by Addison Jane
The boys all chuckled, understanding where I was coming from.
I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Phoenix was my club, it was my home now, and it was a home I never thought I’d share with anyone, but now I could almost see myself sharing life with Kennedy. And if that was the case, I was in full acceptance of the fact that she and Brook came as a package deal.
“We can look out for them both,” Shotgun agreed, letting me know he would have my back on this, and we weren’t about to leave the girls out to dry. This shit. It was all fucking wrong—the way Crow had treated them, the shit they had to deal with. Losing both parents in that small amount of time, and then being thrown into a whole new world, one where laws don’t apply and there was no one to tell.
“I’ve come to be quite fond of the little fucking smart ass,” Rip noted with a grin. “You need help, we’ll be there. Plus, we’re laying a huge slab of concrete in a couple weeks, so—”
“Let’s get a fucking drink,” Huntsman announced, shaking his head at his youngest son, and effectively dismissing us all. “Then I may not kill Shake for knocking up my baby girl.”
“Fuck!” Shake cursed shaking his head and laughing. “You better at least pretend for Meyah’s sake. She’s been planning this for a couple weeks.”
I noticed Huntsman stayed quiet. He was pleading the fifth.
The boys began to file out but Diddit—one of Huntsman’s men—walked around the table toward me holding the mess of papers. “Here…” Diddit frowned, laying the papers down and jabbing his finger at the middle of their dad’s information.
“What and where?” I questioned, squinting to look at where his finger was resting.
“People who are organized, which is usually businessmen like he was, always have a list of people of importance that deal with their… estate, after they’ve passed,” Diddit explained, tapping it again. “It was his lawyer who has possession of the will. The executor of the will, which also happens to be the same lawyer, but then this one is someone different and it says, executor of family trust.”
I frowned. “So they have a family trust? Isn’t that like the thing to do these days?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s also what rich people are doing these days to hide money so they look like they’re poor and the trust owns everything.”
It clicked.
“You think family trust means huge dollars?” I asked, almost laughing. “You think that Crow found out there was an inheritance?”
“If their dad was in a really shitty place at the time, it wouldn’t have been too hard for Crow to befriend him like they were old buddies, like they were fucking friends,” I growled, shaking my fucking head.
I just wished I’d killed the fucking bastard now.
But I guess there was still time.
KENNEDY
Meyah was so happy. Shake and her couldn’t keep their hands off each other as everyone danced around celebrating the news that there was about to be a new little baby join the club. She and I had already talked about it a little, but this seemed to make it even more official.
“If you have a boy,” Drake, Meyah’s eldest brother, started with a smirk. “Which club is he gonna join?”
“Drake…” she warned, shaking her head.
But everyone else seemed to find it hilarious and the debate soon began—friendly, I must say, at least for now. I think they were all lucky that Huntsman had disappeared for a little bit and wasn’t involved in this one.
I had to laugh as Meyah ducked and dodged her two brothers who were determined to convince her unborn fetus that he or she was to become part of the Exiled Eight by yelling enthusiastically at her stomach.
I was about to run and help her when a hand grasped mine and pulled me away from the commotion toward the back of the bar, where there was a short hallway which led to the kitchen. He spun me and pressed my back against the wall, his body not touching mine, but his energy surrounding me, making me instantly smile up at him. “Hi,” I murmured as he dipped his head and softly pressed his forehead against mine. His eyes in the dim light almost seemed to be electric or glow in the dark.
“Hey,” he answered back softly. “Are you drunk?”
I snorted and shook my head. “I’ve only had two beers. Why?”
“You haven’t stopped smiling since we got here. And Dakota has been known to convince people to try her concoctions, which she can’t test on her bestie anymore, so no doubt she’ll be looking for a new victim.” He grinned, leaning back but taking both my hands and dragging them up above my head. “It’s good to see you this happy.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this,” I answered honestly, but then added, “Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like this. I’ve never been at a party where I could just… relax. I’ve never been at a party with people who I would choose to spend time with, I guess.”
I tried to lean in and press my lips to his, but he pulled back with a soft chuckle making me screw my nose up like a pouty child. “There’s someone watching,” he whispered, nodding just slightly to my right.
I turned and found Brooklyn watching from the end of the hall with a raised eyebrow.
Repo let me go. “Stay with your sister tonight,” he urged quietly. “I think she really needs you right now.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my neck, making my body want to form a puddle on the floor, before he turned and walked out of the hall stepping around my little sister who refused to move for him.
“Say what you have to say,” I encouraged as I walked out to meet her.
I was expecting her to lose her shit at me, say some shit about how I just moved from fucking one club to fucking another.
“Are you scared?”
So, she surprised me.
“Of what?”
She was fighting that lump in her throat, the one that she always managed to push back down, so she maybe didn’t have to feel it. I knew she did anyway, though. She was too much like me.
The bravado was gone, and I could see tears welling in her eyes. “Of everything. Of getting hurt. Of finding out that he’s exactly like all the others. Of falling for him, and then having to watch him leave like everyone else. Of all this just becoming one of those memories that we use as a warning.”
