Kill For Me (Snakes Henchmen MC 5)

Brooke and I are getting married in two weeks, and it will be the biggest day of our lives after becoming parents. I don't want the threat of Webster and what he might do ruining our day.

To top of Webster's threats, Mom has been unwell for the past few days. She's always been a strong woman, and I've never seen her sick to the point she has to call into work and take time off. However, this time, she did. Mom was so ill that she couldn't get out of bed for two days straight. Dad was worried about her, that he called the doctor out. Doc said that Mom had stomach flu and she'd be fine with plenty of rest.

Wrench wouldn't leave the house at all. All he wanted was to be there for Mom. I'd never known him to be so anxious and worried. He was skittish, scared even. I suppose that had a lot to do with the fact he'd never seen Mom that sick before.

Shepard let Wrench off work and runs for a few days. He knew as well as the rest of us that Wrench's mind would be elsewhere. Working with tools, even riding your motorcycle when you're thinking of other things is never a good idea.

Mom is doing much better now, and everything is pretty much back to normal. She's back at work, a smile on her face, but Wrench still seems to have a lot on his mind. He seems to have a lot of anger inside of him, and Ghost is about to feel the brunt of it.

“Do you have any clue what I'd do to see my sister walk through that door?”

My eyes meet Stryker's across the room. He narrows his, and I tip my head, asking him without words to get the hell over here. Stryker looks at Wrench, and I know he sees what I see. Wrench needs us, even if he doesn't know it.

Stryker whisper's something in Coral's ear and she nods her head and kisses him. Stryker then leaves Coral with some of the other women and makes his way across the clubhouses main room. He doesn't say anything when he reaches us, he takes a seat beside me and places his bottle of beer on the table.

“This is nothing like your situation, Wrench.”

“No. It isn't. Your sister is still alive! You didn't know about Cordelia, she didn't know about you either, but as soon as she did, she came to find you. What did you do? You ignored her like she was nothing. You're an asshole, yet she still hasn't given up on you. She's been here weeks with her small child, hoping you'll come around and acknowledge her, accept her, love her! You're so fuckin' selfish, Ghost. You don't deserve Cordelia's love, but she'll give it to you anyway. You have no idea what I would give to be you right now.”

“It's okay, Wrench.” Wrench shakes his head at Stryker.

Shit, I'm such an insensitive bastard. How could I let what's going on with Webster make me forget Destiny's special day?

Tomorrow will mark the tenth anniversary of my sister's passing. Every year on the same day, the whole family celebrate as if it were Destiny's birthday and she was still with us. Each year, we all let off a balloon next to Destiny's headstone in our private cemetery. Each year, Wrench writes a letter to our sister and lets it go with her ballon. No one knows what those letters contain, they are Wrench's private thoughts to a little girl to this day he misses.

“It's not okay!” Wrench rounds on Ghost again. “Grow the fuck up, Ghost! Is this what you want to teach your sons? This is how you're teaching them to treat women? You'd want them to treat their own sister like this if they had one?”

No one says anything, and Ghost's eyes are locked with Wrench's.

“Talk to Cordelia before it's too late. Whether you want it or not, she loves you. She's giving you a chance most will never get, but would kill for. All Cordelia wants is to know you. Don't let her leave here never knowing how you really feel. Don't let your stupid, stubborn pride chase away your sister, because there will come a day when regret is all you'll be left with.” With that, Wrench gets out of his seat and walks away.

Ghost looks around the table at each of us. Me, Stryker, Red, Roman, and Ice. “I wasn't expecting that when I sat down.”

“He's got a point, though, Ghost.” Roman leans forward, folding his arms on the table. “When Red and I met you, you told us how badly you wanted a family of your own.”

“And I got one in you guys. I got a family with Red, Tammy and the boys. That family grew when I met and married Avery, and my boys came along.”

Roman rolls his neck in annoyance. Red rolls his eyes, and Stryker looks at me and shrugs. There's just no getting through to the stubborn prick.

