Chapter 1
Chapter One
Tempest
Present Day
M y ass hit the hood of a random guy's car as he dropped me onto it, standing between my legs as he shoved his tongue down my throat. My nails clawed at his chest, and I vaguely heard someone calling my name.
I pulled back to look around through my drunken haze, finding a blurry-looking Luna walking towards me.
I groaned, flipping her off. “Fuck off, Luna. I’m busy.”
“Dad’s been trying to call you,” she said softly, as if I hadn’t noticed my phone ringing for the past two hours.
We were at the Donovans’ racetrack in Ashburn Valley, and whoever this guy was, he’d been more than happy to bail on his race to fuck me on his car. We were out in the open, but it was dark where we were parked.
I’d fuck in the middle of the lit up track if I had to, an audience didn’t bother me.
Just a typical Friday night.
“Temp,” Luna repeated when I ignored her, making me growl as I pushed the guy back to glare at her.
“Where’s your fucking girlfriend? Tell her to sit on your face or something so you can shut the fuck up.”
Her cheeks heated, always getting so easily embarrassed, but Riley materialized out of nowhere, her baseball bat in hand and a flat look on her face. “You always act like I can’t hear the way you speak to her. I thought we were past this?”
“You really need to mind your own business,” I chuckled lightly, sliding from the hood to glare down at her, my strappy heels adding to the extra height I already had on her. She was short, and most of her face was hidden by the ridiculously large hood that she always kept over her head.
How she’d been able to pull any girl she wanted before being with my sister, I’d never know.
She sneered at me, not being intimidated by my size. “If you like your teeth, I’d stop being a bitch if I were you. Just text your damn dad and let him know you’re okay. He’s worried since another sex tape of you and some asshole surfaced.”
“The one with that guy ramming my ass? I know, I’ve seen it. I don’t get why he’s so worried about it,” I shrugged, not particularly fazed. There’d been a lot of those circulating since I’d started high school, and most people had seen me naked at some point in their lives.
Getting upset over it was pointless.
The guy who’d just been eating my face scowled, stalking off to his friends when he realized he wasn’t about to blow his load.
“Yeah, well, when it shows up at your parents’ strip club, and your dad spends the evening killing the guys who talked shit about you, expect him to be annoyed with you,” Riley replied dryly, confusing me for a second.
“Huh?” I blindly reached for the hood to lean on, ending up stumbling and almost landing on my ass if it wasn’t for Luna grabbing my wrist.
“Three guys were watching your latest sex tape while drinking at Wet Dreams tonight. They were having a laugh, talking shit about you without realizing your parents own the club. One even showed Milky over the bar, so he’s probably washing his eyeballs with bleach. The three guys have been getting diced up over the past few hours by your pissed off dad,” she explained, making Luna cringe. “If you’ve never seen someone make a body disappear, then I expect you don’t know how much mess and work that entails. So three bodies? He’s not happy.”
Milky was Dad’s right hand. They ran the Reapers of Chaos crew, and Mom managed the strip club. We didn’t see much crew activity, our parents deciding it was best to keep it hidden from us as if it would keep us safe.
Joke was on them since Luna had been kidnapped a few months ago, thanks to Riley’s association with illegal street racing, and I was on a tightrope of death every day, toying with my life as I mixed pills, alcohol, and questionable sex acts.
I didn’t give a shit if I lived or died, and I always left it up to fate to decide if I’d live to see another day.
Laughter drew my attention, and my stomach twisted as Ryder and Beckett walked towards us, a girl laughing as she leaned into Ryder’s side. He had his signature playboy smirk in place, hiding the cruel asshole below the surface.
I’d been excited for him to get out of rehab, so I’d been hurt when he’d shown up four months ago and acted as if I didn’t exist. No one else noticed since we didn’t really hang out unless we were partying in Blackwater, but all my texts to him had gone unanswered too, telling me what I already knew.
He’d cut me off completely, deciding his fresh start at life wasn’t going to include me.
“Are you two fucking fighting again?” Beckett scoffed, snapping me out of it as she pointed at Riley then me. “You’re traumatizing Luna.”
