Steel Hearts: Oopsie Daisy

"Are you okay?" Mitch asked, picking up her small hands in his larger ones and turning them over to inspect them.

"Unfortunately, that's not my first brush with accidental public nudity," she tried to laugh off the moment. His eyes rose to hers, and a low rumble emanated from his chest.

"Let's try to make it your last then," Mitch rumbled and guided her toward the packhouse where they could speak in Deacon's office. Mitch had been staying here since he had flown into Castlie to track the girl, so he knew his way around. Even though he knew she struggled to keep up, he took large steps to get her into a room where he could talk to her properly for the first time. She felt so soft and smelt so sweet like honeysuckle. He knew he couldn't or at least shouldn't taste her, but the urge to ignore his common sense was strong.

Daisy wasn't sure what to make of the big tattooed bikers. She wasn't scared even though she knew she should be. She knew one of them from the club where she worked, but as Deacon had said, he had only seemed to watch her there like he was looking out for her. He always left her a large tip despite saying very little to her when they interacted while serving his drinks.

"Deacon, it would be safer for you if you didn't know what I am about to say, but as she is here in your house now, you have the right to know what other interested parties might come looking for her if they find out what went down this morning," Mitch explained. "It's your choice to stay or go, but we need the pact on keeping our secrets if you stay."

"You better let me in on your secrets before I lose my mind!" Daisy grumbled and crossed her arms, throwing herself back into a large office hair but misjudging the distance and almost ending up on the floor as she caught the edge of the seat. Mitch leaned forward to grab her by the waist before she hit the floor, then he lifted her and placed her carefully back into the chair.

"I'm in," Deacon said, pulling two straight-backed chairs over for Mitch and himself. "She's here now, so we were in the moment she drove through the gate."

"Deacon, this is Daisy Locke, one of the best dancers at Candy Canes. Having said that, I know that Daisy Locke is not her real name. Her real name is Bree Steele. She was named after her maternal grandmother Sabrina Vecchio, as was her mother and her surname was the unfortunate gift of her father, Knox Steele. I assume her mother taught her to hide her real name from those with vendettas after her father's untimely death."

"Well, fuck! I was not expecting that!" Deacon blew out a breath.

"You knew my father?" Daisy asked somewhat timidly. Her mother didn't talk much about him except to say that he was tall and handsome and she'd loved him like no other.

"He was like a brother to me," Mitch admitted.

"When I was around thirteen, I found my birth certificate, and the story of my father's violent death at the hands of my grandfather's men had come out. He'd been killed just after my birth. My mother said that the name my father had given me was a dangerous one to wear, and that was why she had changed our last name to Locke. A friend gave my mother a forged licence and passport and some cash to start our new life, but she died, and now here I am alone, with a name I am not sure I want but need to work and survive," Daisy sighed.

"I'm not sure that your mother told him that she was pregnant, to tell you the truth," Mitch said sadly and added, trying to paint a better picture of his friend. "Your father was young and headstrong, but I doubt he would have left her out to dry if she had told him."

"It is what it is, and neither of them is alive to tell me the truth, so what happens now that you have me at your mercy?" she asked.

"That's a harsh way to put me offering you a better life where you can meet and get to know your only living relative on your father's side of the family. His brother Saxon," Mitch said. "He would give you a legitimate job in a reputable club if you wanted, but he would also give you a choice to study and become more than what circumstance has allowed you. So you just have to make the leap of faith and come with me now, and that opportunity is all yours," he said.

"How do I know any of this is real?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Mitch. "If I go with you, I could end up in a place worse than Hugo's club."

"I swear if that happens, you can come back here and kick Deacon in the balls," Mitch grinned, his eyes crinkling at her look of shock and Deacon's splutter of denial.

"So, the Vecchio family?" Deacon asked as if the name only registered with him right then.

"Yeah, hence why her mother couldn't go home to have the baby," Mitch sighed and pulled his copy of the letter from Sabrina Vecchio out of his pocket and handed it to Daisy. Then he turned to Deacon and said, "Sabrina sent a letter to Saxon asking him to help Daisy and give her a better life."

"So, what? She's an adult. She can choose for herself what she wants now," Deacon shrugged.

