Page 17

“Same,” Grinder adds. “I knew of Whisper back in the day but only met him a couple times.”

Dex lifts his hand. “I’ll be there. Vapor’s planning to stop by too. At least for a few minutes.”

“Makes sense.” Wrath nods.

Bricks glances at Wrath, then Dex. “I’ll hold things down at CB. I knew Whisper but not that well.”

“I’m with Bricks,” Ravage adds.

“Sparky, we all know how you feel about funerals,” Wrath says. “You can stay home.”

“Thanks, big guy.” Sparky bobs his head up and down, then mutters, “Wasn’t planning to tangle with those dark spirits.”

Teller nods to Wrath. “Charlotte and I have to be there.”

Wrath flashes a crooked grin Murphy’s way. “Whisper hated your ass, so you’re free to stay home.”

“Oh no,” Murphy cries in a dramatic falsetto, “whatever will I do with myself?”

“Probably try to make another baby,” Ravage mutters loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ignoring Rav’s comment, Wrath focuses on Teller. “You hear anything from Charlotte’s uncle? Is Merlin coming?”

Merlin—what a piece of shit. If he bothers to show up, I’d have no problem helping Teller load that dude into the crematorium after the service.

“Haven’t heard anything, yet.” Teller pulls an annoyed face. “But either way, we’re going. Whisper did right by Charlotte. She wants to be there to say goodbye and pay her respects.”

Finally, Wrath’s gaze lands on me. “I assume you’ll be there to look out for your girl.”

My blood freezes. Wasn’t expecting to be called out. “Yeah, of course. Ulfric extended an invite when I ran into him.”

“Let me have a minute with you after church.”

What the fuck’d I do now?

When Wrath moves on, I glance at Rooster. He shrugs and mouths, I don’t know .

I’m on edge for the rest of the meeting, which thankfully doesn’t last much longer.

After church wraps and Rock says we can go, I’m ready to bolt with everyone else. There’s no way to leave the room without passing by Wrath’s seat, though. Rock stays put, Z moves down and stands behind Wrath’s chair.

Great, another obstacle.

I stand and push my chair in.

Wrath points at Murphy’s now-empty chair. “Park it.”

“What’s going on?” Rooster asks.

Wrath flicks an exasperated glance at him. “For fuck’s sake. Nothing’s wrong. I just want to talk to your boy. That all right with you?”

“I’m not his boy ,” I growl. “What the fuck?”

Wrath glances at Rock, then cranes his neck to look at Z still hovering behind him. “I don’t need an audience.”

“My road captain, my business,” Z says.

Somehow that doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies.

Rock leans back, arms draped over the sides of his chair like a king settling in to enjoy the show.

“What’s on your mind, Wrath?” I finally say in a let’s get this over with tone.

“I went to visit Cedarwood’s today.” He pauses, waiting for my reaction.

I lock down my emotions and expression. “Yeah? Why?”

“Getting a layout of the place for the funeral. Margot walked me through their plans.”

My breath catches in my throat hearing my girl’s name coming out of someone else’s mouth.

“Jake came with me,” he adds.

All my frozen blood starts to simmer. Jake’s reputation with women is worse than mine was. He’s sneaky and charming. Margot’s too smart to fall for that, though, right? “Yeah, and?”

“Nothing. Just thought I should mention it.” He pauses. “Oh, and she asked if you were okay since she hasn’t heard from you in a few days.”

Teller slowly turns and glares at me.

I swallow hard. “She did?”

“Yup. She tried to play it cool, but she seemed worried.”

She really does deserve better than me.

“I, uh, had some personal stuff come up I’ve been dealing with. I’ll call her,” I say with all the calm I can harness. “Thanks.”

“Okay. Just checking.” Wrath pauses. “What personal thing?”

I lift my gaze to Z and raise my eyebrows. You really gonna let him interrogate me like this?

“It’s cool, bro.” Z slaps Wrath’s shoulder. “Let it go.”

“Everything okay?” Rock asks. At least he sounds concerned, not just nosy like Wrath.

Fuck it. They’re all gonna find out anyway. “Yeah, my half-brother showed up outta nowhere looking for me.”

For a few seconds, no one says a word. Like they’re all trying to figure out what to do with that information.

“Half-brother?” Wrath asks. “I thought you only had a younger sister?”

Since I originally patched-in to our Washington charter, no one in New York really dug deep into my past. Hell, even Washington never asked a lot of questions. I was friends with the nephew of a friend of the club. Uncle Boone’s word that I could be trusted was all they needed back then.

Only Rooster knows the goriest details of my childhood. He’s of course the one who started the rumor that I killed my father and scattered his bones all over the place, which led to my road name and helped create the unhinged, don’t-fuck-with-me reputation I still enjoy today.

“Yeah,” I answer slowly. “My father was a pastor turned cult leader. The crazier he got, the more women he pulled into his flock. One was this girl Ruth. She’s actually the one who helped me escape. He knocked her up. Married her, I guess. I only met the kid once.”

I blow out an exhausted breath knowing this won’t be the last time I have to share this story.

I lift my gaze and meet Wrath’s curious stare head-on. “When I killed my father and rescued my sister from the sick shit he was doing to her—that’s the only time I ever met Cain. Helped him and his mom get out. She died recently. He showed up wanting to reconnect.”

Uncomfortable silence descends over the table.

Everyone just stares at me.

Serves you right for poking into my business.

“Well, fuck.” Z runs his hands through his hair. “Thanks for the extra context, Jiggy.”

Wrath’s expression turns more thoughtful. “You don’t trust him around your sister?”

“I didn’t protect her from our father when she was little.” I swallow hard, shame slithering down my throat. “Our relationship’s kinda fucked up as it is. I’m not bringing him around her until I know what he’s really here for.”

