Page 78 of Lick

He shrugs. “All right, I guess. School’s fine. I have friends. Rox seems to be good. I guess life is good.” He takes another sip of soda.

“You’re a good big brother. I want you to know that.” I throw it out there because he does need to know. “Your attitude sucks some of the time, but from what I hear, it’s preteen shit. I don’t like it, but I guess it won’t always be like that.”

He turns to me. “Do you really think so?”

I look at him. “That you’re a good brother? Or that your attitude sucks?” I cock my eyebrow, “Yeah, I mean it. I don’t say shit I don’t mean, Ryder. You should know that by now.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks,” he says before he turns back, facing forward.

“Being a big brother is a big deal. Huge responsibilities come with the title. You know in Spiderman when his uncle tells him that with great power comes great responsibilities?”

He nods. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, same goes for the power of being an older brother, especially to a younger sister. They will never be as strong as you. They will never be as tough, so you’ve always got to remember that when you’re talking to her. When you’re looking out for her.”

“Like how you were with my mom?” The fact that he thinks I protected his mom shatters a little something inside because if I had protected her, she may be sitting here with us.

“Hopefully you can do a better job.”

“Not possible. Not from the stories that she used to tell us. You were her hero, Uncle Tylan. You always made sure she had what she needed.”

“Until I didn’t,” I say before taking another pull of my beer.

“Not true. You can’t blame yourself for her choices. She made the bad decisions–not you.”

I’m shocked by his words. “How old are you again?”

“I’m wise beyond my years,” he says with a chuckle.

We fall into a comfortable silence.

Roxy and Ryder have been under our roof for a while now. Not only have they made a place for themselves in the house by leaving their shit everywhere, but they’ve also taken up residence in my heart. A place I thought was long dead, but I’m finding it coming back to life because of two crazy kids and one stubborn woman. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that if I had to choose between Ryder, Roxy, Jenni over anything else, it would be them every time. Club or not. Brothers or not. My loyalty will always be to them. They are mine, and there’s no way in hell that I would ever turn my back ’em.

“We need you.”

Cut’s standing in the shop watching me tighten down the engine to a bike we had built as a custom. Nothing has been officially announced with our new partnership, but the orders and the money have started to roll in. Ryder went back home a little while ago to finish his homework, and I knew I had shit to finish before I called it a night.

“What do you need?” I grit out as I use my weight to tighten down the last bolt by hand before I use the impact.

“It’s the fucking Vegas crew. Shit still ain’t right, and I’m getting sick of these people not talking.”

“This shit is taking far too long. You should have handled this catch months ago.”

“This isn’t small time shit, Lick. These guys make a career outta hiding.”

“No shit.”

“Listen, smart ass, I need you in the backroom of the clubhouse.”

“Wait, you brought that shit on home turf? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Cruise brought him in. It wasn’t my choice.”

“Of course, that fucker did it.”

Shaking my head, I stand and leave the bike for later. All the years we’ve been doing this shit, we’ve never brought any of our catches or any of the people who’ve helped us catch on Fury property. We’re supposed to keep our bounty side off of club grounds. We make sure the two never intertwine because if they do, it could be bad for both sides.

This is leading to trouble.