"You think if she could do whatever she wanted, she'd work in a seedy strip club?" Mitch asked a little tersely.

"Who am I to judge?" Deacon shrugged again.

"So, here's what, I've been on the run my whole life. I don't have much of an education, friends or any family I know of that I shouldn't be afraid of," Daisy said sadly. "I guess if my mother trusted this Saxon guy, I should too and honestly, anything is better than going back to Candy Canes right now. Hugo told me people had been there asking about me by my real name, and I'm guessing that wasn't you."

"Really? Just like that?" Mitch looked at her in surprise.

"It's her writing, even how she phrased things," she said, looking directly at Mitch. "I don't feel like you're lying, so if you are a serial killer, make it quick so I don't have to stew in my stupidity too long," Daisy said on a heavy sigh. This guy had gone to a lot of trouble to find her, stalk her, and back her into the corner she was now stuck in. What choice did she have?

"Okay then, do you need to go home and grab your belongings?" Mitch asked.

"Everything important to me is in my go-bag, and that's in the car," she said.

"You had a go-bag packed?" Deacon frowned. "You knew he was coming for you?"

"My mother taught me to pack my own go-bag at the age of four. So I always have it with me. In case," she admitted. "As I said, mum and I have been on the run most of my life. I always thought it was from my father, but I realised it was hers when I discovered mine was dead. From what Hugo said, it was time to leave anyway once I finished out this week."

"What do you mean from what Hugo said?" Mitch grumbled, also frowning at her now.

"He said people had been asking for me by my real name in the bar upstairs, so he moved me to the lower floor this week," she explained.

"You think your mother's father was trying to find you?" Mitch asked.

"Unless you were dumb enough to ask about me using my real name?" she accused.

"Why do you think he is looking for you? Or looking for your mother when she was alive?" Mitch asked.

"I don't know. Mum always said her parents kicked her out because she was pregnant and wouldn't give me up. So you'd think they would have gotten over it after almost twenty years, but she told me that they would never acknowledge me as part of their family. Well, her father anyway, her mother helped us out with money now and then when we could contact her," Daisy explained. "Mum guessed that with all of my father's family's drama, they didn't even know about my existence and thought it was better that way. She did say she had loved my father, though."

"I can't say I knew how Knox felt about your mother, but I remember them sneaking around to see each other," Mitch nodded. "I never knew that Sabrina was pregnant, but our lives were pretty complicated around that time, and Knox died that year, as well as a lot of our friends. If your grandfather knew your mother was pregnant, it might explain the continuing vendetta between their cartel and our brotherhood."

"Could explain a lot of things," Deacon nodded. Like the Steel Hearts, The Alliance stayed away from most organised crime cartels though they did some smaller security jobs for some known crime families. "I'm surprised you and your mother managed to stay free of her family for as long as you did," he acknowledged. "You think she had inside help from your grandmother?"

"Mum got money from her occasionally when we were stuck and needed to run," Daisy admitted.

"Now the question is whether the people asking for her at the club were from the Vecchio family or their enemies?" Mitch posed the question that he knew would bother Saxon the most. His brother hadn't been sure about locating the girl in the first place, and if she came with such a high risk of a battle with organised crime bosses, he would be even less inclined to help and protect her.

"Keep this information in this room for now. I'll tell Sax when we get back to our packhouse," Mitch said to Deacon. "We need a ride out to Mike's airfield, strip her car and sell it for parts. They probably know her car and where she lives if they look for her. Better if we leave no way to track her here or out of the state."

"We are flying?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, it's better this way, trust me," he held out his hand to help Daisy up. "Let's get your bag and head out. The sooner we leave The Alliance, the safer they will be if our suspicions are correct."

"Okay," Daisy said more confidently than she felt. She knew she had to leave and couldn't stay until her next paycheque as she had hoped. What was the worst that could happen? She shuddered as several answers popped into her mind, but she reasoned that this guy had more than one opportunity to hurt her if that was what he wanted. No, she had decided to trust him for now because she couldn't see a better option. Maybe this Uncle Saxon that she never knew about would be the family man she had always imagined her Dad would have been if he had lived.

