Page 55

Calli

We were less than an hour from pulling into Kingston, and my body was stiff from sitting in the cab for so long. Two days of driving, two days of back-to-back miles stretching out endlessly, with nothing but the occasional gas station stop to break the monotony.

Thankfully, most of it had been by myself. Shay had hopped between riding with Dad and me, her chatter keeping things lively when she was in the passenger seat. Missy and Kadey had taken their own vehicle, probably to save themselves from Shay’s playlist, which leaned heavily toward early 2000s pop that she sang at the top of her lungs.

Shay and I had taken turns driving her SUV down, packed to the brim with camping gear for the club to survive on for the next week or so out here in the heat.

But I guess that’s why they called it Scorch because nobody escaped without feeling the burn.

I sure hadn’t.

Usually, I didn’t mind driving alone, but the long hours with only my thoughts for company had a way of wearing me down.

Was I really ready to face this place again?

Would Mason be there?

Would I still have the same feelings for him that I felt before?

Those can’t eat, can’t sleep, need to be near him or I’ll die, kind of feelings. Or was that just some teenage crush blown out of proportion by time and distance?

It felt like both a lifetime ago and just yesterday that I’d last seen him. His smirk had been burned into my memory, equal parts infuriating and intoxicating. I used to think it was love—or something dangerously close to it—but now I wasn’t so sure.

Maybe it wasn’t love at all. Maybe it was just one big mistake, and that night, when I thought I was doing the right thing, maybe I’d ruined it forever.

Shay shifted beside me, breaking into my thoughts as she scrolled aimlessly through her phone. “You’ve been real quiet the past hour,” she said, glancing at me. “Deep thoughts or just zoning out?”

“Zoning out,” I lied.

She smirked. “You’re such a terrible liar. What are you thinking about? Or let me guess…” She pursed her lips and tapped her forehead. “Adrian?”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t answer, which was all the confirmation she needed.

“Thought so,” she said with a triumphant grin. “So, are you gonna admit I was right yet?”

“Right about what?” I asked, though I already knew where this was heading.

“About Adrian,” she said, drawing out his name like it was some kind of punchline. “About how he’s not it. You’re not fooling anyone, Calli. Least of all me.”

I tightened my grip on the wheel, itching to get the hell out of this car so I didn’t have to face up to the problems I’d created all on my own. “Maybe it’s just… an adjustment period. He’s not used to all of this, and neither am I. It doesn’t mean it can’t work.”

Shay gave me a pointed look, one eyebrow arched. “Calli, you’ve spent your whole life surrounded by this. The club, the chaos, the family. You grew up in it. You live and breathe it. And you’re telling me Adrian, Mr. Buttoned-Up Banker, is gonna fit into that?”

“People adapt,” I shot back, though the words sounded hollow even to me. “He’s trying.”

“Sure,” Shay said with a shrug. “But are you? Or are you just trying to convince yourself this is what you want?”

Her words stung, mostly because they hit too close to home. I didn’t respond, keeping my eyes fixed on the road as we finally pulled into the outskirts of the small city of Kingston.

I could have thrown up.

Shay sighed, her tone softening. “Look, I know you want to prove something. To yourself, to your dad, maybe to the whole damn club… that you can have a life outside of all this. And I get it, I really do. But you don’t have to settle to do that. You don’t have to pick someone just because he’s the exact opposite of what everyone expects.”

“Who says I’m settling?” I challenged, though even I wasn’t sure I believed it.

Shay gave me a knowing look. “I do. Because I’ve known you since forever, Calli. And I know when you’re excited about something or someone. And I haven’t seen that look in your eyes once when it comes to Adrian.”

I sighed, the weight of her words pressing down on me. “Maybe I’m just tired,” I muttered, deflecting as best I could.

“Or maybe,” Shay said, leaning back in her seat with a smirk. “You are finally realizing that you’re not meant to be some banker’s girlfriend. You’re meant to be someone’s old lady.”

I snorted, shaking my head. “Yeah, right. And who’s that supposed to be? Whip? Rafe? To be an old lady, I have to have an old man, and the boys in the club either raised me or I helped raise them.”

