“Tidy house, tidy mind,” Kat stated sagely, and I just knew she’d heard that from our mom.
That was what we said in the Ukraine. Well, the literal translation, at any rate.
I didn’t remember Mama being particularly house proud, but it sounded like she’d changed a lot when she had Kat.
Star placed the sandwich in front of my sister, and almost shyly placed mine beside hers. “It has banana in it. That’s why Kat likes it. She loves bananas.”
“Thank you,” I told her, and I meant it.
I also wanted to tell her that I wasn’t intending on tearing my sister away from her. I could see that was her major concern. It was clear to me, in fact.
Maybe not to anyone else, because Star had a very good poker face, but I knew what that meant.
The best poker faces hid the worst secrets. The deepest feelings.
My heart almost ached for Star, who’d fallen for my little sister, even though she evidently had an attitude problem.
Not that I minded, but I knew if she’d been raised with my grandmother, she’d probably have boxed her ears three or four times during this conversation.
Watching my sister, I reflected on the fact that I wished, for Kat’s sake, she’d known our grandmother, but I was also glad she’d never know what it felt like to have your ears pulled on as punishment.
It was only a meager means of castigation, but I didn’t like the idea of punishing children that way. It was old-school.
Reaching for the sandwich, I took a bite and recognized that mine was much different than Kat’s. Hers oozed jam and squishy banana. Mine had a lighter layer of strawberry preserves and a few thinner slices of banana.
“This is lovely,” I enthused.
Star grinned. “You got the adult version.”
A man walked into the kitchen, shirtless, and scratching his chest, and I reared back in surprise.
He was big, tall, very muscular—like most of them. Only, I’d never seen him before.
Though there were still some women I didn’t know, I recognized all the men’s faces from watching them out of the window to my bedroom. They visited us as well, asking us if we needed anything from the big house, and while the gesture was kind, it was mostly to get us used to them. To stop Tatána from screaming every time she saw a strange man.
Yes, it got very wearing for me too. I couldn’t even imagine how annoying it was for the bikers to have these three strange women on the property and for them to all flinch whenever they approached.
Star didn’t suffer the same nerves as me however. She raised her hand for the man, who slapped it back. “Sin, my main man. How’s your tight tush faring?”
So, this was Tiffany’s man. I eyed him with interest, because he was raw around the edges where she was anything but. Cultivated, classy, elegant. All words that described her, but they didn’t describe him.
Then he grinned at Kat, a conspiratorial smile that had me understanding Tiffany’s appreciation of a man who… I didn’t know him, but I rarely had to know someone to see them. There was violence in Sin’s nature. Of course, that sounded silly when I was in the kitchen of an MC. All the men were violent. Maverick as well.
But Sin?
I felt it seething beneath him like a volcano with torrents of lava just waiting to erupt.
Though it put me on edge, his smile, his kindness eased me as he told Star, “Not sure you’re supposed to talk about tushes in front of kids.”
Kat scoffed, “I know what a tush is, and…” She peered around the counter. “Yours is very nice.”
The man, Sin, snickered, but I whispered, “Kat! That’s incredibly rude!”
Star crinkled her nose. “Kat is rude. It’s like her USP.”
“USP?” I echoed, confused even more now.
“Yes. Unique selling point. It’s how she is. More attitude than sense.” Star cocked a brow at my sister. “Didn’t we already have this conversation about watching the words that fall from our lips?”
Kat huffed, but then stuffed her sandwich between said lips.
Sin grinned and replied, “Who is Kat anyway?”
“She’s my foster daughter,” Star answered proudly, and her pride surprised me.
Sin hummed. “Huh. Didn’t think that would be your thing.”
“It isn’t,” Kat inserted helpfully, now that she’d swallowed. “She’s a terrible mom, but she’s a really great sis—” Her eyes flared wide as she broke off guiltily, then she froze, cut me a look, and hunched her shoulders. “Sorry, Alessa.”
