

"I have so many questions right now I don't even know where to begin," Steve said melodramatically. "Ian, help me out here?"

"Ask him why we would believe that story to start with, and I don't know if the follow-up question should be what sort of a fuck up is this kid? I mean, if his Dad had to bribe him by kidnapping or purchasing a girl for him. Or whether you should ask when he met our Amazing Grace and thought to use her as a bargaining chip with his Dad?" Ian pondered thoughtfully.

"Are you just another Hunter?" Teddy asked.

"Not exactly. I am employed as a driver by the family that seek the services of Grace Freeman," he said, still trying to put a legal spin on things despite being discovered as a fraud and supplying them with several pieces of the puzzle they were missing.

"You know of the Treasure Hunt and that Grace was part of the list?" Teddy pressed.

"What list? I only know about Grace and the fact that the family wants her. That the father promised the son in return for his return to the fold, so to speak," Samuel said.

"This is just getting really confusing for me now. Can you just tell me his name? Do I even know him?" she asked. The man's eyes darted around furtively as he opened and closed his mouth several times as if wanting to speak but unable. "I don't know any rich people or sons of rich people. So I can't even imagine anyone who cared that much for me that wouldn't just ask me out except maybe these guys because of Teddy, and none of them has families outside of each other."

"It's not hard to hide family ties if you want too badly enough. Teddy hid you after all," Joey said from where he sat just out of range of the dining table.

"I want money and help to disappear," Samuel said abruptly as he looked at Joey, realising he had the same information. Like rats in a sinking ship, they were suddenly talking over each other in desperation to get a deal where they could survive what was about to go down. But, then, there was a pop like a muffled firework or something, and everyone froze the room, becoming silent as they all looked around.

It was Saxon who immediately recognised the threat in the room. From the time Samuel had spoken about a father prepared to do this to regain control of his son, he had known this was the irrefutable proof that his gut instinct was right, and he had positioned himself to do what needed to be done. So he stood now, a gun with a silencer in his hand as he watched one of his six sink to the floor. Then, removing the silencer and the clip, he placed the gun beside Samuel's hand and stepped back.

"Pick it up," Saxon growled. "We'll call it self-defence when you called out Elijah Fairfax McMillan for his part in the planned kidnap and sale of Grace Freeman. We will ensure you have the protection you need while serving time for your part in this farce. It might be hard to sell that you shot your grandson because he messed up your plans once again, but I'm sure you and your high-priced lawyers can manage. Here, have a card," he snarked as Beau tossed the fake card he had picked up earlier in front of the man.

"You knew?" Samuel asked incredulously.

"About his family?" Saxon asked. "You think I wouldn't do background checks on everyone who joined us? About his obsession with Grace? That was harder to discover and find evidence for but telling me he was building a nest egg when money had never been his priority was possibly his biggest mistake. We knew that if we kept him sequestered for a few days, the real man behind the Treasure Hunts would come after him or the woman who caused his demise."

"I'll give you credit, though. You've got some big balls coming here yourself to face us," Ian said.

"What can you do to a man like me. You can hardly kill me in your own home, and after I speak to the police and claim self-defence for shooting Elijah, you will be the first suspects they will look for should I go missing. My lawyers will tie this up so long in court I will never see a day inside a cell. The cherry on the top, though, is that you did exactly as I wanted. Now his idiot father will stop trying to blackmail him into returning and get his girl pregnant like he should have done when that waste of space left home," Samuel glanced over his shoulder, uncaring of his grandson slumped on the ground.

"You know, I have to ask, why kill Ava or any of the girls you paid the hunters for?" Teddy asked, still grieving over the loss of Ava, who he hadn't kept safe, just like he couldn't keep his sister safe without help.

"They'd served their purpose. How does that saying go? You can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse? Those girls may have looked the part but were impossible to train to behave appropriately for my household. She had possibilities. The offer of a contract will remain open to you kitten," Samuel said to Grace with all the arrogance of a man who believed he was above the law. "It was the one thing my grandson, and I did agree on; you are quite the pretty little pussy."

"Fuck it," Saxon murmured.

"Touch me, and I will make sure this is your last day on earth," Samuel threatened

"You think you can shoot me? You fucking bastard," Saxon spat and the two men argued as Saxon put the clip back in the gun and gripped the gun in Samuel's hand and yelled, "No, Samuel, don't do it!" and pointed it at his chest, ensuring the angle was good then pulled the trigger cursing immediately that the silence was gone.

