Chapter 26
KC
Ren cracked his knuckles, the sound reverberating in the Jeep, making me wince.
He sat in the passenger seat beside me, his spine straight, shoulders tight, and jaw so tense I waited to hear the snap of his teeth breaking.
He had a hand on his knee, the muscles in his arm taut and his fingers flexing.
When I came to a stop in front of A Barber for Kings—Barber’s shop—I turned off the ignition and laid my palm on top of his hand, smiling. “It’ll be okay.”
“Barber’s a good guy,” Oli agreed from the back seat. He rubbed soothing circles on Ren’s shoulder, a comfort I could tell was working because the tension in Ren began to fade.
“He’s not going to punch the shit out of me?” Ren pointed at his nose. The swelling had finally gone down from Pa’s attack. He’d already argued that he hadn’t been prepared for Pa, and if he’d known Pa would resort to violence, he would’ve reacted faster.
“No. Believe it or not, Barber’s the less violent one,” I said. To an extent. Barber would still fight for the people he loved. Unlike Pa, he’d use his gun and bike to commit the crimes. “If you give him the chance, he could be the brother you remember.”
Ren glanced toward the shop, expression thoughtful.
I gave him all the time he needed. Ren was emotionally constipated, and while he’d been open about his feelings with us when we’d forced it on him, I expected talking to Barber would be harder.
They had grown up in the same home, with the same negligent parents.
Speaking about feelings wasn’t in their skillset.
Oli replaced his hand with his cheek on Ren’s shoulder, staying silent and offering our boyfriend the support he needed.
If he wanted to be with us, then he needed to bury the hatchet with Barber.
It needed to be buried so deep there was no chance for it to resurface.
Oli and I wouldn’t go through this again. We’d agreed.
“Let’s do this.” Ren petted Oli’s chin, fingers smoothing over his cheek, before taking a deep breath in a sign that he was ready to face his demons. Or, in this case, his brother.
Ren exited the Jeep and I followed him. Oli and Ren were already on the sidewalk by the time I got around to them.
Oli had his hand in Ren’s, fingers curled until his knuckles were white, while Ren had his other hand held out in my direction, waiting for me to join them.
Once my fingers were securely threaded with his, he marched forward like a player heading toward a touchdown. He was ready for the win.
He kicked open the shop door with his foot, his grip on my hand tightening.
Barber was waiting on the other side, sitting in the chair usually reserved for his clients.
I’d warned him we were coming, and Barber gave me a simple thumbs-up in response, which was weird for him.
Anyone who knew Barber knew he was the biggest shit stirrer known to man, and I couldn’t remember a time when I’d seen him be serious.
But he certainly seemed serious about this.
Maybe because he’d been accused of being the reason someone died by suicide.
Or maybe because this was his little brother, the one sibling he appeared to like. Though, he’d never mentioned Ren.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard Barber talk about his family in California before Ren had shown up. Maybe that was his way of coping.
Barber’s arms were crossed when we entered. His stare dropped to our connected hands briefly, then returned to Ren’s bruised face. The marks were faded out to a sickly yellowish green.
“Quain do that to you?” The corner of his mouth ticked. “You look prettier.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Ren grumbled, making Barber grin. If there was anything Barber enjoyed, it was getting a reaction.
“No thanks, I got Quain for that.”
I crinkled my nose. “Ew, Barber. TMI.”
“Your pa’s wild in bed,” he singsonged, because he was an asshole.
Oli chuckled, hiding his face in Ren’s arm.
“Again, I don’t need to know.”
“Like a tiger. Rawr.” Barber bent his fingers and made a scratching gesture at us.
I resisted the urge to groan. This was something he did to lighten the mood, but I also didn’t want to hear about my parents’ sex life.
“Back on topic, please. We’re here for you and Ren to talk.” I sent Barber a pointed look before giving Ren the same one. “Talk. Not grunt at each other like cavemen but have a serious conversation like you’re brothers. Can you do that?”
Ren’s mouth twisted, the unhappiness clear on his face. I didn’t expect them to make up and hug it out. To some extent, I understood. They grew up in a shitty family.
If Pa hadn’t found me when I was a kid and taken me in, I would’ve been even more fucked up than they were. I was lucky. So no, I wasn’t anticipating automatic forgiveness between them, but I wanted them working toward a better relationship. Progress.
