Chapter Sixteen
King
I pulled up in front of the small house and stared at it.
I had a sister.
One I had already counted as a sister.
Protected like a sister.
Loved like a sister.
“Are you okay?” Grace asked beside me.
I reached out and grabbed her hand. She was my lifeline. I glanced at her stomach. It was still flat; we still didn’t know if the baby was mine, but it didn’t matter to me because the baby was a part of her.
“I have a sister.”
Grace chuckled. “You have a lot of family you didn’t know about.”
I leaned my head back against the seat. “Three brothers and now a sister,” I said softly.
“What’s she like?”
I laughed. “She’s loud, opinionated, full of sass and absolutely beautiful,” I said, then looked at her. “She’s just like you.”
“Asshole,” she muttered without heat and stared out the window at the house. “Think she’ll like me?”
“She’ll love you.”
“When she learns what I did...”
“Don’t start that shit again, Grace.” She looked down at her lap. “I mean it. Morgan has been through a lot. She’s going through a lot now. There is no reason to bring up our past.”
“But—”
“But nothing, Grace. You need to let it go.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, let’s go meet your sister.”
I climbed out of the SUV. I would have preferred to bring my bike, but with the long drive and Grace being pregnant, the SUV made more sense. And allowed me to drive faster.
I opened her door and helped her out. The front door opened, and there she was.
My sister.
Jude’s wife.
I was going to kill the motherfucker for hurting her.
I opened my arms, and she flew down the steps and crashed into me.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
I held her tight, not wanting to let go. If only I’d known then, I would have kept her with me. Would have taken better care of her.
“Morgan, this is Grace.”
Morgan smiled up at me. “Thought you were never taking on an old lady?”
“I didn’t really give him much choice,” Grace said. “I wore him down.” She held out her hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Morgan shook Grace’s hand but then switched to the other one and pulled her along as she said, “Come inside. Are you two alone?”
“Romeo and Mimic are at the Lodge with Indie, Mimic’s old lady, and Grace’s father, Popeye.”
“Why didn’t you bring them?”
“Because I wanted some time with my little sister.” I smiled when she blushed. Looking around her home, I asked, “Where’s the old man?”
“Probably at my mom’s with Uncle Mac.”
“Uncle?” I asked.
Duncan was my uncle, but I didn’t call him that. Hell, I didn’t call Sal my father, or the woman who’d shown up at my clubhouse, mother.
“He’s not really my uncle, but he has the same last name as my mom and me, so I’ve just always called him Uncle Mac.”
“How long have you known?” I asked.
Morgan froze, her back to me as she grabbed some coffee cups from the cabinet. She slowly set them on the counter and turned, sadness in her eyes.
“I’ve always known.”
Her words were a punch to the gut. She’d always known. He was a part of her life. Her entire life.
“King?” Grace’s hand found mine, and I nodded.
I ran a hand over my face. This shouldn’t be a big deal. It shouldn’t bother me the way it did. I had to remind myself that he didn’t know I was his son. Remind myself that I had two parents who loved me. And a brother who’d been there for me.
“I’m sorry,” Morgan said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“It wasn’t his either,” Grace said.
Morgan’s eyes widened a fraction before she busied herself making coffee. She brought it over to the table and waved toward the chairs.
“None for me,” Grace said. “But thank you.”
“Do you want something else?” Morgan asked as Grace looked longingly at the cup.
“One cup is fine,” I reminded her.
“I know, but...”
Morgan looked between the two of us, confusion marring her brow.
“Grace is pregnant,” I said with a smile.
“King!” Grace hissed. She didn’t want anyone outside the club to know. She still planned on getting an abortion if the baby wasn’t mine.
“I’m going to be an aunt?” Morgan asked, her hands covering her cheeks. Her smile was so bright, I felt like an ass.
“I never thought I’d be an aunt,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Grace looked away.
“I’m sorry, baby.”
Grace shook her head. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not. I shouldn’t have said anything yet.”
“Wh-what’s going on?” Morgan asked, her voice filled with concern. “Is something wrong with the baby?”
Grace straightened her shoulders and said, “I was raped a few weeks ago, and we aren’t sure if the baby is King’s or not. We have a few more weeks before we can take the test.”
I was so fucking proud of her.
“Oh, Grace, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” Grace whispered. “Let’s talk about something else. Where is Chasm?” she asked. “I offered to kick him in the balls for King. I can do the same for you.”
Morgan barked out a laugh. “I already did that. And broke his nose.”
I smiled widely at my sister. “He fucking deserved it,” I said, and Morgan smiled back at me. Only the smile didn’t quite meet her eyes, and I knew why. She loved the son of a bitch.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He left the clubhouse yesterday after he found out about Dad.”
The way she said it hit me in the chest. Dad. Not my dad. Just Dad. As if he belonged to both of us.
I pulled out my phone and called him. I stood up and moved across the room while I waited for him to answer. When he didn’t pick up, I left a voicemail.
“Pick up the fucking phone when I call you, asshole.” I lowered my voice, hoping Morgan wouldn’t hear me. “If you left town after I told you to stay put, I will fucking kill you, after I beat your goddamn ass. Meet me at the clubhouse in an hour.”
“You know why he came back, don’t you?”
