Absolution

by S. Kirkpatrick

  Liz comes to stand smack dab in the middle of the testosterone, a knowing smirk on her lips. Gesturing back and forth, she makes her introductions.

  “I’d like everyone to say hello to Brody Cummings. The love of Remi’s life and the father of her child.”

  If my brother was shocked to hear that I have a daughter, his face doesn’t show it in the slightest.

  “Brody, meet Ruger, Remi’s brother that helped her escape. And these two…” She says, pointing to the other two massive men that walked out of the clearing with Ruger. “Are her other two brothers, Colt and Wesson.”

  “Wait, what?” I ask, completed shocked.

  Liz takes my hand in hers and brings me closer to my brothers that I’ve never met before. At least, not that I can remember.

  “Sometimes I forget that you don’t remember anything before the basement and that you never really knew your other two brothers. Even if you did, I’m sure they look much different now.” She laughs.

  She points each one out, showing me which one is Colt and which one is Wesson. Wesson is the scariest looking one of them all. Covered in scars, even more than me, including on his face. His eyes look menacing and uncaring. But when I take a step closer to him, I watch his body language soften and I can tell that there’s so much more to the scary man than meets the eye.

  Colt, the oldest of us all, gives me the world’s most awkward hug as if the gesture is something he’s unfamiliar with. Out of all of my brothers, he and I are the ones that look the most alike. From our bone structure to the color of our hair, to the shape of our eyebrows, there’s no denying that we’re related. The only real difference in our appearance, aside from him being a ginormous mountain of a man, is his eyes. They’re two different colors.

  Apparently feeling uncomfortable under my scrutiny, he takes a moment to clear his throat before filling me in on some of the finer details that I’m missing.

  “When Liz found out about the leak and that you and your daughter were in danger, she called Ruger to ask for help. Ruger made it official club business to get our asses here as fast as possible and come help. He finally came clean and told us the truth about you and what he had to do to keep you safe. We’ve uh… We thought you were dead this whole time.” Colt confesses.

  Ruger kept my secret.

  Anyone else in the world might be mad, hurt, or upset that their family thought they were dead and that no one knew the truth. That no one was helping them, looking out for them, or protecting them in any of the conventional ways.

  Or even in the criminal ways for that matter.

  But I know the truth.

  I know how much it killed Ruger not to be able to help me more than getting me out and getting me in touch with Liz. I know how much it went against his nature, our father’s nature, to keep my secret and let me work with the feds. Telling anyone in the club anything, family or not, would have not only been a death wish for him but inadvertently a death wish for me too.

  Liz explained MC mentality to me a long time ago when I was hurting over the fact that I had brothers out there that I couldn’t turn to for help. She explained to me that in my brother’s world, working with the feds makes you a rat. In the eyes of the MC, that’s something that will never be tolerated, no matter what’s at stake. Little sister or not. Child sex trafficking or not. Being a rat gets you killed. No questions asked.

  Ruger broke the laws of his world for me. He kept my secret and protected me in the only way he could until my uncle was dead and the RICO case that I desperately wanted was in motion. Until the monsters that hurt me had paid for their crimes.

  We were both kids when this whole thing started. Back then, neither of us knew how far or how long this would stretch out to be. By the time he was an adult with enough strength, power, and clout, to do something else to help… He was locked into the laws of the MC, understanding that him helping any more than he already had, equaled death for us all.

  But the minute there was trouble, the minute we were at risk, once we thought it was all over… He was here. He risked his own life to go to the MC. He risked losing the only lifestyle he’s ever known, the only family he grew up with… All to come and save me, a sister who might as well be a stranger. Liz, an active FBI agent, and a three-year-old little girl that he’s never even met.

  I don’t care what kind of negative shit someone wants to try and say about my brother. He’s my goddamn hero.

  “Please don’t kill him for working with Liz!” I belt out, fearful for what might happen to him now that they all know the truth.

  My three brothers share a look with each other before bursting out into laughter, shaking their heads at my request.

  “James is dead so he can’t do shit now. Ruger didn’t put the club at risk and Liz has no interest in pursuing us for anything outside of our help with this. He’s safe, Remington, don’t worry.”

  Ruger pulls me into a side hug, squeezing my neck a little in jest.

  “Nice to know you care, Lil Sis.”

  Liz looks at Ruger and me together with unshed tears in her eyes. “It’s over now, Rem. Oaklynn’s safe and now… Now you’re free.”

  “I want to see him. Show me his body.” I demand.

  “He’s buried in the same hole Liz’s old man will be placed in here soon. She knew you’d want proof though so Wesson got a picture for you.”

  Wesson digs his phone out of his pocket, clicks the screen a few times, and wordlessly passes it over to me. What started with me just needing to see a dead man’s face becomes so much more the moment the photo comes into focus in my eyes.

  Because that man… The rogue FBI agent… The leak…

  He was one of my monsters.

  ”My uncle called him LT. I always assumed it was a nickname for his initials. But it wasn’t, was it?”

  I look up, meeting Liz’s eyes as my question falls to her to answer.