“I grunt so prettily, though.” Barber waggled his eyebrows, and I rolled my eyes at his antics.
Ren took a deep breath and released our hands so he could step forward.
Barber stood to match him but frowned as he craned his neck to look up.
Now that they were close to each other again without arguing, I took a moment to study them.
There were so many stark differences between them—from the shape of their noses to Ren’s lips being fuller to the thickness of their eyebrows.
Yet, there were similarities that solidified them as brothers.
They stood in the exact same position, their feet spread and muscles tense.
They were two inked men having a stare-off.
“Who’s got the bigger dick?” I drawled with indifference, not the least bit impressed by their measuring contest.
“Me,” Barber and Ren said at the same time.
Despite the situation, Oli and I laughed. Yep. Definitely brothers.
“Seriously. Sit the fuck down.” I took Ren’s shoulders into my hands and led him to one of the client seats. Oli seemed to get the message and did the same to Barber until they were sitting near each other. They glared, but as seconds ticked by, their eyes softened.
“You’re both older than us. Don’t tell me we have to instruct you on how to have a conversation,” I grumbled.
Oli harrumphed in agreement. “Usually, one person says a sentence, then the other one replies.”
I chuckled at Oli’s smart-ass response. When he was confident and felt safe, he was quick with a quip.
His insecurities lingered under his skin, ready to seep through his pores any chance they got, but there were also times when he steeled his spine and did what needed to be done.
It seemed like he was beginning to realize he had people who loved him and had his back.
“Fine.” Ren huffed, worse than a little kid. He wasn’t six years old. He was a damned adult. “What do you want me to say, Luke? Huh? You fucked with Andrea’s mind.”
Barber’s teasing attitude drained from his face and he squared his shoulders. He wasn’t combative, but rather sincere. He shook his head. “I was barely around Andrea, Ren. Mother used her when I couldn’t watch you, so she wasn’t around when I was. We weren’t exactly friends.”
“I know.” A nerve in Ren’s jaw jumped, and he ground his teeth.
“Then, you’d also know we were in the same class.
We both knew Trisha Morgan. She was in our Calculus class.
The day I think you’re talking about, Andrea mentioned her, said she wanted to be as skinny as Trisha.
That was her goal.” Barber groaned and fell back into his seat.
“I did tell her that she was bigger than Trisha, but I said everyone was because Trisha wasn’t healthy.
I told Andrea that Trisha’s twin brother, Antony, was worried about her.
I was a fucking teen, but I wasn’t stupid.
I would never purposely say bad things about a girl my age in that way.
Andrea’s words concerned me. I knew you liked her, and she liked you.
I was trying to convince her not to do anything .
. . . Well, anything like she eventually did anyway. It just came out sounding all wrong.”
Ren stayed silent for a moment, and we watched him. My spine stiffened and I got ready for a sharp comment in return. It was hard to read Ren, but his reflection in the mirror finally broke with a slackening mouth. “I cared about her. She was better than a sister to me.”
“I know.” Barber spun his chair in Ren’s direction.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and palms pressed together.
“I am sorry that my words hurt her. I thought I was helping by telling her Trisha was sick. Andrea was a smart fucking girl.” He hesitated.
“I can’t take back what I said or how it hurt her.
It’s fucked, what women go through with body image.
I didn’t realize she liked me like that. ”
I swallowed and stepped closer to Oli. I was glad he was with us because I didn’t think I could listen to this conversation alone. My skin buzzed with anticipation and my fingers flexed with the urge to reach out and knock their heads together.
I was glad Pa had raised me the way he did. He might be an assassin, but he always made sure I was comfortable sharing my feelings. He always made me feel heard.
“Yeah.” Ren cleared his throat and glanced at me and Oli through the mirror. He smiled—it was small and tight, but there. He was there. “I guess I didn’t know what really happened.”
“You know what Uncle Errol says?” Barber smirked.
“Nah, never met him.” Ren shrugged.
Barber’s face fell. “Well, we can change that. He’s better than the ’rents, I’ll tell you that. Anyway, he says there’s your version, their version, and the cold-hard truth that will fuck you up the ass sideways.”
Ren shot him an incredulous look, and Barber fell against his seat, laughing.
“Honest to God, that’s what he says. He’s a crazy bastard, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
Ren’s lips quirked. “He sounds fun. Father always had shit to say about him.”