“Jesus Christ, Ghost!” Ice snaps. “You know very well what Roman was talking about. Yes, we are your family. Every damn member, old lady, and kid in every chapter of Snakes Henchmen, not just here in Tennessee. However, we've all heard you multiple times since you joined, and even more, since your kids were born, say how you'd give anything if your parents were alive to see them grown. How you wish you had family outside of us for them to know.”

“So?”

If I could smack Ghost over the head and knock the stupidity out of him, I would.

“So,” Red does smack him upside the head, making us all laugh.

“Ouch! Jesus, Dad!”

“You listen to me. You're acting like a child. Cordelia just wants the chance to talk to you. The least you could do is hear her out before she leaves for England. She can't stay here forever, especially when she's getting nowhere with you.”

“What exactly is it you're afraid of?” I ask Ghost. He sighs while scrubbing his hands over his face.

“You won't hurt her, Ghost. That's what you're worried about, isn't it?”

Ghost looks at Stryker, and everyone else looks at Ghost. I realize that's precisely what's wrong; he thinks he'll mess his sister up. “She's better off away from the likes of me.”

“Isn't that for Cordelia to decide?”

“I don't know, Hawk. I'll be honest; I'm scared to get attached to Cordelia. I'm scared that if she's around me, she'll get hurt, and I won't be able to protect her.”

“Hammer felt the same way when he found out about Maria.”

Roman is right, Hammer also treated the girl like crap, and ended up hurting her anyway. I know Ghost doesn't want to do that to Cordelia.

“Talk to him if you think it will help. However, he'll tell you that while pushing Cordelia away so that she doesn't get hurt, you are, in fact, hurting her anyway.”

Ghost groans to himself. Maybe we've gotten through to him, maybe we haven't, but it has to be his choice. I need to find my brother.

“Do what you gotta do, Ghost. I need to check on Wrench.”

“I'll go with you.” Stryker gets out of his seat. “Don't be a fool, Ghost. Cordelia is your sister, your blood, and that is more precious than anything. She loves you. Remember that.”

Stryker and I find Wrench out front talking to Tank. Wrench is sitting astride his bike with his hands pressed into his seat. Tank is standing beside him, smoking a cigarette.

“Anyone ever told you those things will kill you?”

&nbs

p; Tank raises his eyebrow at me like he doesn't care, and I roll my eyes at Stryker as he sparks his own cigarette.

“You okay, little brother?” Wrench nods his head without looking at me.

“I'll leave you boys to it.” Tank clasps Wrench's shoulder. “You know where I am if you need to talk.”

“Tank? Thank you.” Tank smiles and walks away. I won't ask what they talked about, that's between them. “You didn't have to follow me out here; I'm fine.”

“You're not fine, little brother.” Wrench looks at Stryker but says nothing.

“There's no shame in allowing yourself to feel pain, Wrench.” He looks at me. “Tomorrow will be hard for all of us.”

“Why can't I let it go like you did?”

I fold my arms across my chest. I don't want to sound like a prick or that it didn't hurt me when Mom lost Destiny. I loved her; I still do. However, I was sixteen and Pops talked me through all the hurt, and helped me say goodbye. My grandfather is my hero, and I knew if he was telling me it was okay to let go, then it was.

As a family, we've spoken about what it meant to lose Destiny, but I realize now that Wrench kept his pain to himself. I'm the older brother, and I should have picked up on this long before now. I should have helped him move on.

“Why have you never come to us and spoken about this, Wrench?”

“I don't know, Stryker. I thought as I got older it would get easier, but it just gets harder. She wasn't even a baby yet, I never knew her, but I see her in my mind. It hurts because it was my fault Mom lost her.”

“Why on this earth would you think that?” Wrench shrugs his shoulders at me. I won't accept that right now. Nothing my brother did caused Mom to lose Destiny.

“Wrench, talk to us.” Stryker stands in front of Wrench's bike and grabs the handlebars.

Wrench sighs. “I know that everyone finds it amusing that I drop everything for Mom at any time of the day or night.”

No one finds it amusing. Maybe people chuckle about it now and again and call him a mama's boy, but not every man here has a mother. Some never had one, so they don't understand is all. If they do have mother's, only a couple have close relationships with her.