Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(17)

Fox went silent as he cocked his head, staring at Keyes with disgust written all over his weathered face. Keyes said nothing because Fox was correct—there had been a clear threat when his old man made of show of pretending to shoot him in the side mirror. Keyes’s chest swelled again with the indignation of it all. His old man would get one fucking shot before Keyes would wipe the floor with him, most likely spending the rest of his life in prison for killing his father.

“Your old man’s dyin’.”

Good. Of course, he was dying a slow miserable death. A person couldn’t ram their motorcycle into a moving pickup truck in a fit of road rage anger and walk away unscathed. The bigger problem seemed that his old man hadn’t died fast enough from his stupidity.

Fox’s weary gaze stayed glued on him, and Keyes had no idea what he wanted from him.

“You don’t care,” Fox finally said with a certain single nod before he sat up, placing his elbows on the table, threading his fingers together. “Here’s our official take—we don’t consider this your problem anymore. I appreciate what you did for him after the accident, we all do, and he was a thankless bastard to you. He’s got stage four lung cancer and won’t make the year. He’s in denial, actin’ tough and badass. You don’t need to worry. He can’t act on his threats. We’re tellin’ the brothers tonight, but I wanted you to know first.”

Keyes’s body went numb. He clamped his mouth together to keep from asking for any details. He didn’t give a shit about that old man. How could he? His father was the fucking devil and needed to get his ass back to hell where he belonged.

“I know you’re holdin’ your tongue, Keyes, but I know you too well. This is gonna eat at you. There’s a lot you don’t know. I’ve warred with myself about how much to say for years. I still don’t know what’s right.” This time, Fox clamped his mouth together then shook his head, staring down at the table while growing visibly frustrated. “Look, you have to know, the likelihood of you bein’ his biological son is highly unlikely. There’s no easy way to say this, but dammit, things were different back then. It was almost thirty years ago. This newfound consciousness we do things with wasn’t around back then. You know that. Your mother was a club whore. She just was. We all fuckin’ passed her around. I suspect your real old man was probably Bigun. She had a thing for him. Destroyed her when he died. Smoke was fuckin’ obsessed with her, but she never gave a shit about him and that drove him batshit crazy.”

Keyes jaw ticced at his frustration over the trip down memory lane. That shit needed to stay in the past. No good would come from reliving one single day of his history.

“Suppose you’d’ve had a better life had he lived, but Smoke ended up marryin’ your mother when she found out she was pregnant. I’m only tellin’ you this to say, give me time. You need to keep your distance. I know it’s askin’ a lot. You’re as much a member of this club as your old man, but he’s sick, his days are numbered, and he’s my brother just like you’re a son to me. I’m askin’ too much, Keyes, I swear to God I am, but hang on for me. I depend on you. I need you to help lead this club for the next generation. Give me time.” Fox’s tormented gaze finally lifted to Keyes’s.

He was essentially being banished. Any other member would have demanded more respect but that never seemed to apply to Keyes. He immediately squelched those thoughts, pushed them way down like he always did. Keyes understood what Fox meant and where all of this was headed. Once again, he accepted the decision, and agreed to distance himself to help save the balance in the club. He guessed this was Fox’s way of appreciating his efforts and asking for him to continue a little while longer.

“I’ve never asked for anything to be different than it is. I get it.”

“You sure about that? You’re always quiet, but more so now,” Fox said, scanning Keyes’s face. He had no idea what to say to that. Maybe there was a time this conversation would have upset him, proven to him that he never truly fit with the club members he called family, but not now. Fox had given him a free pass to keep his distance a little while longer.

“My old man can have his final days however y’all see fit. I’ll be around when you need me. I think the tire shop’s pullin’ in its share of the cash. I’m good. You know how to find me. I’m loyal to you, you know that,” Keyes declared and gave his standard single nod, driving his point home.

“You’ve always been a top earner for us. It’s more that I feel like I’ve failed you,” Fox said, again pushing back in the seat. Keyes busted out with an honest laugh as he rose to his feet. It was the mood lightener they both seemed to need.

“I don’t feel that way at all. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” The honesty of those words had Keyes reaching for the back of the chair, pushing it underneath the table. “So, I’m guessin’ I don’t need to be here tonight?”

“No, you don’t. Your old man’s movin’ into the clubhouse tonight, so we can watch him until we can’t anymore. He’ll be livin’ here. It’s where he wants to be.”

Keyes nodded and still refused to ask any of the half-dozen questions he had about the diagnosis or about how much time he had left.

“I’ll tell the guys you’re keepin’ distance for him. They’ll understand.”