Shay burst out laughing, the sound filling the cab. “Okay, you have a point there.”

“Exactly,” I said, grinning despite myself. “It’s not like I have a line of eligible bikers waiting for me to pick one.”

“Maybe not,” Shay said, her laughter fading into a smile. “But don’t count yourself out yet, Calli. You’re not meant to settle. And deep down, I think you already know that.”

The rest of the drive passed in comfortable silence, but Shay’s words lingered, swirling in my mind as we followed the train of bikes ahead of us through the city streets until we pulled up beside an open, empty lot.

It had been two long days of travel, and the sun was setting quickly, dramatically cooling the hot air, and even though Scorch didn’t start for another two days, the streets were already bustling with people of all kinds.

“All right, you girls, go and get set up at your place before it gets too dark. It’s just a few blocks away. You know where to go?” Dad ordered after the boys had hauled everything they needed out of the back of the SUV.

“Like the back of my hand,” I told him with a smile.

He nodded and tapped the roof, leaning in and giving Shay a quick kiss that made me pull a face. “Come back when you’re done, and you can help set up before it gets too late.”

“Yes, sir,” Shay said with a grin, and I quickly cut my dad off.

“Nope, don’t answer that. I don’t want to hear it!” I sang, already pulling away, Shay’s laughter floating in the air as I lectured her almost all the way to our Airbnb about public displays of affection and—

“Do you see that?” she asked suddenly, her voice sharp with concern. The SUV headlights illuminated the dark, empty road ahead as we cruised slowly through the streets of Kingston. Streets I really did know like the back of my hand.

Shay sat up straighter in her seat, and I squinted into the distance. A figure was staggering along the side of the road, barely visible in the dim glow of our headlights.

“Pull over,” Shay urged, already unbuckling her seatbelt.

“Shay…” I warned, opening the middle console beside me and taking hold of the small handgun inside. “Just take it easy.”

I slowed the SUV and eased it to the shoulder. The guy looked like he could barely stand, let alone walk. His movements were uncoordinated, his head lolling to one side as though it was too heavy to hold up.

Shay was out of the car before I even had it in park, making me curse under my breath. She was like this, though, her job as a nurse made her so conscious of people who needed help, and she was so determined to always give it to them, no matter the danger.

“Hey!” she called out, jogging toward him. “Are you okay?”

The man turned his head in her direction, but his knees buckled. Shay caught him just in time, lowering him gently to sit on the ground.

I jumped out and ran over, the cool night air biting against my skin.

“Calli, grab the flashlight,” Shay ordered, her tone calm but commanding. I dashed back to the SUV and returned with the small emergency flashlight we kept in the glove compartment.

Shay clicked it on and shined it in his face, gently tilting his chin up. He was a lot younger than I thought, his skin was pale and clammy, and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead despite the chill in the air.

“Sir, can you hear me?” she asked, tapping his cheek lightly.

His lips moved, but the words were barely audible. I leaned closer, straining to catch what he was saying.

“... Insulin...”

Shay’s eyes widened, and she swore under her breath. “He’s diabetic.”

“What do we do?” I asked, panic creeping into my voice.

“Help me get him into the car. We need to get him to the hospital, fast.”

We each hooked an arm under him and hauled him to his feet. He groaned weakly, his legs barely cooperating, but between the two of us, we managed to half-drag, half-carry him to the SUV.

“Back seat,” Shay directed, already pulling the door open.

We got him situated, his head leaning against the window, while Shay switched on the overhead light just to do another check of his vitals.

That was when I saw it.

The club cut he was wearing.

The patch on the front, the same one that sometimes haunted my dreams.

Hell’s Bandits MC.

“You keep looking at that patch like it’s going to bite you,” Mason said, his voice low and teasing as his hand brushed mine where it rested against his chest.

“One day it will, I’m sure. Right in the ass.”

“Calli, come on! We gotta go!” Shay insisted, shoving me toward the driver’s seat before she dived into the back with him.

“How bad is this?” I asked, glancing at Shay in the rearview mirror.

“It’s bad,” she admitted, her fingers pressed to his neck to check his pulse. “But if we get him there fast enough, they can stabilize him. Just drive.”