Temptation and Tyranny (Steele Enterprises #2)

Chapter One

Cooper

If Steele found out what I had done, he’d kick my ass from Paris to London. But that didn’t stop me as I counted the crates, carefully inspecting the cargo. When I’d been approached by a group in Sudan who were in the market for weapons, I’d originally turned them down. But they offered more and more money, and I finally gave into the temptation. I knew it was a risky proposition, but honestly, I didn’t give a damn.

The business was now mine, but I knew Steele was anxious about me getting into trouble. It was annoying how he looked out for me like an older brother, especially since I had a twin to do that for me. And if he wanted a say in what I did, he shouldn’t have walked away.

“It’s all here,” Colton confirmed. I glanced at my brother, nodding my head. Once Steele had decided to leave the fun side of the business to spend his days and nights as a doting fiancée, I had reached out to my twin brother to see if he’d be interested in partnering with me. Colton was currently studying to be a lawyer, but I convinced him to work with me on the side. My brother was a proud man, and he refused to take money from me for his tuition and his half of the debt he owed for my father’s medical expenses, so the money was appealing. I knew he was struggling financially. I’d paid off my share of my father’s bills a long time ago, but Colton was so damn stubborn.

Just like me.

“I’m gonna head out of here,” Colton hollered over the crates, wiping the sweat off his forehead. It was unusually warm for early spring, and I’d soaked my shirt through even though the men had been doing most of the heavy lifting. “Are you going home soon?”

I picked up the clipboard I’d been marking the inventory down on. “Probably. Unless you want to grab a drink?”

My preferred wingman, Steele, was no doubt at his estate, making goo-goo eyes with his girl. They’d invited me to dinner a few weeks ago, and I swore to fuck that they didn’t even look at me the entire meal. Eyes trained on each other, every single bite they took seemed like some secret code.

Disgusting. I’d rather have a hooker and a cigar and then pass out drunk in front of the TV at my place.

“I can’t. I’m going to go sit in on some court cases tomorrow morning, and I have a ton of studying to do, too.”

“Boring shit. I don’t know why you waste your time with that. The real action is right here, in this building.” I stretched my arms wide, circling a bit on the spot to emphasize my point. Priceless artifacts, exotic animals, controlled substances, and illegal drugs, all under one roof. There wasn’t anything I wasn’t willing to distribute for money, except for one commodity: women. Steele and I both agreed that we wouldn’t get involved with any type of trafficking. That shit was beneath us.

Just like the woman I hoped to find tonight. However, as the thought of a willing woman crossed my mind, I stumbled a bit, leaning on my cane for balance.

Fucking injury. Despite physical therapy, I still relied on the damn cane to walk. It was seriously impeding my ability to impress women, and I’d taken to avoiding hitting on them at bars and clubs. It was easier just to pay a whore than to wobble around like an idiot, buying girls drinks just to have them make up excuses when I’d get up to walk them to my car and they saw the ugly cane that haunted my existence.

Colton looked at me with sympathy, and his pity was enough to make me want to beat the shit out of him. “I’m fine,” I snarled.

He ignored my instant mood change and shrugged, stopping in front of the office while I unlocked the door. He stepped inside and grabbed his share of the paperwork, then stuffed it into his tattered briefcase.

I watched as Colton marched out of the warehouse, his briefcase tucked under his arm. The handle had broken after he first started law school, but he refused to replace it. It was sentimental, he had told me. I knew the truth, though. He was drowning in debt and couldn’t even afford a new briefcase.

Colton ignored my scrutiny and crawled into the front seat of his truck, started the engine, then drove away.

I turned towards my car but groaned as soon as I recognized the dark figure leaning against it. Wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a scowl, he glared at me as I approached.

Fuck.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Steele was livid, his eyes flashing in anger as he clenched and unclenched his fists. I tried to move around him, but he got right up in my face. “Weapons? Do you know how dangerous that is?”

I wanted to shove him away from me, but I knew I’d just lose my balance again, and that soured me quickly.

“You walked away, Steele. Remember? You wanted nothing more than to import boring shit and push paperwork around while thinking with your dick twenty-four hours a day. I like Ashlynn, but damn. She’s softened you. You don’t get a say in what I do. Unlike you, there’s no way I’d ever let a woman run my life.”

Steele looked so angry I thought he might punch me. Fury carved deep lines around his mouth. “You put Ashlynn in jeopardy when you do shit like this. And that’s worse than anything you could ever do to me. Are you becoming an arms dealer? That’s ten times more dangerous than anything I ever did. You risk everything.”

At this, I raised my voice, matching his anger. “I don’t have anything to risk. Go home to your fiancée and let me handle my affairs how I want!” I sneered a bit at the word fiancée. It was such pussy shit.

I moved around him, leaning on my cane as I opened the car door.

