Page 25 of Storm

“I’ll show you.” He looks at me, confused by what I’m saying, but stands and follows me inside. I walk through the kitchen and toward the stairs before climbing them with him behind me.

When we get to my room, I usher him inside and look down at the chest.

“He had this made for me,” I tell him softly as I glance down at it.

“What is it?”

“It’s a chest,” I tell him, leaning down and lifting the lid. The inside is the same as it was back then. The pillow, the blankets, it all still lies in there just like it was when they found me.

Storm walks closer and squats down, running his fingers along the edge.

“He had this made in case somethin’ like that happened,” he says, keeping his tone down.

“Yeah. There’s a lock on the inside, but in the back, there are slits for air to get in.”

“Fuck, Kenz,” he says, dropping his head. I can’t stop it now. The tears I’ve been trying to hold back rush to my eyes and begin to fall down my cheeks. I take a step back when Storm notices. He looks up at me before turning back to the chest, closing the lid softly.

“What did he say to you? How did you know to get in there?”

“We practiced. He made sure that I knew not to say a word or open the chest until I knew it was one of the guys,” I choke on a sob.

“He knew it was always a possibility.”

“He saved me. I screamed for him. He was on the floor and I didn’t want to leave him,” I cry harder now as the memories assault me. I can still see him there, lying there, pleading with me to hide. My body begins to tremble when I wrap my arms around myself.

Storm stands and turns toward me, stepping into my space. I raise my hand to stop him but he doesn’t. Instead, he grabs my upper arms and drags my body into his. He wraps his strong arms around me and just holds me while I cry.

My whole body shakes from the sobs that rip through me. Storm doesn’t let go of me. He keeps me tucked into him, his arms keeping me safe and I don’t know how to feel about that. I know what this is, but the more time I spend with him, the closer I feel to him and the club. I’m torn down the middle and I don’t like it.

I try to pull away from him, but his grip just gets tighter.

“It’s okay to let someone in, Kenz.” His words are like a slap to the face, considering we’re only doing this as a deal that we made. My stomach churns as I think about that and what he’s saying right now.

“We made a deal. This wasn’t it,” I tell him, pulling out of his grasp and taking a step back.

“Don’t do that,” he says, shaking his head.

“Do what? Tell the truth?” I ask him, wrapping my arms around myself once more.

Storm steps toward me once again, and a knot forms in my stomach.

“You know there’s more to us than just the deal,” he says, bringing his hand up to cup my cheek. It would be so easy to get lost in him, but I swore I wouldn’t get involved with anyone in the club life. I can’t handle losing someone else that I care about.

“There’s not.”

“Fuck that, Kenzee. You know there is.”

“Don’t do this, Storm.”

“Do what? Tell you that I feel somethin’ when I’m with you?”

“Exactly. Don’t tell me that.” With that, I step back and watch as his hand falls from my face and lands at his side. Storm watches me for a long second before he nods his head.

“You’re right. Fuck this,” he snaps before storming past me and out of my room. Tears sting my eyes once more before I walk over and drop onto my bed. This is it. This is what my life has become.

Chapter 9

Storm