Page 51 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

He shakes his head, forcing his eyes wide as he tries to gain his bearings. His tongue swishes around in his mouth momentarily before spitting blood onto the floor of the war room. Tristan’s hands are bound behind him to the metal chair. He doesn’t struggle or thrash about. He simply settles in. His posture deflated; his expression defeated.

I make sure to keep myself positioned slightly in front of Nicky. I don’t know the extent of T’s involvement in all this, but if anyone’s going to kill him, it’s going to be me. So far, Nicky still isn’t aware of J’s relationship with me, but I am fully prepared to tackle that shitshow should it spill out somehow in the process. Right now, the only thing that matters is getting her back.

“Tristan,” I speak, dragging a chair in front of him before dropping down into it. Pulling my gun from my waistband, I clutch it in my right hand, bringing it to rest on my knee. “In the four years I have known you, you have never been anything but loyal to me. Those years of service are the only reason you are not at the bottom of the fucking Hudson with a bullet in you. I am going to ask you some questions. How you answer will determine whether or not that still ends up being your fate. Do you understand me?”

“You don’t have to threaten me, Mav.” He raises his head to look at me; a dark bruise has already begun to overtake his temple where I whipped him with the gun. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Two hours ago, Nicky’s sister Joanna was taken from their home. We know who took her. We know where and when we have to meet him to get her back. What we don’t know is why.” I swallow. The next question I ask is going to determine whether I lose another brother today. “Do you know why?”

His eyes remain locked on mine, his mouth a tight line as he gives a slight nod of his head. I cock the gun in response, though Tristan’s gaze never leaves my own.

“Explain. Now.”

“My name is Tristan Michaelson. You know this. What you don’t know is that Michaelson is my mother’s last name. My father’s name was Vickers.”

Every muscle in my body locks up as I feel Nicky approach on my right, coming to stop beside me. Rico and JP still hang back, though I can instinctively feel them stand at attention.

“T.J. Vick was my father.” T’s eyes close just as a lone tear streaks down his left cheek.

“You son of a bitch!” Finn charges him.

I pop up, the chair overturning beneath me as I catch him and throw him backward. “Sit the fuck down, Finn!” I order, before turning back to T. Every moment we’ve ever spent together over the last four years replays in my mind as I try to dissect every interaction. “That makes no sense. You’ve been with me since before I took control. You helped me take down Vick and his crew.”

“What does this have to do with Tommy?” Nicky speaks. “How does he fit into all this?”

Tommy, the traitor in Nicky’s crew. The one who’s currently holding J somewhere, leaving us at his mercy.

Tristan inhales deep. “Tommy’s my twin brother.”

Nicky brings his hands up to his head and turns, still grasping his Glock as his mouth forms a deep scowl. He briefly whips back around, pointing his gun at Tristan before spinning away again to pace.

“You have five minutes to make this make sense before I fucking shoot you,” Nicky forces out through gritted teeth.

“Tommy and I are twins. Not identical, obviously. We were born in Texas. T.J.’s always been involved in some form of drug business, even before he controlled a territory. He met our mom when he was seventeen down there on a run. He left before either of them knew she was pregnant. She knew he was a piece of shit, so she didn’t feel the need to track him down after she found out.

“When we were four, he came back through. Again, there on some shady ass business. Our mom was still working at the same diner when he decided to take a chance and look her up, expecting just another good time. It’s how he found out we existed. Unfortunately, he was thrilled. Two sons. He let us stay in Texas, but he visited every year after that.

“He could fuck whatever he wanted, but Mom was never allowed to have a boyfriend. When he did visit, he’d smack her and us around.”

“Skip to the part where you fuck us over,” Nicky snarls.

T looks over at him, offering a slight nod. “When we were sixteen, he decided it was time for us to come live with him.”

“This is a lie,” Nicky interjects, “Tommy was fifteen when he moved to Dutchess.”

Tristan shakes his head. “We lied about his age. All his paperwork is forged. I promise if you let me finish, it will all make sense. Our mom wouldn’t let us go. I’ll spare the details, but ultimately, she went missing and T.J. was allowed to take us. He was a miserable fuck. Beat on us every chance he got. The following year, you guys started making plays to claim your territories and T.J., who previously couldn’t organize a fucking closet, suddenly decided he was going to organize a whole crew.

“He was overly confident that he could take on two kids, but he wanted a backup plan. We’re the same age as you. He used that to his advantage. He had paperwork forged to make Tommy look two years younger, and then he put him in foster care. He blackmailed one of the social workers who had a drug problem to get Tommy placed with the family in Dutchess who ended up adopting him. He dropped me at the border of Hydetown with a duffle bag. Both of us had one respective job… get close to each of you. You guys took over within the year and each of us took leadership positions alongside you. He was overjoyed.

“He expected us to feed him info just because he was our father, and in the beginning we did. But then we really got to know you.” He looks me dead in my eyes. “I got to know you. You are family to me, Mav. You are my fucking brother. Tommy felt the same way about you, Nick. We decided we were going to start feeding him fake intel, giving you guys the upper hand. The reason Vick was there that day you stormed his hideout is because we told him the attack wasn’t happening until two days later.

“Once he was gone, we decided we liked where we were at in life. So, while we agreed we’d always be brothers, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Nicky,” he looks up at him, “we didn’t know what Charlie was planning about Jonsie. We never even met him. We didn’t know he existed until he turned up in the background check you guys ran.”

“So, what changed?” I stare down at him. “Why’s Tommy suddenly going off the deep end?”

“As the years went on, Bent and I grew into something more. I loved him and he loved me. Tommy was hoping to find that with Jonsie, but she never reciprocated. He never moved past it though. He’s been obsessed with her since Nicky took him in and it’s only gotten worse over the years.”

The sheer thought that this fuck believed he could stake claim to my girl has my blood boiling.

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