The MC’s Little Brother (Bikers and Babies #3)

Chapter 13

13

Wraith

T he look on Xander’s face said it all when we left the courthouse. He didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t either when it was me in his place. I held out long enough to escape Jorge’s grasp before I had to face the courts. Xander was too young. They needed the whole story, and they needed it directly from him. When Prez told him that, he shut down and wouldn’t speak for the rest of the day. I didn’t know what to say to make things better for him. It wasn’t going to be right away, we were granted temporary emergency custody after the judge saw the medical eval, but that was only step one. To get full custody, we’d need to go to court. And Xander had to come with.

Melissa’s face fell, and she sighed heavily. “Damn. I was hoping they’d keep him out of it because of his age.”

A few years younger and they might’ve. But he was old enough to be able to talk to the judge, and they needed to hear it from him. The only bright side was after he told his story, he’d have a say in where he went after Jorge’s parental rights were terminated. It’d help if he said he wanted to stay with me.

I looked over at him again. He’d crashed when we got home, either from the reality of what was to come or just general exhaustion from running errands afterward. I got his phone set up and picked him up some necessities, but he wouldn’t even look at the clothes or anything like that. I figured it was too much for him and let it go. Maybe Mel would have more luck.

“How’d the rest of it go?”

I raised an eyebrow at her and got an eye roll in return. “You spent all day together, Wraith. Did you chat? Get to know each other a little better? Do anything to get him to warm up to you?”

Pressing my lips together, I didn’t reply. She knew the answer to that already. I was banking on the guys warming Xander to living here. They’d have more luck than me.

The look she gave me said she wasn’t happy, but what the hell else did she expect? I was going to give him a roof over his head and anything he might need. That had to be enough for right now, at least until I figured everything else out.

“I’m gonna wake him so we can get going. Can you bring Thor? I think he helps.”

She stopped me before I could walk away, her brow furrowed. “Look. Why don’t I stick around for a while? At least until you two warm up to each other. I don’t have the same communication issues you do, and I don’t want you making Xander feel like you don’t want him here just because you’re not the chatty type.”

My lip twitched against a scowl. I wasn’t going to drive him away. He came out here needing help, and I was going to help him. If he needed more from me, all he had to do was tell me. I’d take care of it.

She must’ve seen the refusal in my eyes, because she sighed and shook her head. “Just think about it, okay? I can tell you want to help him, but he doesn’t know you that well. He can’t read your face like I can. It might be worth a shot to have someone more outgoing around to ease the awkward tension a little.”

I was all prepared to prove to her that I didn’t need her help, but when I walked away and shook Xander’s shoulder to wake him and he flipped out, I kind of proved the opposite. He woke up swinging, eyes wide and terrified, and he full blown panicked when he saw me standing over him. It was a little shocking to watch him throw himself over the back of the couch to get away from me .

“Woah, woah! Xander! It’s okay! You’re okay!” Mel soothed. She didn’t approach him, she stayed where she was, but she had her hands up in a calming gesture and she kept her voice low to not startle him more.

Xander looked around wildly, like he didn't understand what was going on, but when he finally locked eyes with Mel, he faltered a little. Her presence reminded him of where he was. When his gaze flicked to me, he grimaced and wrapped his arms around his middle.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

Shaking my head, I took a step back. “No. You’re fine. We’re heading out soon if you want to clean up.”

I didn’t want to let him dwell on it or think he was in some kind of trouble, so I acted like nothing happened until I was out of sight. It was when I was alone in my room that I let myself react. I grabbed a pillow and chucked it at the wall. It wasn’t at all satisfying, but it was better than letting Xander think I was mad at him. I wasn’t. I just hated knowing why he reacted that way.

I knew why he did it. I looked like our old man. Just like he did. He didn’t see me when his eyes opened. He saw Jorge. And he was so damn terrified, he ignored all his injuries and ran.

By the time I was calm enough to come out, Mel had worked her magic on Xander and he was more relaxed than before. He still looked guilty when I headed for the door, but I wasn’t sure how to reassure him, aside from acting like everything was fine.

“You can ride with me if you want. Prez brought you that spare helmet. Or you can ride with Mel. She’s gonna bring Thor with us.”

He looked uncertain, glancing between me and Mel. She gave him a kind smile and squeezed his shoulder.

“No one will be hurt, no matter what you choose. Whatever you’re feeling up for.”

“I, uh… Can I ride with Mel?”

I nodded, careful to keep my face neutral, to show him without words that whatever he chose was fine. Scaring the shit out of him once in one day was plenty. I wasn’t going to fuck with his head any more than that.

“Sweet. You, me, and Thor. You’ll have to wrestle him for the front seat, though. He’s a passenger princess, and he always sits next to me when I give him rides to the clubhouse,” Mel joked.

She was trying to ease the mood, and I went with it, giving her a droll look. “Stop spoiling him and he’ll behave more.”

She made a face at me. “Yeah, no. I’m not gonna do that. He deserves all the love. Isn’t that right, sweet boy?”

Thor gave her a big doggy grin, wriggling for more affection. I’d never admit out loud I was jealous. He got more attention from her than I ever did.

“Come on. Let’s get going. The guys are waiting.”

I used the ride over to the clubhouse to shake off what was left of the turmoil from scaring the hell out of Xander. I’d need to send Mel to wake him from now on. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Which meant I’d need to talk to Prez. I wasn’t going to have him thinking anything weird was happening when I asked his sister to come stay with me. It was just temporary, while we got Xander more comfortable. I needed the social butterfly to ease the way a little.

When I pulled up in front of the clubhouse, most of the guys were inside. Only a few hung around in the parking lot, probably talking about upgrades or things that needed fixing. They lifted their chins in greeting, but didn’t expect me to stop and chat. My crew knew me well enough to not expect that. I preferred to listen than to initiate conversations.

They were a lot friendlier when Mel pulled into an empty spot, calling out to her and waving. She wiggled her fingers in greeting as she stepped out, stopping to let Thor out of the backseat. Looked like Xander won the fight for the front. He slid out of his seat, his hood pulled up to hide his face. He looked wary, and I wasn’t sure if I could be a source of comfort to him right now. Not after how he reacted earlier. Instead of approaching him, I waited for them to join me and stuck close, so at least he knew I was there if he needed me.

The guys looked curious, but because of the way Xander was hiding, they couldn’t get a good look at his face. There would be two reactions from the crew that I could think of. First, they were gonna be pissed that he was hurt. Second, once they looked past the bruising, they would be confused as fuck because of how much we looked alike. I was prepared for the first, but wasn’t looking forward to the second. They were going to ask a lot of questions I didn’t have answers to.

How bad would it be if I made Prez share for me?