I blow out a long, frustrated sigh as I stand over the stove top. I’ve got eggs scrambling, bacon cooking, and biscuits cooking in the oven. If that wasn’t enough, I have some turkey sausage in the microwave and a chocolate muffin on standby if I make it that far.

When Kyle steps out of his bedroom in our shared apartment, he raises an eyebrow. “Damn, sis. How much do you think I’m going to eat?”

“This isn’t for you,” I say shortly.

He pauses, rubbing the mess that is his hair. He narrows his eyes, tilting his head and moving closer until I feel like he’s going to see exactly what I’m thinking. “The fuck happened last night, anyway? Bates had to cover your shift when you never came back. You didn’t get caught up with some creeps in the back, did you?”

“No,” I say, swallowing hard. I’ve never been a good liar, especially not when it comes to my brother.

“Was it Jayce?” he asks. I can see him tensing. As much as I love Kyle for how he protected me when dad was at his worst, I hate that I can see some of dad in him. Kyle may find a more honorable way to channel his anger, but the same rage boils inside him that always boiled inside dad. The difference is dad took it out on his kids.

“It didn’t mean anything,” I say, letting out the breath I was holding. “It was dumb. I told him we shouldn’t see each other again. So you don’t need to--”

“That fucking creep,” growls Kyle. “Does he know you’re barely twenty-three? How old is he? Thirty? More? You’re like a fucking kid to him.”

“Kyle…” I say. “I told you. I told him. It was a one time deal. Just forget it.”

Kyle shakes his head, like it’s already forgotten. “Yeah, well that’s for the best. Apparently he’s into some dark shit. Like some really fucked up criminal kind of shit.”

“What?” I ask. “He didn’t seem like the type.”

“You two did a lot of getting to know each other last night?” Kyle asks in a tone that rubs me the wrong way.

“Maybe we did,” I say defiantly.

“Well, I guess he failed to mention the human trafficking scandal from a few years ago. Everybody talks about it. They say he was selling young girls to members of his club in some kind of black market auctions.”

“How do I know you’re not just making this up to keep me away from him? That you’re not just trying to decide who I do and don’t date?”

“You don’t, Miley,” he says, voice full of frustration. “But maybe if you thought about it for two seconds, you’d realize I’m the only person in your life who has ever actually tried to protect you.”

I know he doesn’t mean for them to, but his words bite straight through me. My chin quivers with the threat of emotion. I push it down. I’m not going to be so weak. I can be strong. I can be tough. It’s like Jayce said, I can put my walls up.

“Say I believe you,” I say after a moment. “Even if I was still planning on seeing him again--which I’m not--what am I going to do, just ask him if he’s ever participated in human trafficking?”

“Maybe ask around at work tonight. You might be surprised what you hear. Anyway, I’m going for a run. Don’t eat all that yourself, you’ll have a heart attack.”

“If I ever decide to go back,” I say dryly as he laces up his shoes and throws on a hat before heading outside.

I snatch up a piece of bacon and bite into it angrily. I feel like a spoiled brat for thinking it, but I wish Kyle would butt out of this one. I’ve needed him and appreciated his help my whole life, but just once I wish he’d let me deal with my own mess. I already decided to stay away from Jayce, even if I had the hottest dreams of my life starring him last night.

I grab a biscuit, not caring that it’s so hot it burns and take a bite out of it that’s so big my cheek puffs out like a squirrel stashing nuts for winter. “Stupid men,” I say through a thick mouthful of food.

More like stupid me, though. I already made an appointment to get tested for STDs this morning, because I was reckless enough to let him inside me without a condom. It was so easy to justify in the moment. My brain felt like it was floating on a cloud of white light, like the real world was miles and miles away. I told myself the chances of getting pregnant or catching something were so minimal, that I’d regret it if I stopped him and made him find a condom. Now that sunlight is pouring through the windows? I feel like the world’s biggest idiot. He could’ve gotten me pregnant, for all I know. And if what Kyle said about him is true, there’s no way I could let a guy like that into my life, let alone my baby’s.

My baby.

Excitement mingles with a strong, strong dose of anxiety, making me feel so nauseous I can barely swallow down the huge bite of biscuit I took. I made my choice, however reckless it was. But if by some cruel twist of fate, I am carrying his baby? I owe it to myself and my potential unborn child to go back to the club and ask questions. My decision to continue working at the club or not just became an easy one. I need to know if there is any truth to what Kyle said about Jayce.