“What the...fuck?” He shook his head, boggled. “Do I know you?”
“You should. I’m your brother.”
He flew off the stool, gaping at me as he backed away. “What? That’s not...” Then he fell to a stop before cocking his head to the side and whispering, “Knox?”
A strange elation rippled through my chest. My brother. I’d found one of my brothers. I wanted to leap over the counter and yank him into a hug, and yet a gut feeling told me to keep it cool. Distant. So I followed my gut. “Been a while, huh?”
“What...how...holy shit? When’d you get out?”
“Couple weeks ago,” I said. “I didn’t learn about...everyone until I was released. When I heard you and Cobra were still alive, I tried to find you.”
“Yeah, well...I changed my name, and Cobe ran off to Texas or some shit to join one of them Holy Roller communes. Haven’t heard from him in over a year.”
I nodded, wondering if I could locate our youngest brother after learning that. I hoped so.
“This i
s just fucking awesome that you’re finally out,” Rocket went on, his eyes igniting with excitement as he lowered his voice. “Now we can get those Bainbridge fuckers together.”
I pulled back, startled to hear him say any such thing. “Excuse me?”
I’d been expecting something more along the lines of hearing how he was doing, when he’d learned to play the drums, where he’d been staying, if he was happy. But he went straight to something like that.
He slapped the bar top in front of me. “Man, they put you in jail. They knocked up Mercy. They burned down our house. Every bad thing that ever happened to us was because of them. I say it’s time for some fucking payback.”
I shook my head, utterly confused. “What do you mean, they burned down our house?”
Rocket snorted, rolled his eyes, and waved a hand. “Oh, the sheriff and fire marshal and everyone else on God’s green earth pardoned them, saying they all had alibis, but I know...I know it burned because of them.”
Horror filled me. My mother, Mercedes, Bentley, Speed were gone because— “Are you saying the fire was arson?”
“Well, it had to have been, hadn’t it?” Determination and a sick obsession filled Rocket’s eyes as he leaned closer. “Those bastards always wanted us gone. Well, they finally did it. But there’s two of us still left. Two of us to take them out. For good.”
I started to shake my head—the kid was batshit crazy—when Felicity appeared, only five feet away from him. “Knox. I’ve got my stations cleaned. You about ready to go?”
Tensing as Rocket turned slowly to glare at her with pure hatred, I opened my mouth but no words came. I wanted to warn her to get away from him because he wanted to do her entire family harm. But he was my brother. I didn’t want to believe he’d hurt her.
So I nodded without saying a thing.
She brightened. “Cool. I’ll go get my purse. Be right back.”
As she disappeared down the back hall, I was prepared to leap over the bar and tackle Rocket if he followed her. But he didn’t. Instead, he turned to pierce me with a look of absolute hatred.
“So that’s how it is, then? You’re with them now? Fucking a fuckin’ Bainbridge?”
I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t talk about her that way.”
Rocket sniffed. “Wow, the slut must have some kind a golden pussy. She put you in jail, and you’re still hot after her?”
“Watch your fucking mouth, Rocket. She’s not a slut, and she didn’t put me in jail. Her father did.”
“Same difference.” He huffed and turned as if looking at me was too much for him to handle now that he thought I was some kind of redcoat.
“It’s not even in the same universe of difference,” I growled.
He turned back to me. “She doesn’t have a clue who I am.”
I shrugged. “Why would she? You were twelve, and our families didn’t exactly have picnics and get-togethers.”