Chapter 10
“ I can’t believe you went back there.” Eden looks stunned as Alicia gives her a recount of our afternoon. While I’m too distracted by the woman who is splaying her legs all over Ruckus to respond. “Does Aaron know you did that? Freya… Freya ?” Her voice gets louder and I quickly turn to face her.
“Sorry?” I shake myself out of it.
“I asked if Aaron knows you went back?” Eden asks again.
“I don’t know, I guess that depends on whether Vike told him or not.” My eyes immediately go back to the couch where that bitch has her hands all over him. She hasn’t got his attention though, that's all mine, and I hate that I’m letting him see how bothered I am by what’s happening in front of me. I was harsh with him outside, but I had to be, he kept on pushing me for answers that I don’t want to give. So in the end I gave him one I knew would hurt him. I wasn’t prepared for how he’d react. I’m not prepared for any of this
“It was a dangerous thing to do, even with Vike,” Peyton adds, taking a sip from her drink and looking over to where her boyfriend is standing with my brother. “And Vike should have known better,” she adds
“You can’t blame Vike, he was misled,” Alicia points out, giving me a judgy little side glance.
“None of you girls should be going anywhere without a chaperone.” Anita, who has a room on the same floor as I do, lifts her head up from her crocheting. “There's a murderer on the loose,” she reminds us.
Anita’s a strange one to make out, Alicia explained earlier that she’s the mother of a member from Colorado, although apparently she’s unaware of the fact her son is a Soul. Aaron busted her out of some upscale psychiatric hospital that was on our father’s payroll, and I’m supposed to believe that there was a time when he loved her. Not that I believe it. The man I knew wasn’t capable of love, but he sure could play at it.
I grew up believing that he cared for me, there was a time when I thought he loved me, but once I reached a certain age I realized that it was all an illusion.
“So what do we know about this killer?” I decide to use the conversation as a diversion to what's happening on the other side of the room.
“Well… whoever they are, they’re targeting young women, and seem to have a vendetta against the club. They go out of their way to make it look as if the club are involved,” Eden points out.
“He usually keeps his victims for a long period of time, tortures them, rapes them. Then once he’s killed, he dumps the bodies somewhere that forces the club to deal with it.” A woman with all different colors in her hair interrupts matter of factly before she sits herself beside me.
“Quinn, this is Freya, Wrath’s sister. Freya meet Quinn, she’s a?—”
“Medical examiner,” Quinn helps Alicia finish her sentence. “Sorry, I’m just so used to people getting that part wrong,” she apologizes to her before turning her attention back to me. “I’m helping the club crack the case.” She sounds pleased with herself.
“Or so she claims, really she’s just here for the big guy at the bar.” Peyton nods her head toward Sasquatch and Quinn doesn’t do a thing to deny it.
“It’s a slow burn.” She rolls her eyes at me.
I look back across the room and see Ruckus on his feet, holding the whore’s hand and leading her to the door. It makes my breath get caught in my throat, and the prickle of tears threaten my eyes, but I don’t look away. I watch him all the way to the door.
“How did you get that cut?” Quinn asks as the door closes.
“The what?”
“On your lip.” She points to it and the table goes awkwardly silent. Alicia and Eden exchange a look, and Peyton takes another drink, while I try to say the words. It’s so stupid because they’re simple, they just won’t come out.
“Her ex-boyfriend hit her,” Anita answers for me, without taking any focus from her crocheting.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Quinn’s smile is full of pity. I shake my head and force a smile for her and everyone else around the table. “It’s fine, that's all behind me now.” I suck in a deep breath. I don’t care about Drew anymore, I’m more concerned about Ruckus and that woman he left with.
I never forgot what it was like with him, and on the nights when Drew wasn’t too pissed and would climb on top of me, it’s those thoughts that got me through. Sometimes when I’d think about it alone, or in the shower, my hands would wander like my mind did.
“So are you sticking around?” Quinn asks.
“Just until I figure out what I want.” I smile, fearing that I already have it figured, and it just walked out the door with another woman.
I push my bacon around my plate and stare at the door, waiting for them to walk in here together. Her, with a big smile on her face looking all flustered from the morning sex they no doubt had, and him, smug and accomplished in the knowledge that he’s hurt me.
I barely slept all night. At one point I even considered knocking on every motel room door to find the room they were in and demand he talk to me. But it’s clear all our talkin’ was done. I hurt him last night so he hurt me. All I can do now is move past it.
“You gonna eat that?” Alicia asks, staring down at my bacon.
“Alicia, I can make you more breakfast,” Polly offers, blowing her cigarette smoke in a different direction.
“I’m fine, honestly,” she refuses, but I can tell she’s tempted though.
“I remember that phase you're at, when I was carrying Sonny, I wanted to eat everything in sight.” Polly laughs.
“Where is Sonny?” I suddenly realize that I haven’t seen him since I’ve been back, and when Polly’s eyes instantly drop to the table and Alicia cringes, I know straight away that I’ve said something wrong.
“Sonny’s dead.” Polly’s voice comes out shaky as she flicks the ash from her cigarette into the ashtray. “I guess you and your brother still have a lot to talk about.” She strokes my shoulder and smiles sadly then heads back into the kitchen.