“Don’t be silly,” I chided her gently, not wanting her to be upset over something so natural.
After all, we were tied by blood, but she didn’t know me. I didn’t know her either.
Not at all.
And by the sounds of it, we’d known two completely different mothers. Even if they’d been the same person, she’d changed.
So, we didn’t have that to relate to either.
Because my mama hadn’t been particularly house-proud…
Star questioned, “Heard you’re back from Ohio. Didn’t realize. I’d have hit up that clubhouse instead if I’d known.”
That she changed the subject made me grateful, even if I was curious about her knowledge of things.
Far as I could see, the men shared nothing with women.
Well, nothing except for saliva and sexual fluids.
I’d seen things through the window that they probably didn’t know about, and truth be told, it was reassuring to view.
Maybe it surprised me at first, but I’d done worse. Had worse things done to me. Only there was no shame attached to what they did together, and that was wonderfully refreshing.
I cleared my throat to dispel the memories, then I watched in surprise as a woman who was definitely not Tiffany came squeaking into the room.
She had on a pair of very high shorts and a barely there halter top, and she plastered herself to Sin’s chest.
She squeezed him tightly and almost climbed him like he was playground equipment or something.
“Sin!” she squealed, her voice as high as her shorts.
“Dammit, Tink, fuck off,” he rumbled, trying to untangle her hold on him, but she was like an octopus, she clung to him better than a fly to a spider’s web.
He managed to shove her off, though, and she pouted up at him. “What? No greeting?”
“No. No greeting. I told you before—we’re done. I’m not doing that anymore.”
She heaved out a sigh. “I thought you weren’t being serious!”
“I was being very serious.” He grunted, peered at Kat, Star, and me who were all watching with interest, and then he rolled his eyes. “I’ve got a woman now.”
“So?” She tucked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans and tugged him to her. “That’s never stopped a lot of brothers before.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s stopped me.” He sounded firm, vehement, and when he reached for her wrist, at that moment, Tiffany walked in.
My brows rose at the sight of her taking everything in with a calm that surprised me.
She walked over to Sin, who only just saw her, then slammed her hand down on the woman’s wrist. She instantly shrieked, “What the hell? Who are you?”
“I’m his woman, bitch. You touch what’s mine, and I’ll break your nose next time,” she snarled, surprising me even as my lips twitched in amusement.
She came across as such an elegant person, with her tailored clothes and neat hair, and the way she stared at the world as though she could read it like it was a book—but still waters ran deep. Perhaps she was better suited to this Sin than I thought.
I hadn’t liked her at first, but neither had I disliked her. I’d been predisposed to be unappreciative of the way she was being brought in, trying to help us get back to normal, but there was no normal for us anymore, and it annoyed me that she might try to whitewash everything that had happened.
But she hadn’t done that.
If a
nything, the two times we’d spoken, it had been more like us hanging out, just being women of similar age with similar backgrounds.
Odd, but nice.
Nothing to be angry over.
Still, to see her so fired up? Unusual, but it was a nice insight into the woman herself.
Tink reached up with her non-injured hand and clasped her nose. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” she snapped, but Sin grabbed a hold of her shoulder and dragged her against his chest. When he slipped his arms around her waist, he muttered, “It’s all good, angel. She knows now. And Tink, you’ll tell all the others what’s going down, won’t you?”
Tink scowled, then peevishly slammed her heel into the floor like a child. “It’s not fun here anymore. Link and Nyx won’t play, and now you?”
“Play? What the fuck are you? Five?” Tiffany snarled. “Grow up and go screw some men who aren’t committed to other women.”
Tink rolled her eyes at that, but she stormed away, and though Tiffany stayed riled up like a porcupine whose spines were erect and ready to attack, Sin murmured something in her ear that had her relaxing slightly.
She moved away though, headed for the fridge, and grabbed some stuff out of it like she had the right to be there.
