Chapter 6

" I don't know if she's going to want to see me," I tell Otto while we sit in the waiting room. It's not as busy anymore, thank fuck. I already have a splitting headache, and the crying toddlers that were here before didn't help.

Otto bounces Romeo on his lap while he's sucking his thumb. This little boy runs our home, and I adore every minute of it. We have been in Romeo's life since the moment Tempest gave birth in our living room.

She wanted a home birth, and we were happy to oblige. I never pictured taking in a teenager, but it was one of the best decisions of our life.

"Chastity loves you, Jacob. You guys have a lot to talk about, but she's going to want to see you. Always," Otto says with a yawn.

We are all exhausted, but I hope what he said is true. I don't want to lose my sister. There have been many times in the past where I thought I would.

She's overcome all of the trials and obstacles that have been thrown her way, and she's stronger than ever now. I just hope that whatever comes next doesn't break her.

Slouching in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, I spread my legs and cross my arms. Otto yawns again and I smile.

"Here, give me Rome and close your eyes. As soon as possible, we will go meet our new niece, and then we can head to our new place."

Rome jumps into my arms and wraps himself around me like a spider monkey. I know we aren't his daddies, but we are the closest thing to it. We love him as if he were ours.

Snake walks back into the room with a soft blanket and a tray full of good coffee. He hands a drink to Otto and me, and gives Rome the blanket.

"How is she?" I ask, because I know he's been sneaking in to check on the baby. Grunting, he leans against the wall.

It took an hour of Otto talking to him to convince Snake to change his clothes, but I'm glad he did. He looks less like a walking horror movie, and isn't scaring the hospital staff anymore.

"She's like a miniature Chastity and Levi," he mumbles, and I smile.

"Bet you didn't think you'd be a grandfather, huh?" I tease him as I play with Rome's soft hair. Snake pulls a face at me, making me chuckle softly. Rome is cuddled against me, beginning to fall asleep, and I don't want to startle him too much.

"I don't think that anything about my life was on my bingo card," Snake grumbles. "God, she scared the shit out of me. Chastity was talking to me one second, and the next, she was bleeding everywhere. I think I need to go wash my hands again."

Abruptly, he shakes his head and storms out, staring at his hands, as if he can still see her blood.

"That's going to bite me in the ass later," I grumble, taking a sip of coffee.

"Snake is feeling things he's never had to before," Otto murmurs, mindful of Rome's deepening breaths as his weight gets heavier on my chest. He's definitely falling asleep. "I'm glad he wants to have some kind of relationship with Chastity, but he's so…"

"Intense," I finish for him. "I thought I'd run The Society, continue to be a grumpy fucker, and that would be it. You've been the only good thing in my life for a long time. And now…"

"You have all of these people you're responsible for," Otto teases me. Rolling my eyes at him, he shrugs. "I, personally, love it. The house isn't as quiet, we have little screams of joy echoing around the place now, and Tempest talks our ears off constantly, but it's so much better."

"It is," I agree, knowing how lonely he gets while I'm working. I'm trying to be better about coming home earlier, and not being on the phone outside of emergencies.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the emergencies will be more frequent now.

"I'm worried," I sigh. "Isabella is still out there gunning for Chastity. Things are probably going to get worse."

"The war is coming," Otto mutters, repeating what he's heard Snake say. "You need to stop hiding things from your sister. She allowed you back in after the first time you lied to her about our relationship, because you thought she'd judge you for loving me, but how many more chances do you think she will give you?"

His voice is sharper than it usually is with me, and I force myself not to flinch as I nod. He's right. Chastity adores Otto. Sometimes, I think she likes him more than me.

"I'll tell her," I promise. "Do you think she can handle it all? There's so many moving parts to this, between the auctions, and what The Society still wants from her. Plus, she just had a traumatic birth."

"There's always going to be something," he grunts, reminding me. "The lies hurt her, and remind her that she's not worth the truth."

"But she is," I hiss, remembering how awful Maxen treated her. I didn't know he and Isabella were as awful as they were, and I fucked up when I left her there.

I shouldn't have left her then, and if I continue to lie, I'm just opening her up to be taken by the people who want to hurt her. It's this endless cycle, set on repeat. Fuck me.

Guilt heavy enough to choke begins to consume me as I struggle to take a breath. The past threatens to pull me back, but Otto places his hand on my arm and shakes his head.

"Tell her and move forward," he says, eyes narrowing as he watches me. "There's no place in the past for us."

