“No. I’ve been busy. I knew Zion was in a club, but until tonight, I’d never met anyone before.”
“Strange, your brother’s been in the club for ages.”
“Four years, but again, I’ve been busy. School has ruled my life for a long time. It still does because I know what I want in life, and I want to achieve it.” I shrugged, suddenly feeling bad because I should have known more about my brother than what I did.
“Don’t stress. I can understand that. You’re focus-driven. It’s cool. To answer your question though, you gotta understand the brothers in the club are… shit, how to explain?” He went quiet for a moment. “It’s like these men protect in their own kinda way. They have their own laws, and they stick to them. They’d do anything for anyone in the family, no matter the cost, because they believe the brotherhood, their families, are everything. They live and breathe the club. It’s their life. I’ve never had structure in my life. My parents are fucked-up drug dealers. An old friend of my father’s got me out of it and brought me into the fold by takin’ me in. I’ve been around their ways, and it suits me perfectly. It’s why I wanted to patch in and become a member.”
I nodded, not really knowing what to say.
He went on. “They deal in respect and don’t like being fucked around. It surprised me the way Wreck was, but I understood I went too far. They don’t like shit bein’ said. Wreck was only teachin’ me a lesson. Yeah, he might have been rough, but it’s their way, and by doing it how he did, I know I’ll never make the same mistake again.”
“But, ah, wasn’t it a shock he did it over you saying something that was, well, small?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, it was a shock, but I disrespected you in front of your own brother and in his home. It wasn’t right.”
I still wasn’t sure I completely understood. I didn’t think I ever would, but who was I to judge them and their ways? I couldn’t and wouldn’t. If Kylo wasn’t upset over the incident, then I couldn’t be. Also, a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach emerged, knowing I’d been protected by a stranger over something so insignificant.
I felt Kylo’s eyes on me and heard his chuckle. “It’s okay. You’ll get used to it.”
Again, I wasn’t sure I would. However, now living with Zion, I guessed I would maybe bump into more of his friends—brothers—if they dropped by, so in time, I could understand what it was all about being in a club as such.
Or maybe I would stick to asking Zion about it since he was my brother, and it would be better if I wasn’t around his good-looking friends and making a fool of myself.
My attention went back to the game, and as we traveled through the worlds, we chatted about everyday things. It was different, already it felt easy, like I’d known Kylo for a while. I glanced over my shoulder when I heard footsteps and found Quake and Death coming our way.
“Prospect, my turn now,” Death said.
I stood, holding out my controller. “It’s okay, you can have this one. I’ve got to go make a call anyway.”
I caught Zion looking at me from the kitchen. I wasn’t running off if that was what he was thinking.
“You sure?” Death asked.
“Yep. I need to call our parents, and it should be morning there in Australia.”
He tipped his chin up and took the remote with a smile. “Cool.”
I started for my bedroom. “Yo, Lucas,” Zion called. “Tell ’em I said hey.”
“No problem. I’ll also tell Mom about the women constantly showing up for a piece of—”
He actually paled as he barked, “You’d better not say shit.”
Laughing, I told him, “Don’t fret. I’ve got your back.”
He studied me for a moment before smiling. “Yeah, and I got yours.”
I went back into my room and pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was funny how a shitty day could turn into an all right night—a night where things could change. And if it wasn’t for my brother’s faith and trust, I wouldn’t be calling our parents right then to tell them something they already knew but hadn’t heard from me.
It rang a couple of times before my dad answered with “G’day, cobber. Struth, it’s a hot one.”
Closing my eyes, I ran a hand over my face. “Dad, have you actually heard anyone talk