28. Tempe

28

Tempe

“What is this place?” I take Jameson’s hand and accept his help off his motorcycle.

He swings his leg over his bike and climbs off. “Absolute nothingness.”

“You’re not wrong about that.” I smile over my shoulder, and he snags my hand.

Jameson pulled his bike off the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, and there’s nothing but empty desert around us.

“Well, it’s pretty out here,” I say as he helps me up onto a boulder, and I take a seat.

“It is.” He stands between my legs. “It’s one of my favorite spots to ride when I need to think.”

I glance around the desert. It stretches for miles in every direction. Nothing but sagebrush and blue sky all the way to the horizon, and I get it. Jameson lives in a constant state of chaos and demand. If he’s going to escape, it makes sense that it would be somewhere like here.

“It’s beautiful.” I wrap my arms around his shoulders, realizing he’s not looking around at the desert like I am—he’s staring at me. “Why did you bring me here?”

Pearl is watching Bea for the day, so she offered to watch Austin as well. Jameson said it was the perfect opportunity to go for a ride, but now that we’re here, I get a sinking feeling there’s more to it.

“Thought you might like getting out of the compound for a bit.” Jameson tucks my hair behind my ear. “And we need to talk.”

“Uh-oh,” I tease, narrowing my eyes. “Jameson Steel’s pulling the we need to talk card. That can’t be good.”

He chuckles. “Why do you say it like that?”

“You know, the classic breakup line that comes before it’s not you, it’s me . Not saying we’re dating. I’m just messing with you.”

“I guess I’ve never had to use that one.” He shrugs. “Never had a girlfriend.”

“Ever?”

“Nope.” Jameson shakes his head. “Not that I’m a virgin.”

“Shocker.” I roll my eyes.

“Brat.” He runs his thumb over my lower lip, teasing it. “What about you? I’m guessing you had to use those lines often, wildfire.”

“Not even close.” I kiss the pad of his thumb, and he drops his hand to my hip. “I don’t really date either. Relationships and I don’t mesh well.”

“How so? ”

“You mean besides the shining example of love I got from my parents?” I hitch an eyebrow.

He smirks. “Yeah, besides that.”

I tip my head back, looking up at the sky and thinking. “I guess I’ve always just been a little too closed off for anything to work. And even when I tried, whatever I had to give was never quite enough.”

“Why do you say that?”

For so many reasons he probably doesn’t want to hear about. It’s not sexy for a girl to carry around this emotional baggage. If Mom taught me anything, it’s that men prefer their women compliant and their personalities easy to swallow. I’m none of those things.

But Jameson doesn’t take his eyes off me, and I know he won’t let this go without an answer.

“Technically, I have had one real boyfriend,” I admit. “But I was barely eighteen at the time, so I’m not sure how serious you can consider it. He was a little older than me, and I could never seem to give him what he wanted… Saying I love you. Moving in. He was pushy about it, but I guess my heart’s always been resistant.”

“I don’t like him already.”

I smile. “You wouldn’t. When I broke up with him, he got back at me by sleeping with my mom.”

“You’re kidding?” Jameson’s back straightens.

“Wish I was. But it’s not her fault. I wasn’t living with her anymore, so she didn’t know who he was. He played both of us. I stopped trying to date after that. Figured it was a better investment to just focus on myself. ”

“When are you gonna get me that list, Tempe?” Jameson brushes my hair off my face when a breeze kicks it around.

My eyebrows pinch. “What list?”

“Every fucker I need to kill for hurting you.”

I almost laugh, thinking he’s joking. But he draws a path over my cheek, up to the scar that cuts through my eyebrow, and I’m certain he means it.

“Never.” I wrap my arms around Jameson’s neck and pull him closer. “You’re not getting into any more trouble for me. Besides, it’s in the past. What do they say about that? It’s what makes us who we are.”

“So your past made you perfect then?”

I laugh. “More like… emotionally damaged and untrusting. But stronger, nonetheless.”

Jameson leans in, brushing his lips over mine. “Strongest fucking woman I’ve ever met.”

He claims me with his kiss, pulling my body to his, while the warm desert breeze flutters around us.

I never had a good example of what love is growing up. I didn’t understand the point when it seemed to hurt so damn much. And after everything with my first boyfriend, I figured maybe I’d never get it.

But with Jameson holding me, I dare to think maybe it’s possible. Maybe love can heal wounds instead of just slicing them open.

