Page 32 of Outcast

Where Andre and I took after our father. The other three took after their mothers. Their separate mothers. Not only were they my half-brothers, but they were each other's half-brothers.

Lafe's mother was Scandinavian, giving him light blond hair and blue eyes. Grey's mother had been Russian. Giving him darker blond hair and green eyes. But where Lafe had always carried a tortured look, Grey had the sharp features of a fighter that would stab you while you were down and smile about it.

Damn, it was good to see them all again. I hadn't expected them to have changed so much without changing at all. Leadership looked good on them.

I had a little more enthusiasm with Grey's hug, but I was still confused. When did we become a hugging family?

Parker appeared on Andre's other side and threw his arms around me. "I wasn't going to hug you, but since you said that, I figured I better," he snickered.

Dammit. I said that out loud.

Leaving one arm around my shoulders, he led me to the back door Grey had exited.

"I'd get out to greet you, but we can't leave our little bug alone," Lafe said as I peered into the SUV.

In the middle seat was a rear-facing car seat with a tiny baby inside. She was maybe five or six months old. Turning her head, she kicked her chubby little feet and grinned as she slobbered on two of her fingers.

"I'd like to introduce you to Cossette Black. Meaning little thing or people of victory. Take your pick." Parker shrugged. "Both apply."

I leaned inside the car to get a better look. She was gorgeous. Soft blond curls and bright blue eyes. Such rosy, fat cheeks. Reaching out, I touched the apple with the pads of my fingers.

She gurgled and started repeating some kind of sound over and over again. Lafe smiled and dabbed her face with a white cloth.

"She's stunning," I whispered as I flicked my gaze to Lafe, then twisted my head to Grey. There were only two brothers with blond hair. Amorette had black. "She kept Amorette's last name?"

"Well, dear brother..."

My heart contracted. Parker had never addressed me like that before, although that was how he spoke to the others.

"There are four of us, all with different last names. It would have been a bloodbath if Amorette had picked one of our last names for the baby."

"What about the father's last name?" I choked out, still caught up with him addressing me so familiarly, without any sarcasm.

Lafe lightly pinched her chin. "We didn't know the father at the time of the birth. So Black worked just fine." He didn't elaborate anymore.

"Here, take the front seat. Grey will slide in the second backseat and I'll sit next to my little victory." Parker tugged on the back of my shirt to pull me out of the seat.

I climbed in the front seat and waited for the others to get situated. "Where's Amorette?"

"With Rita," Andre answered nonchalantly as he put the SUV in drive.

I turned to look out the window, not wanting to reveal how just the mention of her name affected me.

"Ready to tell us the story yet?" Parker tapped the back of my headrest.

"Fuck off," I growled. He laughed.

"You did come back for Rita, did you not?" Parker said with a smile in his voice.

"What are you laughing about? Javier is dead," I snapped, then pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

The others were quiet for a beat.

"We didn't know him like you did, but of course the family has our condolences," Andre said as he flipped on the blinker. "We were starting to build a nice alliance and I only have good things to say about him."

"Except for when he thought we killed Matías to take over, you mean," Parker added with a snort.

"Parker!" Lafe yelled.

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