Page 99 of Steel

I wipe my hand down my face, trying to process what this means.

She’s alive, and this is the first time she’s showing her face. She hasn’t tried to contact Tempe, and now she’s acting suspiciously. It doesn’t look good.

“What’d she do at the house?”

Ghost grabs his phone and changes cameras to one in the kitchen. “She went straight to this drawer and grabbed an envelope out of it.”

“Any idea what was in there?”

“Silverware.” Ghost shakes his head. “Looks like whatever she was after was hidden under the tray, but I have no idea what it is. You think she’s in on all this?”

“I think it doesn’t look good.” I pat my pocket, itching for a cigarette but resisting when I know Tempe doesn’t like me smoking.

Even if she’ll eventually be smart and leave me, I can’t help trying to be a better man while she’s still around.

“That all?”

“Yeah. I’ll let you know if she comes back.”

“I’ll talk to Tempe. She needs to know her mom’s alive, but not tonight. She needs a break. We all do.”

“Understood.”

I follow Ghost into the clubhouse, wishing this weight wasn’t sitting on my shoulders. Worse, wishing I didn’t have to lay it on a girl already carrying so much around.

But Tempe needs to know for Austin’s sake. If her mom is involved with the men who sent her to my clubhouse, the two of them are in more danger than I thought, and it’s my job to protect them from whatever shit is about to rain down.

27

Tempe

Luna leads the wayto the back of the clubhouse, and when we step outside, it’s utter madness. Unlike the barbeque, the scene tonight is different, and more like the first night I came to the Twisted Kings compound.

A ring is set up in the center of the yard, and two guys are fighting. Blood spurts as one of them lands a hit on his opponent’s nose. But they’re both grinning, so I assume it’s all in good fun.

There are no kids around. Booze and drugs are abundant. Coke, weed. A girl is lying across the bar topless while one of the guys licks whiskey off her breasts.

It’s madness and a reminder why these men don’t like strings or commitments.

This is Jameson’s life.

Chasing what feels good when the pressures he faces are heavy. Finding ways to escape when reality weighs him down.

I understand it, no matter how much it hurts to think about it. But I don’t let it fester. This is his world.

Just because I’m dipping a toe in doesn’t mean I can judge. When I leave, he’ll go back to whatever he was partaking in before I arrived, and I have no choice but to accept it.

Luna guides me through the crowd, not stopping until we reach the fire pit. A group of girls are huddled around talking, and all eyes land on me when we approach.

A redhead pops out of her seat and walks over to us, smiling. She’s wearing shorts that show off the full length of her legs, and her flannel is tied up at her waist to show off her stomach.

“Hi, I’m Wren. Are you new here too?” She reaches her hand out to me.

Her long lashes flutter over her green eyes, and I try to bury my jealousy at how beautiful all these girls are when there’s no room for jealousy here.

“Tempe.” I shake her hand.

She clearly doesn’t remember me from that day she was sitting at the bar talking to Jameson.

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