*****

"Do you think the armed robbery was just a fake designed to kill my Mum?" Daisy asked into the silence of the aeroplane. She hadn't let go of Mitch's hand, which she had clutched on take-off and continued to hold now like a lifesaver.

"What made you think of that?" he asked with a frown, liking the feel of her small hand in his and in no hurry to pull away from her.

"Oh, you know, flying in a metal cylinder that has no business being able to lift its big heavy body off the ground," she looked up at him with worried eyes and squeezed his hand tighter. "I was thinking about Mum, and if she had flown, you know? She would have liked this. She was always looking for new adventures for us. We just hadn't gotten around to flying but maybe, with her family being rich and judgemental, she flew when she was younger, and I wondered if she was afraid of dying and ..." her voice petered off as she looked away from him to the clouds outside her window. "She was terrified he would come for her, and what would happen to us if he did, so I thought maybe..." her voice was barely above a whisper now.

"It's possible," Mitch agreed. "The only thing I can tell you is that you will be safe with us now that we know who you are. Your grandfather is not stupid enough to come for you while the Steel Heart Brotherhood protects you and you live in our house."

"I don't think he ever knew I was alive, to be honest. So I wasn't concerned that he would come for me after Mum died. Not until Hugo told me that men had been asking about Bree Steele at the club," she admitted.

"We can look into the night your mother died for you if you like," Mitch offered, gently stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

"Don't make promises you might not be able to keep," she admonished.

"Why wouldn't I do that for you if it eased your mind?" Mitch asked, confused as to why she would say that.

"What if Saxon doesn't want me either? You are delivering me to a man who never knew he had a niece and, for all I know, never wanted one," she said, letting all her fears surface. "I have the money from selling my car to your friend so I will be fine, but I won't be hanging around where I'm not wanted if that is the case."

"He sent me to find you. Does that sound like a man who doesn't want to help you?" Mitch said, concerned that she might be as good as her word and if Saxon gave her his usual cold shoulder as he did with most strangers.

"How do you even know I was the right girl?" she asked. "My mother could have lied, looking for someone to keep me safe from her crazy father."

"DNA doesn't lie," Mitch said and saw the confusion on her face. "it's not hard to get a sample of hair from a waitress," he admitted and watched emotions wash over her face until it settled on indignation.

"You did that without my permission?" she asked.

"Would you have said yes?" he countered. "Our world is not any safer than the world you lived in. We have our own enemies, including your grandfather. So why give him more ammunition to come at us if we weren't sure."

"I thought you said I would be safe with you," she accused, letting go of his hand and scowling at him.

"You will be. Your grandfather is no real threat to us. However, we choose not to give him more reason to come at us unless we are sure. Had your mother been lying, we wouldn't have taken the risk. But you are Saxon's niece, and we will ensure that you have a future of your choosing, not his," Mitch said. "We aren't angels, Bree. We all have our own demons and dark pasts, but we are doing what we can to help each other and those we care about overcome those pasts. Whatever happens between you and Saxon, I need you to believe you are safe with me and that I care what happens to you from this point on. Your father was one of my best friends growing up. I couldn't save him, but I can help you if you let me."

"Call me Daisy. I don't even know who Bree is anymore," she deflated, and they sat silently for a little longer. Finally, Daisy grasped Mitch's hand again as they went through turbulence and looked up at him, grumbling, "You still should have told me you were doing the test."

"Yes, I should have," Mitch responded, a half-smile settling on his lips at the feel of her hand in his again. He didn't let it go until they landed half an hour later, and hefting both of their bags, he let her walk before him down to the tarmac where a car was waiting.

*****

PART 2

Saxon stood beside Grace, his face blank as he watched Mitch walk behind the young woman who was his niece. Grace had lectured him about first impressions, so he stepped forward to greet the young woman.

"You must be Bree. I'm Saxon. Please don't call me Uncle. It makes me feel old," he grimaced and turned to Grace. "This is Grace. She will look after you while you are staying with us," he introduced.

"He means to say I am his girlfriend, and I am so happy to have another girl in this testosterone-fuelled place," Grace laughed. "Let's go home and get you settled in," she smiled. "You can take the front seat, Mitch, there's more legroom, and I don't mind the back."

