Pieces (Patchwork #1) Read online

“A meeting?” I ask, confused as the boys all nod, putting their shirts back on. “What meeting?”

  “Not you, my love. You go rest.”

  I glare. They always do this to me. I have to find out everything secondhand from Oceanus or JJ. I want to be involved, damn it! “But I want to go to the meeting. What’s the meeting?”

  “You’re too young,” Father says back as Oceanus shakes his head.

  “It’s not a big deal. Just a matter we have to address. Stupid shifter shit,” he explains, his green eyes drilling into mine. He wants me to be quiet. Not start a fight.

  But that’s not me.

  “But I want to know. When do I get to know?”

  “When you’re older,” my father says dismissively as he starts for the door, but I am right on his heels.

  “But Cyrus gets to go? He’s one year older than me! Plus, I’m way smarter than him, you’ve said it yourself.”

  “Hey!” Cyrus protests as Father turns to look at me.

  “It’s nothing that concerns you. The boys, yes, because they fight for this family—”

  “Then let me fight!”

  “So you can die? No, I love you more than that. Now, go on.”

  “No! I want to be involved. I want to feel included. I’m always locked away, I never get to do anything. Be a part of anything. Father, let me be a part of this family,” I implore. It’s not fair. Yes, I’m the youngest, but I’m not a fucking baby.

  “You are,” he stresses, his eyes pleading with mine. “But we have to protect you.”

  “No, you don’t. I can protect myself. I am a part of this family, yes? I’m an adult. Let me be involved.” I cross my arms over my chest as his gaze holds mine. “You don’t let me do anything. I don’t go to meetings, I don’t get to go out, and it’s not right. Especially when they get to do whatever they want.”

  Father’s eyes widen. He always starts to freak when I mention going out into the real world. It’s like he fears I’d leave. While it is a thought, I wouldn’t. I love my family.

  When Oceanus comes up beside me, his stance matching mine, I glance at him as he commands my father’s gaze. “Father, if I may,” he starts, and my father’s annoyed gaze flicks to his. While there are seven years between us, Oceanus and I are very close. He’s my best friend. “I feel she’s at the age where she can handle everything. She’s smarter than all of us and just as strong. I feel it may be time to allow her in on some things.”

  I smile. He was always my favorite.

  “And let’s be honest, she’ll get in there and get bored. So really, let’s just entertain her,” Jonas says then, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

  I go back and forth on him. He’s kind of a dick to me.

  Clearing his throat, Cyrus adds, “She’s part of this family, and since she is part of the threat, she needs to know.”

  “Threat?” I ask, concern bubbling inside of me. “What threat?”

  Letting out an annoyed breath, Father shakes his head. “To my office.”

  Oceanus sends me a winning smile, and I grin back as we walk with my father.

  Ha! I’m going!

  We follow in silence, and when we enter his office, I’m quick to soak in my surroundings. I’m not allowed in here often, and I love this room. It’s full of all the treasures my father has collected over the years of his life. It feels old in here. Like stepping back in time, and I love it. The furniture is the same furniture his family had in the 1800s. It’s been rebuilt when it has broken, but it just looks so aged, so awesome. His desk is the same desk he had when he worked on Wall Street. He had turned one of the most successful men on Wall Street, Walter Briggs. And when the market was about to crash, they both pulled out since Walter had known it was going to happen.

  But then Walter tried to steal my father’s cut, so in return, he cut off Walter’s head and buried him, somehow still screaming.

  Told you my father is scary.

  I lower myself into the last chair behind Oceanus and watch as my father sits, folding his old, leathery hands together. The scars are very prominent on his face and hands. The scar tissue is ancient and freakish on him. While his eyes are bright, from the new pair he just obtained, he looks old. Like Crypt-Keeper old, and I know it makes me an asshole to think that.

  But he does.

  Clearing his throat, he lets his gaze fall to Oceanus as he says, “I had a meeting with Kurt Conner.” He pauses as Oceanus sits up. I know the name; it’s the pack leader of the wolves. “He needed a loan for the wedding of Taegan.”

