Chapter Eleven
King
“Now that my story is done, I have another one for you.”
Ravage rolled his eyes at me. “Get to the fucking point.”
“I’m trying, but if I just blurt it out, you’re gonna have fifteen million questions. So just shut up and listen.”
He waved his hand for me to continue, and I wanted to slap him upside the head. There was barely a year between us in age, but he had the fucking little brother personality down already.
“Kane Baudelaire had a twin sister who disappeared when she was sixteen. No one knew what happened to her. She was there, and then one day she was gone. Kane took off looking for her. His uncle Kalden didn’t like that very much, because Kane was supposed to marry Jane Craven.”
I had Ravage’s attention now. His interest was piqued. He sat forward in his seat, waiting for me to continue.
“While looking for his sister, who to this day he has never found, he met Gretchen Foster and fell in love. She got pregnant, and they planned a life together. On the day his son was born, Kane was right by Gretchen’s side.
He watched his son come into the world, and then he was snatched away from him. ”
“How?”
“Kalden sent a man after Kane, a man we know as Zephyr. What we recently learned was that Zephyr killed Nav’s mom. And Kane’s sister Gabriella saw it happen. It was the reason she ran.”
Ravage ran his hands over his face. “Does Nav know?”
“He does.”
“How did you find out?”
“Rhea Cooper. Kronos’ wife is Gabriella Baudelaire.”
Ravage launched from his seat and slammed his hands on my desk. “WHAT?”
“You have an aunt right here in my clubhouse. You have three cousins, and one of them has two children. The kid you beat the shit out of in my clubhouse just now, is your cousin’s son.
Morpheus doesn’t know anything about them, or that she’s here.
” When Ravage grinned, I growled, “And you won’t fucking tell him.
Her disappearance was the catalyst, and having you ripped away from him was the reason he became who he is. ”
Ravage walked away from me. He paced my office silently. I waited for him to process everything I’d told him. I needed him to catch up to where I was before I told him the rest.
The envelope in front of me mocked me. I hadn’t opened it since the day Amber put the pictures inside. She’d sealed it up so the pictures wouldn’t fall out, and it was still sealed now.
I didn’t know what my mother looked like. This was something my little brother and I would learn together.
“So, my aunt witnessed Nav’s mother’s death and ran away.
My father went after her, met a woman and fell in love.
Only, his uncle pulled him back to the Brotherhood.
Am I supposed to believe that Morpheus is the asshole he is because he lost his woman and child?
The all-powerful fucking scary man the entire Biker Federation is afraid of couldn’t find and protect his woman and child? BULLSHIT!”
“Ravage.”
“And how the hell does that make us brothers?”
“When my mother changed her name after I was born, she became Gretchen Foster.”
“How did Jane Craven end up on my fucking birth certificate?” he growled. He was angry. I understood it. Anger was easier to express than hurt. You could hide behind anger. I’d been doing it for months.
“Morpheus was supposed to marry Jane. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but somehow Kalden ended up with Morpheus in the club and Jane ended up with you.”
“So my mother—” he paused and looked at me. “Our mother gave away two children?”
“From what Sypher told me, Jane threatened her. And me. Told her that if she didn’t give you up, she would not only kill her, but me as well.”
“Jane knew about you?”
“Yes. It had to have been the midwife who delivered me, because she was the only person outside of my parents and my brother who knew who I really was. From what I understand, the Society was everywhere.”
“Where is she now?”
“Jane is dead.”
“Not fucking Jane. Our mother. Where the fuck is she now?”
“She passed away seven years ago.”
“FUCK!” Ravage shouted and then punched three fucking holes in my wall.
But I didn’t say a word. I’d been through this.
I knew exactly what he was feeling. What he was going through.
He could put fifty holes in the wall and I would let him.
That’s why we had prospects. I remembered the pain and guilt I felt when I found out she was gone.
A few weeks ago...
“Who the fuck is Gretchen Foster?” I growled as Sal looked at me and said, “She’s your mother Darcy.” Sal exhaled. “She changed her name again after that to Bridgit Mahoney. Duane found her in California. Her son was killed, and she died shortly after.”
“But Ravage is alive. What son are you talking about?” Blade asked.
Sal sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s all the information we’ve been able to find up to now. I don’t know who the other son is or where she is buried.”
I stood up and left the room. I walked down to my office and slammed the door. I’d already known this information. Sal had already dropped that bomb, so why the fuck was this hitting me so fucking hard again?
“King,” Jack said quietly as he stepped into my office and closed the door. “I know it sucks, man.”
I wanted to tell him to fuck off. I wanted to scream that he didn’t know what the fuck I was going through. But he did. He also learned who is parents were after they were dead.