As far as I could discern, the kitchen, and its contents, were fair game. It made me curious as to who bought everything, as to who did the shopping too. I’d hate to have that thankless job, although I could probably do that without messing up.
We needed to start pulling our weight around this place, that was for sure. We couldn’t live off the brothers forever and not repay their many kindnesses to us without doing something in return.
As I pondered that, Sin watched Tiffany open a container of yogurt, even as Star cleared her throat and said, “Hey! I’m Lodestar, but you can call me Star.”
Tiffany peered over her yogurt and muttered, “I’m Tiffany.”
“I’m Kat,” my sister chirped.
Tiffany’s lips twitched. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. That was sooo cool what you did with her wrist. If I had a boyfriend and a lady tried to touch him, I’d do the exact same thing.”
“You don’t need to worry about that yet,” Star inserted dryly.
Kat, her tone serious, questioned, “Have you met Kyrian yet?”
Star blinked. “No. Who the hell is he?”
Sin laughed. “He’s Junkyard’s kid. What is he? Nine?”
Kat shrugged a shoulder. “So? I’m eight. I like an older man.”
My eyes flared wide at that. “Katina, you shouldn’t say things like this. You’re far too young.”
Kat sniffed. “No, I’m not. He’s my soulmate,” she declared dramatically.
“Soulmates?” My brows rose. “Do you even know what that means?”
“It means our souls are friends, silly.” Kat huffed. “Anyway, if any of the other girls touch him, I won’t be happy. Now I know what to do.”
“Thanks, Tiffany,” Star muttered ruefully. “That’s all I need is some pissed off biker daddies coming to beat my ass because Kat’s learned how to karate chop from you.”
Tiff hunched her shoulders. “Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Katina, violence is never the answer.”
“You’ve never played a video game, have you? Violence is always the answer.”
“No, it isn’t,” I countered.
“What video games are you playing?” Star ground out. “Christ, I only let you play Pokémon Go!”
“Pokémon can be pretty violent,” Sin reasoned, but I knew he was joking, because his eyes were alight with humor. Goodness, even Tiffany’s were.
“Exactly. And have you heard Justin Bieber’s songs? He’s always in pain when he talks about love. Love is violent,” Kat said dreamily.
Star sighed. “I need to take away your tablet.”
“No! What will I watch YouTube on?” Kat yelled, loud enough to make my ears hurt. “That’s so unfair, Star!” Before I could say a word, before Star could, Kat leaped off the stool and stormed off.
Until she returned, grabbed her sandwich, huffed at us all, and made a swift retreat to wherever it was she and Star were staying.
Or where this Kyrian kid was.
“She has quite a temper on her, doesn’t she?” Sin observed dryly.
Goodness, that was an understatement.
“She has control issues,” Star confirmed, but her gaze was puzzled. “I mean, I can’t stop her from listening to the damn radio.”
“Kids are growing up fast these days,” Tiffany pointed out softly.
“Too frickin’ fast,” Star complained with a grimace. “I’d best go and check on her,” she muttered to no one in particular, before she scurried away.
When she left, without a backwards glance to me, I cut Tiffany a look. She was watching me too, and I knew what she was going to say.
“Are you okay?”
I tensed. “Not really.” Replacing the sandwich on the plate, the two bites I’d taken already congealing in my stomach, I watched as she drifted over to me.
Sin placed his hand on her waist though, tugging her back into him, and though she tensed up at first, she blew out a breath.
“I’m not mad at you,” she said, and I was confused, because at first, I thought she was talking to me.
“No. I know you’re not,” Sin replied calmly.
“I’m just mad in general.”
My brows lowered. “You should be mad. She touched him inappropriately in front of a child.”
Tiffany growled under her breath. “These women have no decency.”
Sin shrugged. “It’s kind of what they do.”
“Doesn’t make it right.”
