Page 31 of Inglorious (Unwanted Bastards MC #1)

“Brother, you’ve got my blessing, both of you. Live, Inglorious, because I can’t. You owe it to me to have shitloads of kids, go grey, get a beer belly, and grow old with my sister at your side. Don’t doubt the love I have for you, man, and don’t live in guilt; there isn’t any to be had.

Over and out,

Psych.”

Inglorious stopped talking, and tears streamed down his cheeks. I stood up, and we clung to each other as we mourned Seth’s loss. Inglorious stepped back after a few moments and wiped away our tears.

“Read yours,” he ordered.

I opened it.

“Fanci Nanci, I wanted to throttle those kids when they called you that. That was my privilege of being a big brother. It was the best role of my life and one I’ll never regret.

The honour of watching you grow, become your own person, despite our upbringing.

Baby sister, being one of the strongest people I know, I’m so damn proud of you. You’re amazing. Never forget that.

“I understand why you fled all those years ago and why you never came back. Roman was right to deny you back then. You had a life ahead of you, and you deserved to live your dreams. I don’t doubt that, being the woman you are, you’ll blame Roman for my death.

“Nanci, he didn’t force me or any of them to stand up for what’s right. We couldn’t and wouldn’t walk away, not when thousands of innocent lives were at stake. And had this been your fight, you’d have done the same.

“Your time is now. Come home. Make amends with Roman and take a chance, and I bet you’ll be happy.

You deserve happiness, and while I’ve no regrets you didn’t work out back then, you’ll be full of self-doubt if you miss your opportunity now.

You and Roman are meant to be together. I feel that deep in my bones.

Give me lots of nieces and nephews, and I’ll be watching from above.

“Nanci, don’t forget to live life to the full.

Life is for the living, not the dead. Mourn me and remember me, but please don’t get fuckin’ bogged down in grief.

Take care of Roman; he’ll need your strength and support, and let go of blame.

Grow old with grandbabies around your feet. Name a kid after me.

“I love you, baby sister, and I wish we had more time together. But we don’t, and my story ends here.

Yours doesn’t, but it might become stale if you don’t listen to me.

Drag Roman back from whatever precipice he’s standing on, because he will be.

I know him too damn well. Be happy, Nanci, in everything you do, and live for me because I’ll be watching over you.

Love ya sis,

Seth.”

“Oh God,” I muttered as the dam broke, and I sobbed. Inglorious wrapped me once more in his embrace as he sank to the ground, and I grieved my brother. This time, it seemed cathartic. And something loosened in my chest, and I felt the final piece of my anger disappear.

Seth had done exactly what he’d desired and defended the innocent. I was so damn proud of him for that, and he’d left me a goodbye. I wish I’d been able to say bye as well, but I had this, and Inglorious also had a farewell.

“Are you okay?” Inglorious asked as I wiped tears from my face.

“I will be. I needed this.”

“Probably. Sorry, Nanci. If I’d checked the rooms earlier—”

“No. Inglorious, I was too angry back then. I wouldn’t have read Seth’s letter, and if I had…

I’d likely have ignored his wishes. The only person to hold responsible is Fury.

I know that now. It’s taken time to come to terms with placing the blame where it belongs.

Seth would have been furious with how I acted, but he’d have understood. He loved both of us.”

Inglorious chewed his bottom lip. “Nanci, just because Psych wanted us to get together, you don’t have to.”

“Do you really think I’d suffer your pathetic ass because Seth asked me to? Roman, be serious,” I said with a laugh.

Inglorious seemed a little uncomfortable and then shrugged. “Grief acts in funny ways.” “Roman, shut the hell up, you’re making a fool of yourself,” I replied, and he looked surprised before chagrin crossed his face.

“Let’s pack up,” he suggested, and I nodded.

It took us a couple of hours because we picked up items and recalled the memories attached to them.

For now, I’d put these in the attic before I decided what to do with Seth’s belongings.

Like the brothers, I’d been staying in the clubhouse.

None of us had chosen a home yet, nor had we even considered building one.

We had needed to be around each other, which was understandable.

However, with Kya in the mix, Inglorious required a house. Kya needed a yard and somewhere to play. After we placed the last box in the attic, I turned to Inglorious.

