Silence descended slowly on the room, and a contented smiled graced my lips. Flame, tired and spent, rolled to the side, his large leg and arm automatically draping over mine. Turning to face him on our shared pillow, I stroked my hand down his face, this simple act conveying how so completely he held my heart.
Flame caught my hand, and holding it next to his cheek, rasped, “I’m gonna board up that hatch in my living room.”
My eyes closed and I sighed a relieved sigh. Flame’s hand clutched mine tighter. I opened my eyes, only for him to add, “And I’m gonna talk to Asher. I’m… I’m gonna talk to my… brother… at least I’m gonna fucking try.”
And the tears did flow this time. They poured and they cascaded down my cheeks. Because I knew he had broken through. My Flame, my tortured boy, had broken through the last of his defenses. He had found his voice. Flame, my always and forever, had found his song, like I had found mine.
And through our love, he had finally found the courage to sing.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Flame
“And so the psycho returns… again!”
I pulled my bike to a stop in the yard of the compound, Vike already smoking up the grill, and all the brother’s and their bitches drinking and having a good time.
I slid off my bike and lifted Maddie from the saddle. I placed her on the ground and, immediately, her eyes drifted off to the men sitting near Viking. I followed her line of sight, and there he was, Asher. Sitting next to AK. And the kid was already watching me, sitting on the edge of his seat.
Maddie’s hand landed on my chest and she said, “Go to him. I wish to say hello to my sister.”
My heart kicked into high gear, but I dropped my head to Maddie. “Okay.”
Smiling, she lifted to her toes and pressed a kiss to my lips. Then she pulled away, walking to the group of bitches standing to the side.
Hearing a whistle, I looked back over to my brothers. Styx was waving me over. Taking a deep breath, I headed to the group who were all sitting on chairs, eating and knocking back their poison of choice.
A bottle of beer was immediately thrust into my hand. I knocked the top off, just as Styx signed, “You get your shit sorted, brother?”
I read his hands and nodded my head. Ky sat forward and pointed to Asher. “Fucking good little brother you got here, Flame. Smart little shit. He’s got a fucking brain, unlike some of the fucks round here.”
Without looking at Asher, I nodded my head again. But a fucking huge crash of pride ran through me. Asher was smart. Asher had a fucking chance.
Ky sat back in his chair and shrugged at Styx when I didn’t reply.
Tanner walked toward me. I met eyes with one of the only brothers who matched my size, and he said, “Got Little Ash set up with new records, social security and all that shit. Your old man never registered his birth. Had no trace. But he belongs to the Lone Star state now, brother. Said he was homeschooled by his mama until she died. Styx told me to get a tutor to get him up to speed with what he’s missed, which by talking to the kid, will take about five fucking minutes. I’ve got him in a good school nearby, when he’s ready. Private. Discrete. Small. Cash exchanged a few hands, not all of it entirely fucking legal, but at least it’s all done. Your little bro’s here to stay, Flame. He’s the baby of the Hangmen now. We got his fucking back. All good?”
My chest squeezed in gratitude, but I couldn’t find the words to fucking reply. The kid had been taught shit. He’d actually been schooled. That was more than I ever had, and I was so fucking happy about that fact.
Tanner flicked his chin at me and sat down. Then it went real fucking quiet. I ripped the label off my beer as I built myself up. Taking a real long deep inhale, I looked up at Asher. I already had his attention. He was still watching me, his eyes looking so fucking much like Isaiah’s and mine that it was surreal.
Someone coughed, causing me to snap the fuck round and flick my head toward the line of trees. “Come with me,” I ordered. Asher’s eyes grew wide.
I didn’t wait for him to get up. Instead I took a swig of my beer and pounded through the circle of club pussy hanging around and onto the raised verge. From up here you could see right over the forest surrounding the compound and out to the empty acres beyond.
I heard the shuffling of Asher’s boots first, then his deep breathing. Without looking back, I flicked my hand. “Sit down.”
I counted six seconds until he dropped beside me. Not too close, sitting about a foot away. And he didn’t say shit to me, just sat there, head hanging low, eyes to the ground.
I pictured Maddie and me in that fucking church. And I told myself that this kid, my blood, wasn’t going anywhere. That he was here to stay and that I wouldn’t fucking hurt him. I thought it, tried to get it through my head, but it was real fucking hard to believe.
Taking another swig of my Bud, I lowered the bottle and asked, “You doing good?”
Asher tensed, then nodded his head. “Yeah.”
I blinked, trying to think what to say next, when I asked, “AK treating you good?”
Another nod of the head and another, “Yeah.”
I knew this wasn’t going real well. I couldn’t fucking talk to folk. I couldn’t ever fucking say anything right. Asher looked out over the woods, but I looked to my left, watching his face. Fucking seeing me in that face. Seeing the same kid I once was. And like me, Asher had been kept in that cellar… and fuck knows what else.