As he watched me struggle to get into my car, his rigid posture eased, and he grabbed the door just as I tried to slam it shut.

“Cooper, I don’t want to see you hurt. Men like these, they’ll want more and more. And then their enemies will want more, and pretty soon you’ll be in the middle of some heavy shit. Just stick to the business we had before. I know you can’t pull off art heists anymore without my help, but Cubans and drugs are lucrative enough. You don’t need the money. You’ve made enough to live a hundred lifetimes.”

I shrugged, trying to suppress my hostile tone. “What’s there in life besides money and power?”

“A great deal more,” Steele pleaded, ignoring my grab for the door as I attempted to wretch it away from him. “Let’s grab a drink. Please.”

I was tempted to refuse, insult him and tell him to go home to his woman and be her lapdog, but I missed him. I missed the way we’d work together on a big heist, missed the way we’d scope out women like notches in our belts. Missed our hours of drinking together in silence.

“Fine.”

I finally got the car door shut, and Steele slid into the passenger seat. I grabbed an extra shirt from the back seat and pulled my sweaty one over my head.

“No longer wearing a suit?” Steele cocked his head as I tugged on the fresh shirt.

“That was your thing, Steele. The dress code was the first change I made.” I revved the engine and then headed towards a bar three blocks away.

Steele always liked to drink at bars he owned. Which was fine with me. It meant I never paid, and if things got out of hand we were never kicked out. It was also useful when he had gotten so slobbering drunk over Ashlynn that he couldn’t even stand up. The manager knew who to call.

Me. I’d been taking care of him for almost ten years. And he’d been watching my back.

We sat in a booth near the window, and my eyes absentmindedly watched a group of college students playing pool in the corner.

I lowered my eyes guiltily as Steele drank his beer, ignoring all the women who were staring at him. They checked me out too, but I was in no mood to stumble around the bar to try and pick someone up.

I was just as handsome as Steele, but he had a mysterious aloofness that seemed to draw women to him. But he’d dismiss them quickly, even before Ashlynn came along. It was like he was waiting for her, and he didn’t even know it.

Which was way too much of a romantic thought for me to be having right now. I tossed back my drink, not making eye contact with Steele.

“I’m surprised you haven’t forced Ashlynn down the aisle yet,” I teased, breaking our usual pattern of silence.

A fleeting look of softness came over his stern face. Ashlynn was definitely his weakness. His lip curled into a smirk. “She wants to get married in her mother’s gown. I’m tracking it down for her.”

“Her father isn’t going to be a problem, is he? Because we could still kill him, you know—”

His eyes flashed a quick warning, and I cut my sentence short.

“Fine. But I can barely walk because of the fucker—”

“Haven’t you been going to physical therapy?”

I scoffed. “It’s a waste of time. I’ve had several different therapists so far and each one is worse than the one before. They all quit. No wonder I’m not making progress.”

“Did you ever think that maybe you’re the reason they all ran off?”

“I’m nothing but charming.” I shrugged my shoulders, looking around nonchalantly. I could be an ass, but I was almost entirely sure that I wasn’t the problem. The industry probably just had high turnover.

“Right…” Steele replied, glancing at his watch.

“Gotta get back to the missus?” I taunted.

He sighed deeply, and I sensed something was off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied, and then gave a sheepish grin that was unlike him, as he swished his drink in the bottle. “I just have something to tell you.”

“What’s that?” I couldn’t imagine what would make Steele happy and uncomfortable at the same time.

“Ashlynn’s pregnant.”

Well, there was my answer. My jaw dropped slightly, but I closed it quickly. Now everything made sense. His mood, the way he freaked out on me about my business dealings. He was going to be a father.

“Shit, man. Congratulations.”

He smiled, a true smile that reached his eyes, even though he downplayed it. “Thanks.”

“How’s she taking it?”

“She’s shocked, but I think she’s excited.

“How about you?”

“I’m…I’m a bit of everything, honestly. Excited, nervous…scared as hell. Worried about Ashlynn’s health already. I can’t lose her.”

“It’s not the middle-ages, Steele. We have modern medicine.” I smirked, finding his anxiousness almost laughable.

“Just wait until you fall in love, Cooper. You’ll feel the same way.”

“Never gonna happen, man.”

Steele just gave me a condescending look, which pissed me off again. But I didn’t want to ruin his excitement, and he was in a bit of a better mood now that he’d shared his news. I wouldn’t want to be tied down with a wife and a screaming infant, but I guess that was Steele’s deal now. Ashlynn had changed him completely, and it was hard to reconcile this new version of him with the ruthless man I had known before.

“So…” he started, and I knew we were instantly back to our earlier conversation. “I need you to stop this arms shipment.”

“Steele, I can’t. Money has been exchanged, hands shook. It’s a done deal.”

“I hope to god you know what you’re doing.” He raised his eyebrow in a quiet challenge.

I was sure I did.