Ryder’s light green gaze slid to mine, a blank look on his face as he seemed to look right through me. It was as if all those nights we’d spent texting and keeping each other alive had been nothing but part of my imagination.
My fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to toy with his messy black hair like I had a million times before, but I had to mentally curse at myself for even thinking he’d allow it.
He turned to Beckett, his smile slipping back into place. “I’m heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Riley scowled, looping her arm through Luna’s. “Can you two finish fucking before we get there? I don’t need to hear you.”
“You won’t. You’ll have Luna’s thighs around your ears like earmuffs the second you get into bed,” he deadpanned, not looking my way before leaning down to nibble the girl's earlobe and turn her legs to jelly. “C’mon, babe. Let’s go.”
My chest ached as they left, and I tried not to watch them. Most people knew I’d slept with him, but they didn’t know just how close we’d been or how frequently we’d ended up naked together.
It wasn’t a friendship, but it wasn’t a relationship either. I couldn’t explain it, but it had meant the world to me. He understood me like nobody ever could, and now it felt like I was completely alone.
I rarely slept without a one-night stand beside me, but I was always lonely.
Ryder knew how I felt since he was the same, but it seemed his trip to rehab had carved me out of his mind.
It wasn’t like he’d stayed sober, he drank regularly since getting out and continued to stick his dick in whatever pussy would let him, but it seemed he’d managed to stay off the drugs.
I missed getting high with him.
“You’re boring me,” I sighed as I pushed Ryder from my mind, giving Riley the side-eye. “And if my father spent his evening burying bodies because of his temper, then that’s his problem. I didn’t force his hand.”
I stalked off as fast as my heels would let me in the grass, and I had to squint to see where I was going. I didn’t give a shit who I went home with, as long as they had a car and could get me the fuck out of here.
An arm slid around my waist and the stupid part of my brain hoped it was Ryder, but when I turned, I found Logan Donohue. We’d fucked before, he lived in Hawthorne Heights which was the next town over.
He was also besties with Beckett and Riley.
“What do you want?” I purred, teasing his chest with my long acrylic nails. “You want to stuff me with your big cock again?”
“Say please,” he deadpanned, already steering me towards his car. “Seriously, how wasted are you?”
“Enough that I’d consider fucking you a second time,” I joked, and he rolled his eyes as he grabbed the passenger door to his burnt orange ‘69 Plymouth Roadrunner and yanked it open, encouraging me to get in as he secured me with the seat belt.
He didn’t answer, simply shutting the door in my face and jogging over to his friends, motioning to the car as he spoke.
He was probably bragging to them about taking me home.
Logan was a whore, possibly worse than Ryder, and that was saying something.
He slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, not saying anything as he drove out of the huge field that held the sealed racetrack, driving along the main road towards town.
“You know,” I started, closing my eyes as the alcohol hit me harder. “My sister’s going to freak the fuck out that I vanished.”
He snorted. “I told Reid to let her know I was taking you home.”
“It was bold of you to assume I’d just leave with you.”
“Yeah, you really put up a fight,” he muttered, and he didn’t speak again until I felt the car stop. I must have drifted off for a while because there was no way in hell we were already in the Heights at the house he shared with his friends.
I opened my eyes, my body tensing when the blurriness cleared enough for me to see the front of my house. “What the fuck?”
He silently climbed out and slammed the door, walking around to my side to literally lift me bridal style into his arms. He kicked the door shut before starting to walk towards the house.
“I said I was bringing you home,” he finally grunted once we reached the front door, making me scowl.
“I thought you meant you were taking me to your house to fuck me, you asshole.”
The door opened as he replied, his angry eyes on mine. “I don’t mind fucking girls who throw themselves at me, but you’re a mess, Tempest. You can’t consent in this state.”
“Logan,” Dad growled, his voice low with warning. “What are you doing here? If you think you’re staying, you have another thing coming.”
“Nope. Just delivering your eldest princess,” he answered as he helped me to my feet, letting out a sigh of annoyance when my legs kept giving out and he had to keep a hold of me. “As you can see, she’s a mess.”
“Thanks for bringing her home,” Dad replied tightly, letting Logan help me inside where he dropped me onto the couch. I instantly curled up as sleep tried to pull me under, but Dad’s voice annoyingly kept me awake. “Here, take some money for gas.”
