Reaching for fresh bandages, I asked, “What happened?”
“Same old shit. Wrong place at the wrong time.”
I growled. Stupid kid probably thought he was indestructible.
“Fine.” He winced as I placed an alcohol swab against his shoulder. “After I found Yuri Nikitin and killed him, I went after associates of Black Odessa.”
“Why?”
“Because they are working with the Death Dogs and both want my woman.”
“You have a woman?” I asked, placing a clean bandage on his shoulder.
“Yeah. Karlyn Ingalls. She’s the sister of my brother Ink.”
I carefully removed the bandage across his stomach. “Stitches tore. Going to have to sew you back up. Tell me about your woman.”
“She’s perfect, King. Well, perfect for me. She hasn’t had the best life, and I promised her she would be safe no matter what. Now my past is coming for her.”
“This life isn’t easy...brother,” I said, pausing on the last word. It had a different meaning for me as I threaded the needle. “Maybe it’s time you stepped away and took your woman with you. Still young enough to have a decent life.”
“Can’t do that, King,” Ravage whispered. “This life is all I know.”
“Yeah, I guess we’re the same in that regard.” I smirked. Maybe we had something in common. Both born to the same woman, from different men. Those men were criminals and passed on a fucked-up gene that had us craving a life filled with destruction. “The second I put the cut on my back, I knew there was no other life for me. Declan hated it, but he didn’t stop me.”
“You’re lucky. You have blood. I’ve just got my brothers and Karlyn.”
I nodded but said nothing more as I stitched him up. Like me, he had a father he wanted nothing to do with. What he didn’t know was he had a brother also. I placed a clean bandage over the wound. Leaning back in my chair, I took a long, goodlook at him. I looked for something familiar. Something that connected us as brothers. I still hadn’t looked at the pictures Sal left. Ravage looked like Morpheus; there was no mistaking their connection. I didn’t see anything in the man before me that reminded me of myself. “Stay as long as you need. I will handle Reaper. You need a few more days to let those wounds heal.”
Reaching for his shirt, he nodded. “Thanks, King. I appreciate it, and if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know.”
Gathering his cut, he headed for the door. “You can have the room Reaper was in last time you were here.”
“The one upstairs across from you?”
I nodded but said nothing more.
Smiling, he simply replied, “Thanks.”
I watched him walk through the door. I wanted to tell him who I was. But the words weren’t there. As far as I knew, Ravage still believed Jane Craven was his mother. I didn’t want to blindside him the way I had been. But something told me the longer I waited, the harder it would be to find the words I couldn’t grasp onto.
I pulled out my phone and called Reaper.
“King, I can’t deal with him right now,” Reaper growled into the phone.
“I’m not asking you to deal with him. I’m keeping him.”
“The fuck you are.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was pretty sure I knew who outed Ravage. According to Dread, Skinner had pulled Zephyr from the Brotherhood’s clubhouse, and given what Cerberus had said, Morpheus knew Zephyr had betrayed him. But I wasn’t sure if he knew just how much. It had to be Zephyr, but I needed to talk to Nav first.
“I’m keeping him here until we figure out what the hell happened.”
“Keep him safe, King.”
“He’s my little brother, Reaper.”
“He is.” The line was silent as Reaper digested my words. “I have to deal with this shit in Oklahoma, then I’m coming there.”
