Steel Hearts: Oopsie Daisy

"Until I can organise an account for her with our bank, someone will have to take her, and Grace volunteered after she realised that Daisy only had one bag with her," Saxon shrugged.

Mitch felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted to be able to do things like that for Daisy. Logically he knew he should try and distance himself from her, but he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else looking after her the way he wanted to look after her and make sure she felt safe and wanted in their home. He knew it made no sense. He wanted to do the right thing, and equally, he wanted this girl as he had never wanted another, and the only contact they had to this point was hand-holding, and he was amazed at how much even that tiny action affected him.

Daisy felt herself being pulled away from Mitch as Grace introduced her to the rest of their inner circle with some cute little tidbits of information to make it seem like a family teasing each other. Teddy was her foster brother who gave Grace her first and only car, which she loved. Ian needed to learn to shop in the big boy's stores rather than wear skin-tight clothes. Steve was busy deciding how to rebuild the club he had shut down during the covid restrictions.

She filed that information for consideration later when she wasn't panicked about meeting these new people. She had spent her whole life running from men just like this, and it seemed that somehow Grace didn't get that. She wanted to sit beside Mitch, not with Saxon and Grace. Taking a deep breath before taking the seat offered to her, she spoke up.

"I'd rather sit beside Mitch, please," she said quietly and stepped away from Grace's position. It was unfortunate she had to step backwards and hadn't looked over her shoulder, or she would have seen the waiter manoeuvring through the tables with a tray of newly poured drinks. With a yelp, the waiter did his best to balance the tray, but it was all too late, and as if in slow motion, Daisy saw every splash of liquid she eventually wore.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry," she murmured to the waiter, who looked at her with horror. Then she turned to the table. "Go ahead and order. I'll just go and change. It was nice to meet you all," she rushed the words before spinning on her heel and making for the elevators.

"Daisy, wait! I'll come with you! Grace called after her and hurried to catch up. Mitched followed both women with long, unhurried strides.

Rolling her eyes, Daisy didn't stop moving. She didn't understand Grace, but then she had never stayed in one place long enough to make real friends; maybe this was how they acted. Perhaps she shouldn't be so closed off to the idea of Grace's version of friendship. She sighed, now feeling bad. The awkwardness was her fault, not Grace's. The woman was probably just trying to be nice to a girl way out of her depth.

"Grace, I don't want you to take what I am going to say the wrong way because you have been unbelievable good to me since I arrived, but," Daisy said when they stepped into the elevator. "But you're a lot to take, and I'm not used to people like you who want to be my friend without even knowing me. Mum and I moved around a lot, so I never had the opportunity for friends, and you're a lot overwhelming," she paused when the lift doors opened and seeing a shocked Grace staring at her and a frowning Mitch, she hurried to her room closing the door behind her.

Walking into her bathroom, she stripped off her soaked and probably ruined clothes before quickly running through the shower to feel less sticky. Then, wrapping a towel around her body, she stepped back into the bedroom to find Grace and Mitch waiting for her.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way," Grace started, but Daisy held up her hand.

"There is no need to be sorry for being so nice to me. I was trying to explain why I was being so awkward. All of you, caring and giving me stuff and a place to stay without asking for anything upfront, it's just weird, and it's making me feel like the other shoe is about to drop and someone is going to tell me what I need to do to keep it all. Mum and I have been running from shadows my whole life, and to find out that some of those shadows were people like you is life-changing, you know. I ran from Saxon and his whole family, and now I am just supposed to be best friends with his girlfriend and act like I'm not afraid of him and what he represents to me? I know Mitch, or I know him better than anyone else here. Can you just let me hang with him until I am comfortable with the rest of you?"

"I get it," Grace nodded. "I had my brother here, and I knew the guys, but Saxon was a scary bastard whenever I had met him before, so I get it. I can't imagine what it must be like to meet the guys for the first time. Although big scary tattooed bikers don't exactly scream, trust me, I wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Right?" Daisy gave a smile. "I ran from Mitch when he tried to talk to me this morning, and now, I am just supposed to accept all these other guys as a family?"