"Get Joey secured somewhere," Beau ordered in a whisper to Steve, who was already moving and stepped out of sight with Joey as the police ran into the room after hearing the two men fight, followed by a gunshot.

"What happened?" Hutchinson asked. "When it was called in, they said one body," he walked further into the room, followed by his team and the ambulance men who went to Eli and then Samuel. Shaking their heads as they examined each of them.

"Killed his grandson then himself, sit, and I'll tell you the whole story," Saxon sighed.

"I got this, boss. I think I got the main points at the end," Ian said and turned on a short recording from the point where he admired the man's big balls until just after he and Saxon grappled with the gun, and it exploded into the man's chest. Saxon had done an excellent job with the argument riling Samuel to argue nonsensically with him. There was more than enough to incriminate the whole family there and make it seem like he realised his mistake of saying too much, too late as he tried to take out all of the men in the room like some evil villain action hero.

*****

It was late when the police, legal and medical teams finally left the Dosshouse apartment, and the remaining five members of the Sovereign Six sat with Saxon and Grace to dissect the day.

"Do you think the hunters will still come despite the death of the Elite who posted the want ad, so to speak?" Teddy asked.

"Let's check out if the news filtered through," Ian said. "There were enough people here from the special branches today worried that we had derailed their investigations. Investigations they were only conducting because of leads they got from us in the first place, just saying," he bent over his laptop typing at a pace Grace found hard to fathom.

"I believe that one of the hunters who had access to the site may have tipped them off that the authorities were monitoring them," Steve said. "After retrieving a sorry looking Joey from the crate, he had been forced into that morning," he pulled a face letting his brothers know that it was not a pleasant state he found the man in, "he told me that Eli had missed his check-in and his father would have shut it all down assuming that we found out about the Elite."

So they just disappear back into the dark holes they crawled out of?" Mitch asked, disgusted by the prospect.

"We know who they are, though," Steve offered. "I doubt my identity is a secret if Eli was involved, but Vixens can remain closed for the time being anyway," he shrugged as if it didn't matter to him if he lost the prestige of managing a place that catered to the fetish community that could afford the exorbitant fees they incurred by becoming members.

"Some people might not have gotten the memo, so let's keep a close eye on Grace until the deadline passes," Teddy insisted. "Maybe call off the debut in the speakeasy tomorrow?"

"That wouldn't be fair to the guys who have all worked so hard for this with me being such a flaky bitch lately," Grace said quietly. "I feel like I owe them at least this much even if I don't do it long term. But, you know, having guys who will humour the boss's girl will only get us so far."

"No one is humouring you, Missy," Saxon growled. "You have earned your place with that band and worked just as hard as them on the music."

"We have all seen you play down there. You do as much as the guys," Beau reassured her and took her hand in his.

"What do you play?" Steve asked.

"Guitar but not with this band," she explained.

"Then what have they seen you play downstairs?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"Oh, I play a bit of guitar when trying out different runs, but mostly I sing with this band," she gave a shy smile. "Saxon hired a house band and made them let me sing with them as bait for the stalker, but there is no need for that now because it's over. I mean, after tomorrow, there's no need, right?" Grace looked around at the men in the room.

"There is a need for that!" Mitch exclaimed. "I love to hear you sing and never get to any more. How long ago was that one song out at Eversley. I hope that song is in the playlist for tomorrow. So good," he grinned at her.

"Pfft, you can't believe him. He's always nice to me because of Teddy," she laughed off his praise.

"Then yes, you have to sing tomorrow, and after that so I can judge for myself," Steve said as if that made perfect sense. "You should probably get some rest if the big reveal is tomorrow. Don't want the star of the show showing up with bags under her eyes," he teased.

"That's the best idea I have heard all day," Beau grumbled and looked to Saxon.

"Teddy, do you want time to hang with Grace for a bit? Beau and I have something to take care of," Saxon looked at the man who had lost more than anyone else this week. A woman he cared about was found dead, and his best friend was responsible for that even if it was only part of the overall picture, and he would have lost his sister if she hadn't been smart enough to call him for help while he had been with Mitch.

"Yeah, that'd be good," he nodded and smiled at his sister.

"Anything you want help with?" Mitch asked.

"No, relax, we aren't going very far," Saxon bent to kiss Grace and stroke her hair before he stood and motioned to Beau, who also kissed Grace and held her to him for a minute before both men walked out of the common room.

"Any idea what that's about?" Mitch asked Grace.