I got it.
I’d told her about Dad, and honestly, I was surprised at just how calmly she’d taken it. Like in her gut, she’d known the truth all along, or she’d at least figured he was as good as dead because there was no way in hell she was going to forgive him.
But it didn’t mean it hadn’t made her feel something. She was scared. She was scared of being happy. She was scared of all this around us. Of how the people were watching out for us. How they were making us smile and laugh. She was scared if she gave in and let herself believe that the bad shit in our lives had passed and we were finally getting what we deserved, that it would all be snatched away.
Because that was what she knew.
They took Mom.
They took Dad.
They took our lives.
They took our smiles, our happiness, and anything else they could get their hands on.
Who? I wasn’t really sure to be quite honest. Someone up there, someone who decided we didn’t deserve any of that shit.
“No, I’m not scared,” I told her, reaching out and brushing her hair back from her face. Brook and I were the same height, we had the same hair, and while I could see the stark differences, a lot of people thought we could be more like twins as opposed to just sisters. “I’m not scared because I’m too busy enjoying being happy for once. Repo makes me feel different, they all make me feel different—like I’m special and important—and whether in a week or a month or a year things change, I want to know I enjoyed that feeling right now rather than just remembering how scared I was of it going away.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, rubbing it between her teeth. A few long seconds later, she smiled and shook her head. “When did you get so
smart?”
I laughed loudly and hooked my arm around her shoulders leading her back to the booming clubhouse. “That would be telling.”
REPO
“Huntsman,” Texas rumbled as he ambled over to the table we were sitting at discussing things to do with Empire and developments for the new nightclub we were looking at opening. It had been delayed after some drama to do with Rip and Dakota, and the place had nearly burned to the ground, but it was almost back to its old glory. “There’s cops at the gate. They’re looking for Brooklyn.”
Huntsman and I were both out of our seats in seconds.
I rushed toward the rear exit, finding the girls all sitting out the back in the sun. “Kennedy,” I snapped, feeling guilty for a moment when she nearly flew off the side of the lounger she was on. There was no time for apologies, though, because I had a feeling I knew why the police were here. “You girls need to take Brooklyn upstairs. Diddit will go with you and help you hide her.”
Diddit quickly jogged past me ushering the girls toward the door. Kennedy looked confused, and Brooklyn instantly grabbed a hold of her older sister as we pulled them all inside, and I hit the button to shut the roller door. “What’s going on?” Kennedy demanded, stopping right beside me with a serious frown.
I pointed toward the staircase. “There’s some cops here asking questions about Brooklyn. She’s still underage, and it’s come to light that both your parents are dead. What do you think they’re here for?”
Brooklyn grabbed her sister a little tighter and shook her head. “I won’t leave. They can’t make me.”
“Kid, they can make you, and they will,” I said, trying to sound sympathetic but running out of time for this bullshit. “So, you need to follow Diddit upstairs where he will help you hide just in case these assholes have a fucking search warrant.”
Brooklyn was apprehensive.
She still didn’t trust me.
And Kennedy? Well, I think she was starting to realize just what lengths Crow was going to go to in order to destroy her. This was the type of man he was—if you could even fucking call him that. He was all about beating on women because they couldn’t defend themselves. He would make them feel like trash, like things with him were the best they’d have because they were worthless. Then, as the icing on the cake, he would use the people they cared about against them.
“Go!” I snapped, not fucking around and honestly, not caring if I was being too harsh with them right now. I didn’t have the fucking time to be sensitive. I’d apologize later because right at that moment, my only concern was making sure the cops didn’t leave this place with Brooklyn.
Kennedy took a deep breath, her eyes finally coming back into focus. She gave a sharp nod and began to pull at her sister’s arm. “Come on, we need to go.” She hurried, dragging a still confused and angry Brooklyn with her toward the stairs where Diddit was patiently waiting.
When they’d finally disappeared, I jogged to the front of the building and ducked outside finding Huntsman, Texas, and Shake waiting for me. Shotgun, Myth, and Ripley were all standing back just inside the doors of the building, ready to do whatever need be in case these guys had the proper paperwork they needed to get inside.
I fell into step with Huntsman as we walked across the clubhouse lot to the large metal gates that protected the fortress. They began to open as we approached, giving us a good look at the four police cars, eight officers in uniform and two middle-aged women in business suits who stood stoically, their eyes narrowed, already judging us.
What’s fucking new?
I let Huntsman take the lead because even though I had taken responsibility for Brooklyn and Kennedy, this was his club, it was his turf, and I had no doubts that he knew most of the officers by first name.
“How may I help you?” he grumbled, his voice raspy, and his words sharply spoken so they knew he was fucking furious and also annoyed.