"Your mother sent Saxon a letter. She must have trusted him at least a little," Grace said carefully. "She wanted him to know you and ensure you were okay."

"The only reason I came is that someone asked about Bree Steele at the club where I worked. Mitch says it wasn't him, and I realised I had to get out of town in a hurry. So, I sold my car to his friend, who offered a ridiculous price for it and took the fastest route out of town. The jet Saxon provided. I don't want or need a family. I only ever had mum, and now she is gone. I've been on the run for the last twenty years. I don't want or need people in my life who will probably get hurt when whoever is looking for me catches up to me," she grumbled. "I don't want someone as lovely as you to get hurt because you were my friend.

"Come down and eat, at least. You have to be starving after not eating most of today, which is my fault, not yours," Mitch encouraged.

"I'm not hungry, and to be honest, I just want to be left alone to think for a while, please," she said, reverting to her quieter voice. "This is all too much. You get that, don't you?"

"Compromise," Mitch held up his hand. "I will have food sent up here for you to eat because you need to eat something before closing yourself off for the night."

"Fine, I will eat if you have something sent up. Now, will you get out so I can get dressed, please?" Daisy asked.

"Thank you," Mitch nodded and went to organise some food for her. He couldn't have stood in that room with her dressed only in a towel a minute longer, especially while acting like an ungrateful brat.

"I'm sorry you felt so overwhelmed, especially by me. I really do get it. Maybe we can do some online shopping tomorrow? Maybe talk about working downstairs to have your own money and feel more independent?" Grace offered.

"Maybe," Daisy nodded without actually agreeing. Although hurt by her reaction, she could see that Grace was still willing to compromise and try to be her friend. "Can I get dressed now?" She said with more snarkiness than she had meant to and felt guilty as Grace blanched at the dismissal.

"Oh, sorry," Grace said and backed out of the room.

Daisy flopped onto the bed and breathed. She'd screwed that up royally, and now she would have to leave sooner than expected. But, of course, Saxon wouldn't let her stay now that she had refused his hospitality downstairs and upset his girlfriend. So, still hearing voices outside, she dressed in her own clothes from her go-bag rather than the ones given to her by Grace.

"Hey," Mitch said as she emerged from the room. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and tried to talk to her about what she had just said."So today's been a lot, huh?"

"You could say that," she nodded. "Look, I didn't mean to upset Grace. She was super nice, but she's a lot. It's only ever been mum and me, and I didn't attend many schools to get the whole making friends thing happening, so I don't get why she is so... I don't know. I don't shop. People give us hand-me-downs. I own enough to pack a bag, no more, no less. So why do I need to go shopping tomorrow, online or not? Do I look that bad?" she sagged. "Forget it. I'll apologise when she comes back from dinner."

"No need, I'm still here," Grace said, stepping from the kitchen with glasses and a water jug. "I'm the one who should apologise. I guess I was just excited to have another girl staying with us. It can be a bit of testosterone overload around sometimes. I didn't realise how much had happened today before you got on the plane, and I guess after hearing that you had been on the run, I just wanted you to feel at home and safe here like you belong so that you would stay."

"That's just it. I don't belong. DNA doesn't mean squat if you don't know the people. Did you know that millions of direct descendants from Genghis Khan have all been identified by DNA as relatives? Can you imagine if people tried to make them all come together as a family?" Daisy asked. "While I appreciate that Mitch and I guess Saxon helped me out of a tight spot back in Castlie, I don't belong here. I don't know any of you people. I appreciate the bed tonight, but it's probably better if I go in the morning."

"What about work? We can give you a job that doesn't involve stripping unless that's your thing, then we can help with that too, I expect," Grace offered, clasping at straws to get this girl to stay with them where she was safe.

"Something to think about, maybe," Daisy gave grudgingly without committing.

