Page 41 of Havoc
Besides, I’m familiar with how motorcycle clubs work. Our history might be deep, but there are limits to what he can tell me. All I can do now is trust he’ll make good on his promise.
I might hate his cut.
I might hate what his club represents.
But I believe Levi when he said he’ll help. It’s who he is. Who he’s always been.
A protector.
When we lay beneath the stars, I saw the truth. Levi didn’t change when he patched in; he’s been a biker all along. I wanted to ignore that side of him when we were teenagers, but it was only because he shielded me from it. Now, I’m finally seeing all sides of him.
Opposite ends that form the man he is.
Someone who is nothing like the bikers who ran my soul over. Who fights for a club nothing like the Iron Sinners.
The Twisted Kings are a family.
I stand in front of the mirror and check my outfit. With Levi as busy as he is, I don’t know if he’ll be at the party tonight, but Reagan made me promise to make an appearance. Up until now, I’ve avoided the main body of the clubhouse after the sun sets, retreating to Levi’s room with my dinner as soon as the music starts.
No matter how comfortable the guys have tried to make me in my time here, the madness of their parties rustles up memories I can’t escape. Times when Titan would force me to be at his side during the debauchery, whether I liked it or not.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and brush my fingers over my outfit.
This isn’t the Iron Sinners clubhouse.
These men aren’t the same.
Levi would never let anything bad happen to me.
My shoulders relax, and I blink my eyes open.
My outfit is simple compared to the sexy dresses the patch bunnies will probably be wearing. I won’t draw attention in a black tank top and dark-gray jeans. But even if I’ve kept my outfit discreet, I decided at the last second to add a dash of eyeliner and to curl the ends of my hair. It’s a small rebellion when I generally try to be plain and unnoticeable.
I’m allowed to make myself pretty without worrying how men will weaponize it.
With a final swipe of my lip gloss, I press my lips together and head for the door.
After that first night I stayed here, Levi swept through and cleaned up all his things, so there’s no longer a mess of clothes everywhere. But he hasn’t been back since, and I can’t help feeling a little bad that I’ve kicked him out of his room.
I swing the bedroom door open and head down the hallway, toward the sounds of laughing and cheers. As I pass a window, the smell of cigarette smoke filters inside. Still, the air in the clubhouse is surprisingly clear.
Reagan told me that Steel enforced a strict no-smoking indoors policy when Tempe got pregnant. That surprised me. It’s one more thing Titan would never do in hisclub because it would require him to care about the well-being of the women he holds there.
The moment I turn the corner to the main room of the clubhouse, I’m tempted to turn back around. Reagan told me the club was still under lockdown, so there wouldn’t be any outsiders here tonight, but the room is still packed with people. Most I recognize in passing, but I don’t know many of their names.
Across the room, my gaze snags on Levi, who’s sitting at the bar beside Ghost. Apparently, he found the time to be here tonight, regardless of how busy he’s been this past week. Or maybe he was told that he needs to be since all ranked members are in attendance.
I spot them scattered throughout the room.
Ghost and Levi at the bar, with Luna hanging on Ghost’s arm. Chaos and Soul are playing darts. While Steel and Legacy have claimed couches off to the side. Tempe is sitting on Steel’s lap while he rubs her growing belly. And Reagan is tucked under Legacy’s arm.
My stare shifts back to Levi while I consider my options, and I find him still staring at me. A cyclone of promises and regret brews in his eyes. There are things I want to tell him so he’ll understand why I can’t stay here after my father is rescued, but the past fourteen years stop me.
He deserves to move on, even if I can’t.
Finally taking my eyes off Levi, I cross the room to meet up with Reagan.
She smiles wide when she spots me and stands to give me a big hug. It takes me a second to remember I shouldprobably hug her in return. So I plant a hand on her back and pat. Thankfully, she doesn’t make me feel bad for how awkward I am. When we pull apart, she’s still smiling.
