by KJ Dahlen
Then John felt Leon come up behind him. “What do you think he’ll do about what he learned today?” John asked.
Leon chuckled. “Oh, he’ll go out of his way to find his brother.”
John turned to stare at Leon. “What makes you think so?”
Leon stared after the car long after the front gate closed and locked again. “Because he’s a lot like me. I would hunt down a brother or a son. He’d thought he was the last of his line. Now, he’s found that he’s not. He wants answers. I only hope he can find them.”
“And the other matter?” John asked.
Leon didn’t say a word but instead, turned and walked back to his office, closing the door quietly behind him.
John knew he would never get an answer, as Leon often kept most of them out of the loop. Whether to protect them or others. Really who knew? As long as the Vincinti family remained safe that was all that really mattered to John. He headed off to make his rounds with the other men on duty.
Chapter Three
When Bane and Sarah got back to the hotel, they found Bastian and James waiting for them.
Sarah smiled then nodded at the two other men. She walked through the room to the bedroom and shut the door, leaving the three men alone so they could talk.
Bane threw the file down on the coffee table and went over to the bar and poured all three of them a drink. Passing out the glasses, the other two men just looked at him.
He took a drink and announced, “Petroff is taken care of and is right now burning in hell with his sons.” He finished the drink and walked back to the bar and poured another. When he joined Bastian and James he nodded at the file. “Leon wanted me to know that when he engaged my services years ago, he also had me checked out. Everything he found back then is in that file. He claimed he got the file then it got lost when he got busy. He says he was cleaning out his office recently and ran across it, so he gave it to me.” He drained his drink for the second time and thought about filling his glass again.
Bastian caught him off guard when he asked, “What’s in that file? Anything we need to know about?”
Bane snorted and glared at them both. “I thought I only had one brother, Orrin. Then when I heard he was dead, I thought I was the last living male in my family. And that there was only me Dusty and Cricket left, but I was wrong it seems.”
“Wrong?” James frowned. “How so?”
Bane went over, flipped the file open, and grabbed the damming paper out of it. He handed it to James and went to pour himself another drink.
James looked down at the paper in his hand and his brows raised when he saw what was there. He handed the paper to Bastian and looked over at Bane. “You want me to see if this is real?”
Bane nodded. “Yeah, I want to find out if it is real or not. I truly believe that it is real though. I want to know what happened and why. Why don’t I remember ever having another brother? I mean other than Orrin. Why did my grandfather raise us? He told us our parents died when we were kids. I barely remember them but I don’t remember another brother.”
“Would your grandfather have left anything behind? Any kind of paperwork that would give you any clues about any of this?” Bastian wanted to know.
Bane was raising his glass to his lips when he remembered something from a long time ago. He raised his head and glared at the other two men. “Maybe. He had this box that he kept all his important papers in but he would never allow me or Orrin to look inside. I forgot about it. I haven’t thought about that box since I was a kid. I wonder if it’s still where he hid it all those years ago?”
Bastian frowned. “What are you talking about? Hid it?”
“My grandfather raised Orrin and I in the house I lived in after he died. I haven’t been there in a long time. In fact, I left the house to Cricket and she didn’t want it, so she gave it to Deke’s MC. I believe they still own it. Its over in Geneva.” He shrugged. “The box was well hidden, so if you didn’t know it was there, you would never find it. It could still be there.”
Bastian lifted the drink from his hand while studying him carefully. “Then I think you need to go to Geneva to find your answers.” He paused then suggested, “We can go with you if you like.”
Bane hesitated then nodded finally. “I think I would like that. Sarah has never been to the house either. Maybe she should see where I grew up.”
Bastian laid his hand on Bane’s shoulder. “I think you need to know for sure.”
“I think you’re right,” Bane agreed. Then he looked at James. “I need you to verify that certificate for me and if it’s true, I need to know where he is and what he’s doing.”
“Are you going to contact him?” James asked.
“I’m not sure yet, but I think I should find him anyway.” Bane shrugged. “Maybe he won’t want me in his life and that’s fine but I need to at least see him even if it’s only one time. I won’t intrude on his life but it’s a little weird to think I have a brother out there somewhere that I didn’t know about until now.”
“We can be ready to go tomorrow morning,” Bastian assured him. “You should let Deke know you’re going to the house.”
Bane nodded. “I will. But I am not too popular there.” He shrugged. “Yet, I find I never cared one way or another. People have a right to their own way. They just never understood...” His voice fell away, as he ran his hand over his head and growled, “I just wonder what the fuck I’m going to find when we get there. Did my family lie to me all these years? If so... why?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Bastian promised him.
Bane looked down at his hand at the scar he’d had forever. He couldn’t remember how he got the scar, didn’t even remember when he got it, it was just something he’d always had. Why he thought of it just now, he didn’t know. But then there seemed to be a lot of things he did not know. Going along in his infamous life, thinking he knew his family. When all along, they had kept a very important fact from him. And why?
He looked over at the file and shook his head. He was damn near fifty years old and he was just finding this out now? Well known for his lack of normal feelings, he realized he did have feelings and right now, there was a fine rage building inside him. He looked up at James and asked, “Can you see if either of my parents are still alive, as well as checking out if that certificate is real?”
