Page 11

Gunnar

Once Knuckles let me go, there was my father to deal with. I’d rather continue to let Knuckles beat the fuck outta me than face my father, but I was no coward.

“Sir.” I addressed him as a superior out of respect. If he wanted to be my dad, that was up to him. Still, it made my chest ache to think my father would be so disappointed in me he’d reject me.

Cain scowled. “Sir,” he spat out. “Fuckin’ sir.” He stood abruptly and stalked toward me. Pippa stiffened, but I set her away from me, moving her toward Knuckles. Cain rolled his eyes. “And now you’re protectin’ your woman from me?”

“Well, you look a little like you’re about to kick my ass, and I don’t want Pippa gettin’ in the way.” I gave him a wary look, but didn’t take up a defensive stance. Mainly because I knew anything he dished out I deserved.

“Little punk,” he muttered at me before lunging at me to pull me into a tight embrace. Thankfully, he didn’t whale on my back like Knuckles had. I wasn’t sure I could take much more. Felt like Knuckles had given me the beating he was afraid to while Pippa was watching. “Your mother missed you.”

“Yeah. She told me.”

“Hannah, too.”

“Her too.”

Dad held me close for several minutes before he pulled back, blinking rapidly. “Gonna have to have a talk with Torpedo about makin’ sure he gives you a better room. This one has too much dust.”

“Yeah. Makes my eyes water too sometimes.” I grinned at my dad.

“Now. Introduce me to your woman proper-like.”

Things were better after that. Dad told me how he’d initially been disappointed in me for not bringing the situation to him or my brothers. Or anyone in Bones MC. Every time he looked at Pippa, though, he averted his gaze. Every time he did, I saw the smile on his lips.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know. “OK. What’s so funny?”

“Hum?” Dad looked all innocent and shit. Like he had no clue what I was whining about.

“Every time you look at Pippa, you smile. Why?”

Cain stopped trying to hold back then and chuckled, shaking his head and wiping at his eyes. “I’m sorry. And it’s not you, Pippa. I was remembering when I barged in on Stunner and Suzie in a similar situation.”

“Suzie?” Pippa looked confused but smiled.

“My sister. Mom and Dad adopted her and my two bonehead brothers when they were little more than teenagers. At least Cliff and Dan were. Suzie was about nine or ten, I think.” I took Pippa’s hand in mine and tugged her to the couch. “Didn’t expect you here, Dad. We stayed long enough at Bones, I really thought you’d get there before we left.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky I happen to be on great terms with the president and vice president of Kiss of Death.”

“Torpedo and Bohannon ratted me out.” Gunnar grinned, shaking his head.

“I wasn’t sure I could make it to Kentucky before you left, so I went to your ultimate destination. Also, I knew where you were the second you got out of prison, I knew what you were tasked with, and I knew that motherfucker was gonna try to force you and his daughter together.”

“I thought you said you didn’t know my dad, Knuckles.”

“Said I hadn’t met him. Cain and I have worked on different sides of the table a few times.” Knuckles gave Cain a level look.

“Someone has to nudge people in the right direction when they’re being dumbasses.” The two men chuckled before clasping hands in a firm shake. “Good to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.”

“Fuck me,” I bit out.

Pippa narrowed her eyes at Knuckles, then shifted her focus to Cain. “Did you set all this up?”

“Does Mom know about this?”

Cain and Knuckles exchanged a look. “Well.” Cain scrubbed his hand through his beard. “I mean, you wouldn’t let me keep you out of prison. The only other option I had was to make sure you had help on the inside.”

“Son of a bitch.” I shook my head, but I could totally see the beauty of it. “You’re a sneaky bastard.”

“No sneakier than you.”

“Did you know what really happened?” I knew Dad would know what I was talking about. God knew it had been a topic of conversation every fucking week I saw him in prison.

“Of course, I knew what fuckin’ happened. I know you’re all adults, but I know everything about all of you. I’ve made it my business to know so I could make sure you always had someone at your back. No matter where you are.”

