The Long Road Home

Chapter Eight

A gentle knock interrupted them. Rubble peeked out the door before opening it to let in Nailah. She paused, glancing and the room to be certain it was still in order. Then she crossed over to Gus and slid her arms around his waist. He readily embraced her, allowing himself to relax.

“Everything all right up here?” Nailah asked. “I see you haven’t killed him yet.”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Gus said. “You didn’t need to check on us.”

“Jake is asking for you,” Nailah said. “He doesn’t want to open presents without you…and he wants his uncle there too.”

“Christ,” Gus cursed. He knew he was going to regret introducing Fin like that. No doubt the entire Club would have questions he wasn’t ready to answer.

“He really wants me there?” Fin asked, hopeful.

Nailah looked at him with a complicated expression. Finally, she answered, “Yes. He’s been curious about his family for a long time. He’s only ever met my parents and never anyone from Gus’s side except the Brothers, of course.”

“Brothers?”

“The Club members,” Gus said by way of explanation. “The Club is family, and we are all brothers.”

“Oh, right,” Fin nodded. He still didn’t understand.

“Jake has a lot of Club uncles and aunts, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t curious about his blood relations,” Nailah added, “and Gus never talks about his family.”

“He doesn’t,” Fin said, disappointed, but he wasn’t surprised.

“Oh, I know everything about you,” Nailah said. “Gus doesn’t have secrets from me. But he’s never spoken a word to Jake and I think he should. He has a lot of good memories to share, but he’s letting the bad ones overshadow.”

Gus frowned as Nailah gave him a pointed look, daring him to argue. She had told him many times that burying the past was not the proper way to deal with trauma. It had taken months of cajoling before he finally told her about his family. Nailah was certain she was probably the only one who knew the full story. She doubted even Rubble had been given as much information.

Fin felt his face warm again in embarrassment.

“I’m glad to see you at least have enough sense to have shame,” Nailah sighed. “Well, you should all come down and have some cake, and then we can open presents.”

“Nailah…”

“Gus, we promised today was Jake’s day, and we wouldn’t let anything ruin that. Not the new baby and certainly not your brother’s sudden appearance. You can hash out everything tomorrow.”

Gus sighed. There was no use arguing with her. He learned that long ago. After a moment, he said, “All right, Fin. You heard her. Let’s go make sure my son has a birthday he won’t forget.”

“Really? You’re okay with me being here?” Fin asked.

“No. But I’ll do anything for my son, and I’ve learned never to argue with Nailah. She’s scary when she’s angry.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Fin nodded, not sure if he believed that. Just how scary could the petite woman be?

“All right, let’s go,” Gus turned toward the door, but Rubble and Caine didn’t move.

“We do have one question that needs to be answered,” Caine said. “You said baby. Are you pregnant?”

Nailah smiled, “We are, but not a word. We want this day to be about Jake. We’ll share the baby news later.”

“Can I tell Elle, at least? She’ll kill me if she finds out I knew before she did,” Caine grinned.

“Just save it for when you get home,” Nailah said. “And tell her I was going to tell her first if I hadn’t slipped up here.”

“Right,” Caine nodded. “Congrats, by the way.”

“That’s right,” Rubble agreed as they each hugged her. “The Club is going to celebrate for a week once they know.”

“Really?” Fin asked. “It doesn’t bother your president or leader or whoever you have, that you hold kids’ birthday parties in the backyard.”

“Well, you can ask him,” Caine grinned. “He’s right here. Ain’t that right, Prez?”

Fin blinked, staring at his brother, “I don’t understand.”

“Nothing to understand,” Rubble said. “Your brother didn’t join a biker club, he founded it. That makes him our President.”

“But I thought—the door said Duke, or whoever, was the president,” Fin protested.

“That’s my road name, Fin,” Gus sighed, tapping the name badge on his cut.

“Oh,” Fin stared, still unsure, “oh! That’s why the guard at the gate called me Prez when he waved me through.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to talk to the prospects about that,” Gus frowned.

“Well, you can hardly blame them,” Caine shrugged. “It was quite a shock to see double of you.”

Gus scowled at him but supposed he couldn’t argue. Aside from a very few, no one knew he had family and only Nailah knew everything. Perhaps that had been short-sighted, but after twenty-five years, he certainly didn’t expect his past to suddenly track him down. And why now? Why on his son’s birthday?

Something wasn’t adding up. Fin was being far too cagey, avoiding questions. His brother only got like that when he was in trouble or would be getting into trouble. Usually, it meant he had a mess Gus was expected to clean up…again. That was something he certainly didn’t miss. Just how bad could this mess be that Fin would try to find him after twenty-five years? Gus was determined to find the answer even though he knew he would not like it.

Returning downstairs, they headed back outside. Casual conversation quieted as the guests stared at them. Fin immediately felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny and horribly out of place in his suit while everyone else wore jeans and T-shirts, and sometimes no shirts at all, under their leather cuts. The kids didn’t seem to notice as they ran around playing with the two dogs: a friendly golden retriever and a rather intimidating Rottweiler.

“Here you go,” a blonde approached Fin with a plate loaded with a slice of cake. “Eat up. The grill is still going if you want a burger too.”

“Ah, thank you,” Fin gave her a hesitant grin.

She was also wearing a cut, which surprised him. Looking around, he noticed most of the women were also wearing the cuts he assumed were meant for the Club’s members. Was he wrong?

“Umm, so you are a member too?” he asked.

“I’m the Club’s accountant,” she said. “You can call me Elle. Most everyone calls me that or Numbers.”

“Numbers?”

“It’s my road name,” she tapped the patch on the front of her cut. “These do come in handy to help identify everyone and most prefer to be called by their road names anyway.”

“Oh, all right,” Fin nodded. He guessed it wasn’t all that different from wearing nametags.

“Just relax. This is a party. Fighting isn’t allowed, so no one is going to try to jump you,” Elle chuckled.

Fin tried to laugh with her, but it fell flat. Feeling she had given him all the advice she could, Elle turned and rejoined the others. As she walked away, he couldn’t help but read the back of her cut: Property of Mad Dog.

Mad Dog?

Property?

What crazy world did he just step into?

“See something you like?”

Fin jumped at the gruff voice. He turned to see the tall, bearded biker standing near him also with a piece of cake. Looking at the patch on his cut, Fin saw his name was Rubble.

Really?

“I was just reading the back of her cut: Property of Mad Dog,” Fin said. “Doesn’t that sound a little medieval?”

“Well, it works both ways,” Rubble said, tapping his own chest.

When Fin gave him a confused glance, Rubble unbuttoned the top of his flannel shirt to show his tattoo. Fin frowned, reading the text.

“My angels,” Rubble said. “No others will ever own my heart. Every brother here will say the same thing about their old ladies.”

“Well, it’s one thing to say it, quite another to get it tattooed on your chest,” Fin said. “I know my brother would never consider doing such a thing.”

“Is that what you think?” Rubble asked.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just that your brother will probably surprise you.”

Fin frowned. Just how much could Gus surprise him? They were twins. He was certain he knew his brother better than any of these strangers ever could.