Page 26

Chapter 26

Family Ties

Jade

Spade walks over to the end table, taking out a knife from the drawer and slices down Zayn’s pants as he lies on the dining room table. I swear that table has seen more blood than any other place in our house. He gets to work on him as I sit on the couch watching with Hazel in my lap and Jaxon close by with Ryder sitting on his opposite side.

“Let’s get Zayn stitched up and the kids some food before we hash this out,” I say as I get up and walk into the kitchen, placing Hazel in her highchair, pulling it towards the island so Jaxon can sit next to her. Ryder turns on the TV, putting a movie on for them as we make them some dinner. I can’t eat at the moment even though I should, but I can’t stomach food right now. How the fuck has Dalton, that motherfucker, been controlling Jamie from afar? Witnessing the switch happen before me with just a few words made me question everything. I have so many fucking questions, but the kids come first.

Popping some nuggets and fries into the air fryer while Ryder cuts up some fruit, I walk over to the cabinet and grab the bourbon before walking over to Zayn. Handing him the bottle, he takes it, twisting the top off and guzzling it down. The amber liquid dribbles from the corner of his lips and I have to refrain from cleaning it up with my tongue. Jesus, Jade, get it the fuck together. My god.

Rounding the table, I see Spade deep in thought, talking Zayn through it. He pulls the knife out as blood gushes from the wound. Zayn’s jaw flexes as he bites down on his bottom lip. Rein it in, Jade. He groans as Spade sticks his fingers inside the hole, looking for the tip of the knife that broke off.

“I’m sorry, man. This is going to really fucking hurt,” he warns, as he pushes further into the wound. Amber liquid comes flying out of his mouth with a roar as Spade finds the little metal tip, taking it out and placing it on the gauze. “Got it. Jade give him something to bite down on while I disinfect this,” he orders, and Zayn winks at me. Rolling my eyes, I turn and grab a dish towel before handing it to him.

“That’s six, Brat,” he spits before placing the cloth in his mouth as Spade pours disinfectant into the wound. Spinning back towards the kids, I see them eating while watching their movie. Walking over to Ryder, I hip bump him.

“You good bro?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“I don’t know, Sis. I didn’t leave the house on good terms with Spade, and now all of this. We have a lot to talk about.” He sighs, and I nudge him. Our eyes collide and I raise a brow.

“You love him, right?” I ask, and he nods.

“And you know he loves you too, correct?” I say, and he nods again.

“Then whatever it is, it will work itself out. Do you think I don’t fight with all of them? I know I’m a handful, but ?we love each other and couldn’t survive without one another, so we will get to the bottom of it. Don’t stress,” I whisper, but he shakes his head.

“I lied to him; to all of you, and I don’t enjoy hurting the ones I love,” he admits.

“Did you lie to protect us? Or did you lie because you were up to no good? Like, were you with someone else?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“I lied to protect everyone, but I also could’ve told him the truth; but no, I’d never step out on him. If I wasn’t happy with him, I’d tell him. You know I'm not that guy,” he says and I smile.

“I know and he knows that, too. So let’s get the kids settled so they can finish the movie, then we can talk about everything together,” I reassure him as he takes a deep breath, nodding at me.

“Sounds like a plan, Sis,” he says as we both lean against the counter, watching the kids and Spade do his thing.

Hours later, after giving the kids a bath, we put them to bed, and I call a meeting with everyone, including Zayn. We relax on the couch, putting the TV on low for some background noise. Spade and Ryder sit on one end while I sit in the middle next to Zayn’s foot, propped up on a pillow. Looking over at him, he raises a brow, and I roll my eyes.

“Comfy?” I ask, and he chuckles.

“Seven, Brat!” He grins, and I shake my head. Looking at the others, my eyes collide with Spade’s. He smiles as I take a deep breath.

“Alright. I don’t know where the fuck to start,” I say, but Ryder clears his throat, standing from the couch.