There was a beat of silence before Pippa piped up cheerfully, “Well, that’s not creepy or anything. But just so we’re clear, you ever barge in our personal space like you did again, you deserve every fucking thing you see. And I’ll bring it up at family reunions and Christmas dinners. You’ll never hear the end of it. I’ll be a scourge on your sanity --”

“OK. OK. I get the message. Knock.”

“What exactly was the deal you made with Knuckles?” I had to know what had happened and how Dad intended this to end for me.

“Just a favor. A big one.” Dad sat back and crossed one ankle over the opposite knee. “Knuckles was in prison for killin’ men who raped and murdered his sister. You know that. But what I doubt Knuckles told you was that, about the time of the killin’, his cover with the CIA was about to be compromised. He could have stayed out of prison, but he and his entire team would have been outed. It would have been a death sentence for all of them.”

“How does that play with him going to prison?” I turned to Knuckles, wanting an explanation.

“The reason my sister was… hurt, was to get me in a compromising situation. They never factored in that I’d kill the men they’d hired. They’d hoped to maybe get me on video beatin’ the piss outta the bastards. What they got was way the fuck more. And by ‘they’ I mean one of the groups I’d infiltrated and was steering negotiations from behind the scenes. It’s what I do. I’m paid by someone to help get the outcome they want out of these deals. I infiltrate a group, gain their trust, and offer advice. I’d been in with that particular group, deep, for several years. I’d done enough to put the right people in place that, as long as I was in their sphere of influence, he’d never have full control over his military again. He couldn’t kill me because he wasn’t sure what my death or disappearance would do with his relations with the U.S. agencies he was working with. Since he couldn’t afford to lose those agencies’ support or business, he set me up to go to prison.” Knuckles shook his head slightly before continuing, as if remembering the moment he was describing. “When they filmed me killing those bastards, I was given the choice to plead guilty and it would be assured I wouldn’t get the death penalty. But I’d be in prison for the rest of my life. In return, my team got to live.”

“You sacrificed yourself for your team?” Pippa’s eyes shimmered, the story obviously striking a chord with her.

“Honey, if you think that’s big, you have no idea what I’d sacrifice for you. You’re the most important person in my life. Ever. But yeah. I went to prison to save the lives of my team and I don’t regret it. Though, I’ll admit, had I known it was all a setup, I’d have been more careful in the killing, then I’d have gone after that bastard, El Diablo, himself.”

A chill went up my spine and my gaze snapped to my father’s. Cain’s mien hardened, and he was laser-focused on Knuckles. I tightened my grip on Pippa’s hand, not daring to say anything. If Knuckles was fishing, I wasn’t giving him anything other than the unavoidable initial reaction.

“What dealings did you have with El Diablo?” Cain was all business now, the cunning warrior of his well-earned reputation.

“Enough to know everything he does is for a reason. He wanted me in prison for a specific purpose.”

“It sounds like you’re saying he deliberately set your sister up for rape and murder.” Cain kept his statement neutral when I knew his insides were roiling. Because mine were too.

“Oh, he set her up to be murdered, sure. But not the rape. I think the rape, when he’d specifically told his men they were to make it a clean kill, was why he let me kill them the way I did.”

“You’re accusing him of killing an innocent, Knuckles. That’s a hell of a thing.”

Knuckles snorted. “I never said my sister was innocent. She deserved the killin’. She was working directly against El Diablo at the time. I tried to warn her, but she thought she could best him.”

“You still got an ax to grind with him?” Cain’s question was more of a demand. I knew that tone of voice often made grown badass Marines piss themselves. I also knew Knuckles wouldn’t be one of them.

“Nah. El Diablo’s a bastard -- and yes, I know your connection to him -- but he’s not evil. Kind of a darker shade of gray, but not evil.”

“So he threatened your team if you didn’t do what he wanted.”

