4. Steel

4

Steel

“What do you think?” Ghost leans against the wall opposite me in the hallway. “Can we trust anything she’s saying?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? You’re the one who vetted her and everyone else in Helix’s life after shit went down.”

My nerves grate at the reminder of my former vice president’s betrayal. He thought he was owed something when none of us are. Tried to take out his own club to advance his interests and strip me of my position. He was a liar and a snake. And now his daughter is sneaking into my clubhouse, trying to steal from me.

The second Tempe said Helix’s name, a chill ran down my spine. A reminder I’m all too familiar with lately. A constant whisper in my ear telling me the war never really ends, it simply changes.

New enemies .

Evolving threats.

I don’t know who sent Tempe here tonight, but if they know she’s Helix’s daughter, it means choosing her for this task was intentional. My rivals are getting creative, finding new ways to use innocent blood against me.

If that’s what she is.

For all I know, Tempe came up with this plan to get vengeance for her father’s death. She plays the victim well, but it could be an act.

Tears.

Fear.

Her shaking hand when she grabbed my arm and begged for my help.

It all means nothing when I’ve seen those tactics used as weapons before.

“She came back clear, Prez. I’m telling you, I checked.” Ghost pulls out his phone and types something in before holding it up to show me a picture of her driver’s license. “Tempe Evans, twenty-two. She’s worked at Dirty Drakes for the past year while putting herself through school for physical therapy. She volunteers at a local clinic on the weekends. There’s not one tie to Helix. He didn’t even have her number saved in his phone. She checked out.”

I can trust Ghost. If anyone is thorough, it’s him. But doubt is all I have lately, and Tempe is just another reminder of why.

It’s a rot running through me. Making me question my brothers when they’ve given me no reason to. This isn’t their fault—it’s mine .

Helix’s betrayal and my inability to see it in time are my mistakes to bear.

My family’s blood runs through this club. We founded the Twisted Kings. Failing them is a desecration of my bloodline.

“Steel, I’m telling you she’s clear.” Ghost tucks his phone away.

I rake my hair off my forehead. “I hear you.”

“Then you know as well as I do that if she’s not involved, she’s not safe.”

I nod.

“What do you plan to do about it?”

What am I going to do?

I scratch the back of my neck, wishing I could go back to the point in the night where my biggest problem was a couple of Iron Sinners and pissed off strippers. “I don’t fucking know yet. But she’s not leaving the compound until I figure it out.”

If Tempe were anyone else in danger, I’d send her home and put a prospect on her doorstep for the night to make sure she was safe. But she isn’t anyone else. She’s the blood of my club’s traitor, and as good as Ghost is at his job, it’s my responsibility to my club to be certain he’s right about her.

I glance at the closed door that leads to my room. I hate that she’s in there, pacing back and forth, filling it with the scent of cherry blossoms. A scent that invaded my senses the moment I was near her. A scent so sweet when this girl is anything but .

Tempe is feisty as fuck. She kicked me in the shins and tried to knock me out in my own damn clubhouse—my own fucking bedroom.

The girl is a fighter.

I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so pissed off about it.

My phone rings, and I dig it out of my pocket to see Havoc’s name flashing on the screen. He and Soul took a couple of prospects to check out the situation at Tempe’s house and confirm her story.

After she mentioned her brother, everything hard about her demeanor crumbled, so it was difficult to get much else through her tears. But she said her brother was supposed to be hiding and that the men didn’t know he was there. With any luck, they still haven’t found him.

“Talk to me.”

“Well, she wasn’t lying.” Havoc sounds out of breath. “Four guys were ready and waiting when we got here.”

“Who are they?”

“They scattered before we could get a good look at them. Their lookout must have tipped them off because they bolted the second we pulled up.”

I look over at Ghost. “Pull the traffic cam footage in that area, see if you can trace any plates or figure out what direction they went. And let me know once you figure out what’s on the flash drive.”

