Page 11 of Porter (Dirty Misfits MC 2)
Plaguing me even in my dreams.
Brooks is gonna kill me.
I forced myself to turn away from Porter’s retreating body and focus on the kitchen before me. It was as if this entire house had been locked into one memory for the past however many years it had been since I’d been home. After Mom died, the estate fell to Brooks’ shoulders, and that was only a few years before he ended up in prison. So, the house had been sitting vacant for at least seven years.
If not, more.
“Ew, gross,” I whispered.
I ran my finger along the raggedy kitchen countertop and the dust that plastered itself against my skin made me gag. This place would need to be cleaned from top to bottom, and some of this shit would need to be replaced. Like the carpet, for starters. I knew the bulk of the smell in this house came from that shit. The residual smell of puke from my mother’s drinking days and the scent of smoke from my father’s incessant chain smoking filled the house with such ugly memories that all I wanted to do was plug my nose and set the damn place on fire.
But if I could convince Brooks to hand the house over to me…
“I’m getting ahead of myself. Just clean first,” I murmured.
I dipped down beneath the kitchen sink and pulled out ancient cleaning products. I prayed they would still work as I sprayed everything in sight and wiped it down, trying not to vomit at the blackened dust that came off with every swipe. I heard Porter lumbering around upstairs, creaking the floorboards above me.
And when I heard him whistle lowly to himself, I made the determination not to go upstairs.
Then, the front door burst open. “Someone miss me?”
Porter called downstairs. “That you, Brooks?”
My brother chuckled. “Of course it’s me. Astrid?”
I continued cleaning the cabinets. “In the kitchen.”
I heard my brother walk in behind me, but I didn’t bother to look at him. “You gonna come give me a hug or something?”
I wiped off the kitchen counter. “You didn’t bother to meet me here. Why the fuck should I give you a hug?”
He sighed. “You know I wanted to be here. But I had to pick Raven up from work and make sure she got home safely. Things have been a bit crazy lately.”
“So I’ve been told.”
His hands came down against my shoulders. “Astrid, please.”
I paused. Out of all the words my brother threw around on a daily basis, “please” wasn’t one of them. And it stopped me in my tracks.
“What?” I asked.
He slowly turned me around and the look in his eye gave me pause. “I really am sorry. It’s why I called Porter to come meet you here. I didn’t want you to be alone but shit really has hit the fan and things aren’t good right now.”
I tilted my head. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”
Porter yelled down the stairs. “Just tell her! She might as well know!”
Brooks rolled his eyes, but he didn’t buck back. “Shit’s hit the fan with the Black Flags.”
I rolled my eyes. “You guys are still at it with those losers? For real?”
His hands slid down my arms. “No, you don’t understand. It’s bad. I mean really bad.”
I pulled away from him. “Well, you know those are the shitheads that landed you in jail in the first place. I told you that time and time again.”
“I know you did. And you were right.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Of course I was right! Except no one wants to fucking listen to the stupid younger sister, right?”
“That’s not what I—”
I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it. If you’re really willing to take that risk again and chase after some—”
“They’re still coming after us, Astrid!”
His booming voice halted my words. “What?”
He shook his head. “It’s so much to explain, and I don’t have the time or the energy right now. But I’m having to take Raven everywhere so she isn’t attacked again. Or taken.”
I balked. “Raven was taken?”
He nodded slowly. “There’s more drama than you could ever imagine right now. Raven’s life was at risk. She was confronted by those assholes the day I got out of prison. And that’s only the beginning. She was taken days after I got out, and we’ve been chasing down those assholes ever since. They almost killed her, and we’re pretty sure our current president is working with them to take us down.”
I paused for what seemed like forever. “I suppose that explains why you never called.”
He cupped my cheeks. “I would have if lives wouldn’t have been on the line. I’m telling you, Astrid, it’s not safe right now.”
I stepped away. “So, is that why you’re here? Not to help me move in, but to help get me back out of town?”
