Chapter Seventeen

Cullen

I T WAS THE Monday after the Dogs of Fire family night, and Cade and I were placing bets on whether or not Cameron would show for our weekly planning meeting. We gave him shit last night about his recent attendance record, and he swore he’d improve starting with this morning’s eight A.M. meeting. Cade was convinced he’d flake on us, but I remained optimistic. Confident that our kid brother had what it took to become a full-fledged adult man.

At exactly five minutes ‘til eight the office door rattled.

I clapped my hands and pointed at Cade. “I knew it. I knew Cam had it in him. You owe me forty bucks. Pay up, sucker.”

My celebration was soon cut short, when instead of our brother Cameron stepping through the door, we were instead visited by Hatch.

“Mornin’, Connor. What’s up?” Cade asked.

“Is Cameron with you?” I asked, craning my neck to see if anyone else was behind him.

“No, that’s why I’m here,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, shit, is he okay?” I asked, my annoyance now turned to concern.

“Yeah, yeah. He’s fine, but I do need to talk with you both about him.”

“Sure thing,” Cade said. “Sit down. You want some coffee?”

Hatch shook his head, waving Cade off. “I’m good, I’ve already had three cups this morning. Besides, I can’t stay. I’ve got a shit ton to do today.”

“So, what’s up?”

“I know you guys have had some issues with Cameron regarding your business.”

Cade and I both nodded. “We had a bit of a come to Jesus moment with him at family night,” I said.

“Yeah, he told me about that which is why I’m here.”

Cade scoffed. “Please don’t tell me Cameron came running to you, whining about me and Cullen being mean to him.”

Hatch shook his head. “I think Cameron deserves a little more respect and good faith than that. Don’t you?”

Cade sighed. “You’re right, but I’m still pissed that you’re here instead of him. He made a promise to us last night.”

“And I’m the reason he had to break that promise,” Hatch said.

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“I can’t tell you much, because it involves club business, and as much as I love, trust, and respect you both, I still need to honor my club’s privacy laws.”

“Noted,” Cade said, clearly irritated.

“Cameron has been working for me on a club related matter for the past few years. His work with the Dogs was never supposed to interfere with his day job, but clearly as of late, it has.”

“What do you mean, Cam is working for you? Why didn’t you just tell us this before?” Cade asked.

“Like I said, I can’t share this kind of club information with you, and Cameron swore an oath of secrecy, which he’s kept. Please don’t be mad at him. If there’s anyone you should be pissed at, it’s me,” Hatch said.

“I am, believe me,” Cade snapped. “Wallace Brothers Construction is our livelihood. Cameron is our business partner, and you decided you could just play the big brother card and force him to moonlight for you and your little biker buddies?”

“It’s not like that, and let’s be a little more respectful when you’re talkin’ to me.”

“Or what? You’ll ground me? I’m not one of your club members and you’re not my dad. So how about you respectfully stay the fuck out of my business.”

I don’t know if Cade saw the hurt in Hatch’s eye when he said he wasn’t our father, but I did, and it busted me up inside. While technically true, Hatch was not only a terrific eldest sibling, but he’d also been an amazing surrogate father to all of us over the years, and as fucked up as this situation was, he didn’t deserve talk like that.

“Back off,” I warned Cade.

“Of course you’d side with him, you always do,” Cade snapped at me.

“I’m not siding with anyone, but if Hatch and Cameron have some sort of arrangement, they’re entitled to it.”

“Not if it means our business suffers,” he argued.

“That’s why I’m here,” Hatch said. “It’s clear that Cam’s work for me is interfering with your gig and is causing you financial grief. That’s the last thing I want in the world, so this morning, I deposited one hundred grand into your corporate account to make up for any losses you may have incurred. If the amount isn’t sufficient let me know and I’ll adjust it.”

“This isn’t just about the money, Connor,” Cade said.

“I’m also gonna rotate our stable of club recruits to work at your job sites. At least one guy a day to help clean up trash, run to the store for parts, or lunch. Whatever helps lighten the load in Cameron’s absence.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, and I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping you in the dark until now. I can only hope that you trust me enough to know I have my reasons, and that I’m doing my best to protect my family.”

“This is fucking weird,” Cade said.

