He moved before I finished speaking, crossing the distance between us in long, ground-eating strides. For a moment, I thought he was going to yell at me. Demand to know where I had been, why I hadn’t called, why I stayed away so long. Instead, he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug that knocked the breath out of my lungs.
“Jesus Christ, Alex.” His voice was muffled against my hair. “Four fucking years. About fucking time you came home.”
I stood there, frozen, my arms pinned to my sides by his grip. The backpack pressed against my spine, and the USB drive inside suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and I wasn’t sure if I was apologizing for leaving or for coming back.
Oscar pulled back, his hands gripping my shoulders, as his eyes searched my face. “You look like shit.”
“And you look old.”
He barked out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Around.” I tried to keep my voice light, casual. “Seeing the world. Living the dream.”
“Bullshit.” His grip tightened. “What happened?”
Behind him, Zeus and the others had gathered, forming a loose semicircle around us. I could feel their eyes on me, assessing, judging. The prodigal daughter returned. The little girl who had grown up in the clubhouse, who had left without a word, who had come back looking like she had been through hell.
They weren’t wrong.
“I need a place to crash for a few days,” I admitted, meeting Oscar’s eyes. “Just until I figure some things out.”
“What things?”
“Oscar.”
“What. Things.” His voice had gone hard, that enforcer tone that meant he wasn’t going to let this go.
I glanced at Zeus, at the other men watching us. “Can we talk about this inside? Please?”
Oscar’s jaw clenched. I could see the war happening behind his eyes, the brother who had missed me fighting with the enforcer who smelled trouble. Finally, he nodded once, sharp and decisive.
“Inside. Now.” He looked at Zeus. “Prez?”
Zeus studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nodded. “Church. Ten minutes.”
My stomach dropped. Church. That meant the full officer table would weigh in on whether I was welcome here or not. That meant questions I couldn’t answer without putting everyone in danger.
“Zeus, I’m not asking for club business,” I blurted. “I just need a place to stay. A few days, that’s all.”
“You’re Poseidon’s sister,” Zeus said, his voice calm and measured. “That makes you club business. Church. Ten minutes.” He turned and walked back toward the clubhouse, the other officers falling in behind him. Oscar’s hand was still on my shoulder, his grip tight enough to bruise.
“What did you do now, Alex?” he asked quietly.
I looked up at my brother, at the man who raised me, who tried to protect me from a world that didn’t give a shit about protection. I thought about the money in my backpack. I thought about the trail I left and the lies I was going to have to tell to keep everyone safe.
“I followed my heart instead of my head,” I said. “And it turned out to be a really fucking bad idea.”
Oscar’s expression softened, just for a moment. Then the enforcer was back, hard and unyielding. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
He steered me toward the clubhouse, his hand never leaving my shoulder. As we climbed the porch steps. I caught sight of my reflection in one of the windows. I looked exactly like what I was. A woman on the run, desperate and dangerous and one wrong move away from getting everyone she loved killed.
Welcome home, Alex.
Chapter Five
Alex
