Page 18 of Steel

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 hamperand 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?”

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