“It’s fine, I chose to drive her home,” Logan replied, their voices getting quieter as they walked away, finally allowing me to drift off to sleep.
I woke up with a dry mouth and an ache in my neck, my eyes cracking open to reveal my living room. Part of me was hurt that Dad hadn’t moved me to my room like he used to, but I also wasn’t surprised.
He’d written me off a long time ago.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes and cringing when I noticed the black marks left behind from my makeup. I needed a hot shower, some coffee, and then I’d figure out the rest of the day after that.
It took me over two hours to get ready, finally feeling more human once I’d washed my long, blonde hair and put my makeup on. I painted my lips with red lipstick, inspecting my outfit in the mirror critically.
I was tall with a tiny waist, and my ass and tits were decent too. I was the complete opposite to my sister in looks as well as personality.
I poked at my stomach as my tight dress hugged my figure and I let out a sigh, knowing I’d have to skip meals for a few days in order to lose the added pound or two. I needed to lay off the sugary cocktails, they were making me gain weight like a motherfucker.
My tits barely fit in the strapless dress, both of them almost spilling out over the top, and I tugged the material up slightly to make sure they were secure before wandering down to the kitchen to make a coffee.
Mom was sitting at the table, her tired eyes clashing with mine when I entered. “Morning. Coffee’s hot.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, pouring a cup and sitting opposite her, sipping the scalding liquid as if it would burn my problems away.
I hadn’t heard Dad leave but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Running a crew was a lot of work, and as much as he made sure we all had family time, he’d stopped trying so hard lately.
I wanted to be a petty bitch about it, but it was my own fault. Every time he made plans, I dodged them and avoided the house.
If he didn’t want to try to force us to spend time together anymore, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“You were my best friend when you were little, you know?” Mom murmured, making me frown as I glanced at her.
“What?”
“You’d follow me everywhere. You had a set of lungs on you from day one too, so we always joked that you could throw a damn good tantrum,” she smiled, sadness filling her eyes. “Then high school came, and it was like something flipped a switch inside of you. You stopped confiding in me, you started sneaking out, and you noticed boys. I have to ask this because it’s been nagging at me for a long time, but did someone hurt you?”
I snorted, putting my coffee down to tap my nails on the table. “You’re asking me this now? Don’t you think you should’ve asked this when you thought something had changed me?” Guilt flashed across her face, and I continued. “To answer your question though, no. Nothing happened. I just like sex and partying, Mom. You know what it’s like. People say it’s like history repeating itself, you know? Like mother, like daughter.”
It was a low blow, and I knew I hit a sore spot when she visibly winced. “Tempest?—”
I pushed back from the table, not bothering to finish my coffee. “Just because you were happy to give up your freedom for a family, doesn’t mean I’m going to. Why won’t you guys back off about this? I’m an adult, and I like to get dicked by random men who don’t want to stick around the following day. I like it, Mom, so stop looking at me like I’m some poor little girl who gets taken advantage of. You don’t think I’d fuck their brains out while sober?”
“I’m glad you can comfortably embrace your sexual side,” she said slowly, giving me a pleading look. “I just want you to be safe about it. Your IUD won’t protect you from STDs.”
“I am, drop it,” I threw back, walking towards the front door and snatching my keys from the hook on the wall. She didn’t chase after me, she knew it was a waste of time.
I headed outside, walking towards my BMW M4 convertible as a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. It was a pretty metallic pink color called Velvet Orchid, and it was perfect.
Luna had bought it for me recently when she’d had a huge pile of cash land in her lap.
It was another reason I wanted to hate her. She got everything she wanted, leaving me with the scraps.
I climbed into the car and drove towards Blackwater, needing a decent coffee. I preferred the fancy barista stuff over the crap Dad insisted on buying, but he thought fancy coffee was a waste of money.
Blackwater wasn’t a fancy town but they made damn good coffee.
I cracked the window, letting the breeze whip my hair around my face as I drove, and it didn’t take long for me to pull into the parking lot at Blackwater’s diner and shut off the engine.
I stepped out, the cool morning air making me shiver. I tugged the back of my dress down to cover my ass, walking towards the diner as I checked my social media accounts.
