Silas
I make my way back into the office to see the three of them huddled together. This can’t be good and I wonder what they’re up to. “What’s going on?” I ask once I’m behind my desk.
“Destiny okay?” Jonas questions. “And to answer your question, we were just talking.” I’ll give them that play. For now.
“That little minx was doing it on purpose,” I reply, chuckling.
“Are you serious?” Atticus inquires. “Typical. Bet Piper would do the same thing.” That’s probably where she gets it from. Piper is good at keeping all of us men on our damn toes.
“No doubt. Don’t let her have a bell, Brother, or you’ll be doing the same fucking thing I’ve been doing all morning.”
“Where’s she at now?” Jonas questions me.
“Living room on the couch,” I state. “Let’s get this finished.” Time to move on and find out what we need to know from our dear sister. She probably doesn’t even realize that she has knowledge we need. “Okay, Athena, so you saw our father from time to time and found out about us. Why didn’t you approach us before?”
“I didn’t think you’d welcome me with open arms. I mean, he made sure I knew that I wasn’t a wanted member of your family. But I love teaching, just don’t want to be in a school setting. I prefer a one-on-one setting with my student. I love this job. I care deeply for Damien, Raven knew…”
“Hold the fuck up,” I insist, holding up my hand. “Explain the whole Raven knew comment.”
“She ran a background check on me and knew I was related to y’all. Since everything else came back clear, she said it wouldn’t be an issue.” I see Jonas furiously texting and know that he’s reaching out to Raven right now. Guess she wasn’t fully forthcoming during their ‘discussion’ they recently had and I suspect she’ll feel it once again.
“Someone’s got some ‘splainin’ to do,” Atticus singsongs in his best Ricky Ricardo interpretation. I swear to Christ, there are times I think he was dropped one time too many as a child.
“It didn’t bother you knowing you had a twin?” Jonas bids. I can hear the hurt in his tone but don’t think that the other two caught it. As the youngest, he was always a bit more sensitive. Not that I’d say that to him because he’d try to kick my ass. The operative word being ‘try’ of course.
“I didn’t know until y’all showed me that page that we were twins, Jonas,” Athena mutters. “But it makes sense now that I think about it. I’ve always felt like a part of me was missing and now I know why.”
“I just don’t get how Father could’ve separated us that way. We are part of a whole,” Jonas drones.
“Because he was a ruthless bastard and knew we’d protect her from him and his ‘lessons’ is why,” I explain my thoughts. The thought of him beating a defenseless girl makes me see red and I’m glad now that he separated her from us. We all still bear the physical scars of his abuse and while we didn’t deserve it, I’d hate for a woman to have those same memories.
“There has to be more to it than that,” Atticus pipes in.
“We may never know all of his reasonings,” I implore. “He was a man full of mysteries.”
“So how else can I help you?” Athena asks, breaking into my thoughts. “I’m not sure I know anything else, but who knows?”
“Did he ever say anything in front of you that made you question his acts? What he was up to? Did he ever give you a reason for why you were separated from us, your brothers?” Jonas whips out the list of questions.
“He said that he didn’t know how to raise a girl,” she admits. Fuck that, he didn’t know how to raise kids, period!
“What about other names? Anyone he might have brought around?” Jonas is relentless now, firing off question after question.
“No, no one was brought around. But, I did overhear a conversation one time that I thought was odd that he’d bring up.” She ponders the thought.
“What was said, do you remember?” Atticus jumps in, sitting forward in his chair. He’s like a wound-up spring, ready to pounce right now. I realize we’re all on edge, but think we need to dial it back a notch.
“It was something about a family. He had to take out the lead man, but was worried over this man’s daughter. Apparently, she was more vicious and menacing than the dad. Our father wanted to make sure that I was protected from this family, he wanted my identity wrapped up securely to where it wouldn’t be known that I was blood related to any of you. It was weird, he’d never acted as if he cared before. I have always wondered what was so bad about this family that it freaked him out.”
“What was the family’s name?” Jonas asks.
“Brimstone,” she replies. I grab the ledger and start navigating through the pages because I remember reading that name.
“Fuck me,” I whisper when I find the page. Looking at my brothers then Athena, I continue, “Jenae Brimstone married Marcus Welch, Sr. and had one child, Marcus Welch, Jr. aka the man who terrorized Ralynn and the fuckers that we put down.”
“Holy fucking hell,” Jonas mutters. “I think we now know who ‘Mrs. W’ is, don’t we?”
“Son of a bitch,” Atticus hisses when all of the pieces finally come together for us.
“That we do, little brother. Mrs. W is no other than Mrs. Marcus Welch. It seems our father took hers out, unwittingly leaving her in charge. And from what I’ve read, she’s a ruthless cunt.”
“Woman or not, she’s going down.” Atticus snarls the proclamation.
“Agreed and we need to inform Braxton and also Luca, since he’s over a different chapter. This shit is far reaching and I won’t have anyone we know suffering because she’s got a vendetta against our father and subsequently, us and our known associates and affiliates.”
“Silas?” Jonas catches my attention as he flips through the pages of the ledger. “Um… man, she’s after Braxton and his family for completely different reasons than their affiliation with us.”