"Okay, that's a good idea. Give it some thought tonight, and we can talk in the morning," Grace said, moving toward the door taking the small win she felt she had achieved and leaving before Daisy could take it back. "Enjoy your dinner with Mitch." The door shut, and Daisy turned to Mitch, standing near the table with a look of concern.

"Grace understands what it's like to have people stalk her and making her leave her home for the relative safety of this place," Mitch said as Daisy moved closer to him, looking sombre.

"You did this to her as well?" Daisy asked, only half-joking.

"It's been a rough day for you, so I will let that slide, but don't mistake my kindness for weakness. If you act like a brat, I will treat you like one," he made the threat seem mild with the lightness of his tone. "What did you leave behind that you can't do better here with us?"

"Everything I had of my mother," she sagged. "That was her car that I sold."

"Your mother reached out to Saxon for you, and I expect partially for herself," he said gently. Taking the letter he had retrieved after she had read it at The Alliance stronghold, he showed it to her again. "This is her writing and her words. She wished that Saxon and his brothers help you once she was gone. Finding out that someone else was looking for you concerns us, and it should concern you too. It would be better to stay here until we find out who and ensure they know you are under our protection now like your mother wanted."

"I'm not sure that's really what she wanted. We ran and hid my whole life. Why would she do that now that I am an adult and don't need a babysitter?" Daisy looked up at him with glassy eyes.

"We are offering you a fresh start at a new life. You don't have to struggle alone. You don't have to hide just because your mother did. Your mother reached out to Saxon. He didn't just come and pluck you out of obscurity for fun. Your mother wanted him to help you. She wanted you to have a safe place to call home once she was gone. She didn't expect to be gone so soon, but this was her last wish for you. I guarantee she didn't want you dancing in a seedy club," Mitch lectured her trying to make her see what an ungrateful brat she was but stopped short of calling her that again.

Mitch wanted nothing more than to pick her up, hold her close, and tell her life was not meant to be this hard and that she didn't have to fight them for her freedom. But instead, the elevator dinged, telling him their food had arrived.

"Here, read the letter again while I grab the food," he said gently.

"No need, I got it," Beau said, wheeling a service trolley into the room. "And I have some answers about who was probably looking for you at Candy Canes and why your mother died the way she did."

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Daisy said.

"Indeed, she was," he nodded. "Eat first. They do great burgers here or barramundi and chips?" he offered her the choice. Then pulled out a final place, "This is a roasted vegetable salad if you would rather a vegetarian option. We know as little about you as you do about us," Beau shrugged after putting the plates in the middle of the table.

"Well, if you're not going to choose, I'll take the salad," Mitch said, knowing the girl wasn't a vegetarian and liking the dish. "You can have a taste if you'd like to try it. It's very nice."

"No thanks," she wrinkled her nose and pulled the fish and chips closer to her now that the smell had made her stomach remember it was empty and grumble loudly.

"Great! Burger for me," Beau said happily.

"Sorry, I don't know your name," Daisy said, watching Beau warily.

"I don't suppose there is any reason why you should. You weren't in the right frame of mind to take in anything when we met earlier, were you?" Beau shrugged. "I'm Beau, and I'm Saxons second. I also love the woman who was just trying to help you when you sent her away."

He said it casually, but she froze and looked at him. She wanted to flee the room, but she was also curious about what he had said about her mother and wanted to know what he had meant. She seemed to stall with her fork halfway to her mouth for several long seconds before she dropped the utensil to her plate and went to stand up.

"Look, I can't do this. It's always been just mum and me and then just me. You are too much to take in, so thank you for the ride out of Castlie, Mitch, but I can take it from here. Tell Saxon he doesn't owe me anything. We never knew about each other, and I am happy to go back to that way of thinking. I'm a big girl and can make my way," she said, coming to her feet and turning from the table.

"What about what your mother wanted?" Mitch asked, knowing that was his most potent argument to get her to stay.

"It's okay. Mum and I were used to not getting what we wanted," she gave a dry humourless chuckle. "I'll just grab my backpack and go. Then things can go back to normal here."

"No," Beau said in the same casual tone.

