32. SIN
“The fuck is your problem.” When I shoved Rex in the shoulder, hard enough to make him fall back, I knew it was a mistake, knew it, but it didn’t stop me from fucking doing it.
Rex’s eyes flared wide with warning, and the stillness he was renowned for made him look like a goddamn puma on the verge of pouncing. “You got a problem?”
“Damn fucking straight I’ve got a motherfucking problem. You think you can speak to my woman without me there? The fuck, man?” I snarled at him, but I wasn’t a fool.
Even in the haze of rage, I wasn’t going to get in his face now I’d gotten a good lick in. I wasn’t averse to having the shit kicked out of me, but I was averse to Tiff having to see it and having to look at the fucking shiners every day for a couple weeks.
His jaw tensed, before he snapped, “The only reason I’m not going to make you kiss your own ass right now is because you came to me in my office.”
I was so mad at him I couldn’t see straight, but I didn’t have a fucking death wish.
Not only would that bring Rex’s ire to my shoulders, but Nyx’s too.
I tipped my chin up. “Your momma didn’t raise no fool.”
That had him bellowing out a sigh as I dropped Rene into the conversation. “Motherfucker.”
“Yeah, I am right now. Except I’m fucking the future mother of my goddamn kid, Rex. The fuck were you thinking loading that shit on her? Treating her like she’s the fucking enemy?”
He reached up and scraped a hand over his chin. “You’re not the Enforcer yet, Sin.”
I heard the warning.
I wouldn’t be the Enforcer if I didn’t back the fuck down.
“Since when have you known me to back off when something needs to be said? How the hell would you feel if I’d approached Rachel, got her all riled up and questioning shit, and all while she was carrying your kid?”
Rex’s glower lessened after I mentioned his Achilles’ heel. “I’d want to make you eat your balls.”
His admission had some of the tension seeping from my shoulders. “E-fucking-xactly. Why the hell did you approach her without me? I’m her Old Man, Rex. You come through me with this shit.”
“Ain’t branded her yet.”
“Fuck you,” I growled, furious at the statement. “She’s pregnant.”
Rex scowled. “So? Even more reason to brand her.”
“You can’t get ink when you’re pregnant, dumb fuck.”
“Watch it, Sin,” he snapped.
“What’s to fucking watch? Can’t make my Old Lady my Old goddamn Lady because she’s pregnant.” I flipped him the bird. “That mean she ain’t entitled to the same protection as Giulia?” When I arched my neck, thrusting my chin at him, his answering scowl didn’t make me back the fuck off. “You and I both know if you’d pulled that shit on Giulia, Nyx would be more than in your goddamn face over this.”
Rex’s temper settled at my retort, and he grunted, “Didn’t know that about pregnant women and ink.”
“Yeah, I see that,” I retorted. “But she’s mine. Do you fucking hear me? I claim her here in front of you, and the second she can get ink, I’m getting her ink.”
“A doctor told you she can’t? She isn’t—” He shrugged his shoulders. “—trying to get out of it?”
“No,” I raged, fury making me feel like steam was surging out of my pores. “What the fuck? I’d ask if you didn’t like her, but I don’t give a shit if you do or not. She’s mine, Rex. Do you fucking get that?”
Rex’s jaw tensed but he raised his hands. “I get that.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t know the score. That’s all.”
“Well, now you fucking do. What’s this shit about Fieri, anyway? You should have talked to me about this first.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I should.”
“I’d have lost everything for her, man. If anyone knew that, it was you.”
“And that was why I had to protect you.”
“From her? I don’t need protecting from her.” I shook my head. “Here’s me trying to make her see the MC as my family, and you just go and knock shit back for me.”
“I’m sorry, Sin, I didn’t fucking know, all right? I can see you want to wife her, but brand her? That’s another thing entirely.”
Typical—didn’t think there’d be much asslicking by way of apology from this fucker. I was damn lucky to have gotten what I did.
“You should have spoken to me about Grizzly as well. That entire fucking conversation you breached all kinds of boundaries.”
“I was preparing her?—”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “We agreed. That shit would stay in the club.”
“And it will. She needs to fucking know you’ve got a temper on you.”
“Why? You were hoping to scare her off? Make her back away? Make up your fucking mind. Either she’s bad news for me or I’m bad news for her.” I clenched my teeth. “Not only will I never fucking hurt her, she’s carrying my kid. You wanted her to run off? Take my kid from me? I won’t be like my fucking father. I want to be in my kid’s life, do you hear me?”