“Don’t try to counsel them,” Sin warned. “I don’t need the brothers on my ass because you’re taking away their daddy issues and they stop putting out.”
Tiffany sniffed. “It’s gross.”
“That’s the life.” Sin tapped her on the side. “Don’t worry about it. It won’t happen again.” He bent down, pressed a kiss to her shoulder, then told her, “I’m going to get my shit together, and then we’ll ride out in, what, twenty minutes?”
Tiffany smiled at him. “That’s good with me.”
He didn’t notice as he walked away, but her smile was strained.
I tipped my head to the side. “Are you okay?”
“Would you be?” she replied gruffly, her eyes on her yogurt, even as she leaned on the counter opposite me.
“No, I don’t think I would be,” I responded gently. “This life…as he called it, I don’t think it comes naturally to you.”
“It doesn’t, but my world isn’t open to me anymore either. Lily, the only person I care about aside from my mom, isn’t interested in that world now that she’s with Link. But the truth is, men cheat in every world, don’t they? Doesn’t matter if they’re in an MC or not.”
“True.” I dipped my chin. “I just think it’s more blatant here.”
“You’ve seen…” She cleared her throat. “Things?”
“Yes. Through the window. I like to look out of my room at night onto the compound.”
Her head tipped to the side at that. “Why?”
“Because there are some foxes who drift out when it’s late. I like to watch them.”
“And inadvertently catch a glimpse of some free porn?” Tiff pursed her lips. “I’d have thought that would trigger you.”
“No. It’s a free exchange. What’s to trigger me?”
She hummed at that. “That’s interesting.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “It’s good though. Means that, eventually, if you want to be with Maverick, things might not be a problem for you.”
I frowned at that. “I can’t…”
“Can’t, what?”
“Can’t think about a future with him. I’m pretty sure I’ll get deported soon, even though I’m married to him.”
&nbs
p; Her brow furrowed. “I have to figure that these men don’t follow the regular rules of the world.” She patted my hand. “I’m sure Maverick earned his name by fair means and foul, Ghost.”
I blinked. “What does Maverick mean? I thought it was just a name.”
Tiffany snorted. “It means someone who goes out on a limb to do things. Who goes the extra mile, you know?”
My brow puckered as I thought on that, then I commented, “Okay, I think I understand.”
She patted my hand again. “These men earn their nicknames, Ghost. Maverick is as Maverick does. I get the feeling, from the way he looks at you, that he wants you. I don’t think he’s going to let anything come between you and him. Certainly not the U.S. government.”
Unease filled me. “I don’t want him to break any laws for me.”
She snorted. “Honey, that’s what a one-percenter club does. Laws were made to be broken.” Her shoulders wriggled like she was uneasy. “It’s new to me too. I’m not going to lie. Aren’t we raised to follow all the rules? Told to honor, respect, and obey the law at all costs? Then, here, these guys are doing the exact opposite. In fact, they do whatever they damn well choose, but we care for them anyway.”
“You care for Sin?” I asked quietly. “Very much?” I tacked on, when I thought about her response to the clubwhore touching her man.
“Very much. More than I thought I was capable of, to be truthful.”
I frowned. “Why?”
She shrugged. “In my circle, we didn’t exactly marry for love, even if it might look that way on the outside.”
“You love him?”
Her cheeks gusted out. “I’m on my way to it.” Then, she dipped her chin. “I’m pregnant.”
“With his baby?” Somehow, that didn’t surprise me. Sin had held her with tenderness, even when she’d been pretty angry at the situation in which she’d found herself.
“Yes.”
My lips curved into a genuine smile. “I’m pleased for you.”
She winced. “I’m scared.”
“Of what? Losing the baby?”
“No. Of being a mom.” Her nose crinkled. “I’m not good with kids.”
“I don’t think anyone is ever ready for a child. You get used to it very fast. It’s not like you have a choice.”
Forgotten & Found: A Dark & Dirty Sinners' MC Boxset Page 74