“Morning,” Mason Ridgegate smirked as he held the door for me. “Where’s my boy hiding? Does he have a new phone number? I tried calling him a few days ago, and it doesn’t even ring anymore.”
My heart sank, knowing he was referring to Ryder.
Mason and his friends threw the best parties in Blackwater, and their pills were pretty fucking good too.
I’d spent a lot of nights in their beds letting them and Ryder rail me.
“He’s probably blocked your number. We don’t really talk anymore, so I can’t help you.”
He followed me inside as if he wasn’t just leaving, sliding into the booth opposite me.
“It’s not like you two were besties anyway, right? Is he still clean?”
“It seems that way,” I said lightly, changing the subject. “What are you doing? Weren’t you leaving when I arrived?”
He chuckled, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head. “Nah, I saw you pull in and figured I’d get the door for you.”
“Kind of you,” I smiled sweetly. “You got plans today? I’m bored.”
“If your pussy’s bored, you know I’m down,” he said without hesitation, making me roll my eyes. He came across as an absolute asshole, but most of it was an act.
Out of him and his friends, I definitely fucked Mason the most, and he was more romantic about it than most guys.
“You got a party we can go to?” I asked, the waitress joining us a second later, so we ordered coffee before he replied.
“I might be throwing a rager this afternoon. Massive pool party. You got a bathing suit?”
“I’ll just swim naked,” I shrugged, his eyes heating.
“You know, I wish you’d stop running out on me after we fuck. I think we’d be good together.”
“I don’t date, Mase.”
“Me either. We could be a hot mess together,” he winked, making me laugh.
“It would be a fucking train wreck.”
“Worth it,” he answered, taking our coffees from the waitress as she returned, sliding mine towards me. “So, why did you drive a town over just for coffee? It’s not that good here.”
I sipped the steaming cup, moaning slightly as it touched my tongue. “It’s the best fucking coffee between Ashburn Valley and Stoneleigh. Everywhere else just makes coffee that tastes like dirt. The only good coffee shop in Ashburn Valley shut down when the owner retired a few years ago.”
“You have that flashy car but can’t afford your own fancy coffee machine?” he scoffed, my eyes narrowing over my cup. He knew I didn’t come from money.
“That was a gift.”
“From Ry?”
“No. Why the fuck would he buy me a car? It was from my sister. Her ex’s grandfather took pity on her for putting up with the prick, so he sent her millions of dollars. Why can’t I get that kind of luck?” I demanded, making him smirk.
“Hey, that’s what getting knocked up by rich dudes is for. They either give you hush money, or have to marry you and share their fortune.”
“I don’t want a baby.”
“You can give them away once you’ve gotten the money.”
I rubbed my temples, trying to figure out how I ended up acquainted with this idiot.
“Oh, sure. I’ll just let a baby destroy my body for nine months, then pawn it off to someone else. No thanks. I’m trying to get my body just how I want it, and that would set me back by a mile.”
He frowned, tilting his head as he ran his gaze over me. “You’re not happy with your body? Temp, you’re gorgeous. You’re fucking the wrong guys if they haven’t given you an ego. You need to slide into my bed more often, I’ll fix that.”
“When’s this party?” I asked, not wanting to talk about all the things wrong with my body. “I’ll spend the night with you.”
That caught his attention.
“It starts in an hour. We could probably get there early. Finish your coffee and we’ll go,” he suggested, finishing his own before waiting for me.
A day with Mason would cheer me up, especially if he brought his usual stash of pills.
My day was about to get a whole lot better.
Ryder
The sex tape played for the second time on my phone that morning, and I let out a defeated sigh as I watched. It was like the more I tried to ignore her, the more she popped up in my life.
She wasn’t my fucking problem.
I climbed out of bed and scrunched my nose at the cheap perfume scent that filled the room.
The girl who’d ended up under me after the track hadn’t liked it when I’d kicked her out at midnight, and as much as I knew it was a dick move, I needed her to get the fuck away from me. She hadn’t sated the need inside of me, our vanilla sex boring me to the point I faked that I finished.
That was happening more than I cared to admit lately.
