5. Tempe

5

Tempe

A loud knock on the front door makes me jump, causing me to squeeze toothpaste all over the sink.

It’s ten o’clock at night, and I just got home from my shift at the bar. The last thing I’m in the mood for right now is a late-night visit from Mom’s boyfriend.

She’s been in town for three days and has already disrupted my entire life. But at least if she’s here, I can keep an eye on my four-year-old brother. He needs some stability after she spent the last year dragging him around the country, moving to a new state every other month.

Another loud knock rattles the door.

“Coming,” I mumble to myself, making my way into the hallway.

“Sorry.” Mom darts out of her room, pulling her chestnut hair into a ponytail.

“I thought we agreed; no guys at the house. ”

Mom rolls her eyes, annoyed, but I don’t care. She’s twice my age and still acts like a teenager. Chasing every crush on a whim. Falling for every man who shows her an ounce of attention.

Grandma used to call Mom a love addict. She said Mom was born without a single defense around her heart, and it made her easily susceptible to sweet talk and a nice smile. But I think that’s just an excuse. A substitute for the love she never got from her own father.

Not that I was willing to argue with Grandma about it.

“I’m serious.” I frown. “No men.”

“I know, Tempe.” Mom pulls her robe closed over her chest before pinching her cheeks to draw some color to them. “I thought he was in bed. But don’t worry, Austin and I will only be here a few more days. Josh said the apartment is almost ready.”

Josh—Mom’s boyfriend of the month.

Her excuse for moving to California next.

I’m not a fan.

I don’t like how he stared at me when he stopped by yesterday, I don’t like how he disregards Austin, and I don’t like how he’s showing up in the middle of the night.

“I’ll make it quick,” Mom says, hurrying down the hall when another knock comes at the door.

I make my way to the guest room where Austin is sleeping and peek inside. His eyes blink open as he sits up.

“Go back to sleep.” I blow him a kiss. “Everything’s okay.”

It’s not, and we both know it. Nothing’s been right his entire life, and if my childhood is any indication, Mom’s never going to change .

Austin curls into the blankets as I close his door and make my way toward the living room.

Mom is talking to someone, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. All I know is her tone is off.

Hushed.

Panicked.

I turn the corner and see she’s standing in the middle of the kitchen with a man towering over her. He shifts, and I realize it’s not Josh.

Four other men fill the living room, and I back myself into the hallway before they see me when I spot the guns in their hands.

“Please don’t.” They’re the last words that leave my mom’s mouth as the man standing in front of her pulls the trigger.

My ears ring with the sound, and time stops.

It takes a moment for Mom’s body to process what just happened—the same way my mind is playing catch-up. She stands frozen in the kitchen, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her.

Blood pools on her nightgown, spreading like paint. Reminding me of a street fair in San Francisco.

Red brushstrokes and splatter.

But then Mom blinks, and time speeds up again. Sound fills the room, and air floods my lungs. Mom falls to the floor, and I turn and run down the hallway, hurrying to my brother’s room before they find us.

“Tempe—”

“Shh.” I cover Austin’s mouth with my hand and pull him from his bed. “My room, now. Get in the laundry hamper and cover yourself with clothes. Don’t come out until I say so.”

I already hear footsteps making their way down the hall, and even if there’s no way I’m escaping these men, maybe he can.

Austin follows me to the bathroom that connects my bedroom to his.

“Hurry.” I rush him inside. “Remember, don’t get out until I come get you.”

“What’s happening?” Tears stream his cheeks.

His voice quivers, and his little fingers grip my hands.

“It’s going to be okay,” I lie, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead before closing the bathroom door behind him.

Footsteps stop outside the bedroom door, and I back up. My breath catches in my chest, and I want to run, but there’s nowhere to go before the door swings open, and I’m met with the barrel of a gun.

“Tempe.” A little hand grabs onto my shoulder, and my eyes fly open.

Sweat drenches the back of my neck from my nightmare as I blink my eyes and jolt to sitting. It takes me a moment to realize that I’m not in my home—in my bed.

It takes a moment to process where I am.

The club.

Steel .

Looking around, I take in Steel’s room in the daylight. The walls are a deep shade of blue, not gray like I first thought. It’s even less impressive with the sunlight drawing attention to the cracks in the paint and dust-covered baseboards .

Austin blinks up at me, pulling the blanket up under his chin. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“No,” I lie, forcing a smile. “Just sat up too fast. I’m fine. How about you? Did you get any sleep?”

He nods, chewing the inside of his cheek. His eyes are red and puffy from crying himself to sleep last night, and it makes my heart ache. Mom wasn’t stable, but she was the only parent who stuck around for me and my brother when both our fathers cared more about themselves than their families.

