Chapter Twenty-Six
King
“Jackson. Brother, sit down,” Nav said.
I thought Ravage would ignore him the way he was ignoring me until he finally relented and sat down.
I didn’t.
I was jealous of the relationship Nav had with my brother. I looked at the other three men, all sitting in chairs by Ravage’s side. I looked at Firestride. He was in the fucking Brotherhood, so I knew he had the tattoo. Eros and Nav had one as well. Ravage didn’t though. I looked at Indigo.
“Do you have the fucking tattoo?”
Indigo looked at me without a word. I turned to Nav.
“Yes, Indigo has one too,” he said. He blew out a breath and confessed, “We’re F.I.R.E.”
“What?” Cash asked.
“Fucking hell,” Zeus cursed. He glared at Eros. “My father knew this shit?” Eros shook his head but didn’t speak. None of them did.
Except Nav.
We all knew who F.I.R.E. was, what they did. You could pretty up the words all you wanted, but they were hired killers, plain and simple. They didn’t discriminate; they got the call, the person or persons they targeted met their demise.
“Who else knows?” I asked, falling back into my chair.
“Cerberus knows. He’s the one who set it up,” Nav explained. Then added, “And Sypher.”
“Reaper? Luc?” Nav shook his head.
I looked over at Zeus; judging by his outburst, he found out at the same time I did. Then I looked at Firestride. “Morpheus?” Firestride shook his head.
I looked at Ravage next. I didn’t think he’d answer me given the way his eyes were shooting fucking daggers at me. But I needed answers. Ravage didn’t have a tattoo. Not a Brotherhood tattoo. I’d have noticed it when I’d sewn him up.
“Why don’t you have one?”
As I suspected, he didn’t answer me. Nav nudged his arm, and he glared at him. He refused to speak to me, and I got it. I’d let my anger and fear rule my emotions.
“Ravage doesn’t have one because he’s not a bastard,” Nav stated.
I sat forward and leaned on the table. “What the fuck did you say?”
“King,” Cash warned.
“Fuck off, Cash.” My eyes never left Nav. “What the fuck do you mean, he’s not a bastard?”
“My parents were married, asshole. That’s what it fucking means.”
“Jackson,” Nav hissed. The others said nothing. They had no loyalty to me, only to my brother. Nav was caught in the middle.
“Whatever marriage they might have had wasn’t fucking legal. You’re a bastard like the rest of us, brother.”
“What’s the matter, King? You fucking jealous? You got a stick up your ass because she married my father and not yours? You pissed off because she planned to keep me and not you? Get the fuck over it. They were fucking married.”
“He’s right, King. Sypher saw the marriage license.”
“Morpheus may be married to Gretchen Foster. But Gretchen Foster doesn’t fucking exist.”
Ravage clenched his jaw, and I smiled. “What’s the matter, little brother? You got a stick shoved up your ass because your father married a fucking ghost?”
Ravage stood, his chair flying back against the wall. I stayed in my seat. I wouldn’t give him the fucking satisfaction. He wasn’t any better than me. His mother left him the same fucking way she left me.
“Alright, enough, you two. Jesus Christ,” Cash said. “Use your fucking words and tell him why you’re pissed at him.”
“Pissed at me?” Ravage asked. “What the fuck for? He’s the one who fucking hit me first.”
“Fuck, you two are acting like children. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you grew up together,” Zeus said.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Firestride asked.
“Nothing,” I snapped. “Get the fuck out, all of you.”
“King,” Cash started.
“GET THE FUCK OUT!” I chucked the gavel across the room and put a hole in the sheetrock. But it got my point across. I spun around in my chair and gave them my back. I couldn’t deal with anymore shit right now.
Cash shook his head and stood. “Come on, Nav. Leave him be.”
“What the fuck am I missing?” Firestride asked again.
“Ravage and King are brothers,” Eros explained as they left the room.
“Morpheus has two fucking kids?” Firestride asked.
“No, dumbass.” Indigo’s words faded as the door closed.
I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. I had enough shit going on already. Ravage could fuck off if he didn’t want anything to do with his family.
“What the fuck is your problem?”
I spun around when I heard Ravage’s voice. “I told you to get the fuck out.”
“Yeah, well, I was never good at doing what I was told. Probably had something to do with being abandoned by my parents.” He shrugged.
I snorted. Yeah, probably. Fuck knows, I didn’t listen much either. Maybe if I did, I’d know what the fuck Grace’s issue was. Then again, I couldn’t listen if she wouldn’t fucking talk to me.
“Well?”
