Chapter Twenty Five
Zane
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Zane poured another cup of coffee and carried it to the table, joining Kingsley while he stood guard. He wasn't kidding when he said Kenna was a handful.
"You realize if she doesn't want to stay here, she'll leave." He took a sip from the mug. "And there's nothing we can do."
"There's something I can do," muttered Kingsley. "I could tie her to the bed."
The possessive way Kingsley acted with Kenna had him studying his brother. There was only one reason a man reached that level of frustration with someone of the opposite sex.
"What's going on with you and Kenna?" he asked.
Kingsley shot him a look. "What the fuck is going on between you and River?"
At that moment, he knew why Kingsley always searched for Kenna alone. This also explained all the fights Kingsley had at the clubhouse over the years. It wasn't only about their anger over their dad being locked in prison.
He understood because he'd gone through the same frustration and agony. He was living the same life. Loving someone he couldn't be with because, in the end, all he'd cause her was more pain.
"When did you sleep with her?" he asked.
Kingsley inhaled deeply and slumped in the chair with both hands cradling the mug of coffee. "Almost three years ago."
"Jesus," he mumbled before it dawned on him that Kenna was older than River by a year. "She was eighteen?"
"Barely." Kingsley met his gaze. "Before that, she always welcomed me in her life. But we had a big blowup when she kept telling me her dad was alive and she was going to take off and find him. I gave her every reason I could think of to make her believe he was dead, and she refused to believe me. She wanted to prove me wrong, and she's been running everywhere, searching for him." He shook his head. "For some reason, she believes there was a coverup."
Zane clasped his hands behind his head. "This is the first time you've mentioned Kenna suspecting..."
"River has never said anything?"
"About her dad being alive?" He frowned. "No."
Kinglsey patted the air, warning him to keep his voice down. The girls had gone upstairs immediately after arriving home. Knowing Kenna hadn't slept a straight eight hours in a couple of weeks, he imagined if they weren't talking, they slept.
On the car ride, he'd warned River that if Kenna bolted, she was to come to him immediately. Kingsley would also stay in the house. To be safe, he put two Gem Haven members at the entrance to the compound. Even if Kenna ran away without her car, she wouldn't get a foot off the property.
"How deep are you in with Kenna?" he asked.
Kingsley fisted his hands. "I love her."
"You haven't even been around her for over two years."
"That shit doesn't matter. Every day since I was eighteen, I've been wrapped up in taking care of her. Every foster home she went to, every time she ran away from the girls' home, I was the one who was there for her. Suddenly, she's grown up and—and I'm pissed. Why were we the ones who had to watch over them?" He leaned forward and planted his elbows on the table. "She's like fucking poison to me, brother."
"I put a request in at the prison to visit him," he said.
"Him?"
He nodded. "I can't keep doing this to River."
Kingsley blew out his breath. "Dad's gonna kill us. We're going against his orders."
"Dad's not here." He drained his coffee, which had grown cold. "He hadn't been here. We've kept watch over the girls. We've run the club. Grew the club. Our profits are ten times what they were when Dad was here. If he wants to take everything away from me because I slept with River, he'll have a fight on his hands."
"You'd go up against Ridge Stafford?" His brother whistled softly. "Balls, brother."
Until that moment, he always thought he'd walk if his dad got early parole. He was pushed into running Gem Haven before he had any idea what the fuck he was doing.
He was bitter that his dad left that responsibility fall on him. When others were out partying and fucking around in their twenties, he lived the life of someone twice his age.
Through trial and error and much bullshit, he thrived. He'd done that. Not his dad.
He wasn't giving up the club, and he sure in the hell wasn't giving up River.
"Gem Haven belongs to us." He met his brother's gaze. "You in?"
Kingsley fisted his hand and held up his knuckles. "To the end."
"To the end." He bumped knuckles.
"Can't say I'm upset. Sooner or later, the truth had to come out." Kingsley inhaled deeply. "I'd sure like to know why Kenna has held on to the hope that her dad was alive."
"She never told you?"
"No." He blew out his cheeks. "Let's just say any time she brought up her dad, I shut that down fast. I assumed she'd give up the wild goose chase, but she's only become more determined."
"I don't know what will be harder on them, not ever knowing or finding out the truth and learning we knew the whole fucking time." He stood and walked into the kitchen. "All I want to do is talk to the man, face to face, and tell him that the truth has to come out. If he wants his daughters to have any future, he'll have to step back and accept it."
"Do you think he'll retaliate and go after Dad?" asked Kingsley.
"We'll have to put security on him after the visit." He leaned against the counter and crossed his ankles. "The MC has enough members behind bars. They can influence what happens on the inside."
Kingsley got up from the table. "When did you put the request in to visit Tom Pruitt?"
A female gasp came from behind him.
He met Kingsley's gaze. He could see from the sudden hardening of his mouth that River was standing behind him.
He turned around, expecting to stop the train wreck coming at him, and found Kenna standing beside River, glaring fire in his direction.
"What are you talking about?" River never moved from the spot at the entrance of the kitchen. "What kind of request? He's dead."
"Sweetheart." He stepped toward her when Kenna flew past him, launching herself at Kingsley.
River gazed up at her, tears filling her eyes. "Y-You said his name like he was alive."
He reached for her. She backed up, shaking her head.
Holding his palms up, he let her know he wouldn't touch her. He stayed where he was, not wanting to upset her more.
Behind him, Kingsley struggled to pin Kenna's arms down. She wailed at him with both fists, grunting in her attack.
"God damnit. Will you stop?" Kingsley lifted Kenna off her feet, pinning her to his chest. "Jesus Christ, woman. You're going to hurt yourself."
Chaos filled the kitchen. He whistled loudly, stunning everyone.
"Both of you sit down." He pointed at the table. When Kenna struggled in Kingsley's arms and River refused to move, he growled. "Now."
Both girls walked to the table and sat beside each other. River looked to Kenna for answers. Kenna glared at Kingsley. Right now, the attention was off him, and he inhaled deeply, trying to think of how he would get out of the mess he'd created without hurting the girls.
He and Kingsley had thought they were asleep or at least upstairs in their room. They hadn't heard the door open or footsteps coming down the stairs.
Fuck.
They were screwed.