  “Maggie figured it all out. I just hoped you wouldn’t ever have to know.”

  “That he was one of the men from the basement? That he’s the first man my uncle let pay to abuse me? That he’s the one who wanted to buy me for himself?”

  Liz nods her agreement with every word I speak. Confirming the ‘why’ behind it all.

  “What does LT mean?” I ask.

  “I checked his file. Back then his rank was lieutenant. A common abbreviation for that is LT. Your uncle knew he was a dirty fed. He had him on his payroll. He’s the one the made sure your uncle always found you.”

  “But why was he coming after Oaklynn?” Brody asks.

  Liz chews on her lips, not wanting to answer, but knowing that we won’t give her the option not to.

  “She looks just like you, Rem…” She whispers.

  Remembering all the talks my uncle and his goons had back in the basement about what would happen if I ever got pregnant, remembering the way LT coveted my young age…

  That sick fuck wanted my daughter as a replacement for me.

  The fury I feel toward a dead man is unparalleled. The hate I have for him is more potent than anything I ever felt towards James. James wanted to hurt me. He had no idea I even had a daughter. LT never told him because he wanted Oaklynn for himself.

  I only wished that I could have been the one to pull the trigger.

  “And now look at them.” I say, handing the phone back to Wesson and moving to cuddle up in Brody’s arms, knowing that right now we both need to feel the other in order to not lose our shit over what we just found out. “Now they’re both worm food.”

  “Holy fuck, you have the Jameson spirit.” Ruger says, nodding his approval.

  I smile at my brothers, allowing this unfamiliar feeling to settle over my entire being.

  Peace.

  I finally found my peace.

  It may have been found in a graveyard with my best friend covered in dirt and blood. It may have been found with a courtyard full of strangers, including my estranged
brothers.

  But it was also found with Brody by my side. Our daughter safely tucked away. My body no more scarred up than it was yesterday.

  At the end of the day, I have to believe that Henry would have been glad to have this all happen the day we laid his body to rest. Now his soul can rest too. Knowing the girls he loved and left behind are alive and well. Moving forward instead of backward.

  Together.

  Safe.

  Happy.

  In my heart I know that’s all he wanted for us. So I have to believe that Henry’s soul has found peace now too.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Brody

  The funeral was beautiful. Most of the town came, showing their support of the favorite local bartender who always provided a safe haven for those who either wanted to celebrate, drown their sorrows, or if you’re Remi, hide out.

  No one batted at an eye at the army of MC members in full leather cuts, scars, tattoos, and crazy piercings as they gathered near the front to pay their respects to the man who loved Remi when they didn’t even know she existed.

  Henry was beloved by all. That much was clear to anyone who knew him or anyone that saw the turnout at his funeral.

  Remi and Liz gave beautiful eulogies, honoring their dad together, showing the world that although he’s gone, they plan to continue to keep his spirit alive. Liz is still holding out hope that Remi will take over Henry’s bar, but I saw the hesitancy in my Little Wolf’s eyes when she asked for some time to think it over.

  I don’t think she could handle being back inside the bar every day, being forced to remember the day Henry’s life ended. I don’t think doing something like that would ever allow her to heal. But at the end of the day, it’s her choice and I’ll support her no matter what she decides.

  For now, though, she said she was able to be here tonight. To be back in the bar, having our own little after-funeral wake, honoring Henry in the only way he would have allowed. With good booze, better music, and the best people.

  Liz hired a team to come run the place for the night, but she knows it’s a short-term solution. As much as she wants Remi to run the place, I think she knows deep down, just like I do, that the answer will be no.

  Remi, Max, and Liz are all huddled up at the jukebox, sharing laughs and wiping tears as they determine what song to play next. There are so many memories that we’ve all made in this bar. Separately and together. Some of which started the first time Abel picked a song on that very jukebox. To this day I think that’s the only reason he and Max even ended up together. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that it seems we’ve all come full circle.

  “You watch her like you’re still afraid she’ll disappear.”

  Ruger pulls up an empty seat at the table all of the guys and I are sitting at, watching the girls as they roam through the crowds.

  “I don’t know if the day will ever come where I will stop worrying that when I blink she’ll be gone like she was never there to begin with.”

  He nods his head, accepting my fears, but at least he’s smart enough not to try and argue with me that they’re unwarranted. He might not have ever been able to be an active part of her life, but he’s kept on her with Liz throughout the years.

  “I’ve memorized every scar, cut, scrape, and bruise on her body. The next time I see her, if there’s a new one, you and I are gonna have some problems.”

  I smile to myself when I think of how many marks his baby sister has begged me to put on her body over the years. How many bruises I hope to pepper all over her perky ass tonight, if I’m lucky.

  Hell, it’ll be as much therapy for me as it is for her at this point. I crave the sounds that crawl their way out of her throat, the way the goosebumps raise up on her skin as the leather tendrils of her favorite flogger skate their way across her back.

  We need to connect like that again. We need to feed the darker parts of each other’s souls that only we can give to the other. It’s been too long since we’ve connected and my body is itching to make it happen again sooner rather than later.