“You think he blames you? For killing your father?” Rock asks.

How does he just know shit? “He was little. My father didn’t usually start on the real torture until kids were older. All Cain knows is, I showed up, flipped his world upside down, and disappeared with his sister.”

“Didn’t his mom explain what actually happened?” Z asks.

“I’m not sure what she told him. We didn’t get that deep the other night.”

“Where’s he staying now?” Teller asks.

“Some hotel by the airport.” I flick my gaze to Z. “I can’t bring him to the clubhouse until I know I can trust him. Same for my place.” I gesture over my shoulder at Rooster.

“What do you want?” Rock asks. “From him, I mean.”

I open my mouth to say nothing , but the word sticks in my throat.

“Maybe…make things right? If that’s even possible. I don’t know if he plans to stick around. We don’t have much in common. Crystal Ball seemed to scandalize him and,” I grimace, “he rides a fucking Ninja .”

No one laughs. My attempt at deflection crashes and burns.

“He can’t stay in a hotel forever,” Teller says. “How old is he?”

“Seventeen or eighteen.”

“Eighteen this summer,” Z says. “That’s why Malik sent him to me when he tried getting in the front door. Kid didn’t even try to use a fake id.”

“Young to be out on his own,” Wrath says.

“ You were on your own earlier than that,” Rock points out. He glances at Teller, then Z. “We all were, more or less.”

“Nah.” Teller shakes his head. “Murphy and I had you to keep us in line.” He jerks his chin at Wrath. “And him to terrorize us into submission.”

“And look how well you turned out,” Wrath says.

“Grinder kept me in check,” Rock says.

I blow out a breath, guilt slamming into my chest harder than I expect. From what Cain said, it doesn’t sound like he has anyone.

“Why don’t you have him move into the apartment Dex was using,” Teller offers. “He’s living with Emily now. The apartment’s furnished.”

I turn and stare at him. “I just said I’m not sure I trust him. What if he burns your entire building down? You got other tenants living there.”

He shrugs, clearly not taking the threat seriously. “It has a sprinkler system.”

“What if he trashes the place?”

“I’ve got insurance. Things can be repaired. Besides, it puts him closer to Margot’s place, so you can keep an eye on him…” His voice trails off, like he’s silently asking if Margot and I are even still a thing.

“Yeah… I guess that might be easier.”

“I can hook him up with a job at Sully’s gym,” Wrath offers. “He could practically walk to work.”

“I can’t ask Sully to do that,” I protest. “I just told you I don’t know a damn thing about the kid.”

“I’ll pass that along to Sully and let him make up his own mind,” Wrath says in a slow, patient tone. “Jake mentioned they’re short-handed since Grinder left. Sully can’t find anyone who lasts more than a week. If your brother flakes, no harm done. If he sticks around, great.”

I shake my head again, already trying to put distance between me and the idea. “I don’t know…”

“Talk to Cain and find out what his plans are.” Wrath slaps the table like he’s finally wrapping up my interrogation. “Let me know.”

It really is a generous offer. I need to show my brothers more respect. They could’ve said “good luck with the reunion” and gone about their business.

“Thanks.” I nod at Wrath, then Teller. “I appreciate it. Really.”

Finally, I’m dismissed.

Rooster follows me out while the others stay behind and close the door. Loud voices echo from the dining room, and the scent of bacon wafts through the air, but the living room’s empty for now.

“Feel better that you have a plan of sorts, now?” Rooster asks.

I stop a few feet away from the front door and turn to face him. “For Cain? Yeah, I guess so.”

“Want me to come with you to talk to him?”

Irritation prickles at the back of my neck. For fuck’s sake, I’m not scared of the kid. I don’t need backup. But Rooster’s not questioning me—he’s trying to be supportive. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t rub me the wrong way.

“No. I can handle it.”

“Well, if you need help getting him settled in the apartment, text me.” He hesitates. “You can bring him to the house, you know. You’ve got your own apartment. You pay fuckin’ rent. You can have whoever you want over.”

“If it was just you and me there, I would.” I shake my head. “But I don’t want to take a chance with Shelby. I won’t do anything that might make her feel unsafe in her own home.”

His frown deepens, and he swallows hard. “I appreciate that.”

Great, now he’s all choked up.

“Besides,” I add, forcing a lighter tone, “Mr. Real Estate has a free apartment sitting empty. Might as well use it, right?”

He chuckles. “Yeah. Maybe if we start getting more bonuses, I’ll pick up a rental property or two myself.”

A thought from earlier rekindles. I step closer to Rooster and lower my voice. “You ever think Upstate’s sittin’ on a fuck-ton more money than Downstate?” I ask. “Teller didn’t suddenly get good at investing. And he’s been treasurer for years . Can you imagine the money he’s made for them?”

Rooster nods slowly. “Yeah. But it’s not a nest I’m gonna stick my beak into.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I blow out a breath. “If Sway hadn’t been such an egotistical asshole, trying to drag Rock into a dick-measuring contest all the time, our charter could’ve been making the same bank. Teller wouldn’t have gatekept that knowledge from us.”

“Ahhh.” Rooster closes his eyes briefly. “You’re right. You ever wish we’d kept riding north and patched in here, instead?”

“Yeah, kinda. Took us too long to realize Sway talked a good game but was full of shit and only out for himself.”

“Agree.” He snorts. “Not much different from some of the guys in Washington. That’s probably why it took so long to see it. Felt normal to us.”

Laughing, I shake my head. “Pathetically fucking true.” I bump his shoulder. “That’s why I go where you go.”

“Same, brother.”

We head for the front door, side by side—like always.

Only difference now?

I’ve got a blood brother crawling out of the past, and I need to figure out what the hell to do with him.

And that’s my cross to drag. Alone.