Page 4 of Broken

“Tell me you’re not staying around to talk to her.”

“Can’t. That’d be a lie.”

“Then explain this to me.”

“Did I miss the part of the program where I owed you any explanation about what I do with my time?” I snap and the bastard just shrugs.

“I’m genuinely interested,” he asks, and for some reason, I find myself wanting to talk to him.

“She’s been through hell at a time when my world wasn’t exactly roses. We understand one another. I’ll tell you right now, who she became after everything went down with the Feral Kings is not the same person who was with T and Dom. Regardless of what she’s done in her past, the woman needs a little grace right now.”

“Got to tell you, King. It’s weird as fuck knowing you sound just like my old lady, knowing she might not be your mother but wishing with everything in me she would have been.”

“Whatever,” I laugh, although there’s no humor in that laugh.

“I mean it. I’m not the only one who wishes that, by the way. Or do you think it’s a coincidence that Nicole busts her ass to send you care packages to whatever address you seem to be at these days?”

I frown. It’s true, Nicole has sent me about three packages. They’re full of homemade treats, sometimes a T-shirt,sometimes gift cards for takeout. Why she thinks she needs to do it is beyond me. I always text her thank you, and she’ll text back. It’s cordial. I’ve started looking forward to it, to be honest. There are things I don’t tell her. Like the fact I look forward to her handwritten letter over anything she sends. There’s never a lot in the letter. She talks about the grandkids or Kayden, Dom, or T. She goes on about Dragon. I enjoy it—to the point I ignore when she refers to Dragon asyour father. Then again, that might be a lie. Nicole makes these peanut butter, chocolate, and caramel bars that are the shit. I might share some of the stuff with whatever brother I’m with at the time, but those bars? Fuck, no. Those I keep for myself.

“Gabby is pregnant,” I respond.

“I know. Pretty sure everyone but her family knows that.”

“If she hasn’t told them, it’s because they don’t deserve to know,” I half growl.

“Not arguing with you there. I’m going to have to go knock some sense into Skull’s head. He’s dealing with so much grief, he’s letting it drown him. It’s blinding him to the fact he’s putting his own guilt on his daughter’s head.”

“Come again?” I ask, confused.

“He’s laying his son’s death on Gabby being kidnapped. It’s bullshit. That motherfucker has always been by my side with his nose in my business from day one. Even if his daughter wasn’t involved, he would have been right there. He’s blaming himself because he volunteered his two boys to do shit and one of those boys is no longer breathing. Instead of dealing with that, he’s carrying a weight so big that it’s sliding over to his daughter’s shoulders. I’ve given him time. I’ll give him a little more, but if he doesn’t figure it out by the time Gabby heads to Denver, I’m going to knock sense into him.”

“Gabby’s moving to Denver?” I ask. The question bitter on my tongue because a pregnant woman shouldn’t be moving cross country alone. “Is that where the father lives?”

“The father?” Dragon asks, shock clear on his face.

“Yeah, she’s pregnant, though not showing a lot. Is it someone here?” I don’t know why it upsets me that Gabby is pregnant. It’s good she didn’t let what happened to her scar her too deeply. It does bother me, though. I don’t understand it, but it’s the truth. Maybe it’s because a huge part of me feels she’s pushing herself too soon. I still remember the broken woman who cried in my arms until the sunlight began filtering through the window. It just seems too soon for her to be in a relationship. I shake myself from my thoughts, realizing that Dragon hadn’t responded to my question. “What?” I ask, when he just continues to stare at me.

“I guess that answers my question,” he says quietly.

“Your question?”

“Nicole told me I was wrong. She wouldn’t give me any answers, though. I honestly thought you might be the father.”

“You thought …me?”

He shrugs, and for a second, I think I see embarrassment on his face. I doubt that’s something that ever happens to Dragon. I scrub the side of my face. “It’s not me,” I finally answer. “I’m not even sure why you would think that.”

“Well, Gabby has a certain track record when it comes to my boys—of which you are one.”

“Don’t be an asshole. Your boys were involved, too. Plus, quite frankly, T knew she had feelings for Dom—and Dom? His head was so far up his ass you should have pulled it out before it got that deep. Even so, he knew how his brother felt. They both should have grown a pair and talked to one another.”

I expected him to be pissed off, but I watch as his lips jerk as if he’s fighting a smile. “Do I get to jerk your head out of yourass when the occasion calls for it?” he asks, losing the battle and smiling a shit-eating-grin that I have the strongest urge to slap off his face.

“If I ever tell a woman I love her, promise to claim her as mine, and then proceed to make that woman feel the burn as I lose interest, then I hope to God someone would help me get a fucking clue,” I snap.

“Gabby wasn’t exactly blameless. You’ve heard about the shit she’s pulled.”

“I do. I also know she never would have had the chance to do part of that shit if he had just cut her fucking loose. She’s not blameless, but neither are Dom and T. Although, T mostly should have just had it out with Dom and quit letting a woman lead him around by his dick. Lucky for him, he’s got a woman now that is perfect for him and that won’t be an issue.”

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