I got dressed and walked down to the kitchen, not surprised to find Riley and Luna eating pancakes. Luna was here most mornings, and a sense of peace washed through me every time she smiled at me, reminding me that I was nailing this anti-drug thing.
The alcohol and pussy? Not so much, but small steps.
“Morning,” Luna smiled widely, pushing a plate towards me. “How did you sleep?”
Riley rolled her eyes at our usual morning conversation, acting like it was stupid, but deep down, she loved it.
“Like my balls are empty, Luney. How about you?” I drawled, her cheeks flushing.
“You’re a dick.”
“Noted,” I grinned, sitting down and shoveling a forkful of food into my mouth before speaking again. “Where is everyone?”
My family was huge. My twin sister, Beckett, was dating our adopted brother, Maddox, as well as my best friend, Jett Emerson. That had been weird at first, but I couldn’t see them apart now.
This year had been the second birthday I’d spent without Beckett, spending our twenty-first apart last year while she was in Fairview Prison, and this year for our twenty-second birthday since I’d been in rehab.
I’d missed our college graduation and everything in June, not that I actually graduated. I’d missed too much school and was supposed to go back to finish my final year next year, but I wasn’t too sure yet.
Then there was Riley who was a year younger than us, and she’d always been up to party with me over the past few years. Now that she was dating Luna though, she didn’t go to many.
I shouldn’t either if I wanted to stay clean.
My older siblings, Angel, Mikey, and Lloyd, were all adopted when our parents had saved them from the skin trade.
Lloyd had been caught up in crew wars with some of our family’s enemies when I was eighteen, ending up burning to death at the track after his car wrecked.
My family ran the Bloody Psychos and Devil’s Armada crews, and Lloyd had been a Psycho, so was Mikey. It was normal for bad things to happen to us, but that accident was a whole different level.
That had fucked me up, I couldn’t lie.
Holding Riley back while she screamed was one thing, but witnessing the entire thing with my own eyes?
A shiver ran through me at the memory, my throat clogging with emotion.
I had to stop thinking about shit like that when I was still trying to navigate life without drugs.
We had a baby sister, Marla, who’d graduated high school in June, and as much as we all knew her plans, it was hard when she announced she was going to Harvard and making a life for herself elsewhere.
She’d left before I’d gotten out of rehab, and it hurt that she hadn’t even stopped by to see me on her way to her fresh new life.
Our family was fucked up but we were close, so Marla leaving was hard.
“Mom and Slash are in Stoneleigh dealing with some kidnapping issue with the Shadow Kings, Hunter and Marco took a bunch of the Devils on a drug run, Caden, Lukas, and Jensen went to Grandma’s house, and Skeeter took Diesel and Tyler to handle some fucker who’s been grooming young girls. They think he’s connected to part of the skin trade,” Riley explained, annoyance on her face as the front door opened and voices reached my ears. “And Beckett’s brought Jett over for you to play with while she and Maddox scope something out with the Psychos.”
Jett’s arms went around me from behind as he started humping me, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Get off me, you prick. I’m eating.”
“Why? You love me having my way with you. You’ll be eating my dick in a minute,” he snickered, putting me in a headlock to ruffle my hair. “Hope you don’t have plans because we’re going to sit on the couch and play video games all day.”
“You’re on babysitting duty,” Beckett deadpanned as she met my gaze. “He’s driving me insane today, and it’s still early.”
Jett faked being offended, standing straight and crossing his arms as I finished my breakfast. “See how your sister treats me? Never leave me again, okay? I need at least one person to back me up when she’s mean to me.”
I got to my feet and dropped an arm around his shoulders, throwing Beckett a fake glare. “Leave my man alone. He’s sensitive.”
“Yeah! I’m fucking sensitive!”
She rolled her eyes but her lips kicked up in the corners, not being able to hide her amusement. “I’m aware he’s sensitive. You can have him for the night if you want to kiss his boo boo better.”
Jett whooped loudly, darting over to her and laying a big kiss on her lips. “Thanks, Becky!”
“You act like I keep you locked up in the basement,” she grumbled, shoving him off her. “Trust me, you’re welcome to burn energy with Ryder whenever you want. I won’t stop you.”
