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“Not just like that. I’ll teach you how to do the bookkeeping and bookings for the underground. This place isn’t just about fighting and training, at the end of the day it’s a front to launder money, but to me it was my home.” I can hear a hint of sadness in his tone at giving this place up. Before Bishop welcomed him into the family, this place was all he had. He was free of the burden that this family lays on you from the moment you take your first breath.
“Why?” I ask.
“Why what, Rook?” I shrug my shoulders and begin to remove my own gloves.
“You had this place and none of the other shit could touch you while you weren’t a Murdoch. Why would you give it up?” He smiles proudly and closes the space between us, lays a large on my shoulder as he meets my gaze. I see nothing but love.
“Because all of you were worth the sacrifice.” That right that has me fucking floored. “I didn’t want the money or the title, I just wanted to be a part ofyourlives, that’s it. I would do anything for this family and I mean anything.”
“Why?” I whisper.
A sad smile touches his lips. “Believe it or not, little brother, you’re worth it.” His words may ring true but if I was really worth anything to the others, they would have stopped their lives to try to find me, not move on.
Clare
I am so freaking pissed at my brother!
Luka still hasn’t made an appearance. Gage brought a phone to me earlier and told me it was from Luka. I have been pacing the length of the games room I slept in last night, waiting for the damn thing to ring. The house is quiet except for the occasional cry of one of the babies. I saw the little girl I know to be Amelia thanks to Kiara swimming with her mom, but aside from that I haven’t seen anyone else. I haven’t even seen Rook since he dropped me off and sped away again hours ago. I’m getting more and more annoyed the longer I wait for this freaking phone to ring. I don’t know the passcode so I can’t unlock it and call Luka. I know I’m the reason he and I don’t really talk much anymore, I didn’t have a choice. When theincidentoccurred, Dad and I didn’t waste time, he and I packed up and moved.
Luke felt betrayed and I still feel guilty about that but the truth is, I couldn’t tell him the truth why we left because then his life would have been in danger and that isn’t something I could have lived with. The phone rings and startles the hell out of me to the point I nearly drop it. I quickly answer it and hold it to my ear.
“Hello?” I hesitantly answer, I assume it’s my brother but I don’t want to be presumptuous either.
“Why haven’t you called me?” The fact Luka sounds pissed at me just further causes my ire to grow.
“I could ask you the bloody same thing! I’m not the one who left you in some stranger’s house alone.”
“You didn’t give me much of a choice, Clare. I have to work.” I can hear the anger that lurks beneath his calmly delivered words.
“I’m so sorry our dad died and it caused your work schedule to fuck up.”
“Notour,your father died, Clare.” I smack my hand over my mouth to stifle my gasp, tears build and I fight to keep them at bay. “Shit! I didn’t mean that Clare––”
“Yeah, you did,” I whisper through my tears. Luka and I aren’t even related by blood. Lillie was his mother and my step mom. My father isn’t Luka’s biological father, but my dad loved him like he was his own son.
“Look, I’ll be back as soon as I can and we can hash this shit out, okay?” Too tired and spent to fight, I agree. I don’t want to continue to have this wedge between us anymore. “Clare?”
“Yeah?”
“I want to know the truth about why you and Dad up and left in the middle of the night.” I take a shuddering breath and nod even though he can’t see me.
“O-okay,” I stutter as fear begins to claw its way up my spine.
“I love you, Clare-bear.” Hearing those three words and my childhood nickname come from my brother has me softening and sighing in relief. We’re gonna be okay.
“I love you too.” Luka ends the call and I flop onto the couch feeling lighter then I have in months. I’m so grateful that even with both our parents gone, Luka didn’t cast me aside.
“How cute.” I lurch off the couch and spin toward the door. My breaths are coming in rapid pants thanks to Rook scaring the hell out of me.
“You scared me.” His eyes crinkle at the corners and a sinister look overshadows his handsome face. He lazily strolls toward me, like a moth to a flame I’m stuck rooted to the spot unable to escape the pull I feel toward him. I want to hate Rook, blame him for my life being ruined but it’s hard to hate someone when you’re head over heels in love with them. He leaves a sliver of space between us, causing me to crane my head back in order to meet his angry stare. He grips the back of my neck, drawing a sharp breath from me, then bends down until we are eye level. His breath fans across my face causing a shiver to roll through me.
“Why the fuck are you here?” His angry words have me wanting to shut down and hide. He was never this cruel toward me before. He was kind, gentle, loving even, but now, he’s cold, ruthless and… mean.
“I had to see my brother.” He raises a single brow mockingly.
“See, you never once mentioned Luka was your brother when I was burying my cock inside you every night for months.” I flinch at the harsh way he describes our nights together, he’s making them out to be dirty and wrong when they weren’t. I grit my teeth in frustration to try to tamper the anger that has flared to life inside me.
“You don’t get to speak about those times like that, they were sacred and––”
