Page 7 of Ruthless

“Follow me.”

“Fine.”

I trail after him toward his house, grinding my teeth against the gum I’ve been chewing on the entire way here. It’s stale and lost its flavor, but at least it’s keeping my mind off of my smokes for a bit longer.

Without a word, Asher leads me inside his space, which is a smaller version of the big house. When Charlee was pregnant with Lily, we had this house built not too far from the main one to give them their own space. Axel and I stay in the main house, where Kennedy and our baby will be. I may have to rethink that and look at building us a home of our own soon because the last thing I want to do is live with my kid and Axel.

Charlee’s shit is scattered around, turning it from a simple house to a home. We walk through the decent-sized living room and into the kitchen, where he leans his hip against a nearby counter and crosses his arms over his chest while he stares me down. He doesn’t say anything, but neither do I. We’re both more comfortable with the silence. It’s Axel that prefers the noise.

And speak of the devil. Axel walks inside with a wild Lily wiggling in his arms. He swings his gaze from me to Asher and shakes his head. “Damn. I thought you two would have come to blows by now. I guess I didn’t need to bring out the big guns.” He holds Lily up in his arms to emphasize his point. “Looks like we missed all the fun, Wildflower.” He tosses her up in the air and catches her just as fast. She lets out a giggle that has drool falling down her chubby cheeks. How she misses getting any on Axel’s face is beyond me, but I wish she would. I know that if Charlee caught Axel throwing her up like that, she’d castrate him. The thought does have some merit the more I think about it.

Rather than say anything and have Asher punch me for swearing in front of Lily, I extend Axel my middle finger.

He laughs but isn’t done. “I didn’t want to scare your new wife, but you do realize that Finn is gonna string you up by your teeth and make a piñata out of your nuts? Not to mention she has four bloodthirsty brothers that will want their pound of flesh.” Axel slaps me on the back as his gaze snaps to my nose. The same one Connor punched that night in the bar. “But, hey, congrats, man.”

I ignore him and spit the old piece of gum in the trash before replacing it with a fresh stick. The sweetness floods my mouth as I get lost in the taste, forgetting for a brief moment how fucked things have gotten in the last seventy-two hours.

Of course, I also forgot that it’s Axel I’m dealing with. He’s like a toddler and doesn’t miss a damn thing when you want him to. “And when the hell did you start chewing gum?”

“I’m trying to quit smoking.” I shrug and cross my arms over my chest, like Asher.

Axel throws his head back and laughs, causing Lily to mimic him. When he sees I’m not joking, his face falls, and his eyes narrow. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“I am. It’s not good for the baby.” I run a hand through my beard, ignoring the shit-eating grin on his face. “And if I catch you lighting up anywhere near Ken, I will break your fingers.”

“All right, man. I hear you on that loud and clear, Z.” He holds his free hand out to me, but I know my little brother and can tell when he’s bullshitting me.

“Ax.” There’s no missing the warning in my voice because I’m losing my patience with him.

“I won’t even pull a smoke out in front of her.” He holds his pinkie out to me. “Want to pinkie swear on it?”

“Axel.” Jet lag is starting to set in, and I want this day to be over already. I’ve been going nonstop since Kennedy and I eloped to Vegas. Add in dealing with Axel, and it’s a lethal combination.

“Uncle Z is grumpier than usual since he found out he’s gonna be a dad.” Axel talks to Lily in a high-pitched voice like she’s a pet, and she, in turn, wipes a slobbery hand on his cheek. He leans back and wipes at the streak of drool left behind, making her laugh some more. “Not cool, Wildflower.”

“Give it a rest, Ax.” Asher shakes his head and uncrosses his arms, extending them to Lily. “And give me my kid.”

“Sorry, kiddo. I have to give you to your smelly dad.” He sighs and hands her over.

Asher takes her from Axel and kisses the top of her dark head with a softness he reserves only for the girls. She’s got her mother’s looks, but her temper is a Savage all the way. Watching him with her has my thoughts drifting to what my future holds. Having a mini version of myself running around with Kennedy’s looks and my temper has a heaviness settling deep in my bones.

“Traitor.” Axel points a finger at her, but Lily knows she has us all wrapped around her damn finger even at seven months old. She claps her small hands together and laughs.

Asher ignores Axel, pulls a manila envelope out from a stack of papers on the counter behind him, and tosses it to me. “Here.”

I catch it with one hand and rip it open. The photo I pull out has me damn near choking on my gum. “What the fu—”

“Not in front of Lily,” Axel cuts me off, wearing a smirk, and waves a finger at me. “You’re gonna be a daddy now, and daddies usesafewords.”

I shoot him a look and tighten my grip on the photo to keep from swinging my fist into my brother’s face. Something tells me that would be much worse than dropping a simple “fuck”. I go back to staring at the black-and-white photo. It’s a little grainy, and it’s been eight years, but I’d know Isaac anywhere. It’s his eyes that give him away. People age or change their hair color, but the eyes are the one thing that will always remain the same. That’s something both Asher and I can agree on.

My eyebrows pinch together. The longer I stare at this, the more my gut tells me something isn’t right. Asher wouldn’t make a big deal out of this without reason. “You had me stay behind so that we could rehash the shit from my past?”

“Just look through the rest of it.” Asher rubs his hand against Lily’s back as he shoots me a hard look.

I do as he says and shuffle through the papers until one word jumps out at me. “A fucking traitor? Canton?”

“Yup.” Asher nods, letting me have the time I need to come to terms with the bomb he’s just dropped in my lap. Otherwise, he’d punch me in the face for swearing in front of Lily. “He’s our next job. Word is he’s been selling secrets to the Armenians for years, and they want him brought in alive.”

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