“You need to pick a home for Kya. She can’t grow up here; it’s not healthy. It would go a long way in helping her recover her former self.”

“I didn’t think of that,” he replied.

“Of course you didn’t. Kya needs a place to call home, somewhere that is truly hers.

Sure, she has her bedroom here, but this isn’t really suitable for her.

And we must get her back into school. Doc has been keeping the education board up to date with her progress, but we don’t know how far behind she is,” I said.

Inglorious considered my words. “We gotta find a teacher to open that kindergarten in the old schoolhouse. If we hired someone now, they could work with Kya and get her back up to speed.”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll put an advert out,” I replied.

“Okay. Let’s go get an update on construction because the old schoolhouse wasn’t top priority, but it looks like it needs to be,” Inglorious said.

“Agreed.”

Luckily for us, Apache and Rock were both visiting, so we sat down to discuss the renovations we needed. Then we walked through the housing area trying to find a suitable home. The size of the houses did not impress Inglorious. I couldn’t disagree.

“None of these work,” Inglorious said.

“We’ve still got the other side to check,” I suggested.

Inglorious nodded but didn’t seem convinced until we hit the back part of the second residential area. There were two roads, each with around twenty houses on either side, totalling roughly eighty homes, and the streets interlinked.

“These are doable,” I muttered, looking at the properties here. “They’re semi-detached, but we could knock them into one.”

“Yeah, I guess this was the rich people’s part.” Inglorious studied the buildings in front of him. They had large front and back yards and were easily big enough for kids to run around in, especially if you knocked the adjoining yards into one.

“I forgot about this area,” Inglorious admitted as we looked at a house at the end of the street. It had additional land, which would be perfect for a pool.

“Seems made for you and the club,” I mused.

“Yeah. I wonder if Apache can put a team on these?”

“Apache will end up with all his employees here,” I said with a laugh.

“I don’t reckon he cares as long as he gets paid.”

“Okay. I’ll have Rock or Apache come out here and see what they think,” I replied.

“Nanci, one thing. The brothers pay for the renovations out of their own money. They get the house and land free, but need to stump up for repairs and shit. That was agreed when we moved here. So that you know.”

“That’s fair enough. Are we letting the newer guys also move here?”

“Yes. But Razor and Chill get first pick. Then the others can in order of arrival,” Inglorious said.

“I was told you’d be out here. What are you doing, boy?” a voice boomed from behind, and I turned around, startled.

“Asshole,” Inglorious announced as he too faced the three people in front of us.

“He isn’t ever going to change, Inglorious. Come give me some sugar,” the woman ordered, and Inglorious chuckled.

“Daisy-Duke,” Inglorious said and embraced her, kissing her cheek. Daisy-Duke laughed and returned the hug.

The two guys on either side of her slapped Inglorious on the back as he stepped away. I watched them carefully, not that I had anything to fear from them.

“Rebuilding?” Oil asked.

“Yup.”

“You look good, better than a drunk deserves,” Lasher stated, and anger rose in me. Lasher chuckled. “Tut tut, little Nanci’s preparing to defend her man.”

“Lasher, you’re still an asshole,” I replied.

“Give us a welcome home, girl,” Lasher said, and before I could refuse, he’d swept me up in a bear hug.

“Welcome home?” Inglorious asked.

“Fuck, yeah. We retired because the club was in good hands. You didn’t need us, and Kitty needed the Florida sun. Kitty passed six months ago; it’s taken us a while to grieve. But the club needs brothers, and we’re here,” Oil said, grief etched into his face.

Shit. I was unaware that Oil’s old lady had died. Sadly, I reached out and hugged him, and Oil dropped a kiss on my head. I realised he was wearing a cut, and I touched it.

“You want back in?” I asked.

“Babe, we’re still members, just on the nomad list. Take our names off; we’ve come home,” Oil stated, and I grinned.

Inglorious groaned.

Well, now, shit was about to get lively. Oil and Lasher were always getting into trouble. And as they were First Gen, there was nobody higher than them to order them to behave. This could be fun… or, on the other hand, turn me grey overnight!