3. Luna

3

Luna

It feels wrong to sit at this table.

The solid wood is polished so it shines under the single bulb that hangs dimly overhead. The Twisted Kings logo is carved deeply into the center, and the crowned and winged skull stares at me with all its judgment.

My nails dig into the leather cushion I’m sitting on as all eyes are on me, and I’ve never felt so alone in a room full of people.

No one speaks, and I assume they’re waiting for Steel to say something.

Steel is respected in his role as president of the club. He’s ruthless but honorable. He’s fair.

He’ll do whatever is necessary to protect his club, but he’s always smart about it. He’s known for being decisive but not rash and acting with the intent of justice over brutality .

Still, as he watches me now, I can’t help but squirm, wondering why he’s looking at me like I’m the enemy.

“You guys are making me nervous.” I try to force a smile, but it dies on my lips with my laugh as nerves skitter out.

There’s little empathy radiating from the ranked club members in the room, even if I do sense hesitation.

“We need to talk about Albuquerque,” Steel breaks the silence, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.

“Albuquerque?”

Of all the things he could have said, I wasn’t expecting him to say that. There’s nothing to note about my time there. It was an escape after I left Glendale. I picked anywhere at least one state away from the foster family that haunted me, and that was it. I worked odd jobs I found on the internet and took classes online.

My time in Albuquerque wasn’t interesting.

If Steel was going to bring me in for anything, I expected this meeting to be about the fact that I’ve been skirting the club’s firewalls to play my online multiplayer game, and Ghost must have found out about it.

Worst case scenario, I thought they might have brought me in here to tell me they need my bed for a girl who wants more from them than a place to stay.

But Albuquerque?

I haven’t thought about New Mexico since I left.

Steel nods.

“What about it?” My voice pitches, and I hate that it gives away my nerves .

Steel taps his fingers on the table, watching me. “When was the first time you heard about the Twisted Kings?”

There’s no friendliness in his tone, and a chill runs through the room. This isn’t a conversation; it’s an interrogation. And I’m at the center, waiting for the gavel to drop and decide my fate.

I glance at Ghost, who is still watching me, and try to read his expression. But it’s nearly impossible. His cool-blue eyes are the gravity in a room that’s slowly starting to spin out of control, and I grab it for what it is—something to hold me in place.

A looming sense that everything is about to change settles when I wish my gut hadn’t been right about this.

I’ve been rejected by so many people—so many families—I don’t fit anywhere anymore. But I hoped with the club that had changed.

“Luna.” Steel’s voice snaps my attention back into focus. “When was the first time you heard of the club?”

“When I met Ghost.” I glance at him. “We ran into each other at a coffee shop, and I saw the logo on his cut. I asked if he was from somewhere else because it said Vegas on it.”

I called it a vest back then because I had no idea how motorcycle clubs worked. A couple of my foster siblings rode, but it was recreational.

My run-in with Ghost was my first official interaction with someone in this world. Over time, I’ve picked up their lingo, but back then, I was new to all this.

“What were you doing at the coffee shop that day?” Steel continues .

“Drinking coffee.” My eyebrows pinch as I think back. “Studying…”

“Anything else?”

My nose scrunches as I think, trying to remember that day. “Working. I was finishing up a job.”

It’s been so long that I almost forgot about that.

“What job?”

So that’s what this is about.

Another puzzle piece clicks in place, but I can’t see the full picture.

“I was helping a corporation track down information. Hacking data for them. You know I used to do that. You all did.”

My gaze cuts to Ghost before I scan the room. My work before the club is no secret. It’s one of the reasons Steel offered to let me stay here while I went to school. He gave me a roof over my head, and I offered my unique skill set. It doesn’t make sense why it’s an issue now.

“Who hired you for that particular job?” Steel’s tone somehow manages to be even colder now.

“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “Most of the work I accepted back then came through anonymous listings. That was one of them.”

Steel hums, but I can’t read him well enough to know if he believes me.

Either way, it’s the truth.

The type of hacking I performed wasn’t legal, so it wasn’t unusual for my employers to want to keep their identities hidden. I’d respond to anonymous postings on message boards, and neither party knew who the other was.

“When they hired you, what did they need you to look for?”

“Bank account numbers. Statements. They were looking for a financial trail for a shell corporation.” My palms sweat as I rub them on my thighs. “But I couldn’t find anything, so they never paid me for the job. Whoever was on the other end shut me down before I could get any real data. I think they knew I was in their system from the beginning because everything I found was nonsense.”

Steel hums, glancing over at Ghost.

“Can you just tell me what’s going on?” I glance between the two of them. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You tell me, Luna.” Steel fixes his gray stare on me. “Did you really have no idea you were working that job for the Merciless Skulls?”

“The—” My eyes widen as I cut myself off. “No.”

Panic swells in my chest when I realize what Steel’s asking me. When I met Ghost in the coffee shop, I didn’t know anything about motorcycle clubs. But after arriving in Vegas, I heard rumors around the clubhouse telling me why they were in Albuquerque when I met them. The Twisted Kings were helping take down the Merciless Skulls.

