Page 77 of Steel

Once more, she starts messing with her hair, pretending not to notice me leaning against the wall beside her.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

She glares at me. “Looking for Havoc.”

His name coming from her mouth nearly makes my jaw crack with how hard I’m clenching it. “Why are you looking for Havoc?”

Tempe narrows her eyes even more, crossing her arms over her chest. “Because the washer at the house broke two days ago, and Havoc brought the laundry to the clubhouse. I need to get my uniform for work.”

“Why the fuck would you go to Havoc with that and not me?”

“Really, Steel?” She tips her chin up, and I get the full force of her irritation. “When was I supposed to ask for your help with this? Or better yet,how? You still have my phone, and you haven’t been around for days.”

“I’ve been busy.”

She glances at Wren, who’s still sitting at the bar. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“It’s not—”

“I don’t care. We agreed to one night, remember?” Her eyes narrow. “I didn’t walk into this expecting you to change your ways. So don’t worry, I didn’t catch feelings. That night was the same thing for me as it was for you, and we’re not talking about it again. Just let me deal with my business, and you can go deal with yours.”

She takes a second glance at Wren before turning to walk farther into the clubhouse in search of Havoc.

I could stop her—I want to.But I also know there’s no point when I can’t live up to what she’s looking for.

I warned her, I’m not a good man.

If only I didn’t hate that about myself right now.

21

Tempe

Work finally feels likea routine again.

Serving drinks.

Fending off handsy frat boys.

Spending the night cleaning up sticky floors and beer-drenched bar tops.

Sonny and Reyes chauffeur me back and forth from every shift, and thankfully, it’s been quiet. I don’t know how much longer Jameson will consider Austin and me at risk, but if it stays like this, he might send us away soon.

It’s clear that’s what he wants.

The second we slept together, he slipped back into his routine of living at the clubhouse. He ignores me, and even if I know Austin has seen him in passing while I’m at work, he avoids the house when I’m there.

It’s only a matter of time before we’re no longer worth the trouble to him, and maybe that’s a good thing. Atsome point, I need to build a new life for myself and my brother.

I need to show him what he can expect from here on out.

Still, I can’t help the irritation that gnaws at my nerves every time I think about the fact that all it took was one night with Jameson for him to turn into a complete asshole.

I shouldn’t be surprised, knowing what I was walking into with a biker—the president, nonetheless. My mom usually dated guys lower on the totem pole, and they were terrible enough without having the ego and the admiration of an entire club fueling their actions.

At the end of the day, Jameson is a man looking out for his best interests. This is the perfect example of why I don’t trust men.

Good job, Tempe.

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