“She was stealing?” King asks her.
“Yes, I didn’t want her to get in trouble so I never told anyone. In public, she acts like she’s a sweet, kind, giving person, but when those doors closed or she didn’t think we were watching, she was a horrid person,” Tana says.
“How did we not see this coming?” King asks.
“She’s family,” Viktor shrugs.
“But the Lane thing?” Holden asks.
“King got Lane off the street, and he stayed with Remo and Embry until King’s remodel was done. He seemed nice, but then again it was because people were watching, including the cops. He beat his old man. After the other few incidents, we begged Kingston to send him on his way. Embry was his cheerleader and Kingston with his big heart, gave in to his little sister,” Viktor replies.
“Next time, someone slap me,” King grumbles.
“My pleasure,” Viktor grins.
“Why is she still siding with that dick?” Piper asks.
“Because it’s her middle finger to us,” King states and Remo nods.
“So petty jealousy?”
“I’m not defending her in any way, but she didn’t get to live a dream if she ever had one. She was married before the ink dried on her high school diploma, then she started having kids,” Tana says.
“So you’re saying she didn’t get to live a life?” Piper asks and Tana nods.
“She thought she was pregnant before we graduated high school so I married her. I loved her and would do anything for her,” Remo says.
“Is she possibly on drugs?” I ask, since the Embry I met was a nice person.
“Maybe, it’s hard to say unless we catch her in the act, we’ll never know. Whatever it is, Lane has his grip on her. She chose him over us,” King mumbles.
“Remo, I did find the father. And I have spoken to him. He’s a good man, one of mine. He knows he fucked up, by sleeping with her, but he didn’t know about the pregnancies. He said she would show up from time to time here in the city, spend time with him, talking about how you both were fighting. He’s sorry about all of it. He wants to meet them and be in their lives. He has that right and I know that sucks to hear, but he wants you to be in their lives still since you did raise them,” Viktor says.
Remo sits there, stunned in silence for a minute.
“I don’t know who I married. She said she was coming to visit Tana and I never questioned her,” he hangs his head in defeat.
“Tomorrow I’m setting up a time for you to meet Luca. You can talk to him, work things out. If it’s okay with you, I want to keep the kids when you go back to Florida. We will do this gradually. They will stay here for a few more days and then go back to Florida. We will do it like that until they are comfortable. The jet is at your disposal whenever you want to see them,” Viktor claps his shoulder. My heart breaks for Remo.
“Thank you,” Remo says. Though he looks like he’s going to lose it. He did. His wife hurt him. Lane hurt him, not physically but when the heart hurts that’s worse. I can’t help but go back to Lane’s story. It sounds so much like Lennon’s. How can people be so cruel to their kids?
“Shall we get dinner started?” Tana asks me and I nod, letting them talk more.
“Pretty heavy. Sure you still want to marry my brother?” she asks me.
“With all of my heart,” I tell her.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she says as we move in tandem getting the stuff together.
I mean it when I say with all of my heart. Kingston is my other half.
Kingston
Dinner with family is just what I think we all needed, especially Remo. I know that Embry is my sister but she’s wrong in what she did.
After dinner, we go to the living room to watch videos of Aiden’s latest fights, while Tana and Briar clean up.
“He’s improved since the last time I fought him,” I say, leaning back on the couch.