Page 34 of Scatter the Bones

Great, he thinks I was out cheating on Margot. “Not where you’re thinking.”

“You have no idea what I’m thinking.”

I blow out a breath and rub my hands over my face. “I went for a ride up to Maine.”

Rooster’s brow creases. “Maine? Why?” He leans over and lightly punches my arm. “Why didn’t you ask me to go with you?”

I shrug and lean back in my chair. “Needed to clear my head.”

His expression morphs into something more sympathetic. “You and Margot have a fight or something?”

“No. Fuck no.”

He waits, knowing there’s more. He’ll find out eventually. And I’ll have to tell Margot and the club. So I might as well get used to saying it. “Z called me the other night.” I sit up and clear my throat. “My half-brother, Cain, remember him?”

He holds out his hand about three feet above the floor. “The little freckle-faced kid I met when?—”

“Yeah,” I answer quickly, not wanting to get swallowed up by those memories again. “Only he’s not a little kid anymore. He showed up at Crystal Ball looking for me.”

Rooster sits back and blinks.Huh. Look at that.He’s too stunned to speak.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” he finally grumbles. “You let me ramble about Shelby’s trip to the city instead of telling me that your half-brother showed up out of nowhere?”

“Uh, I don’t consider thatrambling.Believe it or not, I actually give a shit about what’s going on with you two.”

His jaw tightens. “Same, brother.”

I’m out of excuses, so I shrug. “Maybe I wanted you to take my mind off of it.”

“What? The ride to Maine didn’t clear your head?”

“Not really.”

“Well, continue.” He exhales, ready to listen. “What’s Cain want?”

“Not sure.” I shake my head. “Family? His mom just passed away and she wanted him to find me.”

“Shit. Poor kid.”

I shoot him a sharp look, hating that he’s got more compassion for Cain than I seem to have. “Yeaaah,” I answer slow. “I’m not sure if I trust him, though.”

“Don’t blame you.” There’s no judgment to his tone at least. “How’d he even find you?”

I roll my eyes and grab my coffee mug, taking a quick sip before I solve that mystery for him. “You’ll love this. Ruth—hismom—was apparently a big Shelby Morgan fan. She saw a pic of you and Shelby tongue-fucking each other backstage in some magazine. Unfortunately, my ugly mug was in the background staring right at the camera. She recognized me.”

Since his shitty ex-girlfriend tracked him down in similar way and tried to fuck up his relationship with Shelby, he gets it. “Sorry about that. Shit, when I told Priest the publicity might not be good for the organization, I never thought about estranged family coming out of the shadows to findus.”

“Or unhinged ex-girlfriends.”

He flicks an irritated look my way. “Don’t try to deflect because you’re feeling vulnerable.”

“Ooo, such big words, motherclucker.”

“Don’t get defensive, either.”

This is the problem with lifelong friends. They know all your quirks and how to disarm them.

“What are you going to do?” he asks.

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