“Okay, what the hell happened to Sonny?” I ask Alicia, and when Raze and Peyton walk in through the back door, Alicia quickly looks to her for support.
“You good?” Peyton asks once Raze kisses her and heads into his office.
“Freya, here, was just wondering what happened to Sonny.” Alicia’s eyes have gone all big and desperate, and I get worried when Peyton’s automatically do the same.
“I really think you should speak to Wrath.” Peyton gets straight back up from the table, and when I look to Alicia for an explanation she shrugs her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, but she’s right.” She leaves me guessing too, and as I sit back in my chair and watch everyone come and go, I wonder why I’m being kept in the dark.
Wrath and Eden arrive half an hour later, and when Eden heads straight into the kitchen I call my brother over to join me.
“What’s up, sis?” He takes the seat opposite me as if we’ve never been apart.
“I need you to tell me what happened to Sonny?” I get straight to it. He looks away from me and sighs, and I know exactly what it is.
“Dad killed him, didn’t he?” I shake my head and let the tears roll down my cheeks. Sonny was such a sweet boy, I remember how everyone felt a little bit sorry for him. He was still young when I left, same age as Willow. Polly wanted him to become a member when he was older, but it was never gonna happen. Sonny was far too kind and gentle to wear the cut.
“Dad didn’t kill him.” Aaron keeps his voice low, and when he leans in and takes my hand I start to worry about what's coming next. “Freya, you remember how no one ever knew who Sonny belonged to.” He clears his throat.
“He belonged to Polly.” I shake my head, it didn’t matter that no one ever manned up and claimed him as their son. Sonny didn’t need a father, he was Polly’s world.
“You know what I mean.” Aaron looks impatient.
“I know what you mean,” I assure him, back when I was living here I was a brat, I never paid much attention to anything other than getting a reaction out of Ruckus, but I do remember that Sonny was always kind to me.
“It turns out Sonny was Cliff’s son too,” my brother tells me.
“Cliff, as in our father?” I check I’m hearing him right and when he nods his head I cover my mouth with my hand. “That would make Sonny our…”
“Our brother,” Aaron confirms.
“But how… why didn’t we know?” I can’t believe that for all those years I had another brother. One who I saw almost every day.
“Cliff didn’t want anyone to know. He was using him, like he did everyone else. He got inside the kid’s head.”
“Aaron, what are you talking about? What happened?”
“Sonny was working for the Reapers, on our father’s instruction. He ended up becoming a traitor and a rat, all because he wanted to be loved by our father.”
“Sonny?” I look across the table, unconvinced by what he’s telling me. “Aaron, Sonny was… he was?—”
“He was dangerous. He fooled everyone, and he tried to rape Peyton.”
“No?” Now I know Aaron’s lying, the boy I knew would never have been capable of that.
“It’s true and Raze killed him for it,” he explains further.
“And you expect me to believe that Polly’s just okay with that?” I look toward the kitchen and see her washing dishes.
“Of course she ain’t okay with it, but she’s found her peace. She knew for a long time that Sonny wasn’t right. She saw him gettin’ outta control. He may have seemed sweet, but he inherited our father’s evil.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier though.” I continue to watch her as Eden and Peyton sit on the kitchen counter and chat to her. “Everything about this place is so fucked up.” I sigh.
“It was, but it ain’t anymore. We got direction now, and a good leader. We could really make this place our home again.” Aaron squeezes my hand a little tighter.
“Do you really believe that after everything that’s happened? After all the people our father hurt?” I question him.
“I believe we can. Hell, I got Eden back, anything’s fuckin’ possible.” He looks over to where she is and smiles like he’s that lovestruck teenager again.
“It’s good to see you happy,” I tell him, smiling a little myself. “Willow would much prefer that than for you to be angry.” I take the opportunity to have this out with him. I can already sense tension between him and Raze and I know enough about club politics to know that the VP always has to have his president’s back.
“You telling me not to be angry is like telling shit not to stink.” He looks up at me and smiles. “Now, are ya gonna stick around or not? Because between you and me, I’m planning on knocking up my wife real soon and I’d really like my kids to have their aunt around.”
“Kids?” I almost choke at what I’m hearing. “This place really has changed you.” I can’t help but smile back at him. I’ve spent so long being angry at him, I forgot how much I missed him.
“Stick around, Freya, at least give it a chance.” He doesn’t wait for me to answer, he stands up and makes his way over to his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.
Being close to him again and hearing how excited he is for the future, despite how much has gone wrong in the past, has me thinking… Maybe I do belong here. Maybe I can forgive myself for all I did wrong. The least I can do is try. The club has changed, the people have changed, the rules have changed too. Wrath is married to his president's little sister. From what I hear, even Willow was involved with a club member before Dad took her. Alicia is pregnant with a member's baby, despite the fact Saul is her brother. Unless maybe it was Saul that had killed Griller?
Could Aaron accept me and Ruckus?
I decide not to run before I can walk, especially after what I saw last night. Instead I get up and move over to join the little group that have gathered at the bar.
Polly, Raze, and Aaron’s faces turn pale as I approach, while Eden and Peyton both look as confused by their reaction as I am.
“What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I laugh at them, and when I figure that it’s not me they're staring at and turn around to face the door, seeing who's standing in front of it turns my stomach cold.
“That's exactly what we’re seeing.” My brother’s voice comes from behind me.