"You think they tell me anything?" Grace laughed and shook her head.

"They seem to tell you what's going on without you having to ask," Mitch narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, but I have boobs," she shrugged.

"So does Mitch," Ian laughed.

"They possibly want to see hers more than mine, though," Mitch gave in to her logic. "Though mine are just as nice," he sat up straighter and pushed his chest out, showing his muscled pecs.

"They are indeed," Grace grinned. "So, Teddy, want to show me your room. I'm guessing you haven't had time to do much with it. I could help you out if you like. A few Star Trek posters and some Superman toys, and the guys can see what a big nerd you are deep down inside."

"Really? That's where we're starting this bonding session? I'll see your abysmal taste in Sci-Fi franchises and superheroes and raise you a Goggo Mobile for your next car," he challenged.

"G, O, G, G, O," she chanted robotically, and the siblings collapsed into laughter.

"You think that's contagious?" Steve asked Ian as they watched the pair.

"Can't be too safe, I suppose. Want to head downstairs for a drink?" Ian asked.

"I'll meet you down there later, better that there is still two of us around the princess until we are sure it's all over," Mitch said as he watched Teddy and Grace continue to laugh at jokes they had made years ago and continued to perpetuate.

"I'm sorry, Gracie," Teddy sighed as their laughter eventually subsided. "I had no idea until the day they tried to take Drew, and I had to leave with him to make sure nothing happened to her or Jenna when the guys took them home. Even now, I keep trying to find reasons to tell me he didn't do that to us, to you. He wanted Saxon to break us up and me to send you away so he could take you without me losing my mind searching for you like I did with Ava." He explained as if trying to remind himself that his best friend, a man who he trusted with his life, had done this to him and Gracie and all of them.

"This isn't on you, Teddy. How could you have known? I'm just not sure how he could have possibly done all of the stalking when he wasn't even in the city on some of those occasions, and if he arrived with Beau on the night my apartment was trashed, who did that?" she asked.

"Good question," Teddy frowned. "Joey, maybe? Mitch," he raised his voice to get his brothers attention. Did Eli come with Beau to pick up Gracie's car that night, or did he meet Beau there?"

"Don't know for sure, give me a minute," he picked up his phone and put it to his ear.

"I guess I just wondered how often he was in the city if he was the stalker because didn't he work with Beau at the packhouse last year?"

"We all work there on and off like a roster system, and if we had a pet project," Teddy said. "Eli did a lot of miles, but he also came to the city for Vixens. There was a girl he slept with on occasion that worked there. So I'm guessing he worked out his frustrations with her."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Vixen's is a fetish club, Gracie. BDSM and some weird shit. You're not allowed to go there no matter what Sax or Beau says."

"Eli had been in the city earlier that day but was at the Packhouse with Beau when the call came in, so you're right he couldn't have trashed your apartment," Mitch relayed the conversation he was having with Beau.

"Joey?" she asked.

"I guess we can find out when he wakes up. There will be an explanation," Teddy reassured her, but she could see that he was also considering who would have done it and why if it wasn't Eli. Saxon and Beau will be back soon, and we can check in with them about Joey. Until then, want to unwind with Harley?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Grace grinned. She loved the Suicide Squad movies or even Birds of Prey.

*****

Grace woke the following day cocooned between two large male bodies. She squirmed to get out from between them, but as she sat up, she found two sets of arms simultaneously wrap around her waist and drag her back down between them.

"If you don't let me get up and go to the bathroom, you will both be sleeping in a wet spot," she grumbled and fought her way free of the big bodies and arms that waylaid her. "Let me go!" she finally pushed their hands away.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Beau called after her as she scampered to the bathroom and chuckled as, without turning around, she gave him the finger.

"You ready for this?" Beau asked.

"Not in the slightest, but I bet she is," Saxon motioned toward where Grace had disappeared into the bathroom. "Breakfast first, then the busiest day on earth," he chuckled. Then, rolling from the bed, he found his jeans. "Sounds like she's showering while she's in there," he cocked his head and smiled.

"I'll get her organised if you do breakfast," Beau offered and walked toward the bathroom where he intended a repeat of yesterday. "Take your time out there," he chuckled.

"Take too long, and I will come to join you," Saxon said, surprising Beau with how relaxed he was about the situation. It was still taking him some adjustment to get used to the fact that he was entering into a relationship at all, let alone a three-sided one. He stepped into the bathroom, feeling the steam from the shower envelop him.