Her voice was close and quiet, filled with fear, or maybe pain. When I turned around, I guessed both. “I do. And I will tell you when we get to the clubhouse.”
“Why do we have to go to the clubhouse?”
“Because I need to speak to King. Call the old man and have him meet us there.”
The ride up the mountain was quiet. I glanced at my sister in the rearview mirror, and she was staring out the window. Grace looked over her shoulder, checking on Morgan, then looked at me with concern.
This wasn’t the Morgan I first met.
This was the Morgan I remembered after she had lost her husband and son. I’d hoped Romeo had been wrong. When he came home after New Year’s, he told me she was putting up a good show, but he’d seen her when no one was around.
She was quiet, subdued.
It could easily be construed as contemplative if you didn’t know her history. If you didn’t know her.
We pulled up in front of the Sons of Hell clubhouse. Mimic, Indie, and Romeo were meeting us here. I opened Morgan’s door before moving around to Grace’s.
“Morgan!” Romeo yelled. “Girl, you get more beautiful every time I see you.”
My sister smiled wide as she hurried over and smacked Romeo upside his head.
“What the fuck was that for?” Romeo cried out, rubbing the back of his head.
“For telling King. And when I see Gator, he’ll get the same thing. If Devlyn hasn’t killed him yet.”
“Had to, babe,” Romeo said, not at all looking sorry.
“I know,” Morgan said with a sigh. “I guess all my secrets are out.”
I looked up at the porch and saw a young girl watching the interaction. Her eyes were on Romeo, and I groaned.
“Is that Fiona?” Grace asked.
“I hope to hell not.”
“He said she was young.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think he meant that fucking young,” I grumbled.
“She’s eighteen.”
A growl rumbled through my chest at the thought of Romeo breaking that girl’s heart. The way she was watching him, you could see the hearts in her eyes.
Grace patted my arm. “He said he would wait for her.”
“For how long?”
Romeo looked over at me, and when he saw the look on my face and followed the direction of my gaze, he had the good sense to look ashamed.
“Mimic and Indie are inside. O’Malley too,” Romeo said, ignoring my silent question.
“Hi, Fiona.”
“Hi, Morgan.”
I pinned my brother with an angry glare as I walked inside. We’d be talking about that shit later. Walking into the clubhouse, it looked as if everyone was here.
All but one.
Son of a bitch!
I led Grace over to where King’s wife, Bailey, sat on a large couch.
“I need to make a call,” I told her. “You’ll be okay?”
“I’ve got her,” Popeye said behind me.
I kissed Grace and slapped Popeye on the back as I muttered, “Thanks,” before stepping back out onto the porch. I dialed Chasm’s number and waited for him to answer. When the voicemail picked up, I hung up and called Zombie.
“Where the fuck is he?”
“Um, hi, King.”
“Don’t cover for him, B. Tell me where he is.”
“He called yesterday and asked for Krypto and Ambush to meet him in Virginia. He said you were on your way there.”
I hung up on Zombie and called Ambush.
“Hey, King.”
“Where the fuck is he?”
“Um... he’s...” Ambush stuttered over his words, trying to come up with an excuse for why his president wasn’t here. I respected that, to a point. It was one thing to have your brother’s back. Another to enable him to be a dick.
“Tell him he better fucking call me, or he better fucking hide.” I hung up before Ambush could make excuses for his president.
“He left, didn’t he?”
I spun around and found my sister’s sad face staring at me.
“I didn’t expect him to stay. Not after last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“We said goodbye.” She blinked back her tears as she looked away.
“Morgan,” I began as I took a step forward.
“Don’t, King.” She shook her head. “I can’t have you hold me right now. I’ll fall apart if you do, and I can’t fall apart right now.” She looked back at me with a watery smile. “You know it must have been fate that you were the one to find me. The one to take care of me.”
“It’s what a big brother does,” I finished for her. I threw my arm around her shoulders. “Come on, little sister.”
When we got back inside, we were ushered into church. I insisted Morgan and her mother come with us. This involved her; she deserved to know what was going on. I learned the hard way with Grace, not to keep the women in my life in the dark.
“King!”
“What?” I said, at the same time as the Sons of Hell president.
“Um, the other King,” Banks said, looking at me. He turned to his president and asked, “You both have the same name. It’s bound to get confusing.”
“So, how do we differentiate?” Romeo asked.
Mimic rolled his eyes, and Indie grinned.
“The two of you will have to use your birth names for now,” Bailey, King’s wife, said.
I raised a hand to get her attention. “That is my birth name.”
“Your birth name is Kingston,” Sal informed everyone with a grin.
“Nobody but Darcy calls me fucking Kingston,” I snapped.
“Well, while you’re here, get used to it, Kingston.” Bailey looked at her husband. “Continue, Callum.”
Callum Montclair smiled at his wife. And if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a gleam in his eye. “Thank you, Avonleigh.”
“Don’t, asshole!” Bailey flipped him the bird, spun on her heels, and walked out.
“You’ll be sleeping in your office tonight, Callum.” Scribe snickered.
“Why do you think I put a fucking couch in there?” Callum rolled his eyes as if Bailey’s outburst was a normal occurrence. “Let’s get started.”