Alek frowned. “Everyone likes Christmas.”
“Not Lacey.”
“Why not?” Alek asked.
“Long story.”
“I hear you are leaving for New Orleans tomorrow.”
And just like that, my mind drifted back to tomorrow’s flight, to New Orleans, to Ansel.
Damn Ansel.
The man had always been able to twist truths into gilded promises. He had a knack for promising the world while laying snares at your feet. I had learned that the hard way. And now, here I was, about to walk straight into his web again.
But this time, I swore, it wouldn’t be me caught in it.
I finished my drink and stood, the scrape of my chair on the floor causing a few heads to turn.
“I can’t do this,” I muttered, but no one followed.
I made my way out of the clubhouse, the laughter and music fading as I stepped into the cold air, got on my bike and rode out.
Thirty minutes later, I pulled up in front of a cute cookie-cutter home and cut the engine. Getting off my bike, I walked to the door just as it opened.
“Calvin?”
“Hey, Sis.”
“Why are you here?”
I didn’t have to explain myself. My sister knew and stepped aside as I walked into her home. Unlike the clubhouse, there were no decorations, no Christmas tree. Hell, there wasn’t even the smell of turkey or ham cooking in the kitchen. Instead, there was a pizza, a plate of wings, and a six-pack of beer sitting on her coffee table as the television displayed some home improvement show.
Taking a seat on her couch, I snagged a slice of pizza and made myself comfortable.
“Mitch called me yesterday,” she said, closing the door.
I scoffed. “He has a big mouth.”
“You really going back there?”
“Leave tomorrow on a morning flight.”
My sister sighed, settling into the armchair opposite me. “You’re chasing ghosts again, aren’t you?”
It wasn’t a question, more an observation—a truth she knew too well. I bit into the slice of pizza, savoring the greasy comfort as I mulled over her words.
Nothing had been the same for either of us since our parents died. I left the circuit, while Lacey closed herself off and shut everyone out. When my accident happened and I walked away from the only thing I had left, I thought by coming home to Rosewood that Lacey and I could reconnect, maybe form a new family of sorts, but that never really happened. Then I joined the Sons of Hell and, well, we just grew further apart.
“You know why I have to,” I finally replied, my voice steady, though my hands itched for the grip of a wheel. “This isn’t just about me.”
She leaned back, crossing her arms. “It never is with you. But don’t pretend you’re not dragging your own baggage along for the ride.”
I could only shrug.
She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t staying to unpack it either. The silence stretched, broken only by the television’s chatter about renovations.
After a while, I stood, unable to handle the silence anymore. Her gaze softened, a rare moment of vulnerability breaking through her tough exterior.
