Feels it in his fucking soul.
I hope to God he knows I’m coming for him, and that I’m bringing his death with me.
17
Jamie
“Told you she was nice.” Ava’s loud whisper comes complete with a hip bump into Tempest, a stunning brunette who’s carrying an armful of napkin packages across Sanctum’s yard.
I’m trailing them, walking with Sadie, who, along with her husband Rooster, put together this barbecue. I arrived with Wraith, but for some unfathomable reason, he’s been avoiding me since the day we went riding. Nor will he tell me why he came home yesterday covered in someone’s blood. But his sudden mood shift hasn’t stopped him from ending the day with me in his arms. Honestly, I’m tired of asking him what’s wrong only to get evasive answers or hostile silence. When he’s ready to talk, he’ll tell me. Until then, I’ll give him his space to work out whatever crawled up his ass and match his silence with a good dose of my own. Because if there’s one thing I excel at, it’s defense mechanisms.
We’ve been here nearly two hours, and I haven’t seen him since. He dumped me with the women, and he went off with Jester and Malice. I assume he’s tearing over the track behind the clubhouse. I’d check on him, but no. I’m having a wonderful time with Ava and I’m not going to let Wraith’s grumpy attitude ruin my day.
Tempest, who’s sex in black leather, sweeps a hand through the air, gesturing at the bustle of activity all around us. “Whisper a little louder, Ava. I don’t think everyone heard you.” Then to me, she says over her shoulder, “But it’s true. Youarenice, Jamie. It’s refreshing to have another drop of estrogen is this pool of testosterone. Once you stop being bitchy, you’ll fit in fine.”
“Tempest.” Sadie swats at her. “Watch your mouth.”
“What? It’s true.” We get to the row of tables, and Tempest drops the napkins. “You seem super cool, but you have to stop getting all stiff and shit every time someone comes over to talk to you. Be chill like you are with us. That’s all I’m saying.”
Wow. How rude of me. Everyone has been warm and welcoming when they could have flipped the script and treated me as an outsider. Or worse, an enemy.
I deposit my bags on the table and unpack their contents. “I hadn’t realized I was standoffish.”
“Standoffish? No, I said bitchy.” Tempest leans in, and her red lips are an inch from my ear. She smells like candy and sin. “People like us, the whole antisocial thing comes naturally. That’s how I was, too, when I first got here. Trust me, J, you can be happy in Mayhem. Real happy. But you gotta do like I did and get the hell out of your own way.”
Before I can respond to her astute remark, Tempest glides off, her impossibly long legs carrying her toward Sadie, who’s at the other end of the tables unloading more bags. She’s tanned to perfection, and her body is showcased in torn jeans and a tight black top decorated with the American flag. There’s something about her that’s as wild and free as Mayhem itself.
Ava told me Tempest works with her at Devil’s Den, but where Ava’s a stripper, Tempest works in the brothel.
There was a pause after she dropped that information like she was waiting for me to get judgy about it. Again, not happening. How someone lives their life is no one’s business but their own. As long as everyone is of legal age, consenting, and no one gets hurt, it’s all good as far as I’m concerned. No one’s clean. Some just hide it better. Besides, I’d rather be Tempest, who’s happy and free than the harpies back in Marion County who are rich and miserable in their gilded cages.
Ava sidles up next to me. “Tempest comes on strong, but she means well. Hope you didn’t take offense.”
“I did not,” I assure her. “At least with her, there’s no games. You know exactly where you stand. It’s refreshing.”
Ava slaps her hands over her heart and blows out a loud sigh. “Oh thank God, because she’s my best friend, and now you’re my friend, too, and I’d hate if the three of us can’t be friends together.” She steps back and gives me a once-over. She closes one eye, ogling me critically. “But I should be mad at you because I thought we agreed on the other outfit.”
The pink long-sleeved baby doll dress was a last-minute decision. I kept the black Doc Martens, though. I’m a sucker for all things 1990s, and this outfit screams classic grunge.
“I couldn’t do it. I tried, but…” I shrug and gesture at my dress. “This is me.”
She hooks her arm in mine with a laugh. “Then you be you, girl, because it’s working. You look hot as hell. I wish I would have thought of it. The style works for you. All girlie up top. Badass down below. I love it.”
“You’re insane.”
Ava twirls her finger near her temple and crosses her eyes. “Insane in the membrane.”
I watch Ava saunter off to join Sadie in unpacking about a million more grocery bags. It takes a lot of food to feed this many people, and when I shift my gaze to stare out over the courtyard, a horde of butterflies flutter in my stomach. Men outnumber women by at least four to one. While we set the tables staged in the center of the massive courtyard, tattooed men with beers in one hand and tongs in the other command the cooking area. If it has a flame, they’ve got it lit—barbecue pit, smokers, grills…you name it.
Thankfully, the weather gave us a perfect autumn afternoon. Low seventies. Sunny. Not a drop of humidity. No threat of rain. A handful of kids play in the dirt, but they’ll be gone, I’m told, once the sun sets and the adult festivities begin. Sanctum’s parties are legendary, and I’m both oddly excited and utterly terrified I’ll be here after dark, in the thick of one.
“Enjoying yourself?” Crow’s rich baritone pulls me out of my thoughts.
I give myself a mental shake and stare up at over six feet of rugged power towering over me. “I am, thank you. I appreciate the invitation.”
“Sanctum is always open to you.Always.You need to understand that there isn’t an Unholy here who wouldn’t give up their life for you because of what you did for Wraith.”
I’m not good at accepting gratitude, and I shrink under the burden of its weight. “Thank you.”
