Page 34 of Porter (Dirty Misfits MC 2)
Porter stepped up to my side and nodded. “She’s right. She’s right on so many things. She had the guts to say something to you before I did, but it doesn’t make what she’s saying any less true. So, if you really believe that we all treat women with respect, then I suggest you start with your sister. Because she’s been neglected like this for far too long, and I’ve seen enough of my fair share of it just over the past few days.”
And in that moment, I loved that man more than anyone else on this fucking planet.
Seventeen
Porter
I didn’t want Astrid to do this fight alone because she didn’t get herself into this situation on her own. She had some seriously valid arguments, and it astounded me how thick-headed my usually-rational best friend was being. It was as if his brain computer couldn’t compute what his sister was saying. It was as if he was so blinded by his need to protect everyone around him in some macho attempt to make up for shit in his life that he couldn't see how much he was harming her. How much he was pushing her away.
And damn it, she deserved someone to stick up for her.
But the second the words flew out of my mouth, Brooks slowly turned his gaze to me. I was glad that his anger no longer targeted his sister, but the sheer carnal desire to rip my head off worried me. I knew he wouldn't rationalize in this kind of situation. I knew he was too heated at the fact that I had broken my promise to listen to anything we were saying. But I’d be damned if he hurt Astrid any more than she had already been hurt.
They’d both been through enough.
“Brooks, we need you to calm down, okay?” I asked.
I tried to keep my voice as even-keel as possible, but his face turned beet red. His hands clenched at his sides so tightly that I saw droplets of blood pressing itself through his fingers. I looked down at his hands and saw his nails digging into his skin. He was literally making himself bleed as he tried not to kill both of us.
And for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why he was so upset.
“There’s more to this than a simple promise. I know there is. I’ve known you basically my whole life, and I’ve never known you to get this angry at something. But if any of this is gonna get fixed, you gotta start talking. Just like Astrid started talking.”
Cole’s voice flew over our heads. “So, anyone gonna sit down so I can finish stitching you assholes up?”
Not a single voice answered him as Brooks drew in a deep breath. “I’m tired of yelling.”
I nodded. “Then, we finally have some common ground.”
His fists loosened. “I’m tired of the fake shit, and the smokescreens, and mirrors, and the two-faced assholes we’ve got right here in this club trying to rip us apart.”
I lowered my voice. “Careful, Brooks. We’re treading on thin ice right now.”
He stepped toward me. “Don’t I fucking know it.”
Astrid pressed her hands against his chest. “No more fighting. All of us have fought enough. We either talk or we walk away until we’re ready to talk. Okay?”
Brooks didn’t bother looking down at her. “This is your last warning. Either move or be caught in the middle of it.”
I shrugged. “She’s already in the middle of it because this is about you and her. Not you and me. Yes, I broke a promise. And yes, maybe I shouldn’t have. But I care about your sister. I always have. All I want is for her to be happy, safe, and prosperous, whatever that means from me. And right now, I see her brother hurting her the most, and all I want is to fix it so she can have the relationship with you that I know she wants. Do you want that with her?”
“Want what?”
“A relationship with your sister, man. Do you want one?”
He ground his teeth together. “Not what I’m focused on right now.”
I pointed at him. “And that’s the problem. She’s poured her entire heart out to you, and you’re only focusing on the one thing that pisses you off. You haven’t even heard about how happy we make one another, or how she feels when she’s around me, or what my intentions are. All you hear is the fact that we slept together, and all of a sudden you’re a feral animal with nothing to lose. Why? Why can’t you hear us? Why do you only hear yourself?”
For a split second his face softened, and I thought I had him. So, I continued.
“I’m tired of you two always going back and forth. I’m tired of Astrid feeling like shit. Hell, I’m tired of you feeling like shit. I know you want a relationship with her. I’ve heard you tell me so many fucking times how much you miss her since she upped and moved away. Well, now she’s back! And you’re about to ruin it with your narrow-mindedness. Why is your sister acceptable collateral damage for a man that aligns himself with a crew that respects women? How does that calculate in your mind?”
