All Chapters of Steel and Sin: Chapter 181 - Chapter 189

The clubhouse had finally quieted.Not completely—Ace’s breaths were still loud, Cole shifted restlessly, and Nolan’s eyes missed nothing, like the night wasn’t over until he decided it was.Compared to the chaos they’d survived, though, the room felt… settled.Ashley sensed it in all of them—the tension easing, the uncertainty lingering, the echo of what had passed.Three men leaned into her in their own ways. One acted like he didn’t need the space beside her.And Jax…He sat on the floor at her feet, like he belonged there but wasn’t sure what to do with it.He wasn’t relaxed.He wasn’t calm.He didn’t even try to be.His back was stiff.His hands clasped like he didn’t trust himself.Ashley slid her fingers lightly through his hair.He jolted.“Jax,” she murmured.He lifted his head slowly. “Yeah?”Ace snorted. “Look at him. Acting like he didn’t just—”Nolan’s voice cut him off. “Ace.”Ace shut up instantly.Ashley tilted Jax’s chin just slightly, just so he couldn’t look away.“

Ace had been pacing for ten minutes.Not the casual swagger he used when he was showing off.Not the restless fidgeting he did when he had too much energy.This was different.From the hallway, Ashley watched him move.Cole sat on the far end of the couch, pretending to look at his phone.Jax leaned back on the armrest, quiet but tracking everything. Nolan was still in her room, calmer now… but not ready to rejoin the world.Ace looked like a grenade waiting for the pin to slip.Ashley stepped into the room.“Hey.”Ace stopped mid-stride and snapped his head toward her.“Finally,” he exhaled, hands sliding into his hair. “You were in there for a while.”Jax raised a brow. “Are you counting her minutes now?”Ace shot him a glare hot enough to fry cement. “I am not— It is not— Just shut up.”Cole snorted. “Wow. Articulate.”But Ashley wasn’t focused on their usual bickering.She was focused on Ace.Ace tugged at his shirt collar, pacing again. “Can we talk? Alone?”Jax straightened. Co

The door shut softly behind Cole and Ashley as they stepped back into the main room.For the first time all day… the place didn’t feel like it was holding its breath.Ace was leaning against the far counter, arms folded, looking like he was trying not to look nervous.Jax sat on the armrest again, but his posture wasn’t tight this time.Nolan, who had been silent for long minutes, finally lifted his head.His eyes went straight to Ashley and his expression softened — the tension, the weight, the guilt he’d been wrestling.Cole’s hand rested lightly on Ashley’s lower back.Ashley stepped further inside, and… every one of them subtly moved toward each other.As if instinct said; this is the moment.This is where we all sit.Together.Cole guided her gently to the center of the room, toward the big couch. He slid into one end and tugged her hand so she’d sit beside him.Nolan took the seat directly across from her, instead of retreating into a corner like he usually did.Jax moved closer

The ride back home was silent. The warehouse district shrank behind them, swallowed by distance and darkness, and Ashley kept her eyes on the road ahead. The hum of engines felt steadier now. She wasn’t running. Not anymore.She was choosing.By the time they pulled into the lot outside the building, she felt it settling in her bones.Nolan killed the engine first.Cole killed the headlights.Ace kicked down his bike stand.Jax opened his door slowly. Ashley stepped out of the truck and turned toward them.They expected her to go inside.To sleep.To breathe.To recover.But she didn’t move.She stood in the cold purposely. “Ash?” Ace asked softly, voice losing all the jokes at once.She shook her head. “Don’t go inside yet. Not yet.”The tension shifted instantly.Nolan straightened first—like he already knew.Cole stepped closer.Jax moved to her right, cautious, loyal.Ace hovered just behind her shoulder, restless but soft.Their formation around her wasn’t planned.It just… hap

The world didn’t crumble after that night.It didn’t explode.It didn’t collapse.It didn’t twist into something unrecognizable.It softened.Three weeks later, the building no longer felt like a bunker.It felt lived in, balanced in a way Ashley still wasn’t used to but loved anyway.Ashley stretched across the mattress—their mattress now—and blinked at sunlight sliding through the curtains. Cole’s side was empty, sheets still warm. Jax had left too; his pillow was cold and rumpled.Only one person remained.Nolan.Sitting in the corner chair, boots on, shirt half-buttoned, flipping through a stack of reports.“Morning,” Ashley murmured, still half-asleep.His eyes met hers. “You should sleep more,” he said.“And you should actually sleep,” she teased.No smile, but the warmth in his gaze said enough.Ashley sat up, hair messy, heart steady. “Where is the chaos?”“Ace is causing it,” Nolan replied dryly.Of course he was.Ashley walked barefoot into the living area. Ace stood on a ch