I smiled. “She’s your aunt, though not by blood. She won’t let that stop her from claiming you, though. She tore me a new asshole after you left, wanting to know why‘that boy has the Murphy eyes.’”
“She said something about my eyes. Do I have my mother’s eyes?”
I picked up the envelope on my desk. “I don’t know. But a few months ago, when Sal was here, he brought some pictures. They’re old, obviously, but I haven’t looked at them.”
“Why not?”
I fingered the envelope and thought about my answer. “When he brought them, I didn’t want them because they were from him. Then, when I found out you were my brother, I wanted to wait until you knew the truth. Figured we could look at them together.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Ravage said, his eyes on the envelope in my hand.
“Not sure I am either.” I chuckled. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and threw the envelope back in there.
I looked up, and Ravage was watching me. “So, you have an old lady?” The topic of our mother closed with the slam of the desk drawer.
I grimaced at his words. “Not exactly.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means it’s fucking complicated. Seems my whole fucking life is complicated. I blame the Golden Skulls for that by the way. Everything was fine until Sypher showed up on my doorstep and blew apart my peaceful life.”
“Yeah, Sypher’s good at that shit.”
“What would you do if the woman you fell in love with was your president’s daughter?”
“My president is younger than me, and his daughter is a teenager.” Ravage smirked.
“It’s a fucking hypothetical question, asshole.”
Ravage laughed out loud, and I couldn’t help the smile that split my face. He sobered up and looked at me. “If I loved her, nothing would stop me from claiming her. Karlyn is my brother’s sister. I didn’t ask his permission. I knew the moment I saw her she was mine.”
“It’s not the same thing. The day I put this cut over my shoulders was the day I made a choice to live a certain way. To follow certain rules. What kind of leader would I be if I said fuck you to those rules for a woman? How can I expect my men to follow those rules if I don’t lead by example?”
“I was president briefly.”
Now it was my turn to look surprised. I leaned forward and set both arms on my desk.
“I’m sure you know I was at the Trick Pony.” I nodded but didn’t say a word. “After I escaped, I was in foster care. The family my sister and I were with—”
“You have a sister?”
“Mandy. She’s not really my sister. The woman who helped me escape took her and an infant.”
“Amber was that infant.”
Ravage nodded.
“The woman told the authorities that Mandy was my sister, so we stayed together. She’s still my sister. She’s in college now, studying to be a doctor.” The way he smiled when he talked about his sister told me he really loved her, and something like DNA wouldn’t change that.
“Anyway, it was a bad home. I took Mandy and ran, and that was when I met Moonshine. Sypher’s dad. He and his wife Roxy took us in and raised us. Moonshine made me his VP and when he died, I became president. When Reaper moved the club back to California, I stepped down.”
“Why?”
“Karlyn. She’s Ink’s sister. She had just woken up from a coma at the time; I told you her life hasn’t been easy. I had no claim on her, so I gave up the patch and moved to the California Chapter. I never questioned it. And I’ve never doubted my decision.”
I thought about Ghost. How he tried to walk away and give up his place in the club for Melissa. Could I do that? Could I give up everything I’d ever known for Grace?
“She’s pissed at me because I told her I’d claim her after I removed Steele as president. There won’t be anything standing in my way then.”