“Yep. Was a stroke of genius, if you ask me. It also put me in a much better position to get revenge with the perfect alibi. Because El Diablo wasn’t the real threat. He was just doing a job he was paid to do. After his contract was up and El Diablo fulfilled his end, he came back to me and we took down the motherfucker in spectacular fashion. Took a few years, but it was worth it.

“While I was in a forced relationship with El Diablo, was when that bastard, Slash and his minions took over Kiss of Death. They killed Dart, our president, and Slash and Rat Man turned my club into a fuckin’ snake pit.”

“If it makes you feel better, we got most of the bastards. Bones and Salvation’s Bane.” Cain rubbed a finger over his lower lip. “Couple of ‘em died pretty hard.”

“I’d hoped you would. Did my best to put ‘em in your path.”

Cain snorted. “Always gotta one-up, huh?”

Knuckles shrugged. “Just keepin’ you on your toes, old man.”

“Was there a point to this fuckin’ story, Knuckles? If not, you’re borin’ me to tears.” Dad wasn’t a good loser even with us kids. Thinking Knuckles had gotten one over on him fared about as well as it would have for one of us.

“Yeah. The point is, all this shit with Gunnar went down just as El Diablo was gettin’ ready to get me out of prison. He knew me and you had a connection, so he told me what was going on and that the youngster over there was forcin’ the issue and pleading guilty. It was mostly done before he could do anything about it. Wrath hadn’t yet joined him, and El Diablo hadn’t had enough of a warnin’ to head things off.”

“What?” I was starting to feel more than a bit betrayed, which pissed me the fuck off. Pippa patted my knee, and her touch helped to ground me.

“El Diablo agreed to get you sent to Terre Haute if I could get you housed with me. I was supposed to teach you how to survive and keep you alive.”

“In return for what?” I bit the question out between clenched teeth. “I don’t like being manipulated, Knuckles. What the fuck?”

“Calm your tits, kid. Your old man saved my life on more than one occasion. I thought for the most part we were even, but you’re his kid. I did what I promised and got you housed with me. I tried to teach you how to not only survive but thrive, and I think you did.”

“And Pippa?”

“What about her? You went after her on your own. Ain’t gonna lie and say I didn’t push you toward her from the moment I realized her mother wasn’t all she claimed to be. I did. That’s when I started showin’ you pictures. It’s why I told you about her when I figured out Beth was the bitch she is.”

“My mom terrified me with stories of you.” Pippa spoke softly. “The only reason I didn’t run screaming from Gunnar when he told me you’d sent him is because I couldn’t. I think the two things that let me accept him as easy as I did were his treatment of me, and the fact my mother was a monster.”

“Honey, trust me when I tell you, she’s gettin’ hers.”

“Was she the reason I got taken?”

Everything in me rebelled at that question. I grunted and pulled Pippa into my arms. “Shut up, Knuckles. Not another word.”

“She asked the question, boy. She has the right to know.”

“I have the right as her man to keep shit from her that will give her nightmares, Knuckles.”

“No, Gunnar. I need to know.”

“Pippa --”

She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine for a long moment. “You’ll be here with me. You’ll keep the nightmares away, but I have to know for sure.”

I tilted my head at her, narrowing my gaze. “You suspected?”

“She was my mother in name only, Gunnar. I knew from a young age something wasn’t right. She made it clear I was a nuisance.”

“You didn’t seem unhappy when she introduced us.” Knuckles leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees.

“That’s because it didn’t start in earnest until after that visit. Like she did what she had to until you met me, then she didn’t give a shit.”

Knuckles clenched his fists. “Yeah, honey. She had everything to do with why you got taken. The whole reason she had a thing with me was to get pregnant with my kid.”

“Why?” Pippa trembled in my arms, but she didn’t back down. While I didn’t like it, I certainly respected it.

“Leverage. Money. I have control over eighty percent of certain goods in the South Central and Southeastern U.S. She had interest in some of those goods.” I knew Knuckles was being deliberately vague, but he got his message across. “So she played the long con. And used a child to do it. Woulda worked too. If it hadn’t been for Gunnar.”