"No, what?" Daisy frowned, turning to look at him, but she stumbled in the movement, and Mitch's hand shot out to steady her before she fell.

"No, you're not leaving," he said. "Not until you hear what I have to say and apologise to Grace. So you may as well sit and eat because you won't be going anywhere tonight."

Daisy frowned and sat back in her chair. Beau hadn't raised his voice or sounded threatening, but she also knew that he was serious and would need to hear him out. This was what she understood. Beau was commanding and dominant. While everyone else had been tiptoeing around her and giving in to her wishes, he had come in with the expectation that she would do as he said.

"The night your mother died, she was in the service station to pay for fuel and pick up cigarettes, according to the report by the cashier who survived the shooting. She had been talking to a younger woman who was also on her way home from work as they waited in line for service," Beau said before taking a bite of his burger and looking at her for a response.

"I don't know. I never went to the police to claim her belongings or anything. I took the spare key for the car when I saw the news, went to pick it up, and then moved to the house you found me at just like Mum and I planned if anything ever happened to one of us. Of course, it was a random shooting, but that was what we planned regardless," Daisy said. "I watched the news reports and read the paper making sure no one was looking for me and that her death was just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So, you moved and approached one of your Mum's old friends about helping you find work?" Beau asked.

"Something like that. Hugo only hired me because I changed my name and no one knew of my relationship with the Steele family. But he told me last week people had started coming in and asking about Bree Steele, and he moved me downstairs where it's a private club," she sighed.

"Why would he protect you like that if he knew it might cause him trouble in the long run," Beau asked.

"I don't know. He was good to me. He gave an uneducated, unskilled girl a job when she needed it most and looked after me there. I was well protected by security there. No one ever stepped over the line with me," she defended Hugh, who had looked after her in his way.

"Okay, here's the story as I know it," Beau put his burger down after eating half of it to talk to her seriously about everything they had found out, knowing a lot of the information would be news to Mitch as well after what they had discovered today.

"Your mother was murdered. The gunman never cared about the money or cigarettes he demanded or checked what the cashier gave him. It was all on the CCTV footage. He purposely sought out not only your mother but also the young woman she had been speaking with in the queue, believing it was you and shot them both before fleeing without hurting another person. It was over within minutes, and he made his escape cleanly. No one could identify him or the dark vehicle he got away in," Beau began before eating another bite of his burger as she took in the initial stunning revelation.

"That doesn't make sense," Daisy argued. "It was random. She hadn't even planned to stop on the way home. She rarely did anything regularly or in a pattern and never let the car run so low on fuel that it was necessary."

"I will try and help you make sense of it," he indicated that she should continue eating as he started to speak again. "We have contacts inside the Vecchio cartel. One of your cousins considered himself the heir apparent and tried to hasten the leadership change by taking out your grandfather. Your grandfather, however, had already chosen his successor, so an internal battle began for the power of the family. That's where your mother comes into the picture. With her at his side, the chosen one could claim the heir title despite not being a blood relation, but no one knew where she was until someone on your grandmother's staff claimed to know of a secret phone that your grandmother used to contact her daughter occasionally. You see where this is going?"

"Why shoot her if they needed her?" Daisy frowned.

"That was the cousin's men, we believe, rather than your grandparent's men who needed you and your mother alive. We also believe that your existence is only a rumour to everyone except your grandmother at this point. The young woman with your mother at the service station did not look like you or your mother. Our contacts say that your grandmother is not giving up details about you and is in deep mourning over her daughter's death, who she had helped over the years to stay hidden," Beau explained. "If people were looking for you, we believe they would be guessing at your name based on rumours from years ago. Unless you can think of anyone aside from Saxon, your mother may have sent a letter about her illness asking for help for you."

"So, my grandparents want to use me and marry me off to some criminal who will inherit the cartel, and my cousin wants to kill me for the same reason?" she asked. Beau nodded his head. He believed she needed to know the truth before deciding to stay with them or leave. "So, what's your angle or Saxon's angle? Why would he help me? Does he want part of the cartel too?"