Chapter 16 #2
I want to believe him. Want to believe there’s something of my little brother left in this damaged man. But Mack has burned me too many times, each betrayal cutting deeper than the last.
“You approach her?” I ask.
“Never. Saw you with her for the first time today, called it off immediately.”
“And the Sons?”
“I’ll tell them you’re involved. They know your reputation, know what the Reapers did. They won’t touch anything connected to you.”
We sit in silence, drinking our beers. The kitchen noise fills the space, the familiar rhythm of prep work, my crew getting ready for another day. Normal sounds from my normal life, while my past sits across from me with tired eyes and shaking hands.
“You look tired,” I tell him.
“Thanks. You look like a sellout.” He grins. “Fancy restaurant, clean clothes. Playing citizen.”
“It’s called growing up.”
“Or forgetting where you came from.”
“I know exactly where I’m from.” The words come out harder than intended. “A house where Dad tried to beat the Alpha out of me and Mom prayed over my unconscious body. Where they locked me in the cellar for presenting, like it was my fucking choice. Where they made you watch?—”
“Stop.” His voice is small. “I know. I was there.”
“Were you? Because I remember begging you to come with me. To get out before they broke you too for fighting against them.”
“I was thirteen!”
“And I had nowhere to go. No money or contacts.” I lean back, suddenly exhausted. “But I still wanted you with me.”
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
The question that’s haunted me for years. Why didn’t I go back for him? Pride? Fear? The knowledge that I was barely surviving myself, working shit jobs for cash under the table, sleeping in the bike shop’s back room, fighting for money when honest work dried up?
“Because I was a coward,” I admit. “Because I convinced myself you were better off with them than homeless with me.”
“I wasn’t.” His voice is flat. “They got worse after you left. After he couldn’t fix one son, he went crazy and took it out on me for no reason.”
I know what that means. The prayer sessions that left bruises. The restriction diets that bordered on starvation. The isolation, the manipulation, the careful destruction of anything that might make you feel strong or worthy or whole. My insides go cold.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I say, and mean it. “I should have?—”
“Don’t.” He waves me off. “We both made choices. Mine were just shittier than yours.”
“Clearly.” I gesture at the restaurant around us. “Look how far my shitty choices got me.”
That gets a small smile. “You always did land on your feet. Like a fucking cat.”
“Mack.” I wait until he meets my eyes. “Stay in town for a bit. Don’t join the club. We’ll work something out.”
His whole face changes, years dropping away until I can see the kid he used to be. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. But listen closely. If you dick me around again, if you lie to me, if you go near Cindy or do anything to hurt her, I will personally kick you out of town. And you can consider yourself no longer having a brother. We clear?”
“Crystal.” He nods quickly. “I’m trying to change, Arrow. Really trying. Getting money honestly where I can, staying clean. Well, mostly clean. Weed doesn’t count.”
“Weed never counts.”
“See? You get it.” He finishes his beer. “I should call Jon at the Sons. Tell him I’m out for good.”
Jon. That name punches through the haze in my mind like a fist.
I remember him from our Savage Reaper days. He’s sharp-eyed, a slick talker, always two moves ahead, and never afraid to get his hands dirty.
Smart as hell. Too smart.
The kind of guy who smiles while working angles no one else can even see.
I wouldn’t call him a friend, but I’d never underestimate him.
And I damn sure wouldn’t lie to him unless I was ready to burn everything down after.
“Yeah, you should.” I stand, heading toward the front of the restaurant. “I’ll be up here doing manager shit.”
I busy myself with the previous night’s receipts, but I’m listening. Mack’s voice carries even when he’s trying to be quiet and I’m catching some of the words.
“Yeah, it’s Mack… No, I’m out… The Omega’s connected… Arrow… Yeah, that Arrow… My brother…”
There’s shouting from the other end, tinny through the phone’s speaker.
“I don’t give a fuck what Van offered to pay… No, you don’t understand. Arrow will… Don’t threaten me, you piece of…”
More shouting. Mack’s responses get shorter, sharper.
“Fine. Whatever… For your own sake, you’d better turn this job down.”
He hangs up, and I count to ten before walking back.
“How’d that go?” I arch a brow.
“About as expected. They’re pissed. Van’s going to be furious.” He shrugs, then hesitates. “But Jon says they’ll pass on the job.”
I tilt my head to the side. “You sure that’s what he said?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I want to ensure that you’re being truthful with me.”
Mack gives me a flat look. “Believe me or not, Arrow. I said what needed saying. If Jon’s smart, he’ll listen.”
I don’t respond right away. There’s a knot in my gut that hasn’t loosened, but then again, I get that feeling with anything Mack does.
Still, I force a smile and glance at the time. “Come to the festival tonight. We’re running a food truck in Miller’s Field. You can help out, catch up with Luke and Holt.”
He nods. “Yeah? Be good to see them again.”
“We’re partners. In everything.”
“Even the Omega?”
“Especially the Omega.”
He lets out a low whistle. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to share.”
I grin. “That’s none of your business. Just show up around seven. And, Mack? Don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t.” He heads for the door, pauses. “Arrow? Thanks. For not throwing me out on my ass.”
“Haven’t decided I won’t yet. Day’s still young.”
He laughs, and for a second, it’s like we’re kids again. Before the violence, before the breaks, before Dad joined a fucking cult and everything went to shit. Then he’s gone, his bike roaring to life outside, and I’m left alone with the ghost of every choice that led us here.
My phone buzzes. Text from Luke: How’s our girl?
Delivered safe. Got a situation though. Mack was watching Cindy for a job.
The fuck? Van?
The fucker hired him to scare Cindy.
The three dots appear and disappear several times before Luke’s response: I’ll kill him.
Which one?
Both. Start with Van, make Mack watch, then him.
He’s coming tonight. He called it off in front of me.
You believe him?
I think about Mack’s face, the exhaustion there, the resignation. The way he said Blood’s blood like it still meant something after everything.
Maybe. I’ll keep an eye on him.
Good. How’s Cindy?
I imagine her pressed against me on the bike, the way she held on like I was the only solid thing in her world. The little sounds she made when we took corners too fast. How she smelled like home and sex and mine all at once.
Perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.
You’re so gone on her.
Says the man who cut off all his hair for one date.
Worth it.
Yeah, I type, looking around my restaurant, thinking about my brother, my Omega, my complicated fucking life. It always is.