Page 54 of Happenstance
I’d never knock her faith or try and stop her from practicing it. I was fully prepared to stand next to her in that pew and fake my way through prayer. Believing in some all loving being up in the sky wasn’t hurting anyone. Besides, religion instilled good morals. Who would my Angel be if she didn’t grow up thinking there was good in humanity?
Hiding the ugly parts of the world from her was my job. She might hate me now, and think I was forcing her into a life she never wanted, but I was only giving her what she needed. Protection, security, and love. In time she’d see that no one could take care of her like I could. Because Lana Crawford was, and always had been, mine. Apparently that was a lesson I had to teach someone else.
I glanced down at the note Lana found yesterday.
“He could’ve arranged to have it sent before.” Logan pointed at Micha sitting across the table, and popped a fry in his mouth. “You know how prepared my old man liked to be.”
Ryker had been dead for months now, this time for sure. Preston and Lou made sure of that. Or so they said.
Micha’s brow rose. “And how did he know Parker would buy a house? Let alone that the idiot would knock her up?”
“Smooth move on that one.” Mase rolled his green eyes my way, “Didn’t your dad tell you to wrap your shit?”
“Maybe I knocked her up on purpose. Ever think of that, jackass?”
The table went quiet as Micha, Mase and Logan all stared at me. Silas was the only one who didn’t look shocked, though that could have something to do with the dark circles under his eyes. These days he spent most nights calming Finn down. The shit Ryker did to him gave him nightmares. Kid couldn’t cope without Junior. Micha offered to swap out, have Junior spend a week at Silas’s, and then Finn the next week at his. The esteemed Dr. Creswell was dead set against it. He said Finn needed to learn to deal with his shit. Prick.
“Damn man,” Mase slapped Silas on the shoulder and then waved his hand at me, “You were right.”
Silas shrugged. “Told you.”
That made my brow rise. How the fuck did Silas know anything? It wasn’t like I planned this shit. I didn’t do it on purpose, but I didn’t take any precautions either. Didn’t even stop to ask Lana if she was on birth control. Honestly, I didn’t care. I needed to pump her full of my cum. So I may as well have done it on purpose.
“It doesn’t matter,” Micha growled, “We need to find this asshole. None of our girls are safe until we do.”
“Looks like this grumpy fuck and I are the only smart ones here.” Mase threw a wink at Silas, who flipped him off. “We don’t have girls.”
“First off, this prick,” Logan threw his thumb in Silas’s direction, “Doesn’t have one because they’re all afraid of his shit. And do I need to remind you of a particular redhead?”
Mase’s face dropped. “I don’t give a shit what happens to her.”
We all snorted at that. Mase might fucking hate Harper, but nobody else better touch her. She was his to torment, and God help the fucker that decided to try and get a piece.
“And yet, you still have the contract,” Micha added.
Mase glared at his brother, but didn’t say anything. They all thought they knew the youngest Kessler. They didn’t know shit. Mase was going through with the arrangement for one reason. To make her life a living hell. Harper couldn’t go near other guys if she was married to him. She’d never feel wanted or loved. I had to hand it to him, Mase’s long term plan for the girl was the ultimate fuck you. Preston couldn’t have come up with something better. And how did I know this? There was a lot of things a guy would tell you when you had his dick in your hand.
We sat for a few more minutes, discussing what to do. By the time I had to leave for practice, Micha had a plan laid out. Each of us was given a job. Logan and Preston were going to look deeper into the note. See if they could match handwriting and check security cameras around my house. Mase was sent to check out the office files, in case the fucker was hiding in Ashworth. Which I’m sure Mrs. Grier would love.
Silas was going to pull on his family’s political strings and see if he could uncover adoption records, and Micha said he had a few places to check for information. What places? He didn’t say and no one asked. Louis Kessler was the keeper of secrets. There was probably a bunch of places we didn’t know about that Micha could utilize.
As for me, I was to watch my girl and see if anyone was getting oddly close to her. There were a few people on my list, but my Angel was a friendly girl. People naturally liked her, except for Naomi. I don’t think Ashworth’s queen bee liked anyone though. I’d have to keep a closer eye on my girl. Look for someone paying a little too much attention. Not that I hadn’t been doing that already, but this guy was with Ryker, and Logan’s dad was one hell of a sneaky fucker.
I snorted out a chuckle as I walked into the locker room. The Piper. Logan assumed that came from shit his dad used to say. I knew different.
When I was a kid, Ryker played ‘games’ with me. His favorite was ‘let’s see how quick we can break your brother’. Preston would be forced to watch as Ryker and his sick friend Nash ran a pipeline on me. The day my brother finally broke, he shoved a lead pipe up Nash’s ass. When Ryker pulled him away, Preston shoved the shitty end in his mouth and yelled,‘Who’s the piper now, fucker.’
The nickname wasn’t some sick way for him to taunt his son. It was a fuck you to the one kid that dared to stand up to him.
None of this made sense. Especially for a guy like Ryker. That bastard planned everything. He didn’t fuck with us when we were kids because he was some sick kiddie diddler. Every twisted thing he did brought him closer to the throne, because he who controlled the Order of Ravens and Wolves, had all the power.
He’d spent years terrorizing the next generation of Kings. Kind of smart, if you thought about it. Fear was a great motivator. None of us would’ve stopped him from taking the crown. He would’ve succeeded, too, if it wasn’t for two people. Micha and Preston. Though in time, I’m sure he would’ve gotten to the king of kings’ heir. My brother, however… How do you convince someone incapable of feeling fear, that you’re the boogeyman? That was the fatal flaw in his plan. Preston was the voice whispering in our ears and arming us with flashlights to fight the darkness. There was fuck all Ryker could do to intimidate my brother. Including using Ava and I against him. The final nail in his coffin was my brother, and he knew it.
So why go after Riley and Shelby? What purpose did that serve? Micha was wrath personified. If he could bring his mother back to life just to kill her again, he would. And Logan… yeah, he was his son, but he already fucking hated the prick. Why take his girl at all? That didn’t include Junior and Finn. Ryker had to know the second he touched Finn, we’d all band against him. None of it made sense.
That’s what was bugging me, because when it came to Ryker Hudson, there was always an end game. He wouldn’t have left a protégé behind without a plan. The last person in this town that plan should include was my angel. If anything, Micha’s illegitimate brother–which is who we assumed this asshole was–should be targeting that mousy little church girl Preston was stalking around town. Then again, who the fuck knew what the prick’s agenda was?
“You gonna have your head in the game today, Whitley?”