I have to come clean. The lies are no longer serving their purpose. Maybe I was deluding myself into thinking they ever did.

"I need to decide what to say." I sigh. "Here, he's asleep now."

Getting up slowly, I lay Rome in Otto's arms, giving them both forehead kisses. I'm not a soft man, but I do love them both. I leave them to nap while I walk down the hall and pull my phone out.

I need to contact Kian, to let him know that we won't be meeting him at the cabin. I hope he understands.

The meeting with The Elders is over, and we still don't have a solid plan. I'm ready to get the hell out of here, find Otto, and take a nap in one of the empty dorm rooms. I don't think we will be able to leave campus for a while.

My phone buzzes and I pull it from my pocket. Shit, it's Kian. I request a video call and wait. The Elders have cleared out now, and Ash is standing by the door, holding his ribs, and I don't miss the way his eye is swelling shut.

"Ki!" I boom with a small smile. "What's happened now?"

"Richard James is a controlling asshole, and is Patience's grandfather. He's ignored her safety multiple times, and I need him to disappear. He's been blackmailing me for years to do his dirty little errands. I want Pay to be able to live in peace."

Damn, he's really worked up. I glance at Ash.

"I don't usually ask for payment with something like this, but my sister is missing. I'm worried she's in trouble. I'll take care of Richard, and you'll never have to deal with him again .

" Chastity is important to a lot of people, and she has small children at home—" I trail off, hoping he will take the bait.

" I'll help ," he says immediately. "I understand the importance of family, more than most. Are you sending anyone? What makes you think she may be here?"

" I didn't think it'd be so easy," I sigh, relief creeping into my tone. " Spider is on his way to you. He'll take care of the old man, then he'll come find you with ideas of who may have taken Chastity. I'm afraid we have a lot of enemies, and many of them live in your area."

"Of course, they do," he replies. "I accept the responsibility of helping you find Chastity. I look forward to meeting Spider. It's about time I meet the man who helped save my step-sister." He ends the call and I look at Ash.

"Snake has Chastity, so why are you looking into Kian and his family?"

Giving him a smile, I shrug, leaning back in the chair.

"Because Patience James is going to become the leader of the new mafia, and we are going to be by her side as she cleans up the scum around us."

"Isabella?" he gasps, and I don't miss how his hands tremble a little.

Nodding, I stand. "Yes, it's time she's eliminated. Finish up what we need to do here, then make your way to the James' cabin. Also, maybe grab some ice and painkillers."

Shit! How has so much changed in just a few hours? It's safe to assume Ash will not be going to the cabin, but there is someone else that may be even better. Scrolling through my contacts, I find a name that is supposed to be in hiding.

Hitting the dial button, I lean against the wall and wait for even more secrets to be revealed.

BASTIAN

I think the lack of sleep is getting to me. Leaving Chas' room, I walk around the corner, looking for a vending machine, only to see a woman with blonde hair and large sunglasses covering most of her face.

It's the middle of the day, and she's inside a hospital. I immediately know who it is. My fists clench and I'm about to sneak up on her when someone's hand reaches out, pulling me into a utility closet before shutting the door.

"Shhh," Ash says, and he looks like he's about to be sick. I push away from him and he lets me go, then slumps back against the door, sliding until his ass is on the ground.

He's shaking and I don't know how to handle him looking so broken. He's always been the strongest out of us. Well, besides Levi, of course, because he was our mentor.

"I should knock your ass out, but by the looks of it, Jonas did that already. You look like shit."

He huffs and shakes his head.

"We need to tell Levi or Jacob that Isabella is here."

He nods and looks at me. I cringe.

"I don't have my phone."

Sighing, Ash pulls out a battered looking flip phone, handing it to me.

"What the fuck is this?" I snark as I open it and try to type in a message, but the keyboard is so small, and you have to press the number repeatedly to get the letter you want.

God, has he been living in the Stone Age or something?

I give up after misspelling a word three times. My fingers are too thick for this.

I dial Levi and wait for him to answer. It takes calling four times for him to finally pick up.

"What?!" he snaps.

"It's Bast. Isabella is in the hall by Chastity's room. I'm hiding in a closet with Ash. Let Jacob know."

He hangs up and I look down at Ash.

"Why are you hiding?"

"Because if Isa sees me then my cover is blown, and I know The Dragon isn't done with me spying on her, or whatever the fuck he's been making me do since leaving you guys."

