Page 23 of Steel

I’m getting really tired of her pushing my buttons just to see what I’ll do about it.

Taking a step toward her, I don’t miss that her breath catches. That her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink, complementing her perfectly puffy lips.

“You forget you’re a little thief, Tempe.” I tip her chin up, but she immediately pulls her face away from my grip. “You’re worried about starving when you should be thankful that I was nice enough to give you a bed to sleep in last night.”

My bed, on top of it.

It’s going to take a whole new set of linens to erase her cherry-blossom scent from my room.

Tempe rolls her eyes. “I already told you I had nothing to do with what happened last night. I didn’t want to steal anything. I didn’t even know what they sent me to get. Itold you everything I know—which is basically nothing. So if you don’t like me being here, let us leave.”

“Wish I could, wildfire.”

Her eyes light up at the nickname I gave her, and I take another step closer. She backs up for every step I advance, but she can’t hide.

There’s no running.

Until I figure her out, I won’t allow it.

“Why can’t you?” There’s the slightest quiver to her tone. “You know where to find us if absolutely necessary.”

“Because you’ve already proved yourself to be trouble.” I pause once she’s backed against the counter. “Besides, if I send you back now, who’s to say the guys who sent you here won’t immediately show back up? You already folded for them once. I’m sure they could convince you to do it again.”

“I—” Her eyebrows pinch as she cuts herself off, and something new washes over her expression. “They wouldn’t.”

She was probably going to argue and run that smart little mouth of hers, but her momentary confidence is replaced with something else.

Fear.

Tempe’s tough. I’ll give her that. But at my mention of the men who sent her here, her voice shakes and goes up in pitch. She chews the inside of her cheek, and her eyes dart around the room.

I’d like to think she’s not this innocent, and she’s just good at playing men. But her reaction is more proof that she’s nothing like Helix.

“You think they’ll come back?”

I could lie to her—soften the blow. But I’m not that nice, and after last night, this girl needs a dose of reality.

“Probably. They still don’t have what they wanted.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“That’s none of your business.” Just because they sent her here looking for the thumb drive doesn’t mean she has a right to know we found it. Especially when I don’t know what’s on it yet.

“You’re right. This isn’t mybusiness. This is mylife.” She narrows her eyes, but they’re glossy from the tears she’s holding back. “And you’re holding me hostage until what—you decide if I’m lying to you? My mom isdead,and I’m all my brother has. Trust me, what happens to your club is the least of my concerns. I don’t know what I’m stuck in the middle of, but I didn’t ask for this, and neither did my brother.”

Her shoulders are squared, and her face is a shade redder with her frustration.

“I have a right to answers if you’re going to keep us here.” She glares at me. “If I don’t show up at work tonight, I’ll get fired. And rent’s already ten days past due. I don’t know what those men want from you, but why couldn’t you all just leave me out of it?”

Tempe dips her chin and rakes her fingers along her scalp, messing up her ponytail so she has to redo it. When it’s slicked back again, she curls her arms around her body and deflates against the counter.

I don’t know what to make of her. Her guard flies up as quickly as it crumbles. One second, she’s fighting me,and the next, her eyes are begging me to help her. She hates me as much as I hate her, but we’re both stuck in this fucked-up predicament.

Tempe is a walking contradiction.

A beautiful distraction.

The enemy.

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