Page 44 of Scatter the Bones

Teller slowly turns and glares at me.

I swallow hard. “She did?”

“Yup. She tried to play it cool, but she seemed worried.”

She really does deserve better than me.

“I, uh, had some personal stuff come up I’ve been dealing with. I’ll call her,” I say with all the calm I can harness. “Thanks.”

“Okay. Just checking.” Wrath pauses. “What personal thing?”

I lift my gaze to Z and raise my eyebrows.You really gonna let him interrogate me like this?

“It’s cool, bro.” Z slaps Wrath’s shoulder. “Let it go.”

“Everything okay?” Rock asks. At least he sounds concerned, not just nosy like Wrath.

Fuck it.They’re all gonna find out anyway. “Yeah, my half-brother showed up outta nowhere looking for me.”

For a few seconds, no one says a word. Like they’re all trying to figure out what to do with that information.

“Half-brother?” Wrath asks. “I thought you only had a younger sister?”

Since I originally patched-in to our Washington charter, no one in New York really dug deep into my past. Hell, even Washington never asked a lot of questions. I was friends with the nephew of a friend of the club. Uncle Boone’s word that I could be trusted was all they needed back then.

Only Rooster knows the goriest details of my childhood. He’s of course the one who started the rumor that I killed my father and scattered his bones all over the place, which led to my road name and helped create the unhinged, don’t-fuck-with-me reputation I still enjoy today.

“Yeah,” I answer slowly. “My father was a pastor turned cult leader. The crazier he got, the more women he pulled into his flock. One was this girl Ruth. She’s actually the one who helped me escape. He knocked her up. Married her, I guess. I only met the kid once.”

I blow out an exhausted breath knowing this won’t be the last time I have to share this story.

I lift my gaze and meet Wrath’s curious stare head-on. “When I killed my father and rescued my sister from the sick shit he was doing to her—that’s the only time I ever met Cain. Helped him and his mom get out. She died recently. He showed up wanting to reconnect.”

Uncomfortable silence descends over the table.

Everyone just stares at me.

Serves you right for poking into my business.

“Well, fuck.” Z runs his hands through his hair. “Thanks for the extra context, Jiggy.”

Wrath’s expression turns more thoughtful. “You don’t trust him around your sister?”

“I didn’t protect her from our father when she was little.” I swallow hard, shame slithering down my throat. “Our relationship’s kinda fucked up as it is. I’m not bringing him around her until I know what he’s really here for.”

“You think he blames you? For killing your father?” Rock asks.

How does he just know shit?“He was little. My father didn’t usually start on the real torture until kids were older. All Cain knows is, I showed up, flipped his world upside down, and disappeared with his sister.”

“Didn’t his mom explain what actually happened?” Z asks.

“I’m not sure what she told him. We didn’t get that deep the other night.”

“Where’s he staying now?” Teller asks.

“Some hotel by the airport.” I flick my gaze to Z. “I can’t bring him to the clubhouse until I know I can trust him. Same for my place.” I gesture over my shoulder at Rooster.

“What doyouwant?” Rock asks. “From him, I mean.”

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