“I lied to all of you, and I’m sorry that I did. I’ve been meeting up with Teagan. She contacted me not too long ago to meet up with her. I kept refusing until I couldn’t any longer. She kept threatening the lives of the kids and I would not put them in harm's way. So, when I met up with her the first time, it was a test to see if I actually would show up. Then after that, I ignored her. Recently, while you both were in Ireland, she blew up the clubhouse and forced me to meet with her saying if I didn’t, she was going to shoot Spade the minute he stepped foot off the jet,” he says, looking over at Spade, who doesn’t look to be all that angry about this revelation.

“Keep going,” I encourage as he digs into his pocket, taking out a joint. Sparking it up, he takes a deep pull and hands it to Spade.

“She told me a lot of shit I never knew.” He exhales, and I raise my brow when his eyes collide with mine. “You know she’s not mom, right?” he asks, and I nod.

“She’s a cunt and doesn’t have mom’s beauty mark,” I say, and he smiles.

“She also told me I’m not her blood. We aren’t even siblings,” he says, and I gasp.

“What the fuck do you mean we aren’t siblings? We share the same mom!” I declare, but he shakes his head.

“Apparently, we don’t. Some Crow Eater is my mother, and guess who my father is? It ain’t Big John, that's for sure,” he says, and my eyes widen.

“What the fuck, Ryder.” I shout as Spade passes him back the joint, which ?he offers to Zayn, who takes it.

“Slash is my real dad. Apparently, he was a young prospect who got a Crow Eater pregnant, but that's not even the kicker,” he says, shaking his head. “Mom killed her by pushing her down the stairs so she didn’t have to hide anymore. Twins is what she needed to be free,” he says, and I swallow thickly.

“Have you spoken to Slash to confirm all this?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“I haven’t had the time and I’m not sure I want to at this point,” he says as Zayn passes the joint back to him.

“That’s some heavy shit,” I say, and he nods.

“That’s not all. Apparently, mom stole Teagan’s life from her and all this shit, and now she wants it back,” He says, and I laugh.

“She’s sick, but she can have fun with that. It’s not her life anymore. There’s nothing to give her. Everyone around us is dead. From what I read in Mom’s journal, Teagan was a mean bitch who was obsessed with Dad. Besides that, someone kidnapped my twin sister, Jocelyn, in Ireland at the castle, leading me to another conclusion,” I say, looking over at Spade who raises a brow at me.

“What now?” he groans.

“I can’t confirm this, but my suspicions are that either your father and or Armando are the ones responsible for Jocelyn’s disappearance. And before you say anything, look at who sits at the table now, and think about who was sitting at the table all those years ago. Flynn attended a council meeting the night Jocelyn disappeared; therefore, so did The Aces. They were furious that my mother fled the country and didn’t know that Flynn was our biological dad. They didn’t have the chance to take me because I was with my mom when they stole my sister. It’s the only conclusion that makes fucking sense,” I say, and Spade covers his face with his hand.

“I’m not saying you're wrong, but we need to dig deeper into that. But even if we find out that your suspicions are true, there’s nothing we can do about it. The Aces are dead,” he says, and I nod.

“I know, but I’d still like to find her and know what happened. It’s a piece of my life that was taken from me and I want it back,” I admit, and he nods.

“This is some heavy shit. What the fuck did I get myself into?” Zayn says, and I laugh.

“Welcome to the shit show, my guy,” I laugh as he shakes his head.

“Anything else Ry?” Spade asks, and he nods.

“The day Kai’s men came to the house. I saw The Monster in Jameson first hand. He was killing men left and right doing his thing, then all of a sudden, he changed and started speaking a different language in a tone I’ve never heard before. He kept repeating the same shit over and over again,” he says, and I gasp.

“What the fuck, Ryder. What did he say?” I ask, and he takes a deep breath.

