Page 3 of Pickle
“Hyram, settle down for a second.”Shaw meets me at the front door of the Darrow clubhouse with a hand braced on my chest. It takes every bit of patience I can muster not to push past him and storm upstairs to the family wing where I know I’ll find my sister and niece.
“Tellme my baby sister and Teeny are safe, then tell me what the fuck is going on that my perfect girl is scared and her mother is shouting.” In all her life, I think Frankie’s probably yelled fewer times than I’ve been arrested. And for all my rap sheet might make me look like a lawless brute, I’ve managed tocontain enough of my criminal behavior to occasions where it was warranted.
“Of course,they’re safe. Watch yourself. Arlo won’t appreciate your disrespect. To be clear, I don’t, either.” Shaw’s growl is a rasp over my already flayed nerves.
“They’re allI’ve got. Nothing matters more than their wellbeing. Nothing.” The family I’ve been gifted in Ghost Born means everything, but without Frankie and that little girl, absolutely nothing remains.
“Teeny’s with Konrad,Blu and Grey. They’re keeping her busy while Arlo and Frankie sort their shit.” Shaw’s confidence that Teeny’s okay settles me some. I know Konrad and his boyfriend and girlfriend will look after my niece while I figure out the details with the adults.
“Club shit?”I’m not sure what I’ll do if something our club is into has put my girls in harm’s way. Put a stop to it, naturally. But if the Darrow chapter’s into fuckery that they haven’t looped the Lexen chapter into, I’ll be knocking heads together, too.
Shaw shakes his head no,and that’s all I need to know before finding Arlo and Frankie to get the rest of the info. I feel Shaw at my back as I stride through the front of the compound, and I know the others are likely hanging around the place, too.
I stomp upstairs,my boots loud enough to announce my presence long in advance of my arrival anywhere. If my time staying at the clubhouse in Darrow before some of us branchedout to open a chapter in Lexen taught me anything, it’s to make a loud entry around here. Quiet arrivals inevitably result in hearing or worse, far worse, walking in on, things nobody needs to.
The brotherswho founded Ghost Born may not have ever adopted the club candy mentality outsiders commonly expect, but they fuck. A lot. Every single one of them is in their own committed relationship. They and their partners all lived in or near the compound.
When I’d first gottenout of jail and Arlo convinced me to crash here while I got back on my feet, I’d had to learn real quick that being too quiet around here would catch me an earful when the brothers of my newly adopted family decided to take their partners to poundtopia. Which they all did. All. The. Fuckin’. Time.
Mademy celibacy as a result of incarceration and recent release from custody a real bitch to endure. At least, it had until I accidentally walked in on Arlo and my sister. That had the dual effect of sending my libido right back into hiding and convincing me Shaw and Konrad’s idea of branching the club into a new city was a good one.
Arlo metme at the door to their suite, a duffel bag already sung over his shoulder. He didn’t look at all surprised to see me, but the intense frown on his face didn’t ease up. In fact, he didn’t speak at all, just tossed the glittery purple bag he’d been holding at me while heaving the duffel from his shoulder to mine. Still wordless, he turned and strode across the living area of theirrooms and grabbed my sister by the waist, hauling her over the now bagless shoulder.
“Hy’shere to get you. You see? Even without knowing what the fuck is happening, he knew to come. You’re going. Teeny’s going. I want you both clear of this shit, so I can handle it.”
“I don’t wantto go! You can’t make me.” Frankie’s voice is muffled against Arlo’s back, but even so, I can hear the frustration in it.
I silently turn,following him back down the hallway I’d just come from then all the way to my truck out front. I jog ahead of him to open the door, and he gently sets her inside, taking the time to buckle her into the seat before shutting the door and bracing himself against it.
“Some asshole fatherat Teeny’s preschool has been hassling Frankie. She didn’t mention it at first because she was afraid of causing trouble.” His furious scowl makes it clear my sister is probably justified in her worry.
“How serious is it?”It’s unlike my brother-in-law to overreact, but also, how much of a menace can one pre-k tot’s dad actually be?
“Widower.First wife divorced him then disappeared while a protection order was in place. Second wife, the mom of the kid at Teeny’s school, died under suspicious circs. That serious.” He doesn’t need to say more.
I nodand turn to go into the house to gather up Teeny. Once she’s loaded into the truck, my sister won’t budge. Konrad and Grey meet me at the door, Teeny sitting on Grey’s slender shoulder like a champion after a race.
“Unca Pickle!We going to your house like Daddy said?” She reaches for me, lunging my way from high atop Grey’s shoulder. I catch her easily, her little three-year-old body the sort of fragile sturdiness only small children have.
“Yup.We’re out the door, dinosaur.” I force levity into my tone, because nothing and no one is allowed to dim my niece’s light.
Shaw,his wife LeeLee, and Blu quietly slip past to load more bags into my truck, the amount of luggage making it clear Arlo intends for them to stay with me for a week or two at least. I get Teeny buckled into the car seat I keep in my truck for her and her alone while Arlo says his goodbyes to Frankie. Whatever he’s whispering to her has her arguments dying, and the two lock lips in a kiss that has me turning my attention back to Teeny to keep her distracted.
“I trustyou with my life, brother,” Arlo rumbles in my ear when we hug farewell. He doesn’t need to say it. I already understand.
“I trusted you with mine, first,”I respond.
It’san old joke between us. When I’d been locked up, staring down the barrel of hard time for assaulting a police officer, Arlohad been my cellie. Once he’d heard why I’d beat the shit of a cop, the guy who’d laid hands on my pregnant sister, Arlo agreed to look out for her when he got out.
“I’ll keep them both safe,”I vow.
In fact,I’ve already got an idea for a protection detail I can hire to ensure both Frankie and Teeny are safe every second they’re in Lexen with me. Not that I can’t protect them well enough at our clubhouse. But this could be the perfect excuse to track down Thyrie, through her company, and insert myself in her world.
Yeah,I think, metaphorically patting myself on the back, I’m a fuckin’ genius. I step into the cab of the truck and set off for home, bringing my best two girls with me on my mission to find and lock down a sass-mouth goddess of my own.
CHAPTER FOUR
Thyrie
