“And you had to defend yourself against that asshole?”
“It’s not important anymore. Just let it go.”
“Did he lay hands on you, Thea?”
“Mattie! I said let it go.”
“He did. That motherfucker laid hands on you. I’m going to kill him.”
“You are not. This is why I didn’t talk to you about this shit. New York is not Kentucky, and he’s not exactly a nobody. You or Dad go after him, you could ruin your lives. I won’t let that happen. He’s not worth it. I dealt with it and he’s not part of my life now.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Mattie insists again.
“You aren’t. You’re going to let it drop because we both know that if Dad knew, he’d go crazy and get his ass thrown in jail.”
“Thea—”
“Mattie, Deke’s father is a judge there. You know, as well as I do, what that means. How many times have we heard Dad and Uncle Dragon talk about blowback? Let this go. He’s a piece of shit, but he’s in the past. I’m asking you to please let it go.”
“You’re sure he’s history?”
“Positive,” I lie, as I think about his texts. I’m not about to mention those to Mattie. I need him to calm down.
“You’ll tell me if he tries anything more?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, big brother, New York and Kentucky aren’t exactly a Sunday drive.”
“Is he the reason you turned your back on modeling and moved back home?” he asks, getting all upset again.
“No,” I deny at once. “I’ve been wanting to come home for years. I worked until I fulfilled all my obligations. Returning to Kentucky has always been my plan. Deke being an asshole and slapping me was just proof I was making the right decision.”
“If he tries shit again. He’s dead, Thea.”
“Mattie, his family?—”
“His dad can’t do shit if there’s no body and no way to prove I was there. He does one more thing, you tell me. Promise me you’ll do that.”
“Mattie—”
“Do it, Champ. That’s the only way I drop this.”
“Fine,” I huff, knowing that I’m mostly lying. I won’t allow my big brother and my father to be hurt by Deke.
“Fuck, Flame, these wings are the shit. I don’t give a shit if Breaker tries to break my kneecaps. I’ll put my cut on your back tonight if you feed me this shit every night,” Raze practically moans while biting into another wing as if he hasn’t had a bite to eat in months.
I giggle. I can’t help it, and that’s all it takes to have the tension in the room lifting. Mattie ruffles my hair. Usually, I’d slug him for doing that, but tonight I let it slide. It feels good having my big brother close again. I’ve missed him.
I’ve missed home…
Chapter 7
Dom
“Hey Raze. You got anything planned tonight? I was thinking of going for a ride, maybe heading to Somerset. They’re having that cruise-in thing,” I mutter. “You’re welcome to join too, Joker,” I ask as I plop down in a seat. We’re in the clubhouse, which is mostly empty except for the prospects cleaning the joint up from last night. There’s a twinkie behind the bar, but I’m not drinking. I grabbed some coffee out of the kitchen. After waking up with Gabby in the fucking motel bed with me a week ago, I may never drink again.
“Sounds fun, but I have plans,” he says.
I arch an eyebrow at that, looking over my buddy. “You hooking up with Candy on the regular now?” I ask, mentioning the cute red-headed stripper he has had an on and off thing with over the last year.