Havoc’s search of Helix’s old room confirmed what Tempe was sent here for. He found a flash drive hidden in the wall, and I don’t like that Helix has been dead for almost a year, and I still haven’t uncovered all his lies.

Ghost nods, walking away with the drive in hand .

“We’ve got another problem,” Havoc says. “Her mom’s gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“No body.”

I shake my head. “You think they took her hostage.”

“Not likely. If the puddle in the kitchen is any indication, Tempe’s right; there’s no way someone can survive that amount of blood loss.”

“So they took a body?”

“Looks like it.”

I drag my hair off my forehead; not sure what to make of that. One less body is a good thing. But it also means they had a reason to hide it.

“And her brother?” I ask.

“Found him in the laundry hamper like she said. Soul’s trying to talk to him, but he’s just a little kid, so he’s not saying much.”

Because he’s probably traumatized.

At least he’s alive.

As much as everything about this pisses me off, nothing gets under my skin like the fact that these assholes used some little kid to manipulate the situation.

“What do you want us to do with him?”

I know my answer before I say it, and I hate that it’s my only option, but I don’t have any other choice when it’s two in the morning and the kid’s not old enough to fend for himself.

“You have the truck?”

“Yeah.”

“Bring him here. ”

“You got it. Anything else?”

I tip my head back and take a deep breath.

Not my house.

Not my mess.

Not my problem.

Except it is. Tempe has ties to the Twisted Kings, whether she’s involved or not. We can’t leave traces of what happened tonight in her house.

“Have the prospects hang back and bleach the floor. I want it fucking sterile. The last thing we need is the cops coming around and blaming the club for the mess. They’ve been itching for a reason to get to us. We don’t need to hand them an excuse.”

“You got it, Prez.”

I end the call as a bad feeling settles in my gut. The same one I got right before I was almost blown up last year. Something nasty is on the horizon.

It figures.

The moment things settle, shit gets rattled around again.

Pushing off the wall, I stare at the door to my room, knowing nothing but problems are on the other side of it. But that’s the job. Being president means I walk headfirst into everything.

I open the door, and Tempe looks up at me from where she’s sitting on the edge of my bed. She jumps up when I step inside, and at least she’s stopped crying.

She’s a tiny little thing, even if she’s filled with fire. Her eyes burn as she watches me from across the room. Her wavy, brown hair falls just below her shoulders, and it’s messier now that she’s been running her fingers through it. She chews her lower lip, and I hate how she’s so naturally pretty. It’s disarming.

Unassuming.

Dangerous.

“Your brother’s fine.” I don’t know why I feel the need to reassure her when she broke into my club, but I do. “Soul’s checking on him.”

“Soul.” She repeats his name on a sweet little exhale that pisses me off.

“My VP.”

She wets her lips, her eyes glossy. “And the men…?”

“Gone. Same as your mom.”

Her eyes widen. “She’s alive?”

“Doubtful.”

Any momentary light in her eyes fades. At least she doesn’t ask me why they’d carry out her mom’s dead body because I don’t have any answers for her right now.

Tempe nods, tucking her hands in her pockets. “Are you going to let me go then? I told you everything I know. You just confirmed it.”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

“But Austin—”

“Is coming back here.” I cut her off.

“And how long are you keeping us? I have to work tomorrow.” Her fiery temper flares, arguing with me like it’s going to do her any good.

“You’re calling in sick.”

Her eyes narrow.

“Is there a problem, wildfire? ”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” She rolls her shoulders back.

Stepping further into the room, I give in to the gravity that pulls me to her, watching every hint of her reaction at my approach. Her fingers clench. Her chest rises and falls with her shallow breaths. A faint red blush paints the apples of her cheeks.

“Because you’ve got that spark about you.” I stop in front of her. “Doesn’t seem like much at first. Just a little ember flicking around in the wind. But that’s all it takes sometimes.”

She tips her chin up. “To what?”

“To burn everything down.”

I step back before I’m caught in her orbit. Her pull is too strong. Her big hazel eyes shine with the tears she’s holding back, and if I’m not careful, she’ll find a way to use that against me.