“You said that day you knew I’d help you.”

“I did. That’s who you are, boy. You consider me family as much as I consider you family, and you’d do anything to help your family. It’s how you ended up in my tender care in the first Goddamned place.”

“So what happens now?” I needed to know what he expected my part going forward to be, because I had no doubt Knuckles had a longer plan than simply me rescuing the girl and living happily ever after.

“Now, I go huntin’. I’m gonna find that bitch, and I’m going to end her.”

Pippa gasped and sat up straighter. “You can’t.”

“I can, Pippa. And I am. I’m sorry if it hurts you, but I can’t let her live. Any woman who would do what she had done to you -- for any reason -- doesn’t deserve to live.”

“Surely she hadn’t meant for them to actually sell me.” She shivered and clung to me tighter.

“Baby, I wish I could say she didn’t, but I’ve seen the proof myself.”

“What do you need from me? Pippa is safe in this compound if you need my help.”

“Nope. Your only job from this point forward is to take care of Pippa and any rug rats you have. Find your place here. Learn how to function on the outside. Learn to share your life with Pippa because it’s not gonna be as easy as it seems right now. Once I get back, we’ll see where you’re gonna be the best asset for Kiss of Death.”

“Christ,” Cain interrupted. He sounded more amused than irritated or angry. Like this was all something he’d foreseen but hadn’t wanted to admit. “Surely to God Torpedo ain’t makin’ you vice president again.”

“Nope. He’s makin’ me sergeant at arms. At least until he decides he’s got Kiss of Death established and remade the way he wants it. This is my club. Always was. Torpedo respects that.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. Or that you’re not the right person to lead this ragtag bunch.”

“‘Course I am. Though, I have to admit, from what I’ve seen of your guys, Torpedo and Bohannon have done better than I could have with everything that happened before. The club needed the break. Just wish it hadn’t been seventeen fuckin’ years.”

“Anything else we need to clear the air on?” Cain sat back in the familiar relaxed posture I’d always associated with my dad.

Knuckles shook his head. “Can’t think of anything.”

“So you’re out for good, then?” The thought of my friend being out of that hellhole made me happy. And I wasn’t too proud to admit I was glad I’d get to see him, if not every day, most days.

“I am.” He grinned. “I’ll still be with you to keep you in line.” He winked at Pippa. “I’ll make sure he always treats you right.”

“You don’t have to worry about him being good to me.” She looked up at me and gave me a watery smile. “He’s treated me better in the last couple of days than I’ve ever been treated. I’m glad you chose him for me.” Christ, I loved the way she phrased that. I’d been chosen. For her protector. To be the man who loved her for the rest of her life.

“Good, then.” Knuckles stood. “I’m going to have a word with Torpedo, and I imagine Cain wants to be in on it.”

“Damned fuckin’ straight.” Dad stood. When he stood in front of us, he leaned down and kissed the top of Pippa’s head. “You let me know if you need anything, honey. You’re my daughter now, too.”

“Just… accept Gunnar for the man he is. I know he can’t do the things with your company his brothers can because of his background. But he’s a good man who would literally give everything to protect his family.”

“I know, honey. I’ve always been proud of Gunnar. All my boys turned out to be great men, but Gunnar is ruthless in a way the others never could be. Mama was right. It was best you got away from me during the years when a boy becomes a man. We’d have been at each other’s throats constantly, and your mother would have divorced me.”

“Yeah, well, the Marines would have been a preferred choice.”

“While I’d have preferred the military to have been in your future instead of prison, I can’t regret what you did or condemn you for it. You protected your sister with everything you had. You did what you thought was the best thing for her in a very fuckin’ bad situation.” He grinned. “I look at it this way. You went to prison and came out a better man for it. That’s something very difficult to accomplish.”

“Don’t know about better, but I’m pretty sure I’m meaner.”

“Christ, I’ve missed you, son.” Cain cleared his throat. Yeah. I got it.

“Damned dust. I’m definitely gonna have to have a word with Torpedo.”