Page 39 of Bruised MC Bear

18

Axe

Axe hadn’t thought far enoughahead to the whole hugging part. When Nancy came toward him, he froze. He tried to recover, and ended up patting her on the back as though she were one of the boys. What else was he supposed to do? He was standing in front of his estranged sister, with no buffer, and a mutual grudge the size of a tanker truck. Touching was not part of the reunion he’d envisioned. Holding her made his mind spin and gave him no time to tamp down the hard fact that facing her was almost like facing his nightmare. No, exactly like it.

“You look good,” Nancy said, giving him a once-over, but the lie was still a lie.

“Thanks. You look the same.”

He dug his hands into his pants pocket, gaze flicking around the front yard. God, coming here was a fucking mistake. Possibly the worst one he’d made in a while. His niece and nephew didn’t even recognize him. They laughed and shrieked, playing some weird cross between tag and dodgeball. How could he show up here and threaten these kids’ wellbeing just from his presence, or destroy the perfection Nancy had built for them? After everything they had been through as children, she deserved her delusions. His very presence fucked that all up. She needed her idea of control in the same way he needed his adopted family, the Brotherhood. Both were a form of safety, a coping mechanism. He had rushed headlong into her little bubble without even thinking about the repercussions.

As usual, he had been a selfish prick.

Forgetting to take them into account could cost them a lot in this suburban hell that Nancy idolized. She had gravitated toward the lifestyle of their foster parents, wanting nothing to do with the shifter lifestyle. He had run to the Beartooth Brotherhood. Neither of them chose the path of their parents. Sadly, that was probably the only thing they had in common.

In Nancy’s mind, choosing the life she did probably meant she could have a reasonably sound assurance that nothing bad would ever happen to her—until today, when her asshole of a brother showed up asking for a favor and dragging dirt right up to her pristine front door.

Except, she had been the one trying to keep their connection alive all these years.

“I, uh, like what you’ve done with the place,” he told her.

“It hasn’t changed much. Not since the last time.”

He kicked a loose stone in the driveway. It probably drove Nancy nuts, but it was easier to do that than make small talk. They both knew why she had agreed to let him come here in the first place—weird ass circumstances. Once the crazy shit was over and Angel was out of danger, everything would go back to normal and in all likelihood, Nancy wouldn’t see or hear from him again for a very, very long time.

That was their normal.

She waved at the kids. “Annalee, Asher, come and say hi to your Uncle Alexander.”

They ran over, each of them taking a side to hug him.

“Hi, Uncle,” Asher said, staring adoringly up at him.

“You don’t remember me, do you Uncle Alex?” Annalee asked, slightly more reserved.

“Are you kidding me? Of course, I do. How have you been doing with your dance classes?”

Her eyes lit up, and she prattled on, filling him in on all the recitals she had been to, competitions she wanted to win, and more details on ballet and dance techniques than Axe needed to know.

Nancy sent the kids inside to neaten up their toys. “Do you think your friend will ever get out of the truck?” she asked after they hopped up the porch. “She knows I don’t bite, right?”

“No, she’s pretty clear that I’m the one who bites.” Saying that to Nancy sounded so creepy that even he winced.

“I’m beginning to see that. This is what Vincent meant when he said the MC went legit?”

“Don’t start. Wearelegit. We set up a company, and we do real private security work. Look, I’ll introduce the two of you.”

She cocked her head, studying Angel through the windshield. “That’s your job, huh? Do I need to ask if it comes with benefits?”

“None of your business,” he snorted, turning to open the passenger door, and gave Angel a helpless look. “Come over here and meet Nancy, my sister.”

For a beat, Angel went pasty white. Was she nervous?

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m great,” Angel insisted, taking his hand to get out.

He realized where some of her hesitation came from. No shoes, no bra, no panties, wind-blown hair. To him, she was sexy as fuck, but stepping into the burbs like this, especially for a person like Angel, who was normally perfectly put together, must have been her own personal waking nightmare. Still, she held her head high and took the few barefoot steps through the grass until she was face to face with Nancy. Nancy arched a knowing brow in his direction and gazed down at the spot where Axe’s hand was still touching Angel’s upper arm.