“Just forget it.” I shook my head. “I’ll apologize to your woman. I didn’t mean to scare her.”
Ravage stood in his spot, studying me for a moment before turning to leave. As his hand hit the door to push it open, I asked, “What the fuck were you thinking?”
With an exaggerated sigh, Ravage turned back around and put his hands out at his sides. “You need to give me some fucking context here. I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Do you have a fucking death wish? Is that why you were traipsing around in the fucking woods?”
“The serial killer,” he sighed.
“Yeah, the fucking serial killer. My brother’s wife is about to have his kid any fucking day, and he’s out in the woods protecting your dumb ass?”
“First of all, fuck you!” he snapped. “I don’t need someone to protect my ass. You don’t know any of the shit I’ve done to protect myself. The fucking people I’ve killed.”
“You walked into my clubhouse shot to shit. You’re real fucking good at protecting yourself.”
Ravage growled, and I smiled at him.
“I knew who I was fucking looking for. I could have gone after the motherfucker myself, but Karlyn won’t let me leave her fucking side.”
“You aren’t by her side now!” I said, throwing his excuses back at him.
“No, that fucking asshole she knew as a kid is with her. She hasn’t seen him in a fucking decade, and yet she’s fucking comfortable with him. But if he fucking touches her…”
“He won’t touch her,” I assured him. “My men can be trusted.”
“Really? Like your fucking president?”
“Like yours?” I shot back at him.
“Reaper has his faults, but he’s a good man.”
I scoffed. I wasn’t sure about Reaper given the latest information from Nav. He didn’t know Val was dead. How he responded would say a lot. Everyone knew the rumors. Knew how many men in his own club he’d killed—because he didn’t trust them.
“Look, the man we were after was Karlyn’s father. Well, we believed he was her father. Eros, Indigo, and Firestride were out there with us. We had every direction covered. The sheriff was never in any more danger than he is every day as a cop.”
“Have you seen this fucking town? The day the fucking Death Dogs attacked was the most action this town has ever fucking seen.” I rubbed my hand over my beard. “And I wasn’t just worried about him. You’re my fucking family too.”
Ravage put his hand over his chest, and teased, “Aww, were you worried about little old me?”
“Fuck you.” I laughed.
“Look, King, this is new for both of us. I’m used to being alone. I don’t even answer to Reaper, as you well know. Maybe we can cut each other some slack.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“You work things out with Grace?” he asked as he sat back down.
And just like that, we were back on an even keel.
That was how things were with brothers, I guess.
Even ones that had only met recently. Even with Dec being more than a decade older than me, when we had a problem with each other, we screamed it out and sometimes threw a punch or two.
But once we got over the hurt, it was business as usual.
Family could be both the easiest and the hardest to forgive.
“Fuck no. I don’t know what the fuck the problem is. I thought with Steele gone, things would just fall into fucking place.”
“I’m guessing your dick didn’t have any problems falling into her pussy.”
I growled at Ravage. “Don’t.”
He put his hands up in surrender, and with a laugh said, “Okay, I get it.”
The door to church swung open, and Maureen stormed in. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I dropped my head back and groaned.
“On that note, I think I’ll—”
“I think you’ll sit your ass down is what you’ll do.”
Ravage tried to sneak out, but Maureen wasn’t having it. She’d been bugging me about meeting him properly, and it seemed now was the time.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered as he sat back in his seat once again.
Maureen turned her glare back to me. “What is it with you O’Rourke men? Why can’t you understand shit?”
Maureen placed her hand under her belly and winced. I stood up and moved towards her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She stepped back and looked at me. “You’re hurting her.”
“She’s hurting me,” I threw back. “She talks in fucking riddles.”
Ravage snorted beside us, and Maureen and I both turned angry eyes to him. He lifted his hands and shut his mouth.
“Look, King,” she started, but winced again, grabbing her stomach.
“Are you in fucking labor?”
Ravage stood and put his hand on Maureen’s back.
“Yes, but it’s still early. I’m fine.”
Ravage and I looked at each other. He shook his head, and I agreed. Anytime a woman said she was fine, she wasn’t fucking fine. I pulled out my phone and called Dec.
“Get your ass to the clubhouse...” My words trailed off as I stared in shock and, to be honest, a little bit of disgust, as Maureen’s water broke.
“King, what the fuck is going on?” Dec asked.
“Change of plans; meet us at the hospital.”
I hung up on him, and Ravage and I ushered Maureen outside, and into one of the SUVs. We drove through town, and as we passed by the station, Dec pulled out and threw his lights on, passing to get in front of us and give us an escort.