The frustration I’d felt when I’d first woken up vanished as they bickered playfully, making me laugh at Jett’s dramatics.
He would always be my best friend, and nothing would sever our connection.
He’d visited me weekly when I’d been in rehab, and he’d spent a lot of time with me when I’d first come home, knowing I’d want to be kept busy for a while to avoid falling back into old habits.
I couldn’t lie, it had been fucking hard with so many temptations around.
A soft hand took my wrist, and I snapped out of my thoughts as I looked beside me to find Luna, a worried frown on her face. She didn’t say anything, but I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, letting her know I was fine.
Riley eyeballed me, but she didn’t speak. She was still mad about how I’d treated Luna, not that I could blame her, but she also knew I wasn’t a threat to her relationship. We’d talked a lot since I’d gotten home, and I honestly did just see Luna as family.
I didn’t let Luna’s hand go until she pulled away, and I tried hard to ignore the fact that Jett was now eyeing me as if I were about to explode.
He read me easily, so he always knew when I was struggling.
“Can we go and do something today?” I asked him as I plastered a smile on my face, not surprised when he nodded straight away.
“Of course. If you want to get laid though, I'll have to wait in the car."
Beckett smirked. "Make sure you crack the window."
“He’s not a dog,” Luna grumbled, but Riley snorted.
“Might as well be. He keeps showing up like a stray.”
This was going nowhere and it was making me twitchy. My patience was shot to shit since getting clean, and I got bored way too easily which wasn’t good.
It meant my mind wandered and I itched for a high I refused to give myself.
“Can we go?” I snapped at Jett, making everyone stop to glance at me in question. Jett clapped me on the shoulder, acting like I hadn’t bitten his head off.
“Sure thing.” He turned to Beckett, giving her a quick kiss. “I love you, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you too,” she replied, but her eyes were on me. I didn’t say goodbye to anyone as I headed towards the internal garage door, not waiting for Jett as he started saying goodbye to Maddox. I was glad they were becoming such good friends, but I wasn’t in the mood.
Now that I was agitated, everything was annoying me.
I headed into the garage and climbed into my bright red Hellcat and slammed the door, frustration burning inside me until I smacked my fist against the steering wheel, my skin crawling with the need for a fix.
Some days, I was fine, but most days, it was almost too much to bear.
I’d come close to saying fuck it multiple times since getting out of rehab, but I was trying so hard to push those thoughts away.
I hit the steering wheel again just as the passenger door opened and Jett climbed in, not speaking until we were shut inside. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you were having a bad day. What can I do?”
I loved how he didn’t blame me and just wanted to help.
“Every day’s a bad fucking day,” I said tightly, starting the engine and putting the car in reverse as I pressed the button for the automatic garage door. “You could kill me and make it stop.”
“Nah, I’d be too bored without you,” he replied lightly, never getting upset with me when I lashed out.
“The fuck do you need me for? You and Maddox are besties now. I guess rubbing balls with him is working out for you guys,” I muttered, backing out and into the bright morning light. I squinted against the brightness, shifting into gear before putting my foot down and driving towards the road.
Jett sighed, looking out the window. “No matter how close Maddox and I become, you’ll always be my best friend, Ry. I love you even when you don’t want me to.”
I took a deep breath, knowing I was being a dick. I’d always been laid back, but the past year of getting fucked up on a regular basis had altered my personality.
When I was drunk though, my mind relaxed, and I felt like me again.
“Ignore me. I’m working on my attitude, I swear.”
“Don’t worry about it. You know I’ve got you,” he answered as he glanced at me with a smile. “So, what do you want to do today?”
That was a dangerous question. There were plenty of things I wanted to do, but I had to control myself and find new hobbies. Partying while getting wasted wasn’t helping my struggles.
“Let’s go to Wet Dreams,” I suggested, and he blew out a breath.
“Your sister would kill me.”
“No, she won’t. She trusts you and knows just because you learned to keep your dick to yourself, doesn’t mean I have. C’mon, I’ll make sure you don’t get a lap dance,” I teased, knowing he’d agree to keep me happy.
I needed my dick sucked or something, so the whorehouse that fronted as a strip club was the perfect place to go.
Beckett could get over it.