One of the women stepped forward, a couple of officers stepping up behind her in support. “I am Carla Dean from Child Protective Services.” She pulled a couple of papers from her file and held them out. “We’ve had someone concerned let us know that you have a minor here who we’ve just become aware does not have a legal guardian. Brooklyn—”
Huntsman reached out and plucked the pieces of paper from her hands. His eyes scanned over them, but I could tell he wasn’t actually reading what it said. He didn’t give a shit. He wasn’t about to let them take Brooklyn, it didn’t matter what that goddamn paper said. Finally, he turned to look at me. “You seen this kid?” He held up the paper, and I leaned in really close, squinting my eyes for dramatics.
I shook my head. “Nah, ain’t seen her.”
He held it up for Texas and Shake, who both just shrugged like they really didn’t care.
Huntsman held the papers out to the lady who was already looking like she had problems controlling her temper. “Ain’t seen the kid,” Huntsman announced with a shrug. “But thanks for coming by.”
The lady cleared her throat and stepped a little further forward. I admired her fucking balls, but I guess when you were constantly dealing with people who were possibly hurting their children, you had to be hard, you had to fight for them. But this time, she was just barking up the wrong tree. “I don’t think I need to remind you that this young lady, she needs a stable, comfortable, and nurturing home. She is a child. We know that she’s been seen here. So, don’t play your little fucking games with me.”
My eyes widened, and I quickly covered my mouth trying to stifle the laughter that was bubbling up in my throat.
This bitch was hard.
Huntsman was also fighting a smile, well, not really fighting. His face was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. The man loved it when he was challenged probably because you didn’t find many people these days who did because the motherfucker was scary as hell. “Listen, Carla. Now, I know exactly who your concerned citizen is that called you assholes. I know exactly what he’s trying to do, too. But like I said, the kid ain’t here, and unless you have another little piece of paper that says you’re allowed to walk in here and look for her, I suggest you take your friends here and fuck right off.”
Carla was not okay with that response.
Carla looked like she was about to reach across the small space and rip Huntsman’s beard clean off.
“I can assure you, it won’t take me much to get a warrant. You have no idea the lengths I’ll go to, to protect children who can’t protect themselves… especially against people like you.”
And there it was.
We were monsters.
We probably had her tied up in our basement.
Or we’d sold her already to the highest bidder.
“I’d like to know exactly what the hell you mean by that statement,” Kennedy demanded as she pushed through Texas and Shake and came to stand directly between Huntsman and me. The woman was practically on fire. I could feel the heat radiating off her skin as she stepped up to Carla like a soldier ready to go to battle.
Carla’s eyes drifted down to the papers in her hand, and she quickly flicked through them before yanking out one that interested her. She looked up. “Kennedy, isn't it?”
“It is.”
“Listen, I’m going to give you some advice here,” Carla noted with a fake smile. “If I were you, I’d hand over Brooklyn, let her go to a home with a nice family where she can continue to go to school, and where she can have everything she needs to grow.”
Kennedy stepped forward, and I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to me. I held her body in front of me, one hand around her wrist and the other on her hip. “Calm down, pretty girl,” I murmured, knowing she was about to let loose on this judgmental bitch.
“Brooklyn has had everything she needed to grow. I made sure she got everything she needed,” Kennedy asserted, her voice calm, but the way her body was shaking let me know that she was fucking furious. This woman wasn’t only trying to take the one person in this world she had left,
but she was trying to say that Kennedy hadn’t spent the last five or more years doing whatever humanly possible to look after her.
Carla shrugged. “The photos and statements I’ve been given say otherwise, and you’re lucky I’m not having you arrested right now for abuse, neglect, and child endangerment.”
“Child endangerment?” Kennedy laughed. “Suck my dick.”
Texas started laughing loudly, and I managed to hold mine back, but the look on this woman’s face was fucking everything.
Carla bristled, huffing a breath out her nose like she was a bull chasing a red flag. “Let’s not mention the fraud charges you could face due to the fact that you haven’t had a parental figure in the home for years, and yet somehow your father was still signing things to do with Brooklyn’s schooling.”
“How fucking dare you,” Kennedy hissed, launching herself forward again. This time Carla almost crapped her pants and stumbled backward, which would have made me grin had I not been fighting to keep Kennedy from being arrested. “You have no idea of the crap that I went through to protect her, to make sure she still made it to school every day, and not only that, she’s on the fucking honor role. Because I protected her, and I didn’t come to you and allow you to tear her away from me.”
“I’m done here,” Carla announced, backing away and pretending like Kennedy wasn’t right. And if they had known what was going on, that they wouldn’t have put Brooklyn in the system and allowed her to just become another lost child. Her eyes turned back to Huntsman. “You can bet your ass that next time I come around here, I’ll have a warrant, and I’ll happily turn this place upside down.”
Huntsman smirked. “We’ll see about that.” He threw a wink her way, and she pulled back, pursing her lips. “Have a nice fucking day, Mrs. Dean.”
Kennedy was still on fire as I forced her body to turn and walk with her back toward the clubhouse. The gates ground closed behind us, followed by the sound of several car doors slamming shut and engines turning over.
