Page 60 of Steel

But then Tempe will pour me coffee in the morning. And even if she doesn’t talk to me, we silently sit across from each other and drink it.

Or Austin will wake up screaming in the middle of the night—and I’ll wait at the bottom of the stairs until I hear Tempe soothe him long enough that he’s stopped crying.

And I care just enough to have a second cup. Or to sit on the staircase for an extra hour to make sure everyone gets back to sleep.

I care just enough to find my way back to the house every single night to make sure they’re okay.

“No one’s judging,” Havoc says, looking over at me, playing peacekeeper as always.

Chaos shakes his head. “Not judging. But I swear, if Jameson Steel claims an old lady while I’m behind bars, I might just stay in here. You get too much good pussy to be locking down one chick. It’d be a fucking tragedy.”

“Just focus on getting out.” I stand up. “I mean it, Dean; the club needs you. Jokes aside, this isn’t where you belong.”

It’s rare I call the guys by their legal names, but Chaos has a way of steamrolling through serious situations, and right now, that could get him into trouble. I need him focused on getting back to his brothers.

Chaos stands up, nodding. “You got it, Prez.”

A buzzer rings, letting the visitors know it’s time to go. The guards drag Chaos away a little rougher than need be to prove a point to us. But while I’m sure it’s intended to piss me off, all it does is remind me why I’ll fight like hell to get him out.

Forces from all sides are trying to tear my family apart, but I’ll keep us together.

No matter what it costs me.

17

Tempe

Sonny is quiet drivingme home, and Reyes leads the way on his bike as we enter the Twisted Kings compound. He makes the turn into the neighborhood, and the lights of the house come into view at a distance.

The two of them have become my personal escort service now that I’m back to working the occasional shift at the bar.

Jameson fought me on it at first, but when my manager threatened to fire me if I didn’t turn in a doctor’s note, I didn’t have a choice, and he was finally understanding.

Still, he refuses to let me go to work alone. And secretly, I don’t mind. Working at a bar has never been an ideal job. It’s just something to cover the expenses of my physical therapy degree. But after everything that happened, I dread work even more.

Thankfully, it’s been quiet, and no one has shown up again to threaten me. But I need to start looking forsomething safer with more regular hours. If only receptionist jobs paid as well as serving alcohol to handsy out-of-towners.

When we pull up to the house, I’m surprised to see Jameson’s motorcycle already parked in his spot in the garage. He sleeps here every night, but it’s rare he shows up before three in the morning, so it’s odd that he’s home when it’s not even past dinnertime.

“Thanks for the ride.” I smile at Sonny before climbing out.

He nods, giving me his usual silent goodbye before pulling away.

We spend every car ride between the compound and work together, but I still don’t know much about him. The most I’ve learned is that he did a stint for robbery a few months ago, and while he was in prison, he met Chaos, who offered him an opportunity with the club when he got out.

I’m pretty sure he told me that story to scare me away from asking for more details, but half my DNA comes from a man with a much worse record than his, so it didn’t.

Shutting the car door behind me, I make my way up the front steps of the house. Things have been tense between me and Jameson since the attack on the compound, and he’s been so busy I’ve barely seen him these past few days.

It’s a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself.

I make my way into the house and find Pearl in the kitchen, humming while she cooks. She’s the exact opposite of her grandson—warm and inviting. She’s welcomedus into her space like we’ve always belonged here, and the company is nice.

Sometimes I wonder if Jameson sees how much Pearl worries about him. She mentioned in passing that he isn’t hiding his stress and that he’s been more distant since my father betrayed him. From what she said, he took that hard, and I’m starting to understand the depth of it.

Jameson gives all of himself to the club. So for his own vice president to turn against him, it must have hurt.

“Where’s Austin?” I glance at his favorite barstool.

---