Chapter
Grey
One Day Earlier
“You are shitting me,” Merlin said with his mouth hanging open.
Xander sighed, then shook his head.
“She really asked that?” Nuke asked.
Xander nodded.
“She asked if you wanted to go with her to some fucker’s house?” Saint snarled.
“Was there a gun pointed at her head or some shit?” Wolf asked.
Xander sighed again and shook his head.
“Why do I feel like I’m missing something? Something crucial here,” I offered.
Every pair of eyes came to me.
“What the fuck could be crucial about my woman going to see another man?” Xander asked in that deadly tone that sometimes had the effect of causing even my balls to shrivel up.
“Fuck it. Track her. Let’s go,” Nuke ordered.
And six minutes later, all ten of us were on the road and headed to beat the ever-loving shit out of the fucker who thought he could take Nola from Xander.
***
“You. Are. Shitting. Me.” Kettle growled. His head slowly turned, and then he pinned his narrow-eyed gaze on Xander.
Xander’s mouth was hanging open.
Nuke growled.
Grimm shook his head.
Jury was laughing.
Merlin was scratching his head.
And just then, the doors opened.
And walking out of said doors were Nola, Agatha, Tempie, Ophelia, and Soraya, all of them with shopping bags in their hands.
I looked up at the sign and read it aloud, “Carson’s Secondhand Thrift Shop.”
“You fucking dumbass,” Kettle growled.
Xander threw his hands up in the air.
Grimm growled.
Merlin winced.
Saint stepped forward and popped Xander on the back of his head, “You’re one dumb fuck.”
Xander whirled, “Me? All of you were thinking the same fucking thing.”
“Hey, honey, this is a surprise,” Nola said.
Xander visibly winced.
I chuckled.
“Well, hey there, sweetheart, did you come to carry my bags?” Tempie asked Merlin.
Soraya was smiling up at Kettle.
Ophelia, however, her eyes were slowly starting to narrow up at Saint.
“Honey,” Saint started.
Ophelia growled.
Nola’s head started to whip towards Ophelia; however, her eyes landed on us.
On every single one of us.
Nuke. Grimm. Merlin. Saint. Khal. Kettle. Xander. Jury. Wolf. Hamm. Myself.
“I. Do. Not. Believe. You.” Nola said in a tone that had all of us stepping back from Xander.
“Baby,” Xander tried.
“I. Do. Not. Believe. You.” Nola growled.
Xander opened his mouth to no doubt defend himself, but Nola beat him to it.
“I never say a word about the runs you go on. I don’t ask.
I never say a word about the club bunnies that like to hop on any cock they can bounce on.
I never say a word about the women who openly stare at you when I’m not looking.
Because,” she leaned up on her tiptoes, and shoved her finger in his chest, “I trust you.”
Xander opened his mouth, but Nola beat him to it a-fucking-gain.
“Where’s my fucking trust? Huh?” She screeched.
Agatha was standing at the side, smirking.
Tempie was glaring at Merlin.
Soraya was glaring up at Kettle.
And Ophelia was shaking her head at Saint.
“Now isn’t the right time to have this conversation,” Nuke ordered.
Soraya’s, Ophelia’s, Agatha’s, Tempie’s, and Nola’s heads whipped in his direction, and they all glared.
Nuke threw his hands up and stepped back, “Carry on.”
They did just that.
“No more movies,” Soraya growled up at Kettle.
He winced.
See, over the years, the relationship between Kettle and her had only blossomed to a best friend relationship.
But we all could see it. We all knew it.
Yes, it was wrong on so many levels. But when you’ve led the life that Kettle has... You hold onto the good in your life with all your strength and dare anyone to try to take it from you.
Just like Xander was trying to do in this very moment, but he stopped when Nola snapped, “You're so on the couch tonight.”
Tempie said the same thing to Merlin.
And then, as one group, they walked to Ophelia’s SUV and climbed in.
What had me chuckling was the fact that Saint, Kettle, Merlin, and Xander all tried to carry their bags for them. They all got growled at.
“How’s the doghouse feel?” Jury quipped.
And when the four of them stepped toward him, he sidestepped and hid behind me, “Protect me, VP.”
I chuckled and stepped to the side, “I’m not the one who doesn’t know to keep my fucking mouth shut.”
Nuke shook his head, “Alright. We all got made to look like the biggest dumbasses on the planet. Let’s mount up, head to the clubhouse, and go shoot some shit. Get our balls back.”
I had just stepped to my bike to climb on when I saw her.
Leaning against the side of the brick building.
Fuck. Me.
She looked like she had lost fifty pounds or more. Pounds she couldn’t afford to lose.
Her dirty blonde hair was matted. Her face was full of pockmarks.
And I knew that if I squinted my eyes hard enough, I could see new needle pricks in her arms.
I growled as I started in her direction.
“Brother, don’t,” Wolf said.
I shrugged his hand off.
Grimm was there in front of me.
“Love you, brother. But she’s my sister.” I said.
He narrowed his eyes and jerked up his chin, then he pounded his chest with his fist.
I got what he was saying.
He was telling me that he understood my loyalty to my sister, but I also owed my loyalty to my club.
“Stay here,” Merlin said.
Grimm lifted a brow.
To show him I understood him, I lifted my chin.
Then I stood there as I watched Merlin walk to my sister.
He pulled something out of his kutte, got in her face, conversed with her, and handed her a card.
On his way back, he locked his gaze with mine, but I looked away and at my sister.
Only to see the corner of her lip tipped up in a sneer at Merlin’s back.
I sighed when he reached us and asked, “What did you say to her?”
Merlin sighed, “Handed her a voucher for a free ride to the clinic over on Havanship Lane. And a card that will get her four days to detox. Told her if she didn’t get her shit straightened out, she wasn’t welcome.”
“She ain’t been around. Doubt it’ll work.” Wolf said.
Merlin shrugged, “He’s our brother. By default, that makes her our sister.”
I lifted my chin in thanks.
But it fell on deaf ears because he turned his gaze away and missed it.
I knew that I needed to stop trying to help her.
That enough was enough.
But she was all I had left.
The only piece of any semblance of a family I’ve ever known until I met my brothers.
How in the fuck was I going to turn my back on that?
***
What I didn’t know was that it was going to be easy.
But what was going to be hard... was getting her to forgive me for doing something that caused her to be hurt.