Now she’s gone, and I’m all my brother has left. I don’t know how to be a parent or how I’m going finish my degree with a job and kid, but for Austin, I’ll figure it out.

Austin drops the blanket to his lap, twisting the corner of it around his fingers.

“What’s on your mind?” I roll onto my side, facing him, brushing his brown hair off his forehead. “Are you thinking about Mom?”

His big blue eyes gloss over with his nod. “I miss her.”

“Me too.” Tears sting my eyes as they start to fall from his.

“Are they going to hurt us too?” His voice quivers.

“No one’s going to hurt you, Austin. I promise. I won’t let them.” I squeeze his hand. “That’s why we’re here, remember? They’re going to keep us safe.”

At least, I hope. The Twisted Kings can’t be trusted any more than the threats outside this compound. But right now, I have no other option.

Austin wipes his cheeks dry with the back of his hand. “I can’t find my Super Bear. ”

My gaze moves to his things on the floor.

“It’s not in the bag?”

“I forgot it at your house.”

Steel’s men were nice enough to let Austin pack a bag before bringing him to the clubhouse last night, but from the collection of things he threw in it, it’s clear none of them have kids. They didn’t monitor what my four-year-old brother was packing. No clothes. No toothbrush. Nothing practical. Just a collection of random animals and his favorite blanket.

“I want to go home.”

“We will.” I rest my hand over Austin’s. “Soon.”

“When the bad men leave?”

A knot hardens in my throat as I nod.

Sitting up, I brush my hair back and spin my legs off the bed before he catches the tears trying to break through. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, finding any bit of strength to hold on to.

“Hey, you hungry?” I force a smile, glancing back at him.

He nods.

“Good.” I hop off the bed. “How about I go find some food, and you can hang out here and watch cartoons while you wait for me?”

“I wanna come with you.”

I want that too, but I don’t know what I’m walking into when I step out of this room. Or if they’ll even let me.

“This will be more fun. Breakfast in bed. Just like we did on Sunday. ”

Mom was out late Saturday night with Josh, so I watched Austin for her. He fell asleep in my bed watching cartoons, and when he woke up, we stayed there to eat breakfast. It helped take his mind off the fact that he didn’t want to move to California with Mom’s new boyfriend.

Now, he doesn’t have to, but my entire chest burns with the reason for it.

“Okay.” Austin rubs his eyes again. “Breakfast in bed.”

I walk over to the television and turn it on, flipping through the channels until I find cartoons. Anything to distract him from where we are.

“This one?”

Austin nods, and I set the remote down.

“Don’t leave this room, okay? Wait for me.”

Austin pulls the blanket to his chin and rolls onto his side. “Okay.”

I dig a hair tie out of my pocket and pull my hair up into a loose ponytail before walking over to the bedroom door. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and let it settle my nerves. Just because I can’t leave doesn’t mean they’d starve my little brother.

I don’t think.

Reaching for the handle, I open it to find a guy I don’t recognize standing on the opposite side. His patch tells me he’s a prospect, so he’s likely been standing guard all night.

I slip out into the hallway before he can stop me and close the door so Austin can’ t hear us.

“You’re supposed to stay put.” The prospect lifts off the wall.

He’s a scrawny guy, but he towers over me as he steps close. His jet-black hair is slicked back, and his dark-brown eyes narrow.

“I know.” I force a smile, hoping honey catches more flies with bikers. “But it’s already past nine, and my brother is hungry, so I wanted to see if Steel could—”

“Steel wants you to stay put,” he cuts me off, loyal as ever to his merciless leader.

“I’ve got this, Sonny.” A voice comes from the other end of the hall, and I turn to see Havoc walking in my direction.

From what I gathered last night, when they got back from picking up Austin, Steel trusts Havoc, and my shoulders relax at a familiar face.

“My brother needs breakfast,” I tell him.

“Food’s in the kitchen.” Havoc waves me forward before looking back at Sonny. “Stay there.”

I don’t like leaving Austin alone in this place, but I don’t have a choice when I know he needs to eat.

Glancing from Sonny to the bedroom door, I pause, biting my lip, trying to decide if Havoc will just get the food for me.

“Don’t worry,” Havoc says. “The door locks from the inside, and only Steel has a key, so your brother will be fine.”

Havoc’s long dark hair is pulled back, and tattoos cover the full length of his arms. He’s burly and big—solid muscle. But when I look into his eyes, there’s a soft edge that has me trusting him, whether I should or not.

“Thank you.”

He nods, leading me down the hallway.

In the morning light, the clubhouse is even less appealing than it was when I first came here. A few men and women are passed out on random pieces of furniture, but at least they’re wearing more clothes than they were when I was searching for the bathroom.

The air reeks of stale cigarettes and leather, and my shoes stick to the floor with every step.