“Daddy’s perfect puppet and kill the children. I pointed the gun at his head and all of a sudden, he came back and didn’t remember anything. He begged me not to tell you guys but said if the monster came out again and he was hurting anyone, to take the monster down. Hence last night,” he says as I bring my hand over my mouth.

“Jesus christ,” Spade says, hanging his head in defeat.

“So, he told me that last night was the first time The Monster let him see what was happening. I thought the voices were his intrusive thoughts that turned into impulsive actions, but he said he killed The Carver when he was in the asylum and doesn’t understand why this is happening, and that when he blacks out, he’s seeing snippets of a person doing things but he doesn’t know who the person is, and sometimes, doesn’t even remember, and that when he comes back, he feels guilty like he’s done things he can’t remember and doesn’t know if those things can be redeemed,” I tell them, and they all look dumbfounded.

“So, when you left the warehouse, he was himself?” Spade asks, and I nod.

“Yes, he was. When I walked in here, he was still himself,” I say.

“But the minute Dalton came down and uttered those three words, the switch happened. How the fuck did he do that?” Ryder asks, and I shake my head.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers to that, but fuck. How the hell are we going to get him back? Jamie is a danger to himself, but not only that, he is a danger to us now too,” I say, and Spade growls.

“This is bullshit. Jay would never hurt us. He loves us. But that monster wants our flesh, and that's not something to take lightly. This is totally fucking fucked,” he says, and I nod.

“It is, and I don’t know how to help him when we don’t know the true trigger, other than the words Dalton spoke. There has to be more to it, and we need to figure it out fast,” I say, and they all nod. “As much as I want to walk into the Callaghan mansion and tie Dalton up with explosives, it’s just really anti-climatic. Don’t ya think?” I add, and they laugh.

“We aren’t like that. We much rather torture for days, maybe even weeks, draining the human body of their blood. Strapping bombs to someone's person is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of. Let’s not ever speak that into existence again. Worst way to kill him. He deserves so much worse,” Spade says, shaking his head as I laugh harder.

“Agreed,” I say as I look at my husband, who is frowning yet again.

“There’s one more thing,” he says, and I raise a brow.

“On our way back from the drop point this morning, my Charger was shot at in a drive-by. All I know is that the car was black. I didn’t even get the make or model. Someone is gunning for us, and I don’t know who to look at first,” he says, and I take a deep breath.

“I just wanted to give birth before I started going on a killing spree, but that doesn’t look like it's going to happen. There’s only so much I’ll take before I unleash hell on everyone,” I spit.

“We have to do something. It’s getting too dangerous for the kids,” Spade says, and I nod.

“You’re right, but for tonight, we table this until I can think straight. I’m still fucking jet lagged, and this has all been too much for one day,” I say, getting up from the couch.

“I’ll meet you in bed later. I want to talk with Ryder for a bit and help Zayn to the pool house,” he says, and I nod.

“Make some calls too. We need more security and to change all the codes, because what we are not going to do is allow Jamie access to us right now,” I say as a ping hits straight into my chest.

“I hate that we have to do this, but he’s unstable,” Spade says, and I frown.

“I hate it too, Babyboy,” I whisper, climbing into his lap as he wraps his arms around me.

“Go make up with Ry. I’ll help Zayn,” I whisper, placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks, Babygirl. I love you,” he says.

“I love you more,” I reply, getting up from his lap and walking over to the gimp.

“Ready, Gimpy?” I ask, and he smirks.

“You gonna be my nurse, Brat?” he asks, and I roll my eyes.

“You wish.” I laugh as I swing his legs around, helping him up. He wraps his arm around my shoulder as we walk to the back door.

“That’s eight. We get to ten and you’re going to force me to bend that bratty ass over and give it a beating,” he whispers as my cheeks redden.

“If only you could catch me,” I reply, and he laughs.

“I can do a lot of things. Don’t tempt me,” he says as we walk through the wet grass to the pool house.

If only he could. If only he could.