Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Brew
“What the fuck?” Bane barks down the phone. “Gareth is in New Orleans?”
Haze and I share a look. Bane is on speakerphone, and clearly surprised by the news.
It isn’t like Gareth dropped the hint that he was related to Bane Adler, and that makes me very suspicious.
Clearly, if they’re on the outs, then that would make some kind of sense, but still.
It isn’t like we weren’t gonna find out.
“Funny, he didn’t mention a thing about you,” I say.
“That’s just like G,” Bane mutters. “Always wants to try and get by on his own. Stupid fuck.”
Haze sounds about as exasperated as I feel. “I’m takin’ it you didn’t know he was in New Orleans?”
“Damn straight. Haven’t seen him in months. Went off the rails a little after he got back from overseas a few years ago. Tried to get him a job here, join the MC, but he had other plans,” Bane explains.
“Is he a threat?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Some questionable shit goin’ on with Big Papa, and he’s not out of the woods yet. We’ve been questionin’ him because he said he knows The Grid members and where they’re hidin’ out.”
Bane knows who we’re talking about. The Rebels keep the Hellions engaged in what’s going on around here, and we help each other out from time to time.
“I’ll talk to him,” Bane says. “I’ll be there in a little over three hours. Don’t fuck him up till I get there.”
Little does Bane know that’s exactly where I was after our meeting this morning. I didn’t fuck him up, but he had enough to say that meant we’ll keep him alive. He wants these assholes as much as we do, or so he says, the question is why.
“Do you know what his motive is?” I ask. “Was he connected to The Grid somehow?”
Bane snorts. “If you’re implyin’ was he one of them, the answer is no.
He despises anythin’ like that. The man spent his life tryin’ to get his kid back, but that’s another story.
Let’s just say he’s spent the better part of two years trying to absolve his past mistakes. Traffickin’? Not in his blood.”
“You just sayin’ that because you’re his big brother?” Haze puts in. “Been a while since he left Delta Force, and you haven’t seen him for how long, a couple of years?”
Bane snorts. “Still doesn’t make him the bad guy. If I thought for one second he was in any way involved with those fucked up assholes, I’d put a bullet in his brain myself.”
“We’ll be ready,” I say. “In the meantime, we’ve got a couple of prospects checking out one of the hangouts. He won’t give up the actual location until we free him.”
“You mean to tell me you haven’t resorted to torturin’ it out of him? You boys slippin’?” That’s Bane for you. He has a warped sense of humor.
“You want us to?” I say. “Can be arranged.”
“Trust me, I’ll be more than whoopin’ his scrawny ass when I see him,” Bane grumbles. “Leave the condemin’ to me, I’ll be there soon.”
He hangs up.
“He’s got some nerve,” I grumble. “Lucky fuckface Gareth still has a head on his shoulders.”
Haze rubs his chin. “Maybe he is just broke and needs a fresh start, or perhaps he’ll be more chatty when he finds out big brother is on his way.”
My lips twitch. “Doesn’t seem like he really wanted us to find that out, did it?”
“Nope. I’m impressed with your clemency, brother. Not like you at all.”
I snort. “Ain’t no clemency here. I’ll cut him faster than he can blink if he’s yankin’ all our chains. Bane’s brother or not.”
“Them’s fightin’ words.”
“Don’t give a fuck. Might be an ally with the MC, but what Gareth may or may not be involved in doesn’t involve the club. If we have to take him out for the greater good, then so be it.”
“Cash won’t be happy.”
“He isn’t in Cash’s jurisdiction, he’s in Big Papa’s. He’s fair game.”
I respect Cash. He’s been good to us. But a couple of years ago, they took down a trafficking ring when we were out of town, and let’s just say I’m still a little pissed I didn’t get to roll some heads.
This isn’t about me, I get that, but I would have delighted in at least making some of them suffer as much as possible. Call it a personal vendetta.
“Don’t go makin’ waves,” Haze warns. “Don’t wanna piss Cash off to any extent. I know you’re all high and mighty with your hero hair and big balls attitude, but we still have rules.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“You have a reputation of bein’ a little… rogue.”
“And what the fuck is hero hair?” My hand skims over my head, unsure of his meaning.
Haze inclines his head. “Like you don’t spend time lookin’ in the mirror?”
“Fuck you, asshole.”
“Or is a certain someone worth prettyin’ yourself up for?”
“You wouldn’t know, you barely have any hair.”
Haze runs a hand over his head and I attempt to slap him, but he’s too fast. “Very funny.”
“Mama’s boy.”
“Speakin’ of which,” Haze says. “She hasn’t surfaced yet with Nova.”
Erica convinced Nova to hear my mom out, and while she was doing that, we drilled it into her that Nova is fragile, so pushing her isn’t a good idea. Mom may be a ballbuster, but she’s also not stupid. The strained relationship between Nova and her mom is for them to work out. Not my meddling mom.
We stand. I’ve got shit to do today, including getting over to Big Papa’s.
“I hate to say it, but Nova needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. I get that she needs time to adjust after gettin’ out of the big house, but if she’s gonna be workin’ here, she will actually have to do some work.”
