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He locked eyes with me, leveling me with a glare. “Prove it.”
Confused, I looked around. “What do you mean? How?”
“We need to know where he’s at. So you’re going undercover. Prove that your club means somethin’ to you. Go find out where that bastard is hiding.”
CHAPTER 27
SAM
I don’t know what came over me. I went downstairs, fully intending to tell Clink I wasn’t going to see him anymore. It was dangerous to trust someone like him, and Tyson was already hurt. But I saw the dejected look on his face, like he was waiting for me to cast him aside, and my arguments died on my tongue. I knew that face. It was one I’d made countless times before, wishing people would forgive me, to believe that I never meant for anything bad to happen, but knowing they wouldn’t. I couldn’t do that to Clink. He might have a dangerous life, but he didn’t do anything on purpose to hurt me or Tyson. And he made me feel safe enough to open up around him. That was rare for me, and I didn’t want to discount that.
The make-out session in the backyard wasn’t in the plan, either. But he kissed me like he was desperate, like he needed to hear that someone was in his corner, and I kind of fell into it. It wasn’t fair that he was such a good kisser. I definitely lost brain function whenever he kissed me.
After checking on Tyson, who was asleep, I made my way back downstairs. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I usually spent my weekends at the community center, keeping busy helping teens who were a lot like I was, suffering and alone, with no one to trust. I wasn’t Tyson. I wasn’t great with getting them to open up, but I was familiar and they trusted me enough not to judge them to come back and hang out instead of causing trouble on the streets. We provided them a safe space to just be teens, and I brought snacks when I could afford it.
Clink wasn’t downstairs that I could see, but Riley, Quinn, and Allie were. Allie was sitting on a stool at the island while Quinn and Riley made lunch. When Riley noticed me hovering by the stairs, she waved me over with a smile.
“Hey. How’s my patient doing?”
Sitting next to Allie, I shrugged. “He’s okay. He’s sleeping right now. Thank you for helping him. I really appreciate what you did.”
She offered me a bottle of water. “It's kind of my job. I work at one of the smaller hospitals in the city, but me and Doc are on call for the MC.”
My brow furrowed. “Are you called here a lot? Is it that dangerous?”
She pursed her lips, looking considerate. “Not as often as you think. Maybe once every few months we’ll get called here for something intense, but it’s usually because someone was drunk and stupid, or had an accident on their bike. I don’t know how many road rashes I’ve had to deal with.”
“Or cuts from broken bottles,” Allie added.
Riley rolled her eyes. “That too. Men are stupid.”
We all snickered and some of the awkwardness drifted away. I still didn’t know what I was going to do, but that would have to wait until I could talk to Clink again. He said he’d explain why we were being kept here, and I doubted he’d have any more reasons to lie to me. He kind of put it all out there when he told us his story.
“So, is Tyson your dad or something?” Allie asked, stealing a chip off Quinn’s plate.
I shook my head. “No. He’s a friend.”
“Pretty big age gap for just a friend. Is there something going on there?”
When I made a face, she snickered.
“No way. Tyson’s like twice my age.” I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to explain it. “No, Tyson is… He’s like family, I guess. When my own family kicked me out, he found me living on the streets and took me in. He’s like a surrogate parent, a therapist, and a friend, all rolled into one.”
Quinn handed me a plate with a sandwich and chips on it, frowning at me. “They kicked you out? Why?”
I wanted to play it off, wave it away and deny them, but Tyson’s words flashed through my head. Make more connections. Taking a deep breath, I forced the words past my throat.
“They blame me for my parents dying. My sister especially told the entire church that it was my fault. I think she only meant to kick me out for a night or two, to punish me or whatever. But I went to church, hoping for someplace to stay, and the pastor tried coercing me into having sex with him. When I told people, my sister lost her ever loving shit and told everyone I was a liar and that I probably came on to him. She called me all kinds of names, and refused to let me come home, so I left. Lived a few months on the street until Tyson finally convinced me to come stay with him for a while. We’ve been friends ever since. There’s no romance there. He calls me his family and I feel the same way. His family kicked him out when he was using, so he knew where I was coming from. We get each other.”
“Well, it’s good that you have someone,” Riley replied.
Allie made a face. “Wait. Why do they blame you for your parents' dying?”
My heart ached whenever I talked about it, and I played idly with the food on my plate instead of actually eating it.
“Because it was my fault. Instead of being at home like I was supposed to, I was out with friends, drinking and smoking pot way too young. It didn’t mix well, and I had a bad trip and called my parents to come get me. They got killed in a head-on collision on the way. They never would’ve been out there if it wasn’t for me.” No matter how many times Tyson told me it wasn’t my fault, the guilt was always there. I tried for so long to argue against them, to say I wasn’t the cause, but no one ever believed me. You hear it long enough, you start to believe it.
“Whoever told you that shit was your fault was fucking reaching. You’re not responsible for that,” Clink growled behind me. I spun around, taking in his furious scowl, his fists clenched at his sides. He stalked up to me, wrapping his arms around me before I could blink.
