10. Havoc
Havoc
Nothing gives clarity like spending a day at Kings Auto.
Steeped in oil.
Under the hood of a car.
When nothing else makes sense, I put my hands to work and fix something tangible. Something that has a chance of running again.
At least, that was my plan today when I told Trent I’d cover his shift. It sounded like an easy way to get some space now that Aimee is staying at the clubhouse. Except nothing I do around the shop stops me from replaying my conversation with her this morning.
I’ve been in denial these past few weeks, trying not to think about why the Iron Sinners had Aimee locked in a basement. And even if this morning she swore it was because they are using her as leverage against her father, I sense that’s only part of it .
Aimee never used to fear looking me in the eyes when she talked to me. Today, she barely met my gaze. She doesn’t want me to know the extent of what the Iron Sinners have done to her, which only sets me more on edge.
My wrench slips off the bolt when I turn it too far, and my fist slams into the ground, splitting the skin on my knuckles.
“Fuck.” I can’t get a grip.
And I have a bad feeling that once Aimee finally opens up to me about what Titan really wants from her, this festering anger will only get worse.
At least Ghost is the one who debriefed her this afternoon. He’s good at keeping emotions out of a situation unless it involves Luna, so he might have had a better chance of getting Aimee to open up. When I try, all she does is fight with me.
And I fight right back.
I can’t help it. Arguing is better than nothing at all. If the past decade taught me anything, it’s that I don’t care that she disappeared and broke my heart; I still need her.
I pick up my phone and am met with an empty screen. Ghost texted that he was done talking to her about an hour ago, but he was late meeting Legacy to help him out with something, so he said he’d talk to me later. I wish he was done already so I could do what I’m good at—plan the mission.
I’m better with an objective .
I never liked Aimee’s father, but at least rescuing him gives me something to focus on. Sitting here imagining what she said to Ghost is driving me out of my mind.
Outside the garage, a bike rumbles to a stop. I push off the concrete and spot Chaos climbing off his bike.
“Come to get your hands dirty for once?” I smirk, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Fuck no.” He grins. “I’ll never understand why you’d rather be here than at the strip club.”
I shake my head, not bothering to explain.
While strippers are what Chaos uses to escape, sex has only ever been a means to an end for me.
A way to take the edge off and forget about the shit in my head.
After Aimee, I never saw the point in a relationship.
Especially with the example my father set growing up.
He ran through women like he ran through booze, and nothing good came out of any of it.
“Slow day?” Chaos circles the vintage car I’m rebuilding, looking around at the empty garage.
“The guys finished up, so I sent them home.”
“So you could brood all by yourself?” He smiles, leaning against the car.
“I’m not brooding.”
He hums, clearly not believing me.
“How’s shit with your brother?” I change the subject.
Chaos thankfully lets it go. “It’ll be better after I run a few things past Steel.”
“Like what?” I hitch an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry about it just yet.”
“It’s my job to worry about it. ”
“And you do that well, Havoc.” Chaos slaps me on the shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you shuffling around like a ball of constant fucking stress.”
“Why are you going to miss me? Are you thinking about leaving Vegas?”
Chaos’s grin falters. “Not permanently. But the only reason this shit with Kincaid is so difficult is because he’s there and I’m not. The lawyer said I have a better chance of claiming my rights to the land if I take a trip back.”
“Are you ready to face all that?” After all, I’m not the only one with an alcoholic father and a childhood stained in bloody memories.
“Have to be.” Chaos crosses his arms over his chest. “I need to sort this out. Hopefully Steel understands.”
“He will. You’ve done enough for the club.” Like going to prison so no one else would take the fall. “Just come back, okay?”
“You can count on it. Can you imagine Steel having to run Sapphire Rise long-term? How the fuck did he survive when I was locked up? I’ve never seen anyone so miserable looking at tits and ass.”
“I’m sure Tempe appreciates it.”
Chaos shakes his head. “If I ever start falling that hard for a chick, you better punch me in the fucking face and remind me I’m smarter than that.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice.”
He grins, staring out at the street. “I’m gonna miss this place. Even if I’m just gone for a couple of weeks. My brother’s going to regret forcing me to go back there over some bullshit. ”
“How are the strip clubs back home?”
“Nonexistent.”
“And somehow you managed to survive for nineteen years?”
“Barely.” Chaos pops his knuckles, still grinning, but something darker crosses his expression.
He’s never given specifics about his family or why he left.
All I know is that he had it hard growing up.
The kind of hard that usually breaks people.
And when it doesn’t, they end up in places like this.
In clubs like the Twisted Kings. Forming brotherhoods of their own and wreaking havoc on motorcycles.
Fucked up as it can be at times, the Twisted Kings are a family.
My family.
A truck rolls to a stop outside the open garage door, and I spot a familiar face in Venom’s passenger seat. Aimee must have styled her hair after her shower because the ends are curled, so it’s shorter. The rich-brown strands brush against the peaks of her shoulders.
