Page 105 of Kings Against the World

“We need to calm down!”

It’s a third female voice belonging to a woman who gets up from the table where Sydney had been seated earlier. She has a short, cropped pixie cut with side bangs that swoop across herbrow and the kind of easy, jeans-and-a-t-shirt style that tells me she’s probably a lot more relaxed than her friend Sydney.

She and another woman—this one I recognize as a very pregnant Teysha—join our conversation.

“Raising our voices and getting in each other’s faces does nothing,” says the woman with the pixie cut. She grabs at Sydney’s arm. “Especially not with Teysha here. She doesn’t need the stress.”

Teysha palms her swollen belly that her flowy maternity top covers. “Let’s all just have a seat and have some drinks—non-alcoholic for me obviously,” she adds with a small smile. “We can get to know Zoe.”

Sydney rolls her eyes at the other two women. “Korine, she’s a fucking FBI agent. The club can’t trust her.”

“An FBI agent on an indefinite leave of absence here of my own volition,” I point out. “The bureau has no clue I’m here and I have no intention of letting them know anything about what’s going on. This is between all of us.”

“You say that now, but how can we be sure?” Sydney asks, stepping closer. “If I get even the slightest whiff you’re playing us, I will make sure you regret ever coming here. And I don’t need a badge or government agency to hide behind.”

I meet her glare with a smirk and arch of my brow. “Do whatever you feel you need to do, Sydney. This is your domain to protect, isn’t it? Maybe you’ll come to see that we’re on the same side.”

The tension in the air is still lingering when Teysha yelps. Her hands fly to her belly, eyes widening in alarm. Clear liquid splashes onto the floor beneath our feet. It takes everyone a second longer to process what’s just happened.

“Your water broke?” Korine gasps.

Sydney rushes toward the pregnant mom-to-be. “Alright, we need to get you to the hospital! Korine, get her bag—it’s on thetable over there. Ozzie, go get Logan. He needs to take her to the hospital.”

People around the bar take notice, the atmosphere shifting from tense to urgent, voices overlapping in a flurry of motion. Chairs scrape against the floor as club members rise to their feet. Ozzie does as Sydney asks and rushes off to the back office. Korine gathers Teysha’s things from the table where they’d been seated. Some of the other men offer to escort them to the hospital, like some kind of protective guard.

It’s like a switch has been flipped, and suddenly, the Steel Kings aren’t just a motorcycle club anymore. They’re a well-oiled machine of efficiency, instinctively falling into their roles.

Logan bursts through the office door seconds later, his gaze locking on Teysha as if the rest of the world no longer exists. “You okay, baby? What’s the matter?”

“Logan, it’s time,” Teysha murmurs. “The baby’s coming!”

“You think you can make the drive to the hospital?”

She nods and clutches at his arm. “Just don’t leave my side.”

Silver’s emerged from the back office along with Cash. He steps forward and issues some commands. “Why don’t you ladies go with them? Cash, Big Eddie, Bush, you too. Just in case you need the cover.”

“I’ll keep you updated,” Logan says.

There’s more commotion as everybody named moves toward the front door. Part of me is even tempted to go with them, despite the fact that I know almost nothing about these people. But I can tell how deeply they care for each other, and it makes me want to be a part of this tight-knit group.

A warm arm slides around my shoulders, breaking me from my thoughts. Ozzie’s noticed I’m lost in them. “You good, Special Agent?”

“Just surprised by how well everyone comes together.”

“This club’s like a family. Which makes me embarrassed I ever tried pushing it away.”

“You didn’t mean it. I’m sure they know that.”

“We do,” Silver says, overhearing our exchange. “We know you’ve been battling demons, Oz. We’ve all got them. You’re not alone… and neither are you.”

He’s speaking to me now, his dark blue gaze shifting to me.

My face warms up at the sudden inclusion, and for once, I come up short on words. Ozzie seems to sense this, squeezing me closer against his side.

“You and the others will come to see Zoe for who she is. She’s… really something.”

Silver’s phone buzzes, prompting him to pull it out of his back jean pocket and check the screen.

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