“Tell me about it,” Declan rumbled, scraping a hand over his jaw. “She’s reckless so I guess it makes sense. Anyway, it’s not a total lie.”
“No?” I retorted wryly. “Just a semi?”
“Just a semi,” he agreed with a laugh. “We’ve probably had seventeen or so Sparrows in the ranks, but there were just two in the higher-ups.”
I nodded my understanding. “So, there’s no real change to how we’ll be working together—”
“Wait, let me guess, you’re asking because you want to know if Mary Catherine’s dad is a Sparrow?”
“This is about business.”
He grunted. “Bullshit.”
“It’s semi-business,” I conceded. “Nyx wanted me to reschedule the next run. Got a problem with the ATF sniffing around.”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll email over a new plan.” He rubbed his eyes. “What’s with the in-person meeting? Couldn’t you just have called?”
I shrugged. “Wanted to be face to face when I asked you about the Sparrows. I don’t like Mary Catherine’s father.”
“Well, unluckily for you, he’s loyal to Da.”
We shared a glance.
“That really is unlucky,” I grumbled.
“Damn straight.” He raised his glass, and I knocked my bottle against it. “I don’t like him either.”
TWENTY
RACHEL
“Where the fuck is he?”
Tiredly, I rubbed my temple where the headache from hell was attacking my brain.
The guys had cut Rex some slack until New Year’s had come and gone without any updates from him.
Not even a phone call.
They were growing concerned, but I’d been worried since Christmas Day.
“You’ve spoken with Storm?” I rasped. “Checked he isn't in Coshocton?”
Nyx grunted. “What the fuck do you think, Rachel?”
“Watch it,” Link grumbled. “This ain’t Rachel’s fault. Rex just… He needed to get away. Fuck, I can’t blame him. I want to get away too.”
“You can’t escape grief,” was Steel’s somber retort as he shuffled the deck of cards in his hands.
I wished he were wrong, but he wasn't.
I also wished he'd stop with the damn cards.
With a sigh, I murmured, “If he doesn’t check in soon, do we file a missing persons report?”
Nyx snorted. “It’s almost like you don’t know us at all, Rach.”
“Fuck off, Nyx," I snapped. "We have to do something.”
“No, we don’t. He’s just lost his dad.” Nyx scrubbed a hand over his face. “He just needs a fucking break. He’s not gonna get himself killed. This is Rex we’re talking about, not me. We should be talking about the deal the Irish just struck with the Russians and the Italians, not a grown-assed man who can do whatever the fuck he wants with his time while he’s grieving.”
Silence fell in Rex’s new office.
An office I didn’t think he’d even sat in yet.
So far, we’d only been using the bar, but when discussing Rex’s absence, we’d moved in here for privacy.
It didn’t feel right.
Not at all.
My phone buzzed.
Parker: The Valentini sales contract has come through.
Rachel: I’ll check it later.
Parker: Still with the hotties?
Rachel: I won’t tell them you said that. It’ll make them more impossible than they already are.
“He is a grown-assed man,” Link concurred, breaking into my conversation with Parker. “But… this is Rex. The MC is his life. His lifeline. He wouldn’t just go without leaving orders, Nyx.”
“He didn’t have to. I’ve been running point with him since the compound blast. He’s not been as on hand since then anyway. He deserves some fucking time to himself without us calling in the pigs to make sure he’s not MIA.”
Ignoring that, Sin’s knuckles cracked as he pressed down on them, rumbling, “You know what he’s like…”
“He’s got a better handle on his temper than before.”
“He still snaps,” Link pointed out. “His control ain’t gone off the rails for a while, but it does happen. You can’t deny that, Nyx.”
Sin, unperturbed, tacked on, “It’s in our blood, Nyx. There’s no getting away from that.”
Steel eyed him. “You can’t say shit like that. Not with me around.”
“Steel, there’s a massive difference between being a goddamn child-abusing piece of fucking shit and having anger issues.”
Maverick, being Maverick, didn’t get distracted by the argument that snapped to life between the two of them, and he focused on me. “You sure he didn’t say anything?”
Uncertainly, I licked my lips.
What could I say to that?
Their attention felt more threatening than a grand jury’s.
In regular circumstances, I wouldn’t have been affected, but this was my fault.
My anxiety soared as I felt their concern for Rex surge around the room. Trying to hide from it, I stared down at the wooden grain on the expansive table that was more befitting a boardroom than an office in an MC compound.
This room was a lot swankier than the last one.
I was pretty sure that Bear’s council would have taken the piss out of Rex’s decor choices, never mind all the goddamn pink in the bar. But this was a different generation.
This was my generation.
Not Bear’s, not Grizzly’s.
Mine.
I clenched my hands into fists as I pressed them into the table, but before I could say a word, Steel rubbed my shoulder. I hadn’t expected it, so I flinched so hard that there was no way the assholes wouldn’t notice it.
God, I hadn’t done that in months.
Closing my eyes, I waited for them to comment, but instead, silence fell.
Silence that had more nuances than an orchestra.
“When I was seventeen, I babysat Giulia.”
I felt their confusion, but they didn’t question the start of my confession. Link’s voice was soft, however, as he said, “I remember. You used to sit for most of the Old Ladies.”
“Yeah. Quin and Indy too, right?” Nyx tacked on.
Swallowing, I finally opened my eyes, and this time, I looked at Link.
I knew he’d keep me going.
Knew he’d be my… link.
That was how he’d gotten his name, after all. He kept us together.
“What is it, Rach? You can tell us anything,” he coaxed.
“I’m only telling you this now because I pushed Rex away. I’m the reason he left.”
I didn’t need to peer around the table to know that the brothers were all looking at each other. To know that they were shooting questioning glances back and forth.
Except for Link.
He kept his gaze locked on mine like he understood that he was the only thing keeping me from bolting out of the room.
“Do you remember Dog and Grizzly used to hang out?”
“How could I forget? Two dipshits together,” he mocked, but his smile faded as he reached out and slipped his hand into mine. I clenched down around his fingers.