Havoc guides me through the bar to a door in the far corner of the room. “Food’s in there. Help yourself. I’ll let Steel know you’re awake.”

I nod, watching Havoc make his way back down the hallway.

I’m not sure where Steel slept last night since we were in his bedroom. The last time I saw him, he was ordering a prospect to fetch us fresh sheets and blankets. Then he left us to ourselves.

Pushing the kitchen door open, I find a few girls standing around drinking coffee. I recognize one as the blonde who was working behind the bar last night, and she doesn’t appear any friendlier this morning. The moment she spots me walking into the kitchen, her smile drops.

Her bleached hair is brighter in the daylight, and without makeup, her face is washed out. But she’s naturally pretty and has an hourglass figure, so I can see what Steel must see in her.

“Can we help you?” she asks.

“Reina, be nice.” A girl with purple and blonde hair rolls her eyes.

“I’m just grabbing some food.”

Reina lifts off the counter and walks over to me. She’s wearing heels first thing in the morning, and each click of them against the tile is like a threat on her approach.

I stand up taller when she reaches me, refusing to back down just because she’s feeling territorial.

Reina stops in front of me, scanning me slowly, before spearing me with her gaze. “You’re cute, I’ll give you that. But don’t think that just because he fucked you once, you’ll turn his head. Steel’s spoken for.”

“He didn’t—”

“Don’t bother.”

She spins on her heels, walking out of the kitchen with her brunette friend right behind her. And I’m not sure what’s more disturbing—the fact that she thinks I slept with Steel last night or that she thinks he’s her man, and she still accepts that kind of behavior from him.

“Don’t listen to her.” The girl with purple hair walks over to me, offering me a friendly smile as she brings her coffee mug to her mouth. “Reina still thinks Steel’s going to put a property patch on her back someday.”

“Is he?”

And why am I asking?

Why do I care?

“Steel with an old lady?” She laughs. “No way.”

That’s not any more reassuring, but at least it’s enough of a warning to stay far away from him.

“I’m Luna,” she says .

“Tempe.”

Luna smiles, and it lights up her cheeks. Her roots are blonde, but darker than Reina’s, so I guess that’s her natural color. The rest of her hair is streaked in lavender and pulled back, with pieces falling around her face. Her slippers are bright pink and fluffy. And she’s paired them with an oversized Call of Duty T-shirt.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tempe.” Luna takes a sip of her coffee before setting it down so she can dig through the cabinets. “Let’s find you some food. They don’t have much of a selection unless you’re in the mood to cook something. Stevie won’t be awake for another hour to get breakfast going for the guys since they’re rarely up before ten. Granola bars?”

She spins with a couple in hand, and I take them. “That’s perfect. Thanks.”

Luna grabs her coffee and takes another sip. “No problem.”

“I didn’t sleep with Steel, just so you know.” I don’t think Luna cares, and I shouldn’t need to explain myself, but I can’t help it. “That’s not why I’m here. It’s just… things are complicated.”

“Things usually are when you wind up at this place.”

“I guess so.” I bite my lip. “What about you? Are you seeing one of the guys? Or…”

“Or all of them?” Luna quirks an eyebrow when I don’t finish my sentence.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“You’re fine.” She waves a hand to stop me. “I get it. Guys like the Twisted Kings have a reputation for a reason. And I’d be lying if I tried to tell you it’s overexaggerated because it’s not. But it’s not like that between me and them. Not that I’ve never had a weak moment of fun.”

Luna winks, and I admire her unapologetic confidence.

“So you’re a friend of the club then?”

“I help Ghost with surveillance, and in return, they give me a place to crash. They took me in when things got…” She pauses, her gaze drifting off with whatever she was just about to say.

“Complicated?” I finish her sentence.

“Yeah, complicated.” Luna smiles. “But it’s better now. And I’ve got a roof over my head while I finish up my degree, so that’s all that matters.”

“What are you stu—”

I’m cut off by the kitchen door swinging open.

Steel walks in, overtaking the room with one step inside. His gaze fixes on me for a long moment before he glances at Luna.

“Luna, give us a minute.”

Short.

Demanding.

If I had to guess, everyone here is used to him bossing them around, but he doesn’t have to be such a dick about it.

“Sure thing, Steel.” Luna tips her coffee up at him, squeezing my shoulder as she walks by. “See you around, Tempe.”

“See ya.”

She walks around Steel, pausing with her hand on the door. “Open or closed? ”

“Closed.”

And when the door shuts behind Luna, trapping me in here with him, I’m ready to tell him exactly how I feel about him holding us hostage in this hellhole he calls a clubhouse. I’m all my brother has left, and even a Twisted Kings president isn’t going to stop me from doing what I need to protect him.