Griffin’s Touch (Steel Sinners MC #5)

Chapter 1

Iwalked into the sixth floor of the casino, and my brows rose.

Damn. The cleaning staff we employed was on it.

Some of the best we’d ever hired by the looks of it.

No one would have guessed that the common area of the seven floors that made the clubhouse had a party that got out of control last night.

No longer did the space have beer bottles and food containers strewn all over the place.

Not even a single glass sat anywhere. It was clean and smelled of warm cinnamon and apples.

Probably from the wax warmers the staff usually turned on when they attacked the space to return it to a habitable space.

I gave chin nods a couple of the guys, some newly patched in and some prospects.

When my eyes caught my best friend, Stone, I relaxed.

He had gone on a bender, and the last time I’d seen him, he was having a damn good time.

But it looked like that good time had come at a price.

Sitting on one of the recliners he preferred, he looked like death had warmed over and was about to take him.

My eyes rose to my hairline, and I had to press my lips together to stop from laughing at his dumb ass.

We were both too damn old for nights like that.

If I remembered right, he’d had a blonde on one knee and a redhead on the other last night as they gave him a show while they made out with each other right there on his lap while he’d chugged down a bottle of whiskey. Whiskey I’d tried to warn him about hitting too hard.

But Stone never fucking listened.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked as I approached. His usually bright blue eyes seemed a little dim as he stared back at me, dark circles under his eyes.

“I think I caught something,” his deep voice rumbled before he groaned. Jesus, the Viking-looking motherfucker looked like absolute shit.

“Like what?” I stopped, not wanting to get closer to him if it was contagious.

“I don’t know.” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Some of the dancers last night had a cough.” He shrugged.

“And you still hooked up with them?” I guessed with a chuckle. Not that Stone was fazed by it. The guy liked to get his, and the ladies loved the giant, bearded guy. Who wouldn’t? Stone was easy going and charming. Until he wasn’t.

He shrugged, neither denying nor confirming, but that wasn’t new, either.

As much as he liked to get his, he was not the type to kiss and brag.

Instead, I watched as the poor sap wiped his clammy-looking forehead.

If I was right, his skin had turned to a green shade I didn’t want anything to do with.

I wasn’t a germaphobe, but I wasn’t aching to contract whatever bug his giant body was fighting.

“You think you could check if I have a temp?” he groaned, his voice raspier than usual.

“What? How?”

“Take my temp, dude. Do I feel hot?”

“Motherfucker, I’m not going to touch you.” I put my hands up in innocence.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to get whatever you have, that’s why! Ask one of the prospects.” Soft groans rose behind me, and I smirked. The prospects were such little bitches. There was something about this batch that didn’t have me at all excited about getting them patched in.

“Cruz-a-mondo,” I called behind me. The skinny young kid stood and walked over without hesitating.

“What can I do for you, Griffin?” he asked.

I heard chuckles behind me. It was the two fuckers laughing at Cruz who irked me the most of the group of guys who were trying to become the newest members of the Steel Sinners.

Something about those two rubbed me the wrong.

way I’d talked to Stone about it, and we had decided to keep an eye on ‘em.

“Here.” I took out my wallet and handed him a two hundred-dollar bills. “Go out to the pharmacy. Get some essentials for Stone, yeah? Nyquil, Dayquil, cough drops, and canned chicken noodle soup. Saltines. Gatorade. All the shit needed to get this fucker feeling better.”

“Got it. I’ll be right back, Stone. I’ll be fast,” the young kid said.

“Don’t kill yourself,” Stone muttered, and Cruz nodded before he hurried out. I sighed and extended my hand so my palm could rest on Stone’s forehead.

“Jesus, man, I could fry an egg on you,” I noted. The guy was burning up. As much as I hated it, worry started to grow in the pit of my gut. I wasn’t a sentimental fucker, but Stone was my best friend. A brother from another mother.

“You better not fucking try,” he muttered, making my lips twitch.

