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He brought me into the Nasty Bastards MC, and I never looked back, didn’t need to. I’d found my place, my family. I belong here. I’ve always felt as if I belonged here, but as I watch them all start to settle down, my brothers and even Prez, I can’t deny that I want that too.
I want more.
TANNER
My brother stands in front of me as I sit at the breakfast table. He’s wearing his normal work clothes for the day. Jeans and a nice button-down shirt with a pair of boots. He’s a detective for the local police department, which means that he thinks that he’s in control of everything in the entire world… including me—or should I say, especially me.
I’ve got news for him. He isn’t in control of shit when it comes to me. Not now, not ever. No matter how badly he wants to be. There is nothing else I would rather do in this world right now other than piss him off.
I don’t care how immature it is either. He’s been driving me insane the past two years. He thinks that he is completely in control of me, that he says what I do and when I do it and I’m not allowed to ask any questions. Too bad I don’t follow any of his asinine rules.
“I’m going out tonight,” I announce as I stand up.
He shakes his head slowly, his eyes narrowing on me. “No, you aren’t.”
“You do realize I’m over the age of eighteen, right?”
Brent rolls his eyes to the ceiling, then brings them down to meet my own. “You may be over the age of eighteen, but I’m responsible for you while Mom is… you know… away.”
“You mean, while Mom is locked away in the loony bin?” I ask.
It’s not nice of me to say that, but it’s also not a lie. That is the truth of it. My mother is locked away, never to see the light of day. A mental break of hers resulted in the death of my father. Brent was twenty-five and already an officer when it happened. I was seventeen.
Brent took me in instead of letting me go into the system, which I am eternally grateful for, but we fight like hell. He’s decided that taking care of me means controlling every single aspect of my life. I really feel sorry for his future children.
“I’m nineteen, Brent. I have a job and I’m in school.”
“School?” he snorts.
Here we go again.
“Yes, Brent.School,” I hiss.
“You’re going to school to be a fry cook.”
His words hurt, because I want to be more than just a fry cook, but at the same time, he’s probably right. That’s probably all I’ll ever be. My dream is to be a pastry chef and make amazing desserts. But the reality is, that here in East Texas, I’ll probably be lucky to have a job at a decent restaurant, odds are I’ll be a cook at some chain. Hopefully a nice chain though.
“So what? What does it even matter?” I ask. It’s not like I have a bunch of job prospects in any other field anyway, and I love cooking.
He doesn’t understand me, but at the same time, I don’t understand him either. We are absolutely nothing alike in any way. There is a moment of silence. He watches me and then he shakes his head as if I’ve annoyed the absolute shit out of him, the way that I usually do.
“I can’t fight about this right now. I have to go to work. Some people have real careers,” he announces. Saying it to piss me off, or hurt me, probably both. Two birds with one stone and all. “You better have your ass home when I get off my shift tonight.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond. He wouldn’t like it if I did anyway, because I am going to make damn sure I’m not home when he slides into the house. So it’s better I just keep my mouth shut.
I watch as he walks out of the door of our small two-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow that straddles the bad side of town. I shouldn’t fight my brother on his rules, but at the same time, his rules are bullshit. He’s obsessed with my choice in school, like I’m stupid and making a huge mistake.
Maybe I am.
But it’s my mistake to make.
My phone dances on the table and I shift my gaze over to it. Wrapping my fingers around it, I pick it up and tap my code in to display my new text.
JENNA: Party tonight. You in?
Where?
JENNA: Oh, it’s going to be on fire. A real MC clubhouse.