“I’m asking you to trust me and to trust Cameron. You have no idea how strong and mature he truly is. I didn’t even know until recently how much so. He’s not the slacker, fuck up he pretends to be.”

“Well, I’m real fucking happy that the two of you are getting along so well in your mysterious joint venture. Since Cullen and I are less pleased, how about you keep Cameron all to yourself? Why don’t you just patch him into your club while you’re at it? That way you can own one hundred percent of his ass, and we don’t have to be involved at all.”

With that, Cade stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

“I think that went well,” Hatch said.

“You have to admit, this whole thing is fucked up,” I said.

Hatch nodded. “Do you trust me?”

“One hundred percent, big bro,” I replied. “Cade does too, he’s just gonna be too pissed to realize it for a while. You know what he’s like.”

“I do,” he sighed.

“So, I guess the meeting’s adjourned. You wanna go grab some breakfast?”

“Sounds good but you sure you don’t want to stick around here for when Cade gets back?”

“Nah. He’s at least three hours pissed.”

“Huh?”

“Whenever he storms off like that, I can predict how long he’ll be gone by how steamed up he was when he left. I figure he’s at least three hours’ worth of pissed off right now, so we’ve got plenty of time to plow through some pancakes.”

“How come you’re not pissed at me too?” Hatch asked.

“Because I’ve never once known you to make a selfish decision, and because I know Cam has a good heart. If the two of you have something cooking that you can’t talk about with the rest of us, so be it. You sacrificed your entire life to raise us. You’re entitled to some space and privacy for once in your life.”

Hatch put his hand on the back of my neck. “You have no idea how much that means to me, little brother.”

Something in Hatch’s eyes told me there was much more to his story than he was letting on, but for now I would trust him with his secrets. I would trust him to be the man I’d always known him to be. Protective, wise, and loyal to the end.

* * *

Helena

A couple of weeks later, Cullen and I were curled up together on the couch “enjoying” an evening in. I put enjoying in quotes because tonight was movie night, and tonight’s movie was the 1987 classic Turner & Hooch. The buddy-cop movie starring Tom Hanks and a lovable yet constantly slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux in the role of Hooch.

The end credits rolled over a montage of scenes from the movie, delivering one final cheap shot to the tear ducts before mercifully going dark. I was a blubbery mess. I had burned through half a box of tissues and every stitch of make-up I’d put on earlier was gone. Cullen had refrained from sobbing, but the room had definitely “gotten dusty” a few times.

“I thought you said this movie didn’t make you cry,” Cullen said.

“It never did before tonight,” I argued.

“How the hell is that even possible? I’m fucking wrecked. I mean, the movie is great and all, but goddamn. I can’t believe you never cried before.”

“I was never in love before,” I said.

“Huh?”

“I think movies that pull on your heartstrings always hit you harder after a breakup or when you’re madly in love.”

“This is you madly in love, huh?” Cullen asked with a smile.

“As evidenced by the blubbery mess that was once Helena Bridges.”

“You know, I’m gonna want to do somethin’ about that before too long,” Cullen said.

“Do something about what?”

“Your last name.”

“What’s wrong with my last name?”

“Nothing. Bridges is a perfectly fine surname. It’s just not Wallace, and I plan on doing something to change that.”

I felt my face go flush and I turned to face him. “Are you saying you want to marry me?”

He nodded. “I am, but don’t worry. I’m not asking you right now.”

“Sure. I’ll just put that out of my head, and not wonder every time you go to speak if you’re about to propose.”

“Don’t worry, Scorpion. When I ask you to marry me, you’ll know it.”

“Is that a fact?”

“A cold hard fact. Like your heart before you met me. Cold, hard, and unable to cry at movies where the dog d—”

I waved my hands. “Don’t say it. Don’t say it or I’ll start crying again.”

Cullen closed his mouth with an imaginary zipper, tossing away the key once done.

“Don’t shut that mouth permanently, I’m gonna need you to use it later.”

Cullen’s eyebrows raised, but he remained quiet.

“Oooh, the strong silent type. I think I like this,” I said, standing up. “Come on, I can’t wait until later. I need you and that pretty mouth of yours in the bedroom right now.”

Cullen remained silent as he stood up before sweeping me into his arms and carrying me into the bedroom.

Helena Wallace . I liked the sound of that.