Page 122 of Speak No Claim

“Are you alright?”

“Depends on your definition.”

He nodded in understanding. “I’d like to apologize to you too. I was wrong about the girl… Hennessy.”

“Yeah.” I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “You’re wrong about a lot of things.”

“Careful, Son. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Do you think Deja suspects anything?”

I shook my head.

“And Caspian? He is trustworthy?”

“He took a beating for Hennessy and me. I’m sure of it.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You know, for a father who obviously loves her, you should try to show it to her sometime.”

“She doesn’t need my love. She has you.”

“She doesn’t need to be married off to a stranger either.”

He shrugged. “That’s not how things work.”

“I’m well aware. Just stating facts.”

“You got what you wanted, Onyx. You should be content with that.”

“Yeah, well, you got what you wanted too, and I don’t see you content with shit.”

He smiled, gripping my shoulder. “Again, Son, the apple does not fall far from the tree.”

With that, he squeezed my shoulder, but at the last second, he threw his arms around me. At first, I didn’t know if this was actually happening or if I was hallucinating. I couldn’t tell you a time when my father ever hugged me.

I stood there for a few seconds completely frozen, unsure of how to react to his blatant display of affection until he tucked his face into my neck, whispering, “Your mother made me understand what love was, and to this day, it still feels like a prison sentence. Every day I look at the two of you, and I’m reminded of her demons. I’ve spent years trying to work through that, but I am who I am.”

Slowly, I embraced him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

I swear I felt a tear drop onto my skin as he wholeheartedly expressed, “Deja may not be my blood, but I’d take a bullet for her too. You’re both my children, and that will never change. I love you, Onyx Devereaux, and I’m proud as fuck of the man you’ve become. I need you to understand, the Brotherhood isn’t my damnation for you.”

In one breath, he added…

* * *

“It’s my salvation.”

Chapter

Forty

Hennessy: Blood was bond.

It was the early hours of the morning by the time we made it back into Onyx’s bedroom. I never thought I’d think of this house as anything other than an imprisonment. It was wild how much your perspective could change when you least expected it.