Page 53

Only because Hades got caught and called out by the council. There is no undoing that truth, so he doesn’t have to worry about hiding who he is and where he’s from anymore.

But he does have to decide if he’s willing to lose yet another family, which hardly seems fair either, Rusty said.

I agree with you there. If him wearing the kutte is the biggest obstacle to him and Erik getting to know one another properly, then under the circumstances, I think Cage will forgive his removal of it without bouncing him out of the club. But only if Hades is willing to humble himself and ask for a different option.

That’s a big if, Rusty replied, just as something snagged his line.

Yup, definitely a good night for fishing.

The largemouth bass he pulled out wasn’t as big as the walleye but would still taste delicious when it was served.

But completely up to him, just like it’s up to Flame to sort himself out and become the kind of person we want to have around the pups, Roark pointed out. Your empathy has always been one of the many things I love about you.

Until it bites me on the ass, Rusty replied, but it was with the ghost of a grin this time, like that snapping turtle.

Snorting, Roark doubled over, trying to keep his laughter smothered to keep from scaring the fish away. It took a while to sort himself out and stop picturing the image of that turtle hanging from Rusty’s backside.

Hey, I kissed it and made it better, Roark reminded him when he could speak without busting a gut. How can you still be mad after that?

Rusty was doing a much better job of holding his laughter in, quaking, but not allowing any of the sounds to slip out.

When you put it that way, I guess I can’t be, Rusty said.

Exactly. And the turtle lived instead of getting smashed on the highway, Roark pointed out. Sometimes you just get burned even when you’re trying to do something positive, but it’s still better to keep doing good than to stop looking out for those who can’t look out for themselves. Hardening your heart helps nobody, not even you.

I know… I do, and you know I would never do that, Rusty replied. Wouldn’t even know how and don’t want to find out. But I can’t deny that there have been times that I’ve envied those who could.

Like your brother?

No, but only because of how many times I caught him doing something sweet and selfless when he didn’t know someone was watching him, Rusty explained. If he knew all the things I’d seen over the years, he’d be pissed.

I’ve caught him more than a few times myself, Roark said. He’d probably try to kick my ass for telling you this, but three days after the night we were stuck in the mud with Cage and the rest of the crew, a pup skipping down the street tripped on her shoelace and went sprawling. Skinned her knee, got her outfit dirty, and dropped the bag of fruit she was carrying. Tears followed until Flame picked her up, dusted her off, wiped her face with the hem of his t-shirt, and helped her gather her apples and lemons.

No way.

Way. I shit you not. I stared at him, blinking, because for a moment I thought I’d just mistaken him for you. But it was Flame. I followed them down the block. He walked her to the café, asked Onyx for something to clean the blood off her leg and got her a treat before waving goodbye. She skipped out of there, previous incident completely forgotten.

If this story was coming from anyone but you, I’d ask for physical proof.

If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I’d have done the same, Roark replied. But I bring it up only because I think that you offering him the chance to be in the pups’ life if he gets himself sorted out, coupled with being rejected by his mate and the conversation with your Pops, might be the push he needed to get him to drop the act and let the rest of the pack see the kind of wolf he can be.

That day with the pup he helped, Rusty began, how many other wolves were on the street?

Now it was Roark who snorted. None. Well, I’d just come around the corner, and there were some folks way up the block, but it was early enough that the pup was probably one of the first customers at the farmer’s market that morning. The bakery was the only other thing open, so folks were either coming there or heading into the market. She was about two blocks from it, so no one else was on the street.

Which is why he helped, Rusty replied, sighing.

Yeah.

Good for him, Rusty said. After the things he said in the SUV that day…so selfish, sounding just like our old man complaining about what a pain it would be to have to take care of a pup, I was ready to write him off.

Can I ask the question you’ve always refused to answer? Roark asked. Or is the answer still no?

The smile bled from Rusty’s face, and his jaw tightened, even as his line offered him a brief reprieve when he caught another fish.

What are they doing, bypassing my line to get to yours, Roark asked, staring at his hole.

Or someone has already made off with your bait, and you just didn’t notice, Rusty replied as he reeled in another walleye.