Page 4 of Triple the Secrets
“Not so sure I want to anymore,” Razor grumbled, tossing his wrench angrily on the bench. Razor was an easy going guy, and for him to show this much emotion, told Rogue he was talking out his ass. He wanted the firecracker, and he didn’t like it.
Rogue rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to get the kids. Make sure this place doesn’t burn to the ground.”
“No promises with Jax around,” Razor said loudly, making Jax, another brother and mechanic, lift his hand from underneath the hood of the car he was working on, and flip them off.
Rogue put away his tools and then headed to where Fury said he could find the kids. Rounding the corner of the building, he saw the boys sitting in the grass, Fury’s German Shepherd beside them, and no prospect in sight. He narrowed his eyes and hollered, “Come on, boys. We’re going to the library.”
“Yay!” Ronin cried excitedly, jumping up and running towards him. At four, he was the spitting image of Royal, right down to the red hair and green eyes, and he was full of questions. “I love the library,” he said excitedly as he flung himself at Rogue and hugged his leg, grinning up at him.
Rogue didn’t like many people, but he had a soft spot for kids. Especially Ronin. He’d been around since Ronin came into the picture, and he knew this kid had a lot of spunk.
Behind him came Gabe. At eight, he was very smart, and while he was trying to act cool, Rogue could see that he was excited to be going too. If he wasn’t playing with Ronin and the dog, he was reading. Rogue had a feeling that he was going to be running circles around them before too long. He was a bit lanky, with dark black hair and dark eyes, and while he wasn’t Fury’s biological kid, the kid reminded him plenty of Fury. Right down to the way he walked.
“Thought Mama was going to take us,” he said when he reached them.
Rogue shrugged. “She and your Papa are busy, so it’s my turn,” he said mildly, reaching down and swinging Ronin up and onto his shoulders. Ronin cheered and gripped him by the hair to keep steady. “Watch it, little man, or you’ll be pulling out all my hair,” he warned the little boy.
Ronin loosened his grip. “Sorry, Uncle Rogue.”
“All good, kid.”
“Mama and Papa are always busy,” Gabe grumbled. “I swear I better be getting a little brother out of this deal, or I’m gonna have to have a talk with Papa.”
Rogue snickered, unable to stop himself. Guess he didn’t have to figure out a way to explain just what the kid’s parents were doing; seemed he had figured that out all on his own. “You do that and let me know how it goes,” he told him. “For now, though, we’re heading to the library, and that means we need to go and grab a cage.” He glanced around again. “Where’s the prospect that was supposed to be with you?”
Gabe pinched his mouth down into a scowl. “He ran off to be with some girl,” he sneered. “Told us to stay put and not bother him.”
“And how long ago was that?” Rogue asked him as calmly as he could, though inside he was seething. That punk assed kid was going to be out on his ass before the end of the day.
Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know cause I forgot my watch at home, but I’d say at least an hour.”
Fucker, Rogue snarled in his head. He nodded at Gabe and they continued to walk in silence to where the SUVs the club kept around for such a time were parked in a smaller garage not far from the clubhouse. There were a lot of large and small buildings around their compound, and Rogue liked it that way. They weren’t close to the city, and most people, even the cops, left them alone.
Rogue checked to make sure there was a booster seat for Ronin, and then let them both climb in and buckle up before they headed for the gate. He slowed to a stop when he saw Ice climbing off his bike near the clubhouse, and rolled down his window. Ice tipped his chin to him and waited expectantly. “Prospect left the kids alone,” Rogue told him calmly. “Went off with a girl. Find him and kick his ass out. I’ll tell Savage and Fury later when I get back.”
Ice nodded. “Done,” he said calmly, turned, and headed in search of the soon-to-be-hurting prospect. Ice wasn’t known to be gentle. There was a reason they called him that, and it wasn’t for his manners.
Gabe snickered in the back. “Asshole is about to get an ass whooping.”
Rogue glanced at him in the rearview mirror before driving towards the gate. “Probably,” he agreed. What was the point in lying? “And best watch that mouth around your Mama, boy, or you’re going to be getting one, yourself.”
Gabe opened his mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut and sighed. “Yeah, I know. I thought for sure that she would loosen up once she and Papa got together, but I guess that was wishful thinking.”
Rogue nodded at the prospect at the gate when he let them out, and headed for town. “It’s one thing to curse in front of the guys, but it’s another to curse in front of your Mama,” Rogue pointed out. “So just make sure you don’t get into the habit of saying that stuff until you know you’re in the clear.” He glanced at Ronin in the rearview mirror. “You either, little man.”
Ronin gave him an impish grin. “Okay,” he promised.
Rogue nodded and let a small smile touch his lips as he continued down the road towards town. He wasn’t a smiler, but these kids were damn amusing. He’d grown up hard and got toughened up at a young age. That’s what happened when you were raised by a single mother in the worst part of a town where drugs and crime were rampant. Hell, he had fought off his first predator at age six. Bastard probably still had a scar from where he had stabbed him in the leg.
His mother died when he was eighteen, but she had done her best. At least he didn’t have the fate that Fury did with his druggie whore of a mother. Still, they had both survived, and he didn’t dwell on the past. He had his club and the brotherhood that kept him sane—mostly—and a job he enjoyed. He didn’t need anything else.
When he reached the library, the parking lot was empty except for one car near the back of the lot. Rogue glanced around as he parked. This place had better not be closed, he thought darkly. He wasn’t sure what the hell he would do with the kids if it was. He glanced at the display on the dashboard and saw it was only one o’clock, so it should be open. “Always this quiet around here?” he asked the boys as he turned off the SUV and then climbed out, moving around to help Ronin.
“We normally don’t come this early,” Gabe said.
Rogue let the boys walk ahead of him a little, but he kept a close watch just in case. After the shit they’d all been through in the past couple months, he couldn’t be too careful.
When they walked inside, Rogue looked around and took in the stacks and stacks of books, the tables and chairs that filled the large space, and then the desk that took up a good chunk of the middle of the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he had stepped foot into a library, and he had no idea where to take the boys. He looked down at Gabe. “You know where you’re going?” he asked him.