  “Don’t even think about speaking that thought out loud, dude. Whatever just caused that dirty smile, keep it to yourself. I’d hate to have to kill you right here and now. We’ve buried enough bodies for one day.”

  Apparently, I didn’t keep that smile to myself after all.

  “How about we both agree that if the day ever comes where I deserve a bullet between the eyes that I show up on your doorstep with a loaded gun ready to go. I’ll never do anything to harm her. I’d cut my own heart out before I ever did something like that.”

  There’s so much truth in that statement. It’s one of the reasons I needed to stay away from her while I sorted through the chaos in my mind. I’d never lay a hand on her in any negative way, but I didn’t trust myself not to say anything that would in turn cut her as deeply as a knife. Even when I was angry with her, I loved her too goddamn much to ever do something like that.

  The table around us goes quiet, all of their side conversations halting when they overhear what’s going on between the two of us. His MC, and his true blood brothers. My brothers by choice, not by blood, all of them listen intently. You can’t even hear a single one of them inhale a breath as they wait for Ruger to respond.

  He looks at me. I mean really, really looks at me, as if he’s reading the pages of a book, devouring its contents. It’s not acceptance, dismissal, or even disbelief that colors his face. All responses I would expect to see after a statement like that.

  It’s intrigue. It’s awe. It’s captivation.

  “You really would, wouldn’t you?”

  “Cut my own heart out for her? Fuck yeah, I would. What your sister and I have together is way more the bullshit love that most people look for, that some people find. What she and I have goes beyond all of that. It’s stronger than anything I’ve ever known. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to love and protect her. Even from myself if the world was ever cruel enough to make it so.”

  Ruger knocks on the wood table in front of us, as if locking in the answer I just gave him.

  “Fuck, I need to get back home. I have my own psycho little maniac that I need to get back to.”

  “That was more about you than it was about me, wasn’t it?”

  “That depends, does the idea of my sister lighting you on fire in your sleep turn you on?”

  The shock and confusion that immediately covers my face makes him laugh which only serves to convince me even further that he’s just as insane as his sister.

  Scratch that. He’s ten times more insane than Remi.

  “Absolutely fucking not.”

  “Then yeah, it was more about me.” The smirk that lifts one side of his face makes me shake my head.

  These Jameson’s… The world isn’t ready for them, I can tell you that much.

  “I’ll be seeing you, Brody. This is just the beginning for us. Now that James is dead and there’s nothing else keeping us from Remi, we’re gonna be a part of your lives. I hope you’re ready for what comes with that.”

  “An early grave.” I mumble.

  He laughs as if I’m joking, but you can practically smell the crazy rolling off of these three. “Nah, just us brothers. We’ll keep the MC out of her life. She’s gone through enough.”

  I get up and give him a back slap, walking with him as he makes his way across the bar to find Remi so that he can say his goodbyes. We interrupted her telling Max a story about when Henry tried teaching her how to change a flat tire and she thought she crushed him under the car when the jack slipped.

  “He teased me relentlessly after that. Always making jokes anytime I got near a low sitting car.”

  The girls all laugh together as I scoot in next to my yellow-eyed beauty, wrapping her in my arms, not liking how many minutes have passed since I was able to do it last. Now that I know I have her, that I get to keep her by my side, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to let m
yself share her with anyone.

  I’m selfish when it comes to Remi. To her love, to her smiles. To being the one that knows her better than anyone else.

  “Your brothers need to get on the road, Little Wolf. Wanna walk them out?”

  The smile. Holy fuck, the smile that she gives me makes me want to storm out of here with her thrown over my shoulder, locking us up together, away from the rest of the world.

  “Will you come with me?” She asks, her fingers dancing across the bare skin on my arms, leaving tingles in their wake.

  “Anywhere and everywhere, love. Just point the way.”

  I capture her lips with my own before releasing her into the arms of her brother, her rescuer, and walk with the group of crazy-ass Jameson’s throughout the crowded bar.

  Right outside the front doors, damn near forming a barricade to the front entrance, are some of the most beautiful bikes lined up one after another, in perfect formation.

  One of the brothers catches me eyeing the lineup and smiles in my direction. “Liz tells me you and your friends own a shop. You should think about branching out to Vegas. We could always use a trusted hand back home to work on our bikes.”

  I think it’s the most amount of words Colt has spoken since he told us how they ended up here in Deacon Hill at Liz’s request. With the patch on his chest that reads ‘President,’ it’s safe to assume he was more worried about surveying the environment, letting his younger siblings have all the time together that they could get before they had to go back home.

  Remi cuts in before I have a chance to decline his offer. “No offense, but the last thing in the world that I want to do is step a single foot inside Nevada state limits ever again. The years I spent there were more than enough for me. So unless Brody plans to leave me behind, I think it’s best for us, and for Oaklynn, if we keep our distance.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

  “I guess that just means we’ll be taking more coastal vacations in the future then. We just got you back, Rem. We don’t plan to let you go again. You’re family.”