And now Steel is implying I was helping their enemy.

“I swear. It was like any other job to me. I had no idea who I was doing it for. Or who—” I pause, swallowing hard. “Who was I hacking?”

This time, I look at Ghost because it occurs to me that they already know the answer.

I already know the answer.

I just need to hear it out loud.

“Us,” Steel says.

My heart races as I sit back in my chair.

I’m a traitor—an enemy—and I didn’t even know it.

My stare meets Ghost’s, and he’s barely moved. His tattooed hands are resting one over the other on the table in front of him, unsurprised by anything said up to this point.

“Did you know?” I ask, even if I know Steel won’t let him answer. “Is that why you came into the coffee shop that day? Were you the one who shut me down?”

I think back to that day, remembering Ghost walking in. He’s impossible not to notice, especially when he drew the attention of everyone working behind the counter. Their eyes widened as they watched him.

They were afraid of his tattoos and perma-scowl.

But I wasn’t.

I couldn’t stop tracking his movements from the corner of my eye, curious about who he was and desperate to know more about him. Ever since that first moment I was face to face with Ghost, there’s been an undeniable pull. And even after I told myself I was coming to Vegas for business, I knew the truth.

I’m here because of him.

Ghost might show me breadcrumbs of attention, but I eat each one like a full meal. Desperate to ease the hungering ache inside me .

“Did you know?” I ask Ghost again, tears burning behind my eyes.

Ghost doesn’t answer, and it occurs to me that maybe I’m not the only one who is in trouble. While Steel seems surprised, Ghost isn’t.

Ghost knew, and he never told them.

He lied for me.

The Twisted Kings are his life. His family. His loyalty is with them, so why would he do that?

“When’s the last time you heard from the person who posted that job?” Steel asks, ignoring my pleas to Ghost and continuing his interrogation.

I shake my head. “A year ago. Eleven months, maybe. I argued with them for a while about payment, since I did my part trying, but eventually, I gave up. I haven’t heard anything from them since.”

“So, you were still talking to them when you came here?”

I swallow hard. “I guess. Yeah.”

“Did they know where you were?”

“No. I never shared my whereabouts with my employers. It was better that way in case either of us got caught.”

“So no one outside of this club knows you’re here?”

I shake my head. “No one knows.”

It’s mostly the truth. No one knows I’m here , at the clubhouse.

Rider knows I live in Las Vegas, but I’ve never told him my exact location. Technically, we’re on the outskirts of town .

Glancing at Ghost, I think about the number of times I’ve vented to Rider about this man. I’ve never called him by name, but I had to get it out somehow. Being around him wasn’t enough. Watching him wasn’t enough.

While I mean nothing to Ghost, I’ve been obsessed with him since the first time I met him.

Look where it got me. Alone and stepping in a pile of shit as always.

“Good.” Steel taps the table. “That’s good.”

“Am I in trouble?” I’m scared to ask, but I need to know. “Do I need to leave the clubhouse?”

Steel might be understanding with his men, and he might be known for protecting people who need it, but I’m not Tempe. I don’t have his heart wrapped around my finger. He doesn’t owe me anything.

“No.” Steel shakes his head. “We voted before bringing you into the room and agreed that so long as your story aligned with what we’ve been told, there was no reason for that. But you do need to understand this raises questions.”

“I understand.” I swallow hard.

“Luna.” Steel leans forward, fixing his gaze on me. “I’m giving you my club’s trust right now. We all are. I’m giving you that because you’ve proven yourself to us and been there for us during some challenging times. But if I find out you’re lying or keeping something from me—no matter how small it is—you aren’t going to like the outcome. Do you understand what I’ m saying?”

“I do.”

He nods. “Then go get some sleep. In the morning, I need you to sit down with Legacy to go over everything you remember. What accounts they wanted; what information they were after. Every little detail is important.”

I glance over at Legacy. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“You’re dismissed.” Steel juts his chin to the door, and Havoc stands.

He circles the table to usher me out of the room in the same way he brought me in here. And even if it feels impossible, I fight the weight of guilt holding me down and manage to find my way to my feet. I look at Ghost a final time before turning to leave.

I’m free to stay. I’m not a prisoner. Yet, everything has changed. I’m not off the hook, no matter what part I did or didn’t play.

Every glance.

Every pause.

They’re questioning me.

The men I’ve put my trust in don’t know if it’s safe for them to do the same.

My heart cracks at that thought—at another family slowly slipping through my fingers.

I wanted to believe this would be different. That I found a home and people I belonged with. I wanted to believe that even if Ghost was incapable of returning my affection, he cared.

But Ghost lied to me. He brought me here, knowing what I’d done. He put me in this familiar position of being alone .

When I leave the room, they aren’t smiling and friendly like we’ve been this past year. They’re cautious. They’ve lost their faith in me.

I’m a threat.

A traitor.

Ghost probably thinks he was protecting me by shielding me from the truth, but his lies dug my grave with the Twisted Kings. Now, I have no choice but to climb into it and hope they don’t bury me alive.