Page 65 of Reaper

“Bones wants to let Frank back into the family. He has done well on his own, and he thinks he’s an asset. I told him what he did to me and then left. I think he knew.”

“Oh, Nico,” she says, as she lifts her hand and runs her fingers through my hair.

“Are you sure? Did he say something that made you think that?”

“No. I can’t explain it well, but when he told me his plans, it felt like a punch to the gut. Like he was trying to punish me for being such a pain in the ass.”

She sits up and gazes into my eyes. “You should talk to him, Nico. He’s your brother. We’re not all given a family that cares about us. If he knew, and still did that, then yes, you should never speak to him again. But Nico, what if he didn’t?”

I open my mouth to respond, but am interrupted by the doorbell and instantly I know it’s one of my brothers, because nobody else can get beyond the gate. Bella climbs off my lap, and I run a hand through my hair as I go to open the door.

Kage stands in front of me, with a look I’ve never seen on his face. I look around him to see if he’s alone.

He shakes his head.

“It’s just me.”

I nod and say, “Come in.”

We walk to the living room, and Bella says hello to him.

“I’ll give you two some time. Do you mind if I use your laptop, Nico?”

Kissing her quickly, I say, “Help yourself.”

I sit on one end of the couch, and Kage takes a seat on the other.

“Bones is pretty fucked up about what you said. We didn’t know, man. Fuck, if we did, we would’ve killed him. Maybe dad couldn’t bring himself to kill his own damn brother, but we would have.”

Leaning back in the seat, I rest my head against the wall.

“I reacted. This was something I never planned to tell any of you, and when he said he was considering letting him back into the family, and the business, I exploded.”

He nods. “I get it. Fuck, I wish someone would’ve told us. We were told you had a bad stomach bug, and that’s why you were in the hospital.”

Turning towards him, I say, “Dad told mom it was not to be spoken about, and you know she always listened to what he said. Speaking of, has anyone heard from her?”

He shakes his head with a chuckle.

“She’s still on that cruise. The Caribbean, I think. Bones said she’s supposed to be back before the baby is born.”

Kage looks at me, and I know his next words will make him uncomfortable.

“Look, man. I am not good with feelings. I’m probably the worst out of the four of us, but you were a kid. It wasn’t your fault. What happened to you is fucked up. You don’t get to decide you aren’t our brother, because you always will be. This is your way, Reaper. You hurt, and you shut everyone out that you can’t kill.”

He groans loudly. “Alright, I’m done. That’s my maximum capacity for emotional conversation.”

I chuckle at him.

“Bones sent you for this shit?”

“Well, he didn’t think you’d open the door for him, so that left me and Psycho. He was afraid one of you would end up dead, because neither of you assholes think shit through.”

I can’t disagree with him. Psycho and I have both always been loose cannons.

He grins wide, like a little boy that’s so proud of himself.

“So, how’d I do? Pretty good, right?”

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