He groans and slams his head against the wall, making a loud thump.

"Dude. Save all the brain cells you can," I mumble, then sit next to him.

"How long are we going to be stuck in here?" I groan, thinking about my grumbling stomach. There was a reason I was headed to the vending machines after all.

"Probably won't be much longer. Isabella won't be able to hide for long if Jacob and the rest of them start looking through the halls. Oh shit, Snake."

Grabbing his phone, he calls his partner, the man who took Chastity, warning him as well.

We don't say much, just a few comments here and there, and I can't get over how much things have changed. We used to be brothers.

Soon there is a knock on the door and Jonas tells us the coast is clear.

"Finally," I grumble and Ash opens the door, letting me leave. Jonas and him have a weird stare off until Snake interrupts.

"Spider, you're with me. Let's roll," he snaps, and I watch as Ash's shoulders droop.

"Before we leave, can I go talk to Chastity?" he asks and Snake nods, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and nodding toward the side door.

"Hurry up."

Jonas moves next to me, and we watch as Ash pauses outside the hospital room door, takes in a deep breath and shakes out his hands.

He pushes the door open and I can hear Chastity's gasp from here before the sobs begin.

"We should give them a moment," Levi says, exiting the room with Jacob.

Jonas grumbles and I sigh.

"Whatever, but I need some food," I mutter, leaving the hall and skipping the vending machine.

I know there is a cafeteria around here somewhere, but before I can go searching, Jacob speaks up.

"I have men trailing Isabella, and she went by your place. Tempest mentioned you guys packing some things, so why don't we hit a drive-thru and go to the safe house. We can get it set up for Chas and the kids."

"Yeah, I could use a shower too," Levi says, nodding.

We follow him out to the parking lot, and I don't miss the group of Society members that are scattered all around, acting like they are just normal hospital visitors, and not guarding our family.

Levi leads us to a new van and we hop in. I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes for a minute.

It must have been more than a minute. I wake up to Jonas and Levi yelling at each other as Jacob unlocks a door with his thumbprint.

The place is big enough for all of us, but pretty barren. A brick three story home, secluded in the woods, isn't my idea of homey, but I guess it'll work.

I unbuckle and hop out of the van, catching the final shout between the guys.

Pausing, I turn and give them a look of horror.

"Are you guys seriously arguing over who is going to kill Isabella?"

Jonas looks at his feet and rubs the back of his neck as Levi scowls.

Shaking my head, I leave them to whatever they are plotting and stomp up the five steps that lead to a small porch and enter the house.

Otto and Romeo are already here with Tempest and my son. "Da!" Eli shouts, squirming in Otto's arms.

I walk over to them and scoop up Elijah, bringing his head to my chest. I hold him tight and sigh.

Tempest hands me his blanket, and I move over to the couch with him, taking a seat.

Romeo waddles over to us, and Tempest places him on my lap so he can cuddle too.

"So, Otto told me that Ash and Chastity are talking. How do you think that's going?" Tempest asks while folding some blankets and getting the living room set up with the boys' toys.

"Hopefully this gives her some type of closure and she can move on," I mutter, then yawn.

"Yeah, maybe."

"How long have you guys been here?" The place is covered in bags from Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.

"We did some shopping and then decided to skip the hospital, so the Littles could take a nap. Rome was miserable," she coos, moving closer to us and running her finger through his dark curls.

He looks up at his mom with so much love in his eyes and I smile.

"Is there anything Jonas and I can do?"

Tempest shakes her head and points to the kids that are snuggled up with me.

"Keep them occupied so Otto and I can finish setting this place up. We couldn't find a crib, but we have a bassinet that we will stick in the master bedroom."

"How long do you think we will be here?"

"I'll answer that," Jacob says, entering the room. "This is temporary. We have a larger place a few hours away, but for now, we will stay here."

"Wait. We will be moving again?"

"Isabella has a large harem of criminals and nasty people in her bed. She could already know where we are. The package that was left at your gate proves she has eyes and ears everywhere."

"I totally forgot about that. What was on it?"

"Nothing pleasant," Jacob grumbles, then takes a seat next to me with a yawn. "We grabbed food on the way, but you passed out. It's on the front seat."

"Honestly, I think I need to sleep more," I say, then hand the boys to Jacob and stand up. Tempest points to a set of French doors at the end of the hall, and I head that way. I don't do more than kick off my shoes before face planting into the mattress.