“Get bent,Ghost,” I muttered, but my heart wasn’t in the insult, and he knew it.
“I’m just fucking with you,” he nudged me with a grin, holding out a carton of milk with his brow raised. I shook my head. I liked my coffee black. “What a welcome back,” he leaned his elbows on the bar. He was a little way down from me, so he wasn’t leaning right in my face.
“Does this happen often?”
He swiped a hand over his smooth chin. “Not usually. Fights are mostly drunken brawls between the brothers, never any malice, just good natured and less violent than this,” he laughed.
“Good natured brawls,” I repeat. “Cos that’s normal.”
“When you’ve got this many guys together, the occasional scuffle breaks out,” he straightened. “The girls usually know their place.”
I sipped my coffee, surveying the room. Warren was talking to someone but caught my look and he patted the guy on the shoulder before heading toward us. He took the coffee right out of my hand and lifted it to his lips.
“Hey,” I back handed his chest. “Get your own.”
He chuckled as he handed it back. “Too much sugar. I’m sweet enough.” Casper set to work getting Warren his own drink. He leaned one elbow against the bar and angled himself, so he was facing me. “You should get dressed and we’ll get some breakfast before we go see King.”
“You had to ruin my morning,” I said with another eye roll.
“Thisdidn’t ruin your morning?” he swept his arm behind him.
“Not my problem. These areyourlittle bitches to keep in line.”
Warren nodded and took the coffee Casper passed him, who made himself scarce after handing it over.
“This isn’t the Starbucks I’m used to,” I mumbled. I should have been going to the gym for a quick workout, then my morning coffee and bagel before I went back to the bar to get ready for the night ahead. I was standing here in my pyjamas and bare feet but looking about, no one was watching us. I guess having the VP as my brother meant I didn’t need to be worried about being ogled by these losers.
“I want to go see Rosa,” I said. “I’m going to shower and change.”
“No can do,” Warren stood to his full height, and I hated how far I had to tip my head back to look at him. “We need to speak to King first. Even Rosa knows that.”
I scrunched my nose, wanting to see my father as much as I wanted to stick a rusty nail into my eyeball. But it was unavoidable.
“Come on, Wave, it’ll be alright.”
If I wanted answers about why I was here and when I could get the hell out, I had to speak to my father. Putting it off was foolish, even though my chest fluttered at the thought of seeing him.
The last time I’d seen my father was the night before I left. He had been heading to meet some of his officers and hadn’t said a word to me, just walked out.
All the time I’d been gone, I’d never once heard a single thing from King Curtis.
I pushed away from the bar and steeled myself, my fists clenched.
“I got you,” Warren pressed a kiss to my forehead that almost made my heart break. “Always.”
I lowered my chin, unable to look at my brother. “I wish I could believe that.”
My heart pounded as we descended the stairs, a rushing sound in my ears, barely registering the people we passed as we headed to my father’s office. I’d been in there a lot as a kid, when I was content to sit and read a book or draw pictures, spread out all over the floor. Dad let me stay if he was alone. If any of his men wanted to talk, one of the old ladies escorted me out. We didn’t talk much. I was happy being around him. As I got older, that changed.
Warren waited for me to shower and dress and offered some breakfast, but my stomach was churning. The last thing I wanted to do was eat. I had to get this over with. I needed to be strong when I did it. Puking on my shoes in front of my dad would not help.
“Where did everyone go?” I asked as we rounded a corner.
“Work,” Warren shrugged. “We have a garage in town, a couple of diners, even got us a hardware store now,” he grinned. “Plus, we’re working on some houses further down the acreage. Have a whole construction crew down there. Some of the guys are planning on taking a place.”
“People are moving on to the compound?” I asked in surprise. I knew brothers lived in the accommodation here, but houses? That was new.
“Yeah, we got some land a couple of years ago. The plan is for most of the club to live on or nearby, eventually. No one is being forced, but King thought it would be good to have everyone close. It’s subsidising work for a lot of people, plus the houses will be cheap to run and live in and you know King likes to have family cl…” he trailed off, a pained look on his face.