“What?” I whip my head up and look over at him when he says this.
“Fucking hell. Braxton’s biological father is hers. Braxton is her brother, man.”
“What the fuck?” Atticus lowly whispers. “How is that even possible? Braxton’s dad raised him with Nan.”
“Fucking hell, Braxton’s gonna shit nails when he reads this further.” Jonas shakes his head as he continues to read.
“What all does it say?” I request.
“According to this, Nan was raped by Jenae’s father while Braxton’s ‘supposed’ father was overseas. She was terrorized by the fucker. Word was given to his commander and Braxton’s dad was sent home. She kept Braxton because the two of them were never supposed to have a child. Nan had been very ill as a child and was informed she’d never carry a baby to term. She considered him a miracle even though he was a product of rape. Man, this is gonna fuck his head up. And Nan, she’s buried one husband, married another, and has moved on with her life. This is going to do some damage to hers and Braxton’s relationship. He’s gonna hate himself for being conceived.”
“Do we tell him?” Atticus asks.
“Maybe we should bring Nan in first, give her a heads-up so she can be here when we have to tell him this information.” I dread this; he’s become a friend of sorts and I know this is going to tear him up.
“Poor Nan,” Jonas whispers as a tear falls down his cheek. “She’s such a vibrant, loving woman. How is she supposed to relive this hellish nightmare?”
“She’s very strong and resilient, but yeah, this is gonna be a fucking nightmare.” I sigh as I make the call to Nan. I know her man, Gino, will likely come along which is good because she’s gonna need all the support she can get.
12
Silas
Nan and Gino arrived and we brought them downstairs after grabbing drinks for everyone. Since we didn’t want her to have an audience, we sent Athena back upstairs. I take a deep breath and crouch in front of her, placing my hands on her knees. “Nan, what I
have to show you is going to hurt. I hate like hell that we have to bring back some ghosts from your past and cause you to relive a hell you’ve long since buried, but for the safety of your family, we have no other choice. Your past has reared its ugly head and is threatening the future of us all.”
I watch as she grips Gino’s hand in hers and I see when the realization dawns on her. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere,” Gino tells her. “I know all your secrets and if this is going to hurt our family, we have to face it head-on.”
“This is going to destroy my boy,” she whimpers as tears flow down her face. “I never wanted him to know about how he was conceived. He was my miracle and I never wanted him to know anything but love and joy. His dad loved him as if he were the reason I got pregnant, never once holding it over my head. How can I tell my boy something like this?” She’s sobbing now so I let Gino comfort her as I get the ledger from my desk and pull out the papers that were in the back.
Gino takes them and begins reading while making nonsensical noises to calm Nan down. “Sweetheart, you need to read these,” he finally says. His demeanor toward her hasn’t changed and I instinctively know that she’s told him all about her past. She takes the pages, her hands shaking, and begins to read.
“Braxton has a half-sister?” she mutters, flipping to the back. “She’s evil and vile, Gino, nothing like my boy.”
“He’s an honorable man,” I affirm.
“That he is,” she sighs.
“Shall I call him or do you want the honors?” I ask.
“It will be better coming from me.” Nan picks up her phone and dials Braxton’s number. I don’t pay attention to their conversation, instead I fall deep into thought of how hard my friend is going to take this discovery of information. I know how I would take it, and whereas Braxton is more levelheaded than me, he’s still a man, a man who is protective over his mother.
Nan
Once I called my boy, and explained to him that his presence was needed at the Nelson compound, he dropped everything, just like I knew he would and rushed over to aid me after my breakdown I suffered over the phone call. I tried to be strong, to hold it all in, but I was unsuccessful once I heard his voice over the receiver. He’s my world, was my rock when his father passed, gave me a reason to live when he gifted me my precious Lily. Then he made things better by adding Cara and Luca into our lives. Then, dear Lord, he double gifted me in the form of Landon and Layne.
How am I supposed to make all of that feel clean, especially seeing that what happened to me resulted in the most precious thing to ever enter into my life? If I had done what my parents wanted, I wouldn’t have the life I have now, one filled with love, laughter, and joy. I’m so grateful that my beloved husband loved Braxton as if he were his own flesh and blood and raised him to be an honorable, caring man. Never once, in all of our years together, did he treat either him or me differently because of the assault I suffered at another man’s hands.
“Mom? What’s going on? Why did I have to meet you and Gino here?” I glance up to see my son standing there and break down crying once again. I pray that he doesn’t hate me for keeping this secret from him.
“Give her a minute, Son,” Gino says as he pulls me into his arms and whispers in my ear. Long moments pass as I work to calm myself. Gino’s reassuring words and comfort are what give me the strength to move forward and share my deepest, darkest secrets with those surrounding me.
“B-Braxton, I called you here because I need to tell you something. Something that I never thought would see the light of day. But before I do, I need you to understand that I regret nothing because while it was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me, it gave me you and I love the life I’ve had with you in it,” I say.
“Mom, there’s nothing you could say or tell me that would ever change the way I feel about you. You’re my mom and I love and respect you. You may drive me crazy with how you insert yourself into things at the club sometimes, but that’s just how you are. You’re nurturing and generous, and I’ll never deny that what you’ve done for everyone has made life easier for all of us. Just tell me.”
