Page 10 of Steel

I curl my fingers into fists. My nails dig into my palms, and I bite back a groan as they nearly cut into my skin. Getting angry won’t do me any good, no matter how much of a jerk Steel is.

“I can’t tell you what it is. It’s personal.”

“Personal?” Steel huffs with an unamused chuckle. “So is you standing in the middle of my bedroom. I think we’ve already crossed that line.”

“Yourbedroom?”

He nods, and I glance around again.

Nothing about this room seems fitting for the club president, even with the club brand hanging above the bed. The room is large but mostly empty. There’s nothing unique or telling of the man standing in front of me. Nothing personal to hint at who he is.

Once more, I turn to face him. “I’m in the wrong room.”

“Clearly.” Steel’s jaw ticks. “Question is,who’sroom is the right one?”

I close my eyes and exhale.

I can’t trust Steel when I don’t know what he’ll do after he gets the information he’s after. But if I keep my mouth shut, this might just get worse. And right now, I can’t decide who’s more dangerous, the men who sent me here or the one in front of me. All I know is that I’m at Steel’s mercy, whether I like it or not, so I have to give him something—anything—if I want to see the other side of this.

Opening my eyes, I take a deep breath and choose my words carefully. “I’m here to get something of my father’s.”

Steel’s eyebrows knit in a silent question.

“Helix,” I clarify.

Any hint of kindness wipes from Steel’s expression at the mention of Helix’s name, and Ghost’s attention snaps to me.

A chill runs through the room, but I don’t know why.

I didn’t speak to my father for a couple of years before he died, but he was the Twisted Kings VP at the time, so I expected his name to soften the blow of me sneaking around the clubhouse. But with the sudden change in energy, I sense I was wrong about that.

“You’re Helix’s kid?” Steel’s expression hardens.

“I’m twenty-two. Not a kid.” Not that it matters.

Steel’s jaw clicks with his annoyance. “You’re Tempe?”

He knows my name, and I can’t tell if it’s a good or bad thing.

I nod slowly, trying to ignore the tension crackling in theair.

“What the fuck?” Steel glances over at Ghost. “I thought she checked out?”

“She did.” Ghost tucks his phone away, crossing his arms over his chest. “Helix hadn’t been in contact with her for a couple of years. I couldn’t find any ties, so I crossed her off the list.”

“Why were you looking for ties?” I hate that they’re talking about me like I’m not standing in the room with them, especially when I don’t like the sound of whatever they’re saying.

Steel’s attention snaps to me at my question, and his gaze lands like a cement wrecking ball in the chest. “You have some nerve; I’ll give you that. Walking intomyclub, thinking you have the right to ask me questions when you’re the daughter of a traitor.”

I swallow hard.

A traitor?

The change in energy makes sense as that word sinks in. My father betrayed them, and I walked in here with a target on my back, not even knowing it.

“I wasn’t close with him,” I try to explain. “My mom raised me. We didn’t even talk until he came to find me a couple of years ago. And even then, I told him I didn’t want anything to do with him or his club.”

“Your presence here says otherwise.”

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