“Honestly, I have no idea.” She glances at Austin, who is still running around the yard. “My mom was still living in Texas at that time.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize—”
“That Austin is my brother? It’s okay.” Tempe smiles. “He knows about our mom and that she’s gone now. It’s not a secret. We’ve been very open with him because he deserves the truth. Still, Jameson and I are raising him like he’s ours. We make our own families around here.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
The family.
The love.
When I lost my parents in the car accident, my uncle was there for me, but it was out of obligation. It wasn’t the same as how Tempe has been there for her brother. I was a tool my uncle used to make him look good to the press. Taking in his orphaned niece and giving her a place to live.
In truth, I was raised by his staff more than by him. While he lived in the city with my cousins, I stayed in one of his houses in the suburbs. It wasn’t until I got older and was finally an age that was useful to him that my uncle started bringing me into the city more frequently.
That’s where Eli came in. As the son of one of my uncle’s oldest friends, he rose quickly through his family’s ranks. Everything Eli touches turns to gold. He’s a force to be reckoned with for all the wrong reasons. My uncle was jealous, but even that wouldn’t stop him from using it to his advantage. So he made a deal—me for a piece of everything Eli is building. Money and power are all that really matter to men like him.
Part of me started to believe that was the purpose of family. That they’re meant to be used as stepping stones, nothing more. Until I had Charlie and couldn’t imagine using her when all I want is to give her the world.
And here, at the Twisted Kings compound, they seem to agree. Family is more than blood or obligation. It’s respect, loyalty. Most importantly, it’s love. In how theytake care of their families and sacrifice it all for each other.
To the point where they took in the niece of the enemy because of their trust in Hayes. If anything, they should have turned me away at the gate. I’ll never be able to repay them for that kindness.
“Are you okay?” Tempe asks.
Tears pool in the corner of my eyes as emotion swells. “I’m fine. Just grateful. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“Of course. You’re family.”
A tear slips free at that, and I wipe it away. But before I can say more, a loud crash comes from a distance. My attention snaps to the main gate of the compound—a pinprick in the distance. What’s clear is the plume of dirt as a caravan of cars barrels through.
“Who is that?” I jump to my feet, and Tempe does the same.
“Austin, inside now,” she yells for him, and he doesn’t question her.
He darts into the house.
“They’re not headed to the clubhouse,” Tempe says, watching the cars close the distance by the second. “And there’s only one group that drives cars like that.”
“Feds.”
She nods. “But if they’re not going to the clubhouse—"
“They’re here for me.” My throat closes, and my head swims.
It was too much to think my uncle would just let me go. That he wasn’t spending these weeks scheming howto get me back. Clearly, he pulled strings with his friends at the bureau to get it done.
“They’re not taking you anywhere.” Tempe shifts like she thinks they won’t just go straight through her, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that I’m not going to have a choice.
“Tempe, it’s okay. I need your help.”
She turns to me as I hold out Charlie.
“No.” Her head shakes.
“Please,” I urge, my heart breaking. “Please take her until Hayes can get here; otherwise, they will. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Please keep her safe.”
Tears well in my eyes as Tempe’s gloss over.