Rex, brave bastard that he was, approached the lion in his den and moved toward me. He put a hand on my shoulder, then, when I didn’t snap it off, he put the other there too. I knew I was breathing like I was a bull in the middle of a fucking fight with a matador, but that was how goddamn enraged I was.
Not only had he disrespected Tiff, he’d disrespected me. He’d told her shit I wasn’t ready to tell her, and worse of all, he’d told her shit that scared her without making sure I was in the loop first.
“I hear you, and you will be. That wasn’t my intent,” he told me softly, not stopping until my forehead was butted up against his. “We’re family, whether or not you like to hide from it. I want what’s best for you.”
“She’s what’s best for me,” I rasped. “Fuck, she’s the only good thing in my goddamn life.”
Rex argued, “That ain’t true.”
“Yeah. It is.” I let him see the whole truth and nothing but the fucking truth in my eyes, and when he did, I whispered, “Yeah. Been hanging on by a fucking thread for a long goddamn time, cuz. Too much drink, too much sex. I can’t deal with this shit without her, man.”
His hand tightened about my shoulder. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Fuck.” A breath rattled from my lips. “Don’t scare her off.”
“I won’t. I was trying to protect you. She’s in deep, and you didn’t know it.”
“Neither did she,” I rasped. “She didn’t know shit until you tore her eyes open.”
Rex winced. “I’m sorry.”
“Not enough,” I replied, honestly. “She’s my woman. Just remember that.”
“I ain’t likely to forget,” he rumbled. “Not now.”
A sigh heaved from me. “Good. Now, what the fuck is going on?”
“Lodestar and Maverick keep uncovering clusterfucks,” he muttered. His forehead pushed into mine, not aggressively, like he was reminding me we were blood. I appreciated it. When he pulled away and scrubbed a hand over his hair, tugging at the ends like he wanted to tug it off by the roots, I watched him as he strode over to a tray of liquor. When he poured himself a JD, neat, I eyed it warily—fucker didn’t drink this early in the day.
Hadn’t since he’d become Prez.
“What’s going on?”
“Told Storm about the situation in Coshocton in this morning’s council meeting.”
The change of subject didn’t bother me. I knew how it felt to need to work up to something. That Rex, this hardcore fuck, needed to build himself up put me on edge. “Didn’t go well?”
“No. Didn’t.”
“Can’t blame him. Wouldn’t want to be away from my kid, either.”
Rex hissed out a breath. “I don’t want that. If the dumbfuck had kept it in his pants, Keira would still be with him, and they’d be going down together.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “Whether you want it or not, you’re asking him to leave his family behind.”
“The family he screwed over.”
My shrug said it all—I agreed with him, but it didn’t take away from the truth, did it?
“We need someone we can trust down there.”
“Steel—”
“Prefer him up here. Needs to be Storm. Fucker’s killing himself here.” Rex’s mouth turned mutinous. “It’ll be hard at first, but I ain’t letting this drop. He can throw as many tantrums as he wants. Coshocton, fucking responsibility, leadership, it’ll straighten him out more than any twelve steps.” He took a deep gulp of JD, then rasped, “Second he’s gone, I’m putting you forward as Enforcer and Nyx as VP. You down with that?”
“You know I am, brother.”
Rex dipped his chin. “Shit’s coming our way.” He peered out the window like there were rolling golden hills out there, Elysian Fields and all that shit. Course, I only knew what they were because, while Tiff was in the bath last night and I was shaving, she’d told me about her trip to Paris and to the Champs Elysees.
Her life and mine couldn’t have been more different up until now, but the truth was, more than just the baby in her belly meant our futures were entwined.
I loved that woman.
Enough to fucking shed blood for—mine and any cunt who got in her path.
“Shit’s always coming our way,” I countered, strolling over to his side, and leaning against the same window he was staring out of.
“The Famiglia are everywhere. They cast long nets. We’ve got caught up in the haul. I refuse to lose any of my men to them.” His hand tightened around the tumbler in his grip, and I wasn’t surprised when the fucker burst. He just stared at it, at the puddle of JD, the shards of glass at his feet, and the one burrowed into his palm.
“You won’t lose any men, cuz,” I told him. “Nyx and I will make sure of it.”
He caught me a look. “Not sure you can make a promise like that, man.”
I smirked at him, reached over, and pulled out the glass shard. “Wanna bet?”