“Jenkins and Turd Head,” I called out and heard long-winded sighs behind me. “Come over here,” I ordered before turning my attention back on my buddy. “What would make you feel better, Stone? Vicks on your feet?” I suggested, and Stone’s eye’s lit up.

“Wouldn’t hurt.” His lips quirked up. “Maybe an omelet, too… with toast.”

“You heard him, fuckers. Get to work,” I said with a don’t-give-me-shit tone.

“Who has to touch his feet?” Turd Head asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Since you asked, you do,” I replied without leaving space for the dumbass to argue. As prospects, if we told them to jump, their one and only job was to ask how high.

“Fuck my life,” he breathed under his breath. My jaw clenched.

“Excuse me? I asked silently but deadly.

“He didn’t say anything, right, Turner?” Jenkins stepped between me and the Turd Head, like I enjoyed calling him. The ass simply grunted.

“Right,” he said tightly, his lips pressed in a thin line.

With the way he was looking at me, I knew he didn’t like me, and I didn’t give two shits. I’d been a patched member for over a decade. The kid was so young he barely knew his ass from a hole on the ground.

“Go get the Vicks, then.” I waved him off and glanced at Jenkins. “Get cooking.”

They scurried away like rats sensing a rainstorm. “Jesus, I forget what a prick you can be,” Stone teased before he coughed. I didn’t blink.

“They deserve it,” I muttered with a shrug. “Something about them…” I grimaced, and Stone grunted his agreement. “Anyhow, you need anything else?”

He started to shake his head and then groaned. When he lifted his palm to his forehead, I could see how much just moving his arm hurt him.

“Shit, I forgot,” he muttered and was about to try to stand when I pressed a hand to his shoulder to keep him where he was.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I have to go down to housekeeping today.”

“Housekeeping.” I made a face. “Put it off,” I suggested, but he shook his head.

“Can’t. Pope wants me to talk to them.”

“About?”

“About being a little more… discreet.”

“What?” My brows bunched. Just looking around this place, knowing what had gone on yesterday, told me the women who worked for us were fucking wizards of their damn craft.

Like witches with magical powers, they had cleaned this place up before I’d even been up and hadn’t left a speck of dust in their wake.

“Some prick complained down on the fourth floor,” Stone shared.

“Fuck.” The third and fourth floor held the ten hotel rooms where exclusive members stayed. “About?”

“About how he bumped into one in the hallway.” His eyes grew heavy and he started to slur a bit. Shit. He wasn’t doing that great.

“He bumped into one of our housekeepers, and that was a problem?” I asked, trying to understand the situation.

“He didn’t use that word but—“

“What he say?”

“That maids shouldn’t be seen or heard or some shit.” He coughed and groaned, shutting his eyes.

“Maids,” I mumbled. “Who bitched?” My jaw clenched. An array of people partied at our members-only club, Elysium. And fewer were given the opportunity to stay in the hotel. Usually, they only stayed for a night, but with our Prez’s approval, they could stay longer.

“Who knows? You know the people who stay at the hotel are entitled as fuck. Stupid billionaires and celebrities who think their shit don’t stink. Pope looked torn when he talked to me. Like he didn’t want to make me talk to them but…”

“Hmm,” I muttered.

Usually, everyone I’d met at Elysium was cool as hell.

Down to earth, just trying to avoid being caught in the public eye and have their picture snapped.

But all sorts of shit went down at Elysium.

It wasn’t just dancing, drinking, and gambling.

Deals were brokered more often in our exclusive five-star restaurant and at poker tables than in boardrooms.

“I’ll go for you and talk to them.”

“Really?” The appreciation was clear in Stone’s blue eyes. It was obvious to anyone who had eyes that the fucker was not feeling good. He might topple over halfway there. Or worse, get everyone we had on payroll sick, and then who would clean?

“Yeah, why not?” I shrugged. “How hard can it be to talk about being discreet? It’s not like I had any plans anyhow. Just tell me what you want me to say.”

Hours later, I’d simultaneously regret and appreciate offering to help him out.