  Oceanus tenses up. He’s in love with Taegan Conner. Everyone knows it. Though, he denies it constantly because there is no way he can be with her. Choking on his words, he leans on his legs. “A wedding?”

  “Yeah, she is marrying some other pack leader’s son—you know how those wolves are. Wanting to unite families with arranged marriage and all that wolfish nonsense, I don’t know. But I didn’t give him the money until—”

  “Until?” Oceanus gasps, his eyes holding my father’s.

  “He offered up some information on Frank Kelley—”

  “He hasn’t died yet?” Jonas asks, and Father shakes his head.

  “Not yet. And apparently, they are wanting to attack us in one more attempt to get the formula for him. They think they can kidnap Rebekah and use her as leverage.”

  I sit up straighter, my eyes widening. “Me?” I squeak, and he nods.

  “You. So we are on high alert. Keep your eyes open, and, Rebekah, I don’t want you working at the bar until this is taken care of. I have a meeting with Frank Kelley on Friday.”

  My face twists in annoyance. “Father, I’m fine at the bar. It’s owned by our family, most of our family is there, along with JJ. The Kelleys don’t even come that much.”

  He leans on his desk. “Yes, but other families come to the bar, and that makes me uncomfortable.”

  “I’m fine, I can take care of myself,” I say with as much conviction as I can muster, and his face goes hard.

  Before Father can say more, Oceanus clears his throat. “Maybe we should take turns on her shifts to be there, help JJ out. Not that he needs the help,” he adds when JJ scoffs at him. “She loves working, Father. She can’t be locked up, and we also can’t have the Kelleys knowing that we know of their plans. You know it’s unwise for them to know the wolves are working with us.”

  Oh. I didn’t know that.

  Father nods as Oceanus leans back in his chair. “You take Rebekah out from behind the bar, everyone will know something is wrong. It will bring attention. It would be best to leave things as they are. We’ll be there, won’t we?” he says to Cyrus and Jonas.

  They both agree as Father slowly sucks in a breath. “Always fighting for her.”

  I can see Oceanus’s face curve at the side. “I love her.”

  “We all do, which is why nothing will happen to her,” Jonas says, and I smile.

  I’ve never denied they love me; I just hate how they treat me like a baby. I can take care of myself, and I’m not even worried about this threat the shifters pose. They won’t succeed. It’s silly to think they would even try. They are such an act now, think later kind of species, and so many people die because of that behavior. Poor Frank Kelley has cancer and is dying. Instead of taking care of him, loving the time they have left with him, they want to start a war with us.

  Bunch of idiots.

  “Did you give Conner the money?” Oceanus says then, even though I think Father was about to dismiss us.

  Meeting my older brother’s gaze, my father nods. “Yes.”

  Oceanus doesn’t move. He just stares as he asks, “Taegan is to marry, then?”

  Silence is so thick in the room as my father’s gaze bores into Oceanus. “I guess, but why that matters is beyond me. This infatuation you have with her is not to be given light. It would never work.”

  I know this—hell, everyone does, but I still wish it could. Taegan is a gorgeous woman, wolf, whatever�
�she is sweet. I like her a lot, and I know she loves my brother, which is why it’s surprising she’s marrying someone else.

  “You think we are at war with the shifters now? Ha! War with the wolves would be fatal,” he adds, putting a stop to my thoughts as Oceanus nods.

  “Of course, Father,” he says, slapping his hands together. “Are we done? I want to work with Rebekah some more.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  We all stand, Jonas and Cyrus walking ahead of us back to the sparring room as I walk out with my brother. His whole body is taut, and I can see it in his eyes. He’s pissed.

  When we are out of earshot of our father, I lean into him and ask, “Are you okay?”

  He scoffs. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Just asking,” I say, biting into my lip. I know I shouldn’t say more, but I find myself adding, “I’m sorry, Osh.”

  He shakes his head. “Don’t be. I’m not. If she wants to marry some fucking wolf that will beat her and treat her like shit, then let her. None of my business. She isn’t mine.”

