Page 4 of Judge
“Well, I would be too,” she laughs.
“She said to give her an hour to pack up, and she’ll be here.”
“Is that why you’re standing outside an empty trailer?”
I smirk down at Lovely. She’s so good at reading other people, it’s hilarious that she can’t read Marx in the same way. “That’s funny.”
She pulls back a little, looking up at me, brows pinched in confusion. “What’s funny?”
“You can read the whole situation with me and what I’ve got going on. Offer advice. Hell, you even figured out why I was standing here, and yet you can’t figure out Marx’s feelings for you.”
She scoffs, digging her toe into the ground, not looking at me. “Marx doesn’t feel anything for me. Perhaps gratitude for making sure he wasn’t hurt that day, but that’s about the extent of it.”
My lips tip up even further, into almost a full smile. “If you say so.”
She frowns deeper and it’s such a weird look on Lovely that I burst out laughing. She rolls her eyes before patting me on the back, making her way to her little cabin. I blow out a breath and make my way into the farmhouse. There’s not much going on and I guess I should take some time to process what the hell happened.
Making my way onto the porch I’m not at all surprised when Tank steps out of the house. “Come on brother, you look like you need a seat and some quiet.”
Throwing him a chin lift I follow him around the wraparound veranda, only stopping when we come to a comfy as hell looking swing chair. I stare at it a moment before raising a brow. We are both big fuckers, Tank only marginally smaller than me in width and height.
Tank throws back his head, a loud guffaw shaking his body, “Shit, nah we ain’t both fitting on there. You sit, I’ll lean,” He flicks his head to the railing, crossing his arms and leaning back, one foot crossed in front of the other. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really, brother.”
He nods thoughtfully, stroking his blonde stubble. “OK. wanna process it? Are you pissed she never told you? Sad you didn’t know? Scared shitless?”
I snort, “All of the above except pissed.”
His brows raise as he mulls over my words. Tank is a lot like me, tends to have a daily word limit. It’s probably why we work so well together. We’ve been working Devil’s Big Tow for at least six years now and I can’t think of anywhere else or any other brother I’d like to work with.
He stands quietly, waiting for me to elaborate, but it’s hard to explain. Seeing the twins - fuck, twins! Seeing them standing there, it was like I knew them. I recognised them but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I had met them. There was just this niggly feeling at the back of my brain, that Iknewthese kids. Once I found out why they seemed so familiar, it was like my body was struck by lightning. Their eyes, the boy’s size, the girl’s light brown hair. All of those things echoed my parents or myself. All somehow mixed perfectly with Kaia. The slope of their noses, the tilt of their chin. It was like a punch to the gut, but there was no anger or resentment. Just…hurt. Disappointment. A pit in my stomach, probably exactly the same that Kaia felt that day. Shit, if that’s what she wanted to tell me, that she was pregnant when she found me with my jock friends and Chelsea, fuck. I can see why she would up and leave sticks. I would too. Pregnant to a guy that would get a blow job from another girl and then not defend her when the cool kids called her names? Even though we weren’t exclusive or even dating, we were best friends. We lost our virginity to each other. And then some. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves. I knew she had trouble fitting in and instead of looking out for her, I let her walk away, alone.
I run a hand down my face, growling to myself. “I know I should be pissed, and maybe one day soon I will be. But at this point? I fucked up and so did she. But now we have the cartel breathing down our necks and I have two kids I need to get to know. It’s a shit storm.”
“So you claiming them?”
“The kids? Fuck yes.”
“And Kaia?”
I give him a bored look. “If I did that she’d have my balls.”
Tank snorts, straightens, and slaps me on the shoulder. “Let the games begin, brother.” He starts to head away, leaving me to my thoughts, before spinning on his heel. “You need anything, an ice breaker to help get to know the kids, someone to run interference for you, shout out.” He smiles, then it turns into a grin. “I’ll send Mira.”
I throw my head back and laugh, feeling better than I did a few moments ago. It’s not ideal timing, but shit! When would it ever be ideal to find out you fathered kids fourteen years ago and never knew about it?
Thinking back over the years, I can’t help but wonder if what Kaia did, in keeping it secret, was the best thing for both of us? I wouldn’t have been a good husband or father back then. My mind was set on becoming a marine. Hell, I shipped out a month after Kaia left town. I would have had to even if I did find out she was pregnant. Squeezing my eyes shut I realize that even in that scenario she would have been left to shoulder the burden alone.
“Yo Judge! Your fam is here!” Rider’s voice yells out. I’m thankful he’s not giving me any shit, but I can’t imagine he’ll hold off long.
Standing, I let out a breath. Kaia and the kids are a part of me, whether Kaia wants to be or not, so they’re my responsibility to get settled and to keep them safe. I watch as they exit their crappy, older model Toyota hatchback, wondering how the hell my son managed to even fit in the back. The trunk is packed full of clothes and who knows what else. They stand in a line outside the vehicle, the boy slightly in front of his mom and sister. My heart swells a little watching him being so protective. He’ll grow up to be a good man. Shit, he’s almost a man now. Close to the same age Niko was when he turned up at the DRMC.
I make my way over to them, holding Kaia’s gaze as it burns into mine.
“Thank you for coming.”
“We didn’t really have a choice,” she grits out.
