One month later
“I can’t believe you were suspended, Michael. It must be a record. You’ve only been attending for a few weeks and you’re already kicked out for three days. What were you thinking?” I slammed the front door closed as I pushed Michael into Bear’s house.Ourhouse. I was still getting used to that. So was Michael, apparently. I flipped the deadbolt closed and turned to face him.
“Fuck that school. That guy had it coming. I was sick of hearing him run his mouth about the girls. He’s the one that should be kicked out, not me. But fuck it. I don’t have to go back. I’m old enough to drop out.”
“Oh, you’re going back all right. You’re going back and graduating in three years with decent grades and at least one extracurricular activity.” I put my hands on my hips for added emphasis. The easy rapport we’d found on that first night hadflown out the window once he realized I took my guardianship seriously. As much as he needed a bestie, it couldn’t be me.
“And what if I don’t? What if I drop out? Or maybe I’ll flunk out. Then what will you do? Send me back to Kentucky? Then you and Bear can have this big house all to yourselves. That’s what you really want, isn’t it? Why don’t you send me back now!” He stormed off to his room and slammed the door.
Ohhhh.I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears welling in my eyes. I’d seen this before, felt this before. My new little brother was trying to push me away before I could push him out. Eventually he’d learn that wasn’t possible. Until then, we were in for a rough ride.
I heard a loud thump and groaned. “Dang it, Michael, you better not be sneaking out that window again!” I’d texted Bear that our sweet little ward had been suspended, but I wasn’t sure if he was going to come home or not. After taking out the Diablos, he’d been busy chasing down leads on the mysterious leader. Not that I was supposed to know anything about that. But he wanted me aware of the threats so I’d keep my guard up. Speaking of, if the knucklehead, Michael, had jumped out of his window, I needed to close and lock it back. But only after I made myself a snack. I’d left early from my new job as the club’s bar manager and hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch.
***
After polishing off a roast beef sandwich and leaving out a second (because a teenage boy would always return for food), I finally got a reply text from Bear.
Bear
I’m impressed he made it as long as he did. I was suspended in my first week. Need me to come home and talk to him?
I shook my head, laughing. I started to reply when I heard a noise from Michael’s room. I set the phone down, eager to talk to him now that we’d both had a chance to cool off. He needed to understand that he was part of this family, no matter what he said or did. “ Michael, I made you lunch!”
A door opened and footsteps thundered down the hallway. I smiled. If nothing else, we could connect over food.
“It’s roast—” I stopped mid-sentence as the plate clattered to the table.
“Aww, how sweet. You made me lunch.” My heart raced in my chest as Jordan emerged from the hallway.
“What are you doing here? In my house?” My eyes darted to my phone, too far away to do me any good. But as long as he didn’t see it, maybe I could maneuver myself to that side of the table and grab it without him noticing. And then somehow text Bear without Jordan noticing. Crap. At least Michael wasn’t home. I didn’t know what Jordan was after, but I knew it wasn’t good.
“Yourhouse? Looks like you’ve done well for yourself, LexieMalone. Club princess. Old lady. You even picked up a kid and became a mom. Once again, you got everything while I was forgotten.”
Strong body odor wafted from his skin. And his cheeks were sunken in like he hadn’t had a regular meal in weeks. He was a far cry from the ladies’ man I’d met. I took a small step toward the phone. Bear would call soon if I didn’t text him back. I glanced toward the corner of the room where the cameras were located. Maybe he’d check those and realize something was wrong.
“Jordan, what happened to you? You disappeared that night at the Diablos and no one could find you. Bear tried, but you’d vanished. I thought they’d killed you.” I really had, and the guilt had me crying in Bear’s arms on more than one occasion.
Jordan huffed, his head twitching as he moved closer. “You would have liked that, wouldn’t you?”
“Liked you dead? No, not at all. Why would you say that?” I inched closer to my phone. As long as he was distracted, he didn’t notice what I was doing.
“Stop lying!” he shouted and reached behind his waist to pull out a gun. He aimed for my phone and fired, blowing bits of plastic and god knows what into the air. I screamed and ran for the back door, only to be yanked back by my hair.
“No, Lexie. You can’t ignore me this time. I will get what’s mine! Everything you stole from me.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t take anything from you. We barely know each other.” Tears filled my eyes as he pulled me to the center of the room.
“My mother was a club bunny, too. She was there when your mom got knocked up. Had to listen to her brag to everyone about how Sinner was moving her out of the clubhouse and putting her up somewhere nice. My mom wanted the same thing and she got knocked up, too. Only he wouldn’t claim me like he claimed you. My mom tried to reach out to your mom, do playdates and shit, but your mom ignored us. Said if I was really Sinner’s, she’d know about it. He sent your mom money, but he sent my mother nothing! Kicked her out of the club and wouldn’t let any of the brothers go near her. We lived in the trailer park with barely enough to live off of. She died of pneumonia, and I vowed my revenge. I almost had it, too! Until you screwed it up.”
“Wait, you’re saying you’re my brother?” My face scrunched as I tried to work out the details.
“Yes, bitch, I’m your long-lost brother. The one our father didn’t have time for because he was too busy with you.”
I snorted. “Dude, I don’t know what story you were fed, but I barely knew my father, and he definitely didn’t spend any time with me growing up. You do know he’s in jail, right?”
“What the fuck does that matter?”
“I’m trying to work out how a man who’s been in jail for fifteen years is supposed to be Father of the Year.” Wait, what? When did I start excusing my sperm donor’s shitty parenting?
