Chapter Seven
King
I moved quickly, but Cash beat me to it, and shoved Ravage behind him before Kronos could get to him. I stood in front of Cash.
“Kronos. He’s not who you think!”
“The fuck he isn’t!”
“Everyone out!” I roared. “Kronos and Zeus, stay. The rest of you, get the fuck out now.”
“Not leaving,” Cash growled, standing firm in front of Ravage.
“Me neither,” Nav firmly stated, as he remained seated. He rolled his eyes at Ravage. When the door closed, I turned, pushed Cash out of the way, and slammed Ravage up against the wall.
“Reaper is looking for you! Do you know the shitstorm you created? Where the fuck have you been?”
Narrowing his eyes at me, Ravage grinned. “Reaper can get fucked.”
“Big words from a brother who wears the same fucking patch.”
“Yeah, well, allegiances change all the time.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snarled.
“My club outed me. The underworld knows who I am!” he roared, pushing me away from him.
Shaking my head, I frowned. “Reaper didn’t out shit. No one knows who you are.”
“Bullshit!” Ravage snapped. “Then why is there a bounty on my head? Why are the Death Dogs hunting my woman?”
I heard Nav growl, “Fuck,” as he opened his computer and reached for his phone, placing a call before he started typing.
Hearing the ringing tone, Ravage glared at me. I stood my ground, glaring right back at the little shit, when we all heard Cerberus say, “He there?”
“Yeah,” Nav groaned, typing fast into his computer. “Just strolled in. What the fuck is going on?”
“Nothing for you to worry about. You just make sure he stays there. A package should be arriving shortly for him. You tell that fucking dick of a president of yours that if he knows what’s good for him, he better sit on the two of them until this shit gets sorted out.”
“That’s going to be a problem,” Nav clearly said, looking at Ravage.
“Then fix it!” Cerberus snarled before the line disconnected.
“Fix what?” Ravage seethed, taking a step toward Nav, who turned his computer around so we could see the screen. “This.”
There in black and white was my little brother, along with a dollar amount. One million dollars to the person, club or organization that apprehended or killed Jackson ‘Ravage’ Baudelaire, son of Morpheus, president of the Brotherhood of Bastards MC.
“Holy shit,” I cursed, raking my hands through my hair as I asked, “Has Reaper seen that?” Before anyone could answer, my phone rang. Reaching for it, I looked at the screen and groaned, holding up my phone for Ravage to see.
It was Reaper.
Connecting the call, I placed the phone on the table and pulled out a chair. “I take it you saw?”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Reaper roared, just as something crashed against the wall. “When I find the motherfucker who outed my brother, I’m going to fucking gut him from asshole to pie hole!”
“Boss, Sypher ain’t picking up,” Massacre said in the background, and Ravage stiffened.
He grabbed my phone and snarled, “Who the fuck was that?”
“Oh!” Reaper scoffed. “Now you want to talk to me, asshole?”
“Who was that?” he asked again, his body shaking with barely controlled rage.
“It’s Massacre,” I offered, looking up at Ravage. “He didn’t die in the warehouse. He’s back in California with Amber and the rest of the Golden Skulls.”
“WHERE YOUR ASS SHOULD BE!” Reaper shouted, then took a deep breath. “I can’t deal with you right now. I’ve got a missing old lady and shit in Oklahoma to handle. You deal with him, King.”
Reaper hung up, and I stared at the phone before looking up at Ravage.
“I really fucking hate you Golden Skulls. Bad enough I’ve got to deal with you,” I said, pointing at Kronos, who wouldn’t stop glaring at Ravage, “but now him.” Sighing, I moved back to my seat at the head of the table, leaned back in my chair, and hung my head as I closed my eyes.
Cash chuckled. “At least Ravage isn’t Massacre, so that’s something.”
I slowly turned to look at my VP and growled, “Really? That’s all you have to say?
” When Cash shrugged but said nothing more, I sat up and sighed.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, Ravage, but the Death Dogs attacked my club.
Killed one of my brothers, one of Zeus’ men and his prospect, and two girls.
Several others were wounded, and I’ve got brothers still in the hospital and some here that need a few more days before they are back at one hundred percent, so whatever shit you are in, I hope you have a plan to get out of it, because I’m spread too thin.
And before you say anything, I don’t give a damn what Reaper said. I’ve got my own problems.”
I could feel Cash and Nav’s eyes boring a hole into me.
For different reasons. They both knew Ravage was my brother, but given what I’d seen at the Tumbleweed, Ravage and Nav had a history I wasn’t aware of.
He wouldn’t turn his back on him even if I ordered him to.
And Cash, well, I could feel his disappointment without looking at him.
Cash didn’t grow up with siblings. It was something he’d always wanted and a motivator for joining the club.
Grunting, Ravage winced as he slowly got to his feet. “Sorry I brought more trouble to your doorstep. I’ll leave.”
“Sit your ass back down,” I snarled, pointing at him. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help. I just asked if you had a fucking plan? Are you fucking hurt?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Cash, text Patch,” I ordered.
“I said it was nothing,” Ravage growled.
“My house. My rules,” I snarled back. “Now sit the fuck down.”
I stared him down, my jaw starting to ache with the pressure of grinding my back teeth together, waiting for him to follow my order. He glanced at Nav, who gave a quick nod.
