Page 22 of The MC's Little Brother

“You can ride with me if you want. Prez brought you that spare helmet. Or you can ride with Mel. She’s gonna bring Thor with us.”

He looked uncertain, glancing between me and Mel. She gave him a kind smile and squeezed his shoulder.

“No one will be hurt, no matter what you choose. Whatever you’re feeling up for.”

“I, uh… Can I ride with Mel?”

I nodded, careful to keep my face neutral, to show him without wordsthat whatever he chose was fine. Scaring the shit out of him once in one day was plenty. I wasn’t going to fuck with his head any more than that.

“Sweet. You, me, and Thor. You’ll have to wrestle him for the front seat, though. He’s a passenger princess, and he always sits next to me when I give him rides to the clubhouse,” Mel joked.

She was trying to ease the mood, and I went with it, giving her a droll look. “Stop spoiling him and he’ll behave more.”

She made a face at me. “Yeah, no. I’m not gonna do that. He deserves all the love. Isn’t that right, sweet boy?”

Thor gave her a big doggy grin, wriggling for more affection. I’d never admit out loud I was jealous. He got more attention from her than I ever did.

“Come on. Let’s get going. The guys are waiting.”

I used the ride over to the clubhouse to shake off what was left of the turmoil from scaring the hell out of Xander. I’d need to send Mel to wake him from now on. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Which meant I’d need to talk to Prez. I wasn’t going to have him thinking anything weird was happening when I asked his sister to come stay with me. It was just temporary, while we got Xander more comfortable. I needed the social butterfly to ease the way a little.

When I pulled up in front of the clubhouse, most of the guys were inside. Only a few hung around in the parking lot, probably talking about upgrades or things that needed fixing. They lifted their chins in greeting, but didn’t expect me to stop and chat. My crew knew me well enough to not expect that. I preferred to listen than to initiate conversations.

They were a lot friendlier when Mel pulled into an empty spot, calling out to her and waving. She wiggled her fingers in greeting as she stepped out, stopping to let Thor out of the backseat. Looked like Xander won the fight for the front. He slid out of his seat, his hood pulled up to hide his face. He looked wary, and I wasn’t sure if I could be a source of comfort to him right now. Not after how he reacted earlier. Instead of approaching him, I waited for them to join me and stuck close, so at least he knew I was there if he needed me.

The guys looked curious, but because of the way Xander was hiding, they couldn’t get a good look at his face. There would be two reactions from the crew that I could think of. First, they were gonna be pissed that he washurt. Second, once they looked past the bruising, they would be confused as fuck because of how much we looked alike. I was prepared for the first, but wasn’t looking forward to the second. They were going to ask a lot of questions I didn’t have answers to.

How bad would it be if I made Prez share for me?

14

Melissa

Icould feel the apprehension coming off Xander in waves. Despite the scare earlier, he hovered near Wraith’s back, keeping his head down to hide his face as much as he could as we weaved through the crowd. Wyatt stood to one side and gestured for us to join him, but getting the crew to focus was a pain in the ass, and no one seemed to be paying any of us much mind. Which would be good if we didn’t have to get this introduction over with first.

I sighed heavily, putting my fingers to my mouth to whistle loudly. I was one of the few people who could do that and the guys always hated it, but it worked wonders. Conversation screeched to a halt, and I gave Wyatt and Wraith a go ahead gesture.

“They’re all yours.”

Wyatt looked like he was fighting a laugh, and he shook his head. “I’ve always been jealous that you can do that.”

“I know. I’m awesome.”

He rolled his eyes. “And modest. Everyone, gather around. Wraith has something to share.”

As they all came closer, filling the living room until we were surrounded, I felt Xander stiffen and edge a little closer to Wraith and me. This group looked intimidating at first glance, but they really weren’t that bad. A little rough around the edges, but not a bad guy in the bunch.

“Who’s the kid?” Nova asked curiously.

“That’s what we want to talk about,” Wyatt said, in lieu of an answer. He gave Wraith a significant look and got a scowl in return before Wraith spoke.

“This is my little brother, Xander. He’s staying with me from now on.”

Short. To the point. And obviously left the crew with a million questions. Especially when Xander looked up and they all finally got a good look at his face. Questions came at us from all sides, from asking since when he had a brother, why he needed to move in, to why the hell he looked like someone’s punching bag. Wraith answered none of them, which wasn’t really surprising. I glanced over my shoulder at Xander, whose guard was up and his expression was close to a glower. Taking a step back, I put my arm around his shoulder and spoke low so only he could hear me.

“Is it alright if I give them the basics? They won’t shut up if I don’t.”

Xander nodded quickly and dropped his gaze to the floor. Embarrassment took over his features, but it was either I tell them or they’d pester him constantly until he repeated the story so many times he was blue in the face.

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