Bastian raised his head to stare at him. “What do you mean, still alive?” He glanced over at James. Then back at Bane. “You have to admit that is an odd request.”
“Not anymore it isn’t. I had a brother all these years. Who is to say that my parents are gone? Who is to assure me of any damn thing?”
Bastian tilted his head as he considered this reasoning and then he nodded.
James looked back and forth between the men. “I will hunt all three.”
Bane turned and put the booze bottle back into its spot. “I’ll want to leave early. It’s a long trip. I want to get there, collect what we need and leave again. That place is not one I ever thought to return to. It is no longer my home and I don’t want to be there too long.”
Bastain nodded. “I understand.”
James shook his head. “And I am trying to understand.” He patted Bane on the arm. “Like my mom used to tell me...it all comes out clean in the wash.”
Bane moved his arm from him and blinked at him.
Bastian chuckled.
James shrugged. “Well, it seemed to apply here?”
Bastian turned him around and nudged him forward.
After the pair left, Bane stood for a minute as he wondered many things. It wasn’t like he’d planned to look into his own past so closely. Who the hell would want to? He wanted to go forward, yet every step he took, he found himself standing back in that past that he detested so much.
Finally, Sarah joined him. She looked at her man and asked, “Are you all right?”
Bane nodded then turned to stare out the window.
Sarah came up behind
him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Bane instinctually went rigid then relaxed at her touch.
Sarah seemed to ignore this as she laid her head on his back. “What are you going to do with the information in Leon’s file?”
“We’re going to the house I was raised in and I’m going to try to find a box my grandfather had. He always told me that all his secrets were in that box but that I couldn’t open it until he was dead or if I had to use what I found in there to save my life.”
“Your life?” she questioned with a start, “Not his?”
Bane shrugged. “That’s what he said.” He sighed and continued to stare out the window. “I never thought about it before but he knew that one day, I would come looking for whatever was in that damn box.”
“Any idea what’s in it?” she asked.
“According to what the file Leon gave us today, it has a birth certificate that claims I am the first born of a pair of twins.” He reconfirmed what she understood from their earlier meeting. “I’m hoping there is some sort of explanation for this huge lie or omission.”
“In the box?” She frowned. “You think the answer is in it?”
“I don’t know if it is, that’s the problem. I don’t really remember my parents either, all I do remember is being there with my grandfather and Orrin. What happened to my family? Did they leave me behind? Did they die, leaving the old man to raise us kids? Why am I only finding out that I’m a twin now?”
“And you think the certificate is correct?” she asked.
“I think it is. Leon doesn’t deal t in half-truths nor false findings. He would not waste his time or mine.”
“How old were you when you went to live with your grandfather?”
“I think maybe two and a half?” He shrugged. “Old enough to remember a brother if I indeed had one.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Sarah surmised. “Maybe there was something else going on at the time that you forgot about. Many children block a trauma for a reason. And two years old is very young.”
Bane slowly shook his head. “I would never do that. I wasn’t,” he paused as he sighed. “...like other children. Things that would give them nightmares would only interest me.” He turned to look at her. “I guess we’ll find out what grandfather may have hidden from me.”
Chapter Four
Sarah felt his shoulders stiffen and he was drawing away from her for some reason. This was a regular trait with him, but she would always meet it with her own trait. She had always been determined to keep that connection to him, so she ran her hands over his abdomen and chest. She felt every ridge and muscle under her fingertips.
It took a minute or two before he relaxed his body under her soft touch. “You know one of the lessons my grandfather taught me and Orrin was to always know your surroundings. To be aware of everything around you, so you were prepared for it when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.” He shook his head slightly. “I’ve always known who I had as family and I’ve never questioned that. I had my grandfather. He raised us and taught both me and Orrin everything we knew. The one thing I shared with that old man was the fact that him and me were the same kind of man. People used to call us soulless because neither of us had any feelings. We didn’t laugh or cry, we couldn’t love or hate, we just were. That was the one thing he and I shared.”
“And Orrin?” she dared to ask.
Bane shrugged. “Orrin was Orrin. I was told when he came to live with us when I was eight and he was four that he was my brother. But he had a light in his eyes that grandpa and I didn’t. He was softer somehow, I guess you could say more human.” Then he paused and shook his head. “I never thought about it until now but if Orrin was my brother, that meant my parents were still alive at that time. I should have asked grandpa back then what the hell was going on but it just never occurred to me to ask.” He shook his head. “That’s how far gone I was as a kid I guess. I simply didn’t care one way or the other.”
Sarah shook her head and laid it on his back. “You’re wrong about that. You do have feelings. You just never had any reason to express them.”
Bane explained what he meant, “There is a long line in the history of our family. Some of the men born into it have suffered from a condition like what my grandfather and I have. It goes back to the time of King Richard when a member of the Jessin family saved the life of that king by killing a man hell bent on killing him. Richard rewarded the man by making him one of his top knights. The man went on to hunt down Richard’s enemies with a lust, they say. And for every generation since then, men like grandpa and I have become born killers.” Bane turned to face her. “Born to it, Sarah.”
