All Chapters of Steel and Sin: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The call came just before sunrise.Ashley froze. She knew that ringtone—the phone she’d kept for years, the one tied to people she hoped she’d never hear from again.When she picked up, all she heard was broken breathing and a woman crying on the other end.Her chest went cold.“Ash?” Nolan called from the hallway, already awake. “What is wrong?”She lowered the phone slowly. “Delgado,” she said.Ace stopped on the stairs, cigarette frozen halfway to his lips. “What did he do?”“He found them,” Ashley said.By sunrise, the Vipers were on the road. No one spoke. They all knew what the call meant.The alliance Ashley had worked for… the talks, the truce, the midnight meeting, was supposed to buy them time. Instead, Delgado struck first. He always did.Ashley hadn’t been back to Elarwyn in years. It was a forgotten town at the edge of the highway… one diner, one gas station, one main street that hadn’t changed since she was a kid.It was where she learned to ride.Where she opened her f

They hadn’t even been back two hours from Elarwyn and the bombing scene, but it already felt like days.Ace sat hunched over Nolan’s desk, a lamp lit up stacks of paper, three laptops, and a half-empty glass of whiskey. His fingers tapped restlessly against the keys.Outside, the others tried to sleep. Ashley’s laugh could be heard from the garage, where she and Cole were patching up bikes. Ace didn’t look up. His mind was hooked on something else entirely.The numbers didn’t add up.The Vipers legitimate businesses—garages, and parts suppliers had clean ledgers, but their wire transfers told another story. He’d tracked one route from an old Vipers account to a dead-end bank in Nevada… then to an offshore account tied to Rocco.That bastard.The one who got lucky before anyone could put a bullet in him.Ace’s smirk vanished. “Son of a bitch.”He expanded the chain. The money kept moving as smaller deposits, straight into a holding company registered under Marco Delgado Logistics.“Fo

No one spoke for hours after the raid. They’d patched Jax’s arm, scrubbed blood off the van, and dumped their weapons into the oil pit for cleaning. It was almost morning, yet it still felt like the night hadn't ended.Nolan stood by the window, shirtless and bruised. He didn’t say a word. Smoke from his cigarette drifted toward the broken ceiling fan. He’d carried heavy burdens before, but this one felt worse. He’d survived traps before.But getting played by a dead man? That was different.He stared at the clock on the wall that had stopped at 3:11 a.m. for a long time before looking away.Across the room, Ace leaned over the table, replaying the warehouse footage on his laptop. The coordinates Barker left had been too perfect—a setup meant to draw them in.Ace’s eyes were red-rimmed, his hands shaking slightly each time he paused the footage. He’d watched the same angles over and over, searching for a clue that wasn’t there. He’d trusted Barker’s files, and that trust had almost ki

Bullets shattered what was left of the clubhouse windows. The floor shook under their boots as another blast hit somewhere close. Ace’s laptop was still open, screens flashing red warnings.“Kill the feed!” Nolan shouted.“I am trying!” Ace’s fingers flew over the keyboard, rerouting systems and wiping drives.Cole and Jax fired through the shattered windows, covering the main entrance.Ashley crouched beside Nolan, heart pounding. Smoke and gunpowder filled the air. “They are closing in on us!”“Then we move now,” Nolan growled. “Cole, engine ready?”“Almost!”The ceiling creaked and split apart. A chunk of it collapsed from the blast.Ashley grabbed the hard drive from the table—the last proof of everything Barker left behind. “We can’t leave this.”“Wasn’t planning to,” Ace said, yanking out a small flash drive. “Ramirez gets this. He will know what to do.”Another shot hit the wall, spraying debris.Nolan pointed to the side door. “Go!”They ran through the back hall, ducking as b

The storm didn’t stop. Rain slammed against the windows for hours. The safehouse shook with every gust of wind, lights shining across tired faces that hadn’t seen rest since they came back. Ace’s laptop glowed on the table. One message was still on the screen; It is not over. Check your circle. – R. Ashley stared at it, her voice barely a whisper. “I'm sure he is dead. He can't possibly survive that explosion.” “Then someone wants us to think he is not,” Nolan said, pacing near the window. “Until we know who sent that, we assume someone close to us is dirty.” Cole slammed his hand against the counter. “We had one chance at Delgado’s network, and Rocco blew it up!” Ace didn’t look up. “He wasn’t working alone. Whoever sent that message is inside the Bureau—maybe even Ramirez’s team.” Jax checked his gun. “So what now? We just sit here?” “No,” Nolan said. “Delgado bought himself time. We are taking it back.” Ashley frowned. “How?” Before Nolan could answer, his phone buzzed.