Page 73 of When It Reins
I know Mitch. I know he’s fiercely protective of his people. I know that once you’re in his life, once you become important to him, he’ll stop at nothing to keep the people he loves safe.
That was my concern.
A pounding at the front door startles me, and I stand before Rosemary can, going to see who’s causing the racket.
“How come my key won’t work?” someone yells from the other side of the door and pounds on it again. For whatever reason, that pisses me off, and I wrench the door open, coming face-to-face with a member of the Iron Horses MC.
I blink and frown at him. “What are you doing here? And why are you pounding on my friend’s door?”
He frowns right back and looks me up and down. “Hero’s girl, right?”
I place a hand on my hip, trying to look tough. I don’t remember which one this is. I’ve seen them around a lot, but I don’t know what the patches on their vests mean, or how to decipher the different members. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Junie, girl, it’s okay.” I turn, seeing Rosemary smiling up at the man. “Benjamin, that’s no way to come into your mother’s house.”
My mouth falls, and I glance between her and the man.
“You changed your locks,” he says, stepping inside when Rosemary moves me out of the way. “Why didn’t you tell me, or have me do it?”
“I haven’t changed those locks in twenty years. It was high time I did so. And last I recall, you are not a locksmith.”
The pair head into the dining room where Rosemary retakes her seat and pats the one I was in, motioning me to come over. “Juniper, you’ve met Benjamin, haven’t you?”
“Mom,” he sighs and heads into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. “No one calls me that.”
I can’t help the little smirk that crosses my lips at the thought of this thirty-something man telling his mom to call him by some made-up name.
“I do, and it’s your name, Ben.” Rosemary sighs and takes a sip of her tea, homing in on me and pretending that Ben isn’teven here. “Benjamin thinks he’s much cooler than he is because he uses a demigod’s name as a road name with his club.”
Loki. Ah. Yes, I have met him before, and he was at the bar last week.
“Mother.” He comes over to the dining room and leans against the wall. He scolds her playfully, like this is some ongoing conversation the two of them have frequently. “You’re ruining my street cred.”
I tilt my head, realization dawning. “This is why the neighborhood was important to the club. It’s your mother’s house.”
“Aren’t I a saint?” Ben says, giving me a smile. There is definitely something else lurking beneath that smile, but I don’t think I want to know what it is.
“He’s a good boy. He just wants everyone to think otherwise,” Rosemary says, shaking her head.
“I see.” I smile at Rosemary, then look at him again. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re a clever one. I’m glad we had Hero looking out for you.”
The words make my blood turn cold. The teacup I had just lifted shakes, and I set it back down, looking back at him. “What did you say?”
Ben cracks his neck, then takes off the lid to his water. “When we heard you were snooping around…” He says the words in a teasing voice, and I realize he must have heard that from his mom. I don’t know why that bit of information hurts, but it does. In a weird way. “We asked Hero to keep an eye on you, so you didn’t step in anything too dangerous.”
“You asked him to?” The words sound almost muffled to me, like I am suddenly underwater, and everything is now blocked out, clogging my ears.
“Yeah, just stick close to you.” Ben’s eyebrows furrow. “It was just to keep you safe.”
Ben or Loki, whatever his name is, doesn’t seem to understand why I’m reacting the way I am, and I don’t blame him for not getting it. But suddenly, I can’t be in this room any longer. The walls are closing in, and the air is getting hard to breathe.
“I have to go.”
“Juniper—” Rosemary tries to catch my hand as I pass, and Ben straightens from where he was leaning against the wall.
“Sorry, Rose. I’ll see you later.” Though I’m not particularly thrilled she tattled on me, it isn’t the thing that is bothering me the most.
