Page 89 of Mine, Forever

“Yeah.”

“As in The Brotherhood of Pain?”

She nodded, unable to look into my eyes. “Back then, I didn’t know what that meant. I always saw him address people as Brother, but I had no real understanding until Johnny explained it to me years later.”

“Is that why you hide?”

“No, under Johnny’s protection I was never hurt. I hid from Johnny after wronging him a decade ago, but he still kept me under his protection.”

“So why did you help me kill him?” I asked.

“He needed to die for his sick intentions toward Ebony. There was no doubt about that.”

“I’ll help you with them… not sure what I can do. They have contacts fucking everywhere.”

“I know.”

“What hold did Johnny have over them?”

“I don’t know,” she told me. “There’s a lot I didn’t know about Johnny when I double-crossed him. I used to be his confidante, but that was one thing he never told me.”

“Would Aubrey know?”

Ronni looked up at me, surprised. “Maybe. He knew a lot of different groups. He may know someone.”

“I’ll visit him, get as much info as I can.”

She nodded, nibbling on her toast. “I don’t mind dying, really. I just… want my girls to be okay when I’m gone.”

“You’re not going to die,” I said. “You’re the only family I got left.”

“Jett, you’ll always have family. It’s not blood, but it’s who is there for us when we’re down. York protects you with his life, Ebony loves you and would do fucking anything to protect you. Look at those scars on her back. She endured those without caving. If I were to garner a bet, that would be because she didn’t give up on you saving her.”

Killing John once was just not enough for what he did to her. At least her spirit wasn’t broken, and I couldn’t be happy about that.

“York is in town looking after your business,” Ronni said. “Be thankful for that. You can focus on what you’re going to do now. You’ll need a stronger army and a better business standpoint. You can’t just rely on your protection services and clubs to keep you safe. You’re one of the big boys now.”

She pushed up from the chair and put her plate in the sink. “Go and see Aubrey before the Brotherhood finds out where we are. I suspect they have brothers on the way now.”

???

York opened the gate to the prison before me, and I walked through. The Warden, Benj, was standing at the steel door to the place, a grim expression on his face.

“Haven’t heard from you in six months,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to see him.”

“For what reason?”

“Personal reasons.”

“I can’t allow that.”

“Really? Something change in your personal life for you not to care about that beautiful teenage daughter of yours?”

He looked back at me, his eyes flitting around, searching mine for any possible lies.

“You don’t have the balls to do anything to her.”

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