  I cringe as he walks ahead of me, his muscles tight in his back, his whole body tense.

  She may not be his, but I know he wishes she were.

  So do I, but there are rules the families of the Works have to follow.

  And mixing clans is forbidden.

  After a couple more hours of being thrown around by my brothers, mostly Oceanus since he was pissed the hell off, I sit on the sideline, watching as Oceanus and Jonas go at it. He may not admit it, being the strong, silent type, but it’s obvious he is hurting. It worries me, especially when he breaks Jonas’s nose. I cringe as Jonas bends over, holding his face as he glares up at our brother.

  “Osh! Really?”

  Coming to him, worry filling his strong features, Oceanus looks him over before snapping it back. “You’re fine. I’m sorry.”

  “You are not!”

  “Okay, I’m not,” he says simply, shaking his head before running his fingers through his dark hair.

  None of us laughs at that because we know not to. He’s in love, and his love is getting married to another man. Pretty sure that’s a tough pill to swallow. As he turns his back to us, he sucks in a deep breath. My heart just hurts for him. I don’t understand his pain; how could I when I’ve never been in love?

  How could I ever fall in love with anyone when I can’t even leave and meet anyone other than the people I grew up with? Well, wait, there was Colin, Taegan’s baby brother, but he is a wolf and he ran off to Ireland or something. It would never work anyway. Which leaves my clan, and I’m not even kind of attracted to any of them. I mean, Peter is decent, but we are too good as friends. Lovers? Yeah, no, it lasted maybe a month. It was fun, but I look at him like I do Cyrus. Ugh, gross. That means I basically had sex with a guy I think of as my brother.

  Okay. Done thinking about that.

  But how could I ever forget Ryland Kelley. Maybe I should take back my previous sentiment because I did love Ryland. I just never had the time I needed or wanted to let my love flourish. He was my best friend, and for a single day, I thought maybe there was more to it. While I thought I loved him as a friend for the longest time, there was a split second when I felt maybe we could be more. He was funny, so witty, and gorgeous. But with the rules and our being so young, I really didn’t think anything else could happen between us, that we couldn’t be more. But I never had time to figure it out.

  He died suddenly when I was sixteen.

  There is rarely a day I don’t think of him, miss him, but I can’t change the past.

  It’s the past for a reason.

  Yet, I wish I could change it. I wish I knew how he died. Maybe that would help my pain or give me closure. I don’t know anything, though. Only that one minute he was kissing me goodnight, and within the next hour, he was dead. His family was unable to give me any more of an explanation than, “He died in his sleep.” But it doesn’t make sense. Ryland was healthy, he was strong and fit. He was gorgeous beyond belief, and he was kind. He had a good heart, and though he came from the family mine is supposed to hate, I couldn’t have hated Ryland if I tried.

  Not that I ever did.

  We just connected. It was instant. It was special. I absolutely hate the what-ifs. I hate not knowing if we would have loved each other for the rest of our lives— because I know he loved me. He loved me deeply, and I wish like hell I’d had a chance to love him like he did me. I hate not knowing what our future would have held because I am sure we would have had one. But then, just like him, it was gone and I was alone. Two weeks later, I learned I wasn’t immortal, and I felt even more alone. No one would ever replace Ryland, though some have tried, Colin and Peter among them. There was something special about Ryland, his smile maybe, that made my world a little brighter.

  Now…now it’s just dark.

  “Okay, done. I’m sorry, Jo, I need to clear my head,” Oceanus says then, stealing my attention, thankfully. Thinking of Ryland always upsets me. It isn’t fair; he was taken so soon, and I miss him. More than anyone will ever realize. I bet no one even thinks of him anymore.

  I do, though.

  As Oceanus storms out of the room, I stand as Jonas follows out behind him, Cyrus on his heels.

  “Rebekah, ready?”

  I nod to JJ, and together, we head out of the sparring room to my room. I have to be in the bar in three hours, so I have time to nap and then get ready. Which is good, since I’m sure we’ll be packed tonight.