I debate handing him the pages that we, Gino and I, have perused but decide that things would be best coming from me directly. “Back when your father was overseas, something happened to me. It was horrific at the time and I wasn’t sure I would recover, but then, I found out I was going to have a baby.” His deep, harsh breath has me looking at him and I reach out to pat his cheek. “I won’t go into details about that night, but suffice it to say, when I learned you were on the way, I was grateful for the miracle. You see, your dad and I were told that I would never be able to have children... biologically. We were considering adoption once he finished his tour because both of us wanted children and if we couldn’t have one or more of our own, we wanted to give kids who didn’t have a home one filled with love and laughter.”
“Mom.” That one word is tortured and I feel tears slipping down my face once again. “So, Dad isn’t… isn’t my dad?” he queries.
“He’s your dad in every way that matters except biologically,” I reiterate. “He knew how it all came about and other than worrying for my mental welfare, he didn’t care. He said it was a miracle and that while the circumstances behind your conception were terrible, not the way we envisioned you joining our family, we were blessed that you were the result. He loved you fiercely, Braxton, as do I,” I murmur. “This changes nothing, nothing at all.”
He says nothing for long moments, practically falling into a chair with his head in his hands. I wait to see how he’ll handle the news I just delivered once the shock wears off. When I see his shoulders shaking, I break away from Gino and go to his side, wrapping my arms around him. As far as I know, he’s never cried since his dad’s funeral. “H-how can you even stand to be around me knowing that I’m the product of rape, Mom?” he stutters out. “I’m a constant reminder of the worst time of your life. How, Mom, how?”
“Braxton, look at me,” I implore. “You take after my side of the family but even if you hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter. You’re my son, mine, and nothing will ever change that fact regardless of how you came to be about. Do you understand me?” I try to use my ‘mom’ voice, but it comes out shaky at best.
“Braxton, there’s more,” Silas interjects.
“More?” my son questions.
Silas
I sigh because while what he heard is earth-shattering, what I have to say next may just be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back. “Yeah. It seems that the rapist had a daughter, Jenae, and—”
“I have a half-sister out there?” Braxton interrupts. “What the fuck?”
“Read this,” I say, handing him the pages. He quickly skims through them and I see his agitation growing as he continuously runs his hand through his beard.
“What the fuck?” His question comes out barely above a whisper. “This… this woman married Welch and their spawn hurt one of mine? She’s dead, fucking dead.” His tone has turned deadly and I see the man he chose not to be when he left the military rise to the surface. “I don’t care if we’re related. My family is Cara and the kids, Nan, Gino, my brothers and their families. Not this bitch. How could someone do these things?” he asks, waving the pages around. “It’s like she’s the master player and we’ve all been pawns in her game.”
“I’m not sure which one of us, our families, are in more danger. She used her own son and husband to carry out the acts of violence she deemed necessary. Who uses their own son to do their dirty work?” I add. That last question is what’s baffled me since I learned of her misdeeds.
“A sociopath? Psychopath? Doesn’t matter, she needs to be sent straight to hell for the sheer horror she’s inflicted if even half of this shit I’ve read is accurate,” he bellows. “My question is, I can see where she needs me and my heirs eliminated, she doesn’t want anyone to have legal ties to the dirty money of her family. But why my officers, my brother
s, their families… it doesn’t make sense.”
“Because she knows they’d avenge you,” Atticus brainstorms. “She knows it, I know it, hell, we all know it. They wouldn’t let your family go without punishment.”
“And us, she wants us dead and buried because our father buried hers. It’s revenge on him using us for retribution. She’s sick, twisted, psycho, and she needs to be put down. She’s barely hanging onto sanity, she’s lethal and fucking scary. She’s also head of the damn men we just took down, so she’s also into human slavery. Sick bitch,” I insert.
“Gonna need to bring in Twisted, Hatch, Capone, and Jaxon. Maybe Luca. But not Law or Chief so they can have that plausible deniability should something go sideways,” Braxton says, pulling out his phone. Instead of calling, he sends a mass text and I mentally brace for more yelling once the others arrive.
“Agreed. But, we do need to inform Luca, his club indirectly is in danger because of his involvement with all of us.” Jonas looks off into space and I can tell by the look upon his face that he’s calculating which members to tell and which ones to leave in the dark. It’s something he does when processing the best scenario possible.
Braxton nods and I see him send another text, likely to Luca. “How soon before they get here?” I question when I see him glance at his phone.
“Well, we’ll probably have to call Luca and put him on speaker, but the others are on their way.”
“That might not be safe,” Jonas adds. “Anyone could pick up the conversation if we’re being monitored. Is there any way he can make a trip down? We can get started and then fill him in when he gets here. I’d feel a helluva lot better seeing as this cunt knows way too much about us and our doings.”
“You make a good point. Let me tell my boy to come on down,” Braxton replies as he once again pulls out his phone and sends a text. “Bet he’ll bring that damn dog,” he mumbles, a grin on his face.
Seeking Our Destiny : Nelson Brothers' Page 11