When Jameson breaks the kiss, I look up at him, framed by the bright blue sky. His gray eyes watch me as he traces his thumb over my lower lip. And I can’t help wondering what he sees when he looks at me or how he makes sense of my mess. But I swear he looks past all the broken pieces my life left behind and understands what’s beyond it.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” I ask, brushing my hands down the front of his cut. “You said we’re out here to talk, right?”

He frowns, nodding. “We need to talk about your mom.”

I press my lips together, and my heart constricts. “Did you find her body?”

“Not exactly.” He grabs my hands and presses my palms to his chest. “Apparently, there’s no body to find. She’s not dead.”

Not dead.

“What are you talking about?” My heart hammers. “I saw them kill her. The blood—”

“She survived it.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “But she did. Movement triggered a camera at your house, and Ghost got footage of her retrieving something.”

“I don’t get it.” I shake my head, trying to make sense of what he’s saying. “She was at my house? If she’s alive, why hasn’t she called? Why hasn’t she checked on Austin? Why—”

“Tempe.” Jameson pulls me in for a hug as tears sting my eyes.

He comforts me in his arms, not answering any of my questions. And as the first tear slips free, I hear what he’s actually saying. Mom’s alive, and she hasn’t reached out to me. She disappeared with those men the night they sent me to the clubhouse. This was all a setup.

I bury my face against Jameson’s chest, and my heart is racing. “What did she do?”

The question is more for me than him. And Jameson must sense that because he doesn’t answer. He rubs my back and holds me to him.

“She really just left him.” My heart aches for my brother.

“She probably was recovering at first.” Jameson tries to excuse her, and I know it’s for my sake because nothing about this situation could possibly look good from his end.

“But then she wasn’t.” I look up at him. “You said it yourself; she was at my house. She’s clearly feeling better, and she hasn’t even tried to come find us. Me, I get; I’m twenty-two and can take care of myself. But Austin… He deserves so much better than this.”

I wrangle my hair back, shaking my head.

“And you’ll give that to him.” Jameson tips my chin up.

“What if that’s not enough?” A tear slips free. “How am I supposed to explain that she just walked away? How do I fill that hole? I’m his sister, not his mom. How can I ever make this right for him?”

Tears streak my cheeks, and Jameson wipes them away with his thumb. “If there’s one thing the club has taught me about family, it’s that titles don’t matter all that much. Actions define what we are to the people around us. You’re there for Austin, and that’s what matters. You’re enough, Tempe. I’ve seen how that kid looks up to you. You’re all he needs. ”

My chest expands as I soak in those words, knowing he understands it more than he admits in this moment.

“Thank you.” I force a smile when he rubs his thumb over my cheek.

“Of course, wildfire.” He cups my face in his hands, pulling me in for a gentle kiss.

The desert hums with the wind, and I let the peace of this empty land draw me in.

Resting my hands over Jameson’s, I look up at him. “Where do you think she’s been?”

“I don’t know. The plates on the car that brought her to your house were stolen.”

I don’t like the sound of that. “What did she get when she was there?”

“An envelope in the kitchen. It was underneath the silverware. Do you know what it was?”

“I didn’t know there was anything in there. Do you think—” I pause, dreading what I’m thinking. “Was she in on this?”

Since they shot her, I assumed she was just caught in the crosshairs. After all, I was the one Dimitri knew from the bar. He was there for me, not her.

Unless I was wrong.

Thinking back to what I saw in the kitchen, I remember how close they were standing. I remember the last words she said to him.

“Please don’t.”

Was there always more to this?

“We don’t know anything for sure yet.” Jameson frowns.

“But you think she was? ”

“It’s likely.”

I close my eyes and fill my lungs like the air can be hope. But when I let it go, I’m as empty as I was when I thought she was dead.

Mom might be alive, but this isn’t any better.

Whether she was in on this or not, she put Austin’s life at risk for those men. The one person who has done nothing to deserve this.

“What do you need from me?” I ask. “I assume you’re telling me because you need something.”

“If you can watch the video to see if you recognize anything—”

“I can do that.”

He nods. “I’m going to figure this out, Tempe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Austin. You have my word.”

He tips his forehead to mine, and I close my eyes, holding my arms tight around his shoulders.

I never trusted words when lies are so easy to tell. But with Jameson, I believe him.

“Thank you, Jameson.” I sigh, sinking against him.

“Anything for you, wildfire.” He kisses me. “Anything.”