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King looked from me to Sal, to Lannie. “What’s going on?” he asked. God, he was more like Sal than he realized.

“Can we talk in private?” I asked, looking back at Sal. He waited by the door. He wanted to feel welcomed by his son. So far that hadn’t happened.

“Sure, we can talk in church.” He turned and walked through the double doors, followed by his officers. We didn’t need an audience, but this was his house. His rules.

I took Freyja’s hands. “Will you be ok out here?”

“Of course, this isn’t my first clubhouse.” Her smile dropped when she looked around, and I followed her gaze to the girl who was skimpily dressed.

“Will there be a problem?”

Freyja smiled. “Not as long as they don’t create one.”

“I’ve got her, Duncan. Go.”

“Thanks, Maureen.”

I kissed Freyja, then followed the others behind the double doors.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Duncan

The doors closed behind me and I stared at my nephew. I swear I’d heard my sister’s voice. Something had been fucking with my head since Mardi Gras.

“So, what’s up?” King asked. Seeing his officers sat around the table, I thought about the last time we were in here.

“We’ve got shit going on up in Boston. Colleen needs to stay here with Lannie,” Sal explained. “Need you to watch over your cousin.”

King’s eyes widened so slightly I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t been watching.

“My cousin?”

“She’s your uncle Duane’s daughter,” I told him.

King just looked at me, then Sal.

“You ok, brother?” Cash, King’s VP asked.

“Not sure. Hadn’t really thought about any other family aside from Sal.”

Sal sighed next to me. I didn’t say anything but I would talk with him later. Patience wasn’t his strong suit.

“You have an aunt and another cousin in Boston. My sister Caity and her daughter Maddie.” Sal looked at Blade. “Same for you.”

Blade looked up quickly. “Fuck, I’ve got more family?” He looked at King and grinned. The two had recently learned they were cousins themselves. Blade’s father was Sal’s half-brother.

“We didn’t get much time to talk back in December,” Sal stated. Then the fucker had to be petty. “Haven’t talked much since I left either.”

“There’s been a lot of shit going on. Not much time to catch up with long-lost fathers,” King snarked.

I dropped my head in agitation. “No fuckin’ doubt you two are related,” I mumbled. “Look, there’s more. I want to talk to you about your mom.”

“My mom died when I was ten.” King scowled at me, and I got it. He never knew Darcy.

“Look, kid, I know you got dealt a shit hand. But my sister was your fuckin’ mother. She did what she did trying to protect you. Don’t fuckin’ disrespect the sacrifice she made.”

“Fuck you,Uncle,” he sneered. “I don’t know she made any kind of sacrifice. For all I know, she was no better than my niece’s mother, who was a selfish, petty bitch who kept her from growing up with a father who loved and wanted her.”