Page 85 of Steel

I’m frozen for a second, not sure how to respond.

Kids don’t hug me. They barely talk to me. But as I place my hands on his back and pat it, he sinks into my hold and hugs me with his whole body. Like I’ve only seen him do with Tempe.

The protective urge that roars up in my chest has never felt as big as it does with Austin in my arms. He trusts me like I deserve it. Like he knows I’d never let anything happen to him.

I’ve thought a lot about family, deciding the club was the only one I needed. But with Austin in my arms, I can’t help wondering if Legacy is right. Because whether I wanted it or not, Tempe and Austin are becoming something more than whatever I keep saying they are to me.

They’re mine.

I’ve never felt as whole as I do with Tempe and Austin in my life, and I still can’t decide what to do with that.

“Prez.” Havoc stops beside us, and Austin pulls out of my grasp.

“What’s up?” I stand, brushing off my chest as if it can erase whatever just shifted inside me.

Havoc turns, dropping his voice so Austin can’t hear him. “It’s Tempe.”

“What about her?” My entire body is on alert the second he says her name.

Havoc glances at Austin once more, but he’s distracted. “There’s been an incident at the bar—”

I toss the tire pressure gauge in the toolbox and slam it shut before he can finish his sentence. “Austin, we gotta go.”

“She’s okay.” Havoc follows. “Jameson, slow down, she’s good. Sonny can bring her back here.”

“No. Tell him I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. She’s not his responsibility.” I open the door for Austin, slamming it shut behind him. “She’s mine.”

And it’s damn time I start acting like it.

23

Tempe

I’ve always felt uneasyaround law enforcement because of my parents. Even without a record myself, they always assume I’m up to no good. Law enforcement wrote me off the moment I was born because of my blood, so I learned young not to trust them when I needed help.

Watching them now as I stand alone in the parking lot, my unease is confirmed. Cops circle the bar, arresting anyone who was fighting, while an officer has Sonny and Reyes cornered for interrogation, even though they were just trying to break it up.

Jameson pulls in just as the conversation between Sonny and the cop starts to escalate, and I cross the parking lot to meet him.

He climbs out, walking to me first.

“What happened?” He tucks my hair behind my ear, looking at me like he’s searching for signs ofbattle.

I don’t know why he’s pretending to care when he’s been ignoring me for days, but I don’t need him worrying about me.

“Nothing I didn’t take care of.” I pull away from him.

“Tempe.” My name is a threat, and as much as I’d like to stand here and argue with him, I feel Austin’s eyes on us through the truck window.

“Dimitri showed up,” I say reluctantly. “He’s the guy who sent me to the clubhouse. He said his name was Dimitri.”

Jameson’s jaw tenses. “What else did he say?”

“Not much.” I shrug, tucking my hands in my pockets. “He said he wanted me to stay put and that whatever reason he sent me to the clubhouse isn’t what you think. That or you’re keeping things from me.”

Jameson scans my face, and I wonder if it makes any more sense to him than it does to me. Maybe Dimitri was right, and he knows the truth about why I was sent to him. If so, he hasn’t said anything.

“What do you know, Jameson?”

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