“I didn’t know her. Didn’t even know she existed until a few fucking months ago. How can you grieve someone who means nothing to you?”
“She doesn’t mean nothing to you. She means everything, Prez. She was your mother. She gave you life. You grieve the fact that you never had her. You grieve the life you could have.”
“I had a good fucking life, Jack.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t the one you were supposed to have. And it’s okay to grieve that loss. Talk to Haizley, man. She’s helped me work through all this shit and then some.”
What they didn’t know was, I had been talking to Haizley. Since Sal left the last time. This shit didn’t get easier. All it did was bring up more shit. Shit I didn’t want to deal with.
“Let’s get back.”
“Did you meet her?” he asked, his back to me.
“No. I only found out about her in December. I found out about you a few weeks ago.”
He turned around and glared at me. “Maureen?”
I smiled. “She’s your aunt, though not by blood. She won’t let that stop her from claiming you, though. She tore me a new asshole after you left, wanting to know why ‘that boy has the Murphy eyes.’”
“She said something about my eyes. Do I have my mother’s eyes?”
I picked up the envelope on my desk. “I don’t know. But a few months ago, when Sal was here, he brought some pictures. They’re old, obviously, but I haven’t looked at them.”
“Why not?”
I fingered the envelope and thought about my answer. “When he brought them, I didn’t want them because they were from him. Then, when I found out you were my brother, I wanted to wait until you knew the truth. Figured we could look at them together.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Ravage said, his eyes on the envelope in my hand.
“Not sure I am either.” I chuckled. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and threw the envelope back in there.
I looked up, and Ravage was watching me. “So, you have an old lady?” The topic of our mother closed with the slam of the desk drawer.
I grimaced at his words. “Not exactly.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means it’s fucking complicated. Seems my whole fucking life is complicated. I blame the Golden Skulls for that by the way. Everything was fine until Sypher showed up on my doorstep and blew apart my peaceful life.”
“Yeah, Sypher’s good at that shit.”
“What would you do if the woman you fell in love with was your president’s daughter?”
“My president is younger than me, and his daughter is a teenager.” Ravage smirked.
“It’s a fucking hypothetical question, asshole.”
Ravage laughed out loud, and I couldn’t help the smile that split my face. He sobered up and looked at me. “If I loved her, nothing would stop me from claiming her. Karlyn is my brother’s sister. I didn’t ask his permission. I knew the moment I saw her she was mine.”
“It’s not the same thing. The day I put this cut over my shoulders was the day I made a choice to live a certain way. To follow certain rules. What kind of leader would I be if I said fuck you to those rules for a woman? How can I expect my men to follow those rules if I don’t lead by example?”
“I was president briefly.”
Now it was my turn to look surprised. I leaned forward and set both arms on my desk.
“I’m sure you know I was at the Trick Pony.” I nodded but didn’t say a word. “After I escaped, I was in foster care. The family my sister and I were with—”
“You have a sister?”
“Mandy. She’s not really my sister. The woman who helped me escape took her and an infant.”
“Amber was that infant.”
Ravage nodded.
“The woman told the authorities that Mandy was my sister, so we stayed together. She’s still my sister. She’s in college now, studying to be a doctor.” The way he smiled when he talked about his sister told me he really loved her, and something like DNA wouldn’t change that.
“Anyway, it was a bad home. I took Mandy and ran, and that was when I met Moonshine. Sypher’s dad. He and his wife Roxy took us in and raised us. Moonshine made me his VP and when he died, I became president. When Reaper moved the club back to California, I stepped down.”
“Why?”
“Karlyn. She’s Ink’s sister. She had just woken up from a coma at the time; I told you her life hasn’t been easy. I had no claim on her, so I gave up the patch and moved to the California Chapter. I never questioned it. And I’ve never doubted my decision.”
I thought about Ghost. How he tried to walk away and give up his place in the club for Melissa. Could I do that? Could I give up everything I’d ever known for Grace?
“She’s pissed at me because I told her I’d claim her after I removed Steele as president. There won’t be anything standing in my way then.”
“You’re a fucking dumbass,” Ravage said.
“Hey!”
“I won’t claim to know anything about women; Maureen chewed my ass out because I told her to sit and rest and I’d make my own lunch.”
I laughed at that. “Yeah, don’t ever hint to that woman she isn’t capable of doing something.”
Ravage glared at me for laughing at him. “But even I know where you fucked up.”
“Care to enlighten me?”
“Big brother, you told the woman you supposedly love that she isn’t good enough to break the rules for. That her father’s position is more important than she is.”
“Well, fuck me,” I groaned as Ravage laughed at my expense.