Page 4 of The Fall Guy

My four-year-old nephew, Jacob, comes barrelling out of the house, holding his tiny arms toward me. His mum, my brother’s wife, Sonia, trails behind him. Her eyes linger on my tattoos for longer than necessary. Even though she’s fighting a scowl, I see it.

My ink is the main physical difference between my brother and me. We both have thick dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a muscular physique. I was the first to get my nipple pierced but my brother couldn’t resist copying that feature. He’d probably have a few tattoos if Sonia hadn’t hated them so much. I’m not pussy whipped, thankfully, so I don’t have anyone telling me what to do.

“Uncle Kaden!” Jacob says with the biggest smile.

He looks like a mini version of my brother, of me, and if he wasn’t so sweet, it might freak me out. He’s the closest I’ll come to having my own child. I made my choice not to have kids when I joined the Cyclones, and even his cuteness won’t change that.

“Hey buddy,” I say, swinging my leg over my bike and climbing off.

The gravel crunches underneath my feet as I make my way up to the house. He dances around my feet with excitable energy.At least someone’s happy to see me. I pat his back, then kiss his mum on the cheek. She may not like my tattoos, but we always play nice like one big dysfunctional family.

My brother appears in the doorway with a frown. “You’ve been drinking,” he grumbles.

Like him, my cheeks flush when I’ve had alcohol. He’s a hypocrite because his face is just as red as mine. It’s not aquestion, so I don’t answer. Fuck him. I’m here for our mother, not his judgement.

Passing them all, I make my way into the living room, where I find Mum already shovelling food for me onto a plate. “Happy birthday,” I say, kissing her on the corner of her mouth.

“Thanks, baby. My growing lad needs some food to fill his belly.” She tries to entice me by waggling the plate. Luckily, it’s obvious the rest of the family have already taken their share, so I won’t be forced to sit down with them.

I take the food but quickly put it down so I can pull her into a hug. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You’ve made it. That’s what counts.” She beams with a bright smile.

I glance at my dad’s picture on the wall. My brother, the better son, is still scoring points with my old man even though he’s not here to see. I’m easily forgiven when it comes to my mum.

My parents were in their forties when they had us. After years of trying to conceive naturally, they forked out the money to have IVF. Mum calls us her miracle babies, which means I can get away with almost anything, especially when Kai tries to be the perfect poster child.

My brother and his family eventually catch up with us in the living room. I don’t miss Kai’s condescending stare when he hears my mum’s words. Silence falls over the room, which I don’t bother to fill. Instead, I turn to my father’s old liquor cabinet, I find some of his best whiskey and pour some into a glass.

“You have no shame,” Kai says, knitting his eyebrows together. He doesn’t like me touching Dad’s things, but he isn’t the only one who lost him.

“It’s not like he’s coming back to claim it,” I say before knocking it back.

My mum gasps, causing a twinge of guilt to fizz in my black heart. Trying to appease her, I lay off drinking anymore of my belated dad’s alcohol and sit at the table. Mum talks about old times, and I try to nod in all the right places while picking at the food she put out for me.

An hour flies by. Luckily, it’s past Jacob’s bedtime, and Sonia wants to leave. We say our goodbyes before leaving my mum to watch her favourite TV show.

Kai tugs on my arm, forcing me to follow him off to one side of the garden.

“I made a mistake dragging you here tonight. I thought for once you could try and be a decent human being for our mother’s sake.” He spits his words out.

“Just because I look like you, doesn’t mean we have anything in common. I decide how to navigate my moral compass.” It was broken long ago and bad decisions don’t keep me up at night.

He’s the dependable one. Everything I’m not, and it’s time he finally let go of the notion I’m going through a phase. I belong to the Cyclones; their mark is branded onto my neck. They are my brothers and the only ones with my loyalty.

He brushes his hand over his face. “We stopped looking alike years ago. Your features are harder, your cuts are deeper, and your ink only paints a war you never had to fight. Let’s hope you never need me to bail you out because I won’t be there for you.”

If he intended his words to hurt, he missed the mark. I haven’t needed him since the day our father died.

CHAPTER 2

KADEN

I wakewith a pounding headache which is going to take more than a few paracetamols to relieve.Why did I drink so much last night?It’s almost like the banging isn’t just inside my head.Wait.My eyes widen as realisation overcomes me.It isn’t just in my head.

“Police,” someone shouts, followed by a loud thud.

It doesn’t sound like they’re giving us a chance to answer their knocking. Carnage breaks out within our shared house, and I scramble from my bed. The window’s stiff, but I push it up the frame, ready to escape, but not fast enough. A gust of wind fills the room as my door barely stays attached to its hinges. It crashes against the wall, revealing two armed cops. Unless I want to be shot, I need to consider my next move very carefully.

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