Page 4 of Gentleman Wanted
Chapter Two
Gemma
I didn’t answer, my mouth opened but no words came out. It was like I was suddenly faint. I couldn’t do anything but curl my hand around Gent’s like he was a lifeline. Which was exactly what he had been for the last year.
Not just for me but for Bobby as well. I wasn’t sure how we would have managed without him looking after us. It had been almost impossible for me to find work after I started to show. No one wanted to employ a pregnant woman, and Gent had stepped up without being asked.
He had been the one to make sure I had everything I needed for the baby, that we had a roof over our heads and food on the table.
Hell, he had been the one to hold my hand as I gave birth, the one to cut the umbilical cord and the first person to hold Bobby.
And never once had he complained. He had done more for us than a lot of biological dads had done.
One day Gent would make some woman really happy. He would have a family and children of his own. But for now, he seemed to love being Uncle Gent to my son.
When that day came, whatever woman it was that snapped him up would be very lucky.
I knew I shouldn’t rely on him so much that it was time to start standing on my own two feet. But as Ruin’s eyes trapped me in their steely gaze, I was glad of the warmth of Gent’s hand curling around mine. Without it, I wasn’t even sure I would still be standing.
“Bobby is my son.” Finally, the words left my mouth.
“Just tell him, Gem,” Gent’s fingers squeezed mine, lending me some of his strength. “They can’t help you if you don’t tell them the truth.”
Swallowing hard around the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Fine.” I let my eyes rise to meet Ruins. I had been expecting anger in them, so it came as a shock that his eyes were soft.
“Yeah, Bobby is Fender’s. My son is your brother.” I closed my eyes for a second. “Half brother,” I corrected myself.
I had expected anger, maybe even disbelief. What I didn’t expect was Ruin’s arms to wrap around my shoulders. He crushed me to his chest, his chin coming to rest on the top of my head. I could hear him breathing heavily.
“Gem…”
There was something tortured in his voice. It was pretty evident that he wanted to say something and was struggling with it. Maybe it was because he had a child of his own now. One that he hadn’t known about until recently. There was obviously guilt there.
“It’s ok.” I untangled myself from his arms, stepping back next to Gent. I knew that Ruin wanted to apologise, something he had always found hard. And as much as I wanted to hear the words, it was enough that he was feeling them. He didn’t need to say them out loud.
Ruin’s eyes darted between the two of us. “No, it’s not. Not by a long shot.” His hand came up to rub over his chin, his face thoughtful. “I can’t believe I have a brother.”
“Half brother,” I said again, without thinking.
“Brother, Gem. Blood is blood.” His eyes lifted to the closed door. “I’ve always wanted a little brother. So has Chelsea.” He threw Truth a look, and it wasn’t a friendly look.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who’s been fucking your sister.”
I blinked in surprise. Someone from the club was with Chelsea? As much as I was surprised, I couldn’t help but remember the looks that had passed between her and Wicked all those months ago.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one with news.
“Not my fault.” Ruin shrugged. “You look so much like him. I want to smash your teeth down your throat.”
Truth laughed. “You’ll get over it. Mind on the matter in hand, Ruin.” With a grin, he shook his head.
“Can I meet him?”
Ruin’s question took me by surprise. Not because I wasn’t expecting it because I was. Of course, he would want to meet Bobby. They all would. I had just expected to have more time.
“Sure.” I hesitated. “ He might be asleep though.”
“That’s fine. I just want to check for myself that the Iad’s ok. And then I will go and make some calls. Get everything organised.”