Jealousy reared inside of me. Ravage was my fucking brother. I should be the one he looked to for assurance. But he didn’t know shit about the connection we shared.
The room felt heavy, the tension thick between us. Ravage ran a hand over his wounds and finally muttered, “I’ve got something in mind, but I need a few days.”
Looking at the state he was in, I wasn’t convinced, but I nodded. “You’ve got forty-eight hours, Ravage. Don’t make me regret this.”
Moments later, Patch walked in. “Who’s hurt now?”
Cash, Nav, and I all pointed at Ravage. Kronos and Zeus had been suspiciously silent once they learned Ravage was Morpheus’ son.
Patch dropped a bag on the table and ordered, “Cut and shirt off. I need to see what I’m working with.”
Ravage removed his cut and placed it on the table, then painfully removed his shirt. The second he lifted it, I got a look at his injuries. Something sharp stabbed my chest.
“Jesus fuck,” Kronos said, “He’s been to hell and back.”
I said nothing as my eyes traveled over him from head to toe. My hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms.
“Everyone, get out,” I snarled. When no one moved, I roared, “GET THE FUCK OUT!”
Nav and Cash stood and ushered Kronos and Zeus out of the room. When Patch went to grab his bag, I ordered, “Leave the fucking bag.”
Patch nodded and disappeared with the others, leaving me alone with Ravage. I took a few seconds before I stood and walked over and sat in a chair next to him. Reaching for the bag, I dumped it over, spilling the contents. “Sit down before you fall down.”
“I can tend my own wounds, King.”
I glared at him.
Ravage slowly sat.
Shaking my head, I reached over, carefully pulling the bandage from his shoulder, and sighed. “A bullet wound.”
He nodded.
“And your stomach?”
“The same.”
Reaching for fresh bandages, I asked, “What happened?”
“Same old shit. Wrong place at the wrong time.”
I growled. Stupid kid probably thought he was indestructible.
“Fine.” He winced as I placed an alcohol swab against his shoulder. “After I found Yuri Nikitin and killed him, I went after associates of Black Odessa.”
“Why?”
“Because they are working with the Death Dogs and both want my woman.”
“You have a woman?” I asked, placing a clean bandage on his shoulder.
“Yeah. Karlyn Ingalls. She’s the sister of my brother Ink.”
I carefully removed the bandage across his stomach. “Stitches tore. Going to have to sew you back up. Tell me about your woman.”
“She’s perfect, King. Well, perfect for me. She hasn’t had the best life, and I promised her she would be safe no matter what. Now my past is coming for her.”
“This life isn’t easy... brother,” I said, pausing on the last word. It had a different meaning for me as I threaded the needle. “Maybe it’s time you stepped away and took your woman with you. Still young enough to have a decent life.”
“Can’t do that, King,” Ravage whispered. “This life is all I know.”
“Yeah, I guess we’re the same in that regard.
” I smirked. Maybe we had something in common.
Both born to the same woman, from different men.
Those men were criminals and passed on a fucked-up gene that had us craving a life filled with destruction.
“The second I put the cut on my back, I knew there was no other life for me. Declan hated it, but he didn’t stop me. ”
“You’re lucky. You have blood. I’ve just got my brothers and Karlyn.”
I nodded but said nothing more as I stitched him up.
Like me, he had a father he wanted nothing to do with.
What he didn’t know was he had a brother also.
I placed a clean bandage over the wound.
Leaning back in my chair, I took a long, good look at him.
I looked for something familiar. Something that connected us as brothers.
I still hadn’t looked at the pictures Sal left.
Ravage looked like Morpheus; there was no mistaking their connection.
I didn’t see anything in the man before me that reminded me of myself.
“Stay as long as you need. I will handle Reaper. You need a few more days to let those wounds heal.”
Reaching for his shirt, he nodded. “Thanks, King. I appreciate it, and if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know.”
Gathering his cut, he headed for the door. “You can have the room Reaper was in last time you were here.”
“The one upstairs across from you?”
I nodded but said nothing more.
Smiling, he simply replied, “Thanks.”
I watched him walk through the door. I wanted to tell him who I was.
But the words weren’t there. As far as I knew, Ravage still believed Jane Craven was his mother.
I didn’t want to blindside him the way I had been.
But something told me the longer I waited, the harder it would be to find the words I couldn’t grasp onto.
I pulled out my phone and called Reaper.
“King, I can’t deal with him right now,” Reaper growled into the phone.
“I’m not asking you to deal with him. I’m keeping him.”
“The fuck you are.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.
I was pretty sure I knew who outed Ravage.
According to Dread, Skinner had pulled Zephyr from the Brotherhood’s clubhouse, and given what Cerberus had said, Morpheus knew Zephyr had betrayed him.
But I wasn’t sure if he knew just how much.
It had to be Zephyr, but I needed to talk to Nav first.
“I’m keeping him here until we figure out what the hell happened.”
“Keep him safe, King.”
“He’s my little brother, Reaper.”
“He is.” The line was silent as Reaper digested my words. “I have to deal with this shit in Oklahoma, then I’m coming there.”
“Speaking of Oklahoma,” I said. “There’s something you need to know about Alice Cavanaugh.”