"Okay," Daisy said uncertainly and looked at Mitch with worried eyes moving closer and slipping her hand into his.

"Or take the back, and I will move my chair forward," Grace laughed and looked meaningfully at their joined hands when Saxon raised an eyebrow.

Daisy sat stiffly staring at Saxon as he drove them back to what they called the Doss House, where they lived. She wondered if he looked like her father. After all, they were brothers, and she hadn't thought to ask Mitch if he had a photo or something like that. Of course, she looked a lot like her mother, but maybe there was something about her father and his brother's appearance that she could associate with her looks.

"Does Saxon look like his brother?" she whispered to Mitch.

"A little. You could tell they were brothers when they were younger but not so much anymore. Your father died when he was still a teenager, I'm afraid. We have some photos at home you can see later," he reassured her.

"Yes, please," she whispered, keeping her voice low.

"You don't have to whisper," Mitch said encouragingly. "Saxon and Grace are happy you are here."

"We really are," Grace enthused from her seat beside Saxon. "Saxon is, too, but he has already used up his quota of words for the day," she laughed lightly.

"Oh, is that a thing?" Daisy asked quietly.

"Only for Saxon. We can't get Grace to shut up most days," Mitch chuckled. "No, that's a lie," he held up his hand as Grace drew a breath to refute the statement. "If you give Grace a microphone, she will sing like an angel for a few hours instead. But I guess that is just talking with music, so my original statement stands."

"Oh," Daisy frowned, looking between Mitch and Grace, who were laughing now, making her feel a twinge of jealousy that they obviously had a close relationship. "Like Karaoke?"

"Pretty much, except the band is live instead of singing to a backing track. Do you like to sing? Maybe we could do a duet sometime?" Grace offered. "The guys would love another singer who will sing stuff they like," she sighed. "I'm not rock chick enough for them, I don't think, but they are good about what I like to sing."

"You have your own band?" Daisy blinked at her, imagining she would be pretty good if she had her own band.

"She sings in the club in the Doss House. As well as being our home, it has two bars, a nightclub and a restaurant. So if you want to work as a waitress there, you could, but you don't have to work while you stay with us," Mitch said carefully.

"And dance?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, it's not that sort of club unless you meant on a dancefloor while Gracie sings," Mitch smiled gently.

"It's a great place to work, but my friends and I will start our café near the Doss house soon, and you could work with us if you like," Grace offered.

"Renovations take time," Saxon grumbled. He may have bought the café where Grace and her friends had once worked for them, but he was not ready for Grace to be that far from his or Beau's side yet.

"Well, we all work at the Doss House right now, but you could come with us when we open," Grace amended her offer to accommodate Saxon's protectiveness.

"Sure, I can't live on air, and I don't want to rely on strangers' kindness," she said pointedly and regretted it as Mitch frowned at her. She was still holding his hand, but she had only spoken to the man for the first time today, and the two people in the front seats were complete strangers to her despite Grace talking to her like an old friend. So she needed to reinforce her personal shields. She didn't know that she could trust these people. But, on the other hand, she had needed a way out of the last town, and she felt only a tiny twinge of guilt about using Mitch to make that happen. She believed he meant her no harm, but whether she would stay to get to know Saxon was another matter entirely.

"Well, we won't be strangers once you get to know us. We will be family," Grace said with a soft smile. "I get that these guys are intimidating and pushy, but they have big hearts if you just give them a chance."

Daisy said nothing. While Grace seemed close to her age, Mitch and Saxon seemed so much older, old enough to be her father, and she laughed. A very young father, though she hadn't realised that before meeting Mitch. Her mother had told her a little about her father, but she hoped these people could fill in the gaps. They could also tell her about her mother's family and why she ran from them. She would stay a little while with Mitch for that alone.

She listened to the general banter as Grace caught Mitch up on what his friends had been up to since he'd been gone. She hadn't realised how long Mitch had spent looking for her and watching over her. Even though she knew she should be upset that he had stalked her, it was comforting that someone had been watching over her to ensure she was safe since her mother's death.