Page 148 of Timeless

“Amber, can I talk to you for a minute?” Cole threw down the rest of his beer, swallowing it quickly and then placed the empty on the coffee table. His eyes on his sister. “Maybe remind you of what I told you the other day?”

Cole was always the fucking one to get in the way of Amber and me. He didn’t want me with his sister, he never had. Clearly, his opinion hadn’t changed. I glanced at Amber in time to see her shaking her head.

“I’m good, Cole. I just need a shower.” She then gave him a smile. Cole went from giving her firm look to glaring at her.

“Well, you are capable of showering on your own. So off you go,” Cole snapped at her. “Jax can help us get pizza. Last time I checked, he was a picky eater.” He then gave me a smug look. “God forbid the king gets the wrong topping on his pizza.”

Cock blocking me. Real mature, Cole. Well, I couldn’t just roar at them to do what they were told. The problem I was having with them was they were Amber’s brothers. It was the core problem of mine and Amber’s relationship. They would always get fucking involved and what really sucked, was I couldn’t just pull them in line as if they were another member.

Because no other member would dare do what Cole was doing right now. In fact, Troy’s and Tyler’s reaction wouldn’t have been acceptable either.

But they weren’t just members to my club. As much as I hated to say it, I saw them as family.

Over the last six years, my relationship with them wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. But still, we had this understanding. They weren’t just any member to my club. They were Amber’s brothers. Now Jack’s uncles. And as much as I would love to fucking roar at them to do what they were told, I couldn’t.

They wanted me to go slow with Amber. I guess that meant I had to behave and wait what they thought was an appropriate time before I could sneak off with Amber. I sighed and let go of Amber’s hand.

Cole couldn’t hide his smile. “Off you go, Amber. Take as much time you want. We can look after Jack.”

I glanced at Amber, seeing the look she was giving me. Disbelief. Maybe a bit of shock as well.

“Go on, Amber, all good. We can look after Jack.” I gave her a nod, and she would have to know this wasn’t how I wanted it to go but I had to respect the boys and what they thought.

I might be the king and might have every right to make their lives hell. But when it came down to it, I wanted this shot with Amber. I wanted to make sure that this time I got it right. In the past, I always saw the boys as a threat, never being able to balance them properly.

I watched Amber cross her arms, and the shock she was in from my actions was gone. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Jack was busy.

Then her eyes were back on her brothers. “Jax told you to get pizzas, you get pizzas. Last time I checked, you do as he fucking says.” Her voice had an edge to it, and I hadn’t heard her speak to them like that before. “Jax might be willing for you to disrespect him but I won’t accept it. You aren’t his brothers. You are mine. So, I have to put up with crap like this. But he doesn’t. He says, you do, simple, right?” She arched her eyebrows at them.

She took a step closer to them. Seeing she had their attention. “Last time I checked, he determines where you live. He also controls your positions and money. I think you have forgotten. You are his members, not his brothers. He doesn’t have to take your crap.” Amber put her hands on her hips. “And also, just something for you all to factor in, Jax controls if you see Jack. Not me. Jax is the one who can send you out of state. And I’ll tell you now. I’m not moving. So, if he kicks you out of this city, that’s it.”

She wasn’t bluffing, or lying. I could tell by her tone. She was serious about not leaving the city. Was Amber trying to scare the shit out of them?

I looked at them, a few seconds passed and then Cole did something I never thought he was capable of, he nodded, accepting what Amber said.

Adam turned on the couch with a smirk on his face. “That changes when he marries you, right?” He got up, speaking while his brothers just stared at Amber. Adam’s eyes locked with mine. “Though we are club brothers still, right? Or is this Jax’s way of demoting us?”

Now the boys’ eyes were on me. Nah, they couldn’t… they weren’t… My expression dropped. They were all looking at me as if I would demote them.

“Guess it makes sense. We have been out of line,” Tyler muttered and got up. “So, what kind of demotion are we looking at? Just pay or position as well?”

“You aren’t going to pull rank and not let us transfer, right?” Troy was now alerted that there was a situation. And the risk of me forcing them out of the state.

Amber loved her brothers. Even though right now, she was making the squirm and getting them to think the worst of me. Giving them a reality check of what it could mean to piss me off. Amber had put them back in their place. Something I wouldn’t do before.

“We’ll step down.” Cole actually looked at me with respect. “If that makes any difference in whether we get to stay here or not.” Cole looked at Troy. “Troy will even step down.”

Troy nodded. “If that makes any difference in your decision. I’ll do whatever, Jax.” He simply shrugged like he wasn’t giving up nearly a decade of being a president. He’d worked for that patch. And he was about to take over a larger charter, which meant more money and more control.

All four of them were waiting for me to say something. I glanced at Amber, and she seemed rather smug with herself. I wanted to roll my eyes. Seems like her pleasure of making her brothers suffer hadn’t gone anywhere. If anything, I think she was trying to give them a good dose, because she hadn’t been able to for years.

Well, that’s what I was thinking, until she looked at me and I saw her expression. She hadn’t done that just to make her brothers squirm; she had done it because she knew I wouldn’t. She saw the problem. And I was going to let it slide but it turns out she wasn’t happy with how I was handling it. God, she really was my other half.

The boys were waiting for me to say something. Time to put them out of their misery. I wasn’t sending them away, or demoting them. Amber knew that, too, at least I hope she did. I looked at her, and she knew I was having a power struggle with them. I think she was trying to tell me, I didn’t have to put up with their shit. That I wouldn’t lose Jack if I pulled them back into line.

“Amber where is your keys?” Tyler seemed to be going into damage control. “I’ll drive, considering I haven’t been drinking. Is that okay? I know you have a thing about who drives Jack?” He was being extra cautious. “So, are you two happy if I drive?” Tyler looked between Amber and me.

How the fuck had Amber done it? She had snapped her brothers in line with a few sentences.

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