I was on my feet and across the room in seconds. My brother was hurting, and I couldn’t have that. Grabbing the hand closest to me, I held it tightly while I spoke, “You weren’t the cause last night. I didn’t have a flashback at your house. I fainted. Patch thought it sounded like my blood sugar was low. He told me to eat some protein and go to bed. I guess he was right because I feel much better today.”
“You would tell me if I was the cause of one, wouldn’t you?”
“Duke, there is only one person to blame for my flashbacks, and you killed him a long time ago.”
Duke’s head shot up. “I told Carbon everything last night. He needed to know to understand your reaction and, in turn, my reaction. I should’ve told him before now, but you know how much I don’t like talking about it.”
Duke’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You told him everything?”
“I didn’t go into extreme detail, but yes, I told him all the major points of the story. I hope you’re okay with that.” I’d seen my fair share of therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists over the years, but no one besides Duke knew the whole story.
“It’s your story to tell, Harper. If you’re okay sharing it with him, then so am I.”
“I only told him about your part in it because he’s a Blackwing,” I assured him. I was well aware of the trouble my brother would face if our story got out. Regardless of the reason, my brother killed a man, didn’t report it, and fled to the other side of the country. I didn’t want him to think I would share our story with just anyone.
Duke nodded and remained silent for a few moments. Finally, he asked, “Are you happy with him?”
“Very much so,” I said with a broad smile on my face.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Harpie.”
“Love you, too, Dukie.”
A throat clearing broke up our family moment. “Harper, I think there are some other things we should share with Duke,” Chase said with a raised brow.
Shit. Another discussion that I didn’t want to have, even though I knew he was right. I took in a deep breath and met Chase’s eyes. “Fine, but you can do the talking this time.”
I sat quietly while Chase filled Duke in on everything from our relationship to the break-in to Titan. Duke listened to him intently and took things better than I expected. When Chase finished, Duke turned to me and asked, “Why did you go to him about the break-in and not me?”
“It wasn’t like that. I didn’t go to him. He called and could tell that I was crying when I answered the phone. I told him I was watching a sad movie and ended the call. He didn’t buy it and showed up at my house a few hours later.” I felt my cheeks redden as I started the next part. “I had to tell him about the break-in so he would understand why I shot at him when he entered my house.”
“You shot him?”
“I shot AT him,” I explained.
“I wanted to get the club involved, but she refused. I was lucky to get her to agree to have Judge install a security system,” Chase added, casually taking the focus off me shooting at him.
I held up a hand to stop Duke before he got started. “I didn’t want to involve the club because they would want me to stay at the clubhouse until who knows when. I’ve taken a lot of time off work recently, and I can’t miss any more right now. The other option would be for me to have one of the club members follow me around everywhere I went, and I didn’t want that either. Judge installed the security system, and Carbon showed up with Titan. Problem solved.”
Chase’s phone pinged with a message, followed by Duke’s phone doing the same. “We’ve got Church in 30 minutes. Do you want to stay here or hang out at the clubhouse?”
“I’ll stay here.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CARBON
Duke and I were the last to arrive for Church. When I walked through the doors, I could feel the charge in the air. We already knew something was going on because Phoenix had called us in for an unscheduled meeting, but the tension in the room had my hackles rising.
Standing at the head of the table, Phoenix waited for Duke and me to take our seats. He banged the gavel once and started pacing, which did nothing to dispel the unease churning in my gut. I had only seen Phoenix lose his shit one time, and that was when Ember showed up. There was only one reason I could think of that would explain his current state.
“I found her,” he said, almost sounding pained. Holding up his hand to keep us quiet, he continued to pace.
“I’m leaving in the morning to go get her. I’ll be gone for two weeks or so. As far as everyone else is concerned, tell them I’ve gone on a run and will be back when I get back. Badger will run things while I’m gone, and Copper is only a phone call away. For the next two weeks, I am not your president. Until I return, do not breathe a word about this to anyone. If Ember or Coal gets wind of it, you’ll pay for it with your cut.” He slammed the gavel on the table and plowed through the door, leaving the lot of us sitting there stunned speechless.