  Worry for my brother floods my thoughts as we walk in silence. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it, but I want to. As we round the corner, JJ takes in a deep breath, and I roll my eyes. He breathes so hard, and it drives me crazy. He has an extra two lungs, so why is he always breathing so heavily?

  Glancing back at JJ, I smile. “You don’t have to follow me.”

  He doesn’t even entertain my comment, clearing his throat. “So you think Oceanus will be okay?”

  I shrug as we turn down the hall. “I don’t know.”

  Looking away from him, I watch where I’m going when I really don’t have to. I know this house like the back of my hand. I’ve roamed these halls endlessly the last nineteen years, and I love it. My home is huge, one of the biggest houses in Manhattan, from what I’m told. My father built it from the ground up, making sure the speakeasy that he owned was attached. He and Samuel wanted to be able to work and then go for a drink.

  Now, it’s my only escape.

  If you call serving alcohol to a bunch of monsters an escape.

  But our home houses all the staff, the guards, and then my brothers, my uncle, Father, and me. Everyone else in the Patchwork lives in walking distance, since Father wanted everyone to be close in case something ever went down. He’s always on edge about the shifters, or hell, anyone. I get it, I do, but it’s so annoying.

  Sometimes, I just want to be normal.

  Whatever normal is.

  And I’m pretty sure at this moment, so does Oceanus. We turn the corner, and when I hear the moans, I cringe. I hate that I have to pass the infirmary and holding room to get to my room. I hate the sounds of the poor bastards my father chooses for parts. He tries to go for homeless people, ones with no hope, or the almost dead. Ever since I threw a fit about him taking people away from good lives, he’s tried to please me, but I still hate what happens in that room. It pains me. I tried to get him to just go to the morgue for bodies. In fact, I even suggested opening a funeral home to take body parts that way, but I was shot down.

  The parts have to be fresh, Rebekah.

  Shaking my head, I head up the stairs as JJ says, “I worry about him. I’m sure he will see Taegan this weekend. She always comes in with her sisters.”

  I nod as I bite the inside of my cheek. Taegan and her sisters usually come on Wednesday for ladies’ night, which means I’ll probably see her tonight. Should I say something?

  What the hell would I say?

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I won
der what he’s thinking.”

  “I do too. But either way, he’ll do right.”

  “Yeah,” I murmur, and I wish he wouldn’t. I wish he would disappear, take Taegan, and go off into the sunset, making little wolf babies. Or whatever. I want him to be happy, but he is ever the dutiful soldier my father has raised. He won’t go anywhere.

  No matter what.

  He’s too loyal, too good of a son and a brother. He wouldn’t turn his back on us; he loves us too much. He knows one day he’ll run the Patchwork, and that alone, that power has him so blind to the happiness he could have that he won’t leave. He won’t even try, and that worries me. I don’t want a life like that. I want to love. I want to be happy. I want my own fucking life, but more than likely, I’ll never have it. I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my existence, and there’s no telling how long that will be.

  “I want to leave this place,” I say suddenly, and I really don’t mean to say it out loud.

  When I look back, JJ is watching me. “Where would you like to go?”

  “Florida? California? Anywhere. I just want to leave.”

  He lets out a long breath. “Why, my love? Aren’t you happy?”

  I scoff, my face twisting in disbelief. He knows I’m not happy! “No, I’m not. I’m stuck here with nothing to do. I want to be my own person, not the little pet my father has decided I am.”

  “A pet? Please. He loves you.”

  “I know,” I say, feeling a bit guilty. Father has given me everything I could ever want. He does it all because he loves me, but I just feel trapped. I want to live. I want to make my own way. “I just want to live the life I want.”

  “Which is?”

  “I don’t know because all I do is spar with my brothers and serve alcohol to a bunch of monsters!” I wish I wouldn’t get so upset, but I do. Always. “I just want to leave. Make some mistakes, do some stupid things, and fall in love with someone who doesn’t look at me as a ticket to the top of the Patchwork.”

  “I know, my love. But, Rebekah, he wouldn’t allow you to leave.”

  “I know.”

  “Which means I can’t allow it.”

  I nod slowly. “I know.”