Walking over to my dresser, I pull out a cigarette.

“You smoke?” Her face scrunches.

“On occasion.”

I’ve quit so many times over the past five years, I stopped counting. And even if it’s been a few weeks, tonight has me reaching for all my bad habits again.

“Want one?” I hold the pack out, and she scowls in disgust. “Guess that’s a no. Walk with me.”

She wraps her arms around her stomach and follows me out of the room. If I were smart, I’d keep her locked in there so she doesn’t get any ideas about running, but the space is too small with her in it. I can’t fucking breathe .

She follows me back to the main part of the clubhouse. The party is still raging in the background, and only my men know what’s really going on. I could have shut it down, but it’s better to pretend things are normal. The last thing I need is rumors spreading.

“Drink, Prez?” One of the prospects yells from the bar when he sees me pass.

I shake my head. “Maybe later.”

Another prospect looks Tempe up and down, but when my eyes meet his, he backs the fuck off.

She follows me outside, and it’s quieter out here.

Mayhem is fucking a patch bunny on the porch, so I lead Tempe away. Her wide eyes and rosy cheeks tell me she didn’t miss it, but she doesn’t say anything.

“What are we doing?” she asks when I finally stop at the end of the long driveway.

I light my cigarette and hold in a deep inhale. It burns my lungs and gives me everything I need right now. A nicotine buzz. Clarity.

“My guys will be back with your brother any minute.” I take another drag. “We’re waiting for ’em.”

“Then what?” She clutches her arms around her stomach as she shivers.

It’s not that cold, but she’s probably coming down from the adrenaline.

“You have a lot of questions for a girl who broke into my club trying to steal something.” I flick my cigarette, watching the embers scurry off into the dark desert.

“And you have very few answers for a man wearing a patch that says you should have a lot more. ”

She glares at me, and I can’t help smirking at her irritation.

At least the conversation is cut short by headlights in the distance.

Soul must have stayed back at Tempe’s house with the prospects because it’s just Havoc in the truck, rolling to a stop and hopping out. He circles the front, and when he pops open the passenger-side door, little feet jump to the ground.

I’m not good with kids—especially little ones. And I don’t know what to make of the fact that Tempe’s brother is wearing a superhero cape in the middle of the night as he walks at Havoc’s side. But he keeps his gaze on the ground and refuses to make eye contact.

“Austin.” Tempe’s voice cracks.

She runs over to him, dropping to her knees and comforting him in her arms. He buries his face in the crook of her neck as she whispers something. All I can make out are the sobs. Quiet, painful. They cut deeper than Chaos’s best knife.

I’ve seen death.

I’ve taken more lives than the number of years I’ve lived.

But something itches under my skin at the sight of Tempe with her brother.

Havoc walks past them, stopping beside me. “What’s the plan, Prez? Want me to set them up in Tommy’s old room?”

It’s not a bad idea. The room’s empty and at the end of the hall. I could have a prospect guard the door and lock them inside until I figure out what the fuck I’m going to do. But it doesn’t seem like enough. Nothing does.

“It’s fine,” I tell him. “They can stay in mine.”

Havoc’s eyebrows pinch at my decision, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.

“Put Sonny at the door. I’ll crash in Chaos’s room for the night. We’ll figure the rest out in the morning. I can’t fucking think anymore.”

“How long are they staying?”

“Until I figure out who sent her here.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

“No.” I brush my hair back. “But if you want ’em gone sooner, then get me some fucking answers.”

Havoc nods, looking from me to Tempe.

She has her forehead pressed to Austin’s, and she’s talking to him about something. For the strong show she put on earlier, her defenses are down for him. A maternal soft side that’s completely foreign to me, when my mom wasn’t a great example of how a parent should love their kid.

A breeze kicks up, and it rattles my nerves.

Change is in the air. And if I’m not careful, it’s going to wreck what’s left of the club I’m barely holding on to.