She’s wearing a white T-shirt and a thick line of eyeliner. She’s so damn pretty without having to even try. Even when she turned me down repeatedly as teenagers, I never stopped noticing her.
Aimee catches me staring at her through the window, and she glares. But unlike the ones I’ve grown used to this past week, it’s less angry and more feisty than anything.
Her fire makes my blood run hot. And the fact that she showed up here has my chest caving in on itself .
When I offered for her to come by this afternoon, I didn’t expect her to actually do it. And I didn’t think about how it would feel to see her in this place again.
Her feet hit cement, and I’m thrown back to all the times she stopped by when we were younger.
She’d watch me work on cars, and we’d talk until the sun set.
I learned almost everything I know about Aimee Landry from time spent between these walls, and when her throat bobs with her swallow, I wonder if she just had that same thought.
“What’s up with you and that girl?” Chaos asks as Aimee and Venom shut the truck doors behind them.
“We knew each other when we were kids.” I shrug.
“So you keep saying. But that look…” He hitches an eyebrow. “This girl fucked you up good, Havoc.”
“You have no idea.” I lift off the car as Venom walks Aimee over.
“We stopped by the safe house to get the rest of Aimee’s things. They’re in the truck.”
“Are you headed back to the clubhouse?” My question is for her; I can’t stop staring.
“I thought I’d hang out.” She bites her lower lip. “If you don’t mind.”
Her toe twists against the cement, and I realize she’s nervous. It makes me want to wrap her in my arms, so I shove my hands into my pockets to stop myself.
“Of course not.” I look at Venom. “I’ll give her a ride back later.”
“I’m sure you will.” Chaos winks, and I’m not the only one who glares at him, as Aimee’s eyes narrow .
I wish her anger didn’t make her so damn stunning. This girl is a ball of fire, and I want her to consume me.
“Later, boss.” Venom waves, glancing at Aimee.
She smiles. “Thanks for the ride.”
He nods, careful to keep his eyes off her beautiful mouth. I’ve always appreciated that about Venom. He’s as big a flirt as Soul, but he keeps his distance from any girl with ties to his brothers.
“It’s almost exactly the same.” Aimee wets her lips, looking around as Chaos and Venom disappear.
“A mess?”
The smallest smile creeps into the corner of her mouth. “Exactly. Complete chaos.”
“You know I think better when there’s shit everywhere.”
She follows me to a workbench at the opposite wall and lifts herself to sit on it. “I know you do.”
“So you needed some air, huh?” I rest my hip against the bench. “That’s the only reason you’re here?”
“Fishing for compliments already? That was fast.” She glares, but it’s playful this time. “Don’t you get enough of those from your girlfriend?”
I snort out a laugh. “You met Reina.”
“Yeah. She’s sweet.”
“You’re lying.” I shake my head. “And she’s not my girlfriend. She knows that.”
Aimee shrugs, her face neutral. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. Clearly, you had something going on with her.”
“Not anymore. ”
She rolls her eyes, and I lift off the workbench to step closer. I grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger and force her to look me in the eyes.
“Reina likes to start shit and say things to piss people off, but whatever we had is over. It has been for months now.”
“ Months ,” Aimee repeats, and I hate how bad it sounds coming from her.
“Yeah.” I brush my thumb along the line of her lower lip and then drop my hand.
“You don’t have to feel guilty about it. You don’t owe me anything, Levi.”
I’d like to explain all the ways she’s wrong about that, but I doubt she’d listen. “Whatever you say.”
“That’s a cop-out response.”
“You’re trying to pick a fight with me right now.”
“I’m not.”
I give her a look.
“Fine,” she concedes, rolling her eyes. “I just don’t understand why you think I care about your relationship status.”
“Are you saying you don’t?” I challenge her. “You’re the one who brought Reina up.”
Aimee’s jaw tightens as she stares up at me from where she’s sitting on the workbench. Her knuckles are white from how hard she’s gripping it. She could easily tell me she doesn’t care and end this conversation, but she doesn’t. Which is why I step closer.
My thighs nudge her knees, and it takes all my composure not to grab her or kiss her or remind her of the promise she made me about that date we’d have when I was out of the Marines.
“I was just clarifying,” Aimee finally says. “She said she was your girlfriend—”
“Well, she’s not.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “For the record, I haven’t so much as touched another woman since you walked back into my life. Not here. Not in LA. Nothing.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Her brow furrows. “You don’t owe me your loyalty anymore, Levi. Too much has happened. I can’t make you any more promises.”
“Then don’t.” I step back. “But you should know it won’t stop me.”
“From what?”
“Finishing what we started.” I turn to walk away, glancing over my shoulder when she still hasn’t moved. “You coming?”
“Where are we going?”
“For a ride.”