Sarah looked into his eyes. “Maybe that is true, but you got tired of that life and when Bastian offered you a do over, you took him up on it,” Sarah reminded him.
Bane scoffed at her reasoning. “A fuck lot of good it did me. My old life seems to keep trying to suck me back into it, even though I don’t want it. Like it has a life of its own...”
Sarah leaned her head to his chest just over where his heart was beating. She could hear the steady pounding in her ear and it calmed her fears. “I am listening to the beating of your heart, Bane. It is there and real. It is also capable of feeling. It holds love and caring. I don’t care what you say about your family line or the coldness you think you are apart of. I have been the recipient of your feelings. Don’t lose faith in it. Don’t lose what you have learned to feel. I don’t want to lose you. And I won’t lose you to your past.” She pulled back and framed his face in her soft hands. “I won’t lose you. Do you understand?”
Bane looked into her eyes, then he pulled her tightly to him and kissed her deeply. He would fight it all, he would find the truth about his dark past and still keep his future safe. Finally, he released Sarah.
Her face was again pink, as she touched her lips with her fingers. “I-I...”
Bane almost smirked at her cute stuttering.
She swallowed heavily and said, “I am going to see what the guys want me to order for dinner. I am assuming you want a steak, rare, baked potato with butter only and maybe I can talk you into a real salad?”
Bane shook his head. “You got it perfect and I will try to eat those horrid green things if you want me to.”
Sarah giggled as she left the room.
Bane took his cell from his jacket pocket and swiped the screen. He tapped the contact number.
“Deke here,” came the reply.
“Bane here,” he countered.
A sigh came over the phone. “Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I need access to the house I granted to Cricket,” Bane replied.
A pause.
“Okay...” Deke went on, “The only problem with that is it is now an orphanage of sorts.”
It was Bane’s turn to pause. “What?”
“Cassie took it over and donated it to a group that is part of Redemption House. It takes in kids from violent homes.”
“I only need access to an area that would not house a human being.”
“Okay... and what the hell does that mean?” Deke demanded.
“If you could ask Cassie’s permission for me to be allowed access to part of the property, I would appreciate it.”
Again... a pause.
Then Deke replied, “I will. Then I will call you back.” He ended the call.
Bane swiped his phone shut. He appreciated Tory. He never asked too many questions unless it involved the safety of his family and men. It was an honorable stance. He turned and went to find Sarah.
Geneva New York
By midmorning the next day, three vehicles pulled into the driveway. Parking at the house Bane walked away from a little over two years ago, when he went off in his search to save Cricket’s life.
They joined the two vehicles already there and Bane frowned when he reached out to shut down the engine of his SUV. There on the porch sat Cricket and Raine along with Deke and Sam Tory.
<
br /> When they got out of their vehicles and approached the front of the house, Cricket got to her feet nervously and waited for her uncle to approach. She was wringing her hands together and the skin on the backs of her hands was almost rubbed raw.
Raine stepped up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders seemed to calm her down some.
Bane looked over at Deke and Sam, taking in their wary expressions.
Deke spoke first, “When you called to tell us you were coming here today, I told Cricket and thought maybe we should be here too.”
Bane stood back and narrowed his eyes at the other men. “I believe I told you why I was coming here and that I wouldn’t do any damage to the place. I am just after something I left here before.”
Deke nodded. “They took the children to Redemption House for a couple of days. I felt this was the best thing to do. Cricket wanted nothing to do with the house or the property inside. All she wanted was her father’s dagger’s back. Then she found the money and the note in the safe. She didn’t want it but she couldn’t leave it behind either. She set up a future for Dusty and gave some to Redemption house as a charitable donation. But there’s still a lot of money left if you want it back.”
Bane shook his head. “I don’t care about the money. That was for her and the boy. I had more.” He turned to Cricket and watched as she broke away from Raine’s embrace and made her way toward him.
When she stopped directly in front of him, she looked him in the eyes and spoke softly, “Uncle, all my life I’ve had reason to fear you, but I never knew why. When I was growing up, I remember seeing you only one time and that time I thought you were the devil himself. Back then, I was probably right. Then I met you again when I was grown up and you still scared the hell out of me. You came to the club that day and you told me that unless I did what you asked of me you would kill every single one of the men there.” When he went to say something, she held up her hand to stop him. “I did what you asked and you ordered me to stay away from you and I did, but you couldn’t stay away from me. You came back with your son and you threatened not only my life but that of an innocent child. You took something that meant a great deal to me because you thought you could. I always hated you for that. Those daggers didn’t mean anything to me. In fact, I hated them but they belonged to my dad and I loved him. Then you came to me one more time to tell me there was a contract out on me and you led me to believe that you would kill me to fulfill that contract. When I demanded three days, you gave them to me. Then you went and murdered the man threatening me.” She paused then said, “Our relationship has been a rollercoaster, mostly on my side of course because nothing you threw at me seemed to bother you a bit.” She paused then cocked her head to one side. “I had to wonder though why you kept coming back when it was clear from the beginning that you had no feelings for me either way.”