“The responsibility will be good for her. We can talk to Erica about her duties, and give her more jobs to do once she’s got a little more confidence,” Haze says.
As much as our cousin might annoy the shit out of us, none of us wants to see her struggling with no place to go. What Nova also has to realize is that handouts don’t come for free. This is her second chance, and she can’t fuck this up.
When we get to the reception area, I’m about to head out when Olive comes running in excitedly. She’s in her school uniform, her backpack quickly gets shoved to one side as she says, “Hey, Brew, guess what I learned today?”
“Shock me,” I say.
Olive talks a lot, but she’s a good kid. Always polite to her mom, and just different from other kids. Probably because she’s only been a couple of years out of that weird cult she was born into, but making friends comes naturally to her.
My words stop in my throat as she starts signing her name. Hello. My name is Olive.
I frown. What the fuck?
“Do you know what I’m saying?” she asks as I take a step back.
The feeling of adrenaline courses through me. I swallow hard as I hear Erica’s gasp behind me. She knows.
“Yes.”
“What, smarty pants?”
I sign back my own name, talking this time. “My name is Brew.”
Olive’s mouth falls open. “You know how to sign?”
I steal a glance at my brother, who’s stopped in his tracks. I haven’t used ASL in a long time, but it’s not as if you forget. “Some.”
“I’m sorry, Brew,” Erica says, her face pales. She knows. She fucking knows Valencia was deaf. “Olive didn’t know—”
I wave her off. “Don’t worry about it, she’s just a kid.”
“What didn’t I know?” Olive is still bouncing on her toes with excitement. It hasn’t dawned on her yet that I’m rigid and annoyed. It’s not her fault, but it brings back too many memories. Memories I want to forget.
Before anyone can speak for me, or make Olive feel bad, I interject. “I had a girlfriend once, and she was deaf.”
“Oh, wow!” Olive says. “That’s really cool, do you think she could teach me? We don’t get nearly as long in class to learn anything valuable.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s dead.”
Olive’s smile drops. “Oh, I’m sorry, Brew.”
I palm the back of my neck, feeling like an asshole. “Goin’ out,” I say to no one in particular. “Don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“Brew?” Erica says behind me, but I ignore her.
When I get to my motorcycle. I hear footsteps behind me. “Fuck off,” I say, thinking it’s Haze. When I turn, Erica is there, her stride faltering. “Shit, I thought you were Haze.”
“Brew, she didn’t know.”
“So what? She’s allowed to learn ASL if she wants. Has nothin’ to do with me.”
“You just… you seem upset.”
“I’m not upset. I was taken off guard.”
“I know this girl really meant something to you.”
“You don’t know shit,” I say. “Aside from what the girls at the club probably told you.”
“I didn’t want you to think I’d told Olive anything. She has a kid in her class who’s deaf, and she wanted to try to converse with him,” Erica explains.
“You don’t need to give me a rundown, like I said, the kid is allowed to learn sign language, it’s not illegal.”
She palms my bicep, and I glance down at her hand. “Don’t leave like this.”
I narrow my eyes. “Like what?”
“Angry.”
“Who said I’m angry?” I move into her touch, relishing in it. “You know what I’m really angry about?”
She shakes her head. “Tell me.”
“That we don’t get to finish off what we started.
That you have doubts about me because of who I am and what I do.
And that I enjoy makin’ bad people suffer, it’s in my blood.
Deep down you know that about me, and you hate yourself for it.
” The words just tumble out. “But I’m also not here as an experiment for you to get back on the horse.
I’m not gonna have a taste of you and then never touch you again. Better off walkin’ away.”
Her lips part, no sound coming out, but I know she heard me. “You have your reasons for why you do what you do.” Her voice is eerily calm. I’m not sure I like it. “You’re not an experiment, I would never think that. I didn’t… I didn’t know you felt this strongly—”
My eyes snap up. “Because I’m an asshole?
I don’t feel things like any normal person?
” My anger is getting the better of me. “Valencia didn’t deserve what happened to her, and it’s my mission to make sure the people who were involved suffer.
That makes me a liability. One you don’t want in your life. ”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“You don’t know what you’re sayin’.”
“Because you haven’t even given me a chance,” she blurts. “I’ve never had a man… touch me the way you did. Gently. Kindly. You wanted to make sure I was okay, not the other way around. I was scared. Maybe I did retreat, but at least I’m being honest about it.”
I snort. “Right. You say that now, but when I’m covered in the blood of the men who killed her, you might change your tune.”
She swallows hard, straightening her back. “No. I won’t.”
I pique a brow. My little Sparky might just have a fire raging inside her, as well.
“So come to me.” I softly brush my hand against her cheek with my knuckles. “Don’t make me wait, because this? This is like fuckin’ torture. Think about it, and if you walk away now, we’ll forget about everythin’.”
“Brew…”
“Don’t worry about your job, it’s safe no matter what you decide. You are safe with me. Olive is safe. Never forget that.”
I don’t wait for her reply. Her rebuttal would be the end of me. Instead, I hop on my motorcycle, start the engine and roar it to life as I take off out of the lot.
I need to get away.
I need time to think, and I can’t do that with her standing there.
Maybe I can’t do it at all.