have a wonderful view of the dumpster in the back alley. But it’s clean. And it’s the first thing that I’ve felt is truly mine.”
“Even though Uncle George is paying the rent?” I asked.
I didn’t mean it to be cruel. I just wanted to figure this girl out.
She closed the door. I turned and deadbolted it.
“He’s not anymore,” she said. “That’s the first thing I changed when I started working at the Den.”
“Good for you,” I said. “It’s better not to owe anyone anything.”
Sydney went to the small kitchen and pulled out her coffee maker. She filled it with water and pressed the start button.
“It’ll take ten minutes,” she said. “Make yourself comfortable. I need a hot shower. Then we can talk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
She was so matter of fact. It seemed like me being here was the most natural thing in the world to her. But we both knew it wasn’t.
I sat in the quiet. Her apartment was small, like she said. The living room was separated from the kitchen by a small counter. There wasn’t even a kitchen table. Her bedroom was down a short hallway with two doors. On either side. She disappeared into the bathroom. I got comfortable on a bland, beige, but comfortable couch that probably came with the place.
Sydney hummed when the water ran. She had a sweet voice. She was quick, just like she said she’d be. Then she came out wearing a white robe, scrubbing her wet hair with a towel.
“So,” she said. “Are you going to tell me what that was?”
I looked at her. Damn if she wasn’t even prettier like this. I’d never seen her without her makeup meticulously applied. She had more freckles than I realized. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe. I liked it. Like she’d been dipped in cinnamon sugar, just waiting to be licked.
“You’re not meant for this place,” I said.
She sat on the arm of the chair closest to the couch. Her robe fell open just a little, revealing her leg all the way up to her thigh. She had freckles there too.
“And I’m getting tired of people telling me that. I’ve proven myself. I can hang with every one of those girls at the club. And I can take care of myself.”
The monster lurked inside of me, just below the surface.
“I didn’t like that asshole putting his hands on you,” I said.
“I know. I didn’t like it either. But Torch, your eyes. You ... you wanted to kill him. I mean, really kill him.”
“The thought crossed my mind.”
The air grew thick with silence and something else. I felt like a snake, coiled to strike. She was too.
“Have you?” she finally asked.
I could have played it off. Pretended like I didn’t know exactly what the fuck she meant.
“I’m not stupid or naive,” she said. “I know about the club. I mean, I’ve heard things. Lincolnshire was different not so long ago. More dangerous. It’s the GWMC that turned it into something special.”
“Your uncle tell you that?” I asked.
“Partly,” she answered. “But the girls talk. So do my customers. And then ... there are things I’ve seen working for Uncle George. I know he’s defended some of the members.”
“The club is legit,” I said.
“I know that too,” she said. “But that’s not what I asked you. Torch ... have you killed for the club?”
I felt my jaw tighten. If it had been anyone but her asking, if it had been a man, I might have popped him in the mouth for thinking it.
With Sydney, I gave her a simple answer to a very complicated fucking question. “No,” I said. Then. “I’ve never killed for the club.”
“They love you,” she said. “Amy. Nicole. The other wives. That’s what part of tonight was about. Did you know that? Did you put them up to it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
Sydney moved. She came closer, sitting on the wooden coffee table directly in front of me.
“Amy, especially. They worry about you. They protect the club. And they seem very concerned about me when it comes to you.”
“They’re good women,” I said. “Some of the best I’ve ever known.”
“I get that. I’ll admit it was a little intimidating. Okay, a lot intimidating.”
She kept talking. Her words washed over me, becoming almost meaningless. She was here. She was safe. And yet, I couldn’t get that asshole’s eyes out of my head as he moved in to grab her.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” I said, cutting her