Gentleman Wanted 2

Gentleman Wanted 2
Gemma

I didn’t answer, my mouth opened but no words came out. It was like I was suddenly faint. I couldn’t do anything but curl my hand around Gent’s like he was a lifeline. Which was exactly what he had been for the last year.

Not just for me but for Bobby as well. I wasn’t sure how we would have managed without him looking after us. It had been almost impossible for me to find work after I started to show. No one wanted to employ a pregnant woman, and Gent had stepped up without being asked. 

He had been the one to make sure I had everything I needed for the baby, that we had a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Hell, he had been the one to hold my hand as I gave birth, the one to cut the umbilical cord and the first person to hold Bobby. 

And never once had he complained. He had done more for us than a lot of biological dads had done. 

One day Gent would make some woman really happy. He would have a family and children of his own. But for now, he seemed to love being Uncle Gent to my son. 

When that day came, whatever woman it was that snapped him up would be very lucky. 

I knew I shouldn’t rely on him so much that it was time to start standing on my own two feet. But as Ruin’s eyes trapped me in their steely gaze, I was glad of the warmth of Gent’s hand curling around mine. Without it, I wasn’t even sure I would still be standing.

“Bobby is my son.” Finally, the words left my mouth.

“Just tell him, Gem,” Gent’s fingers squeezed mine, lending me some of his strength. “They can’t help you if you don’t tell them the truth.”

Swallowing hard around the lump in my throat, I nodded. “Fine.” I let my eyes rise to meet Ruins. I had been expecting anger in them, so it came as a shock that his eyes were soft. 

“Yeah, Bobby is Fender’s. My son is your brother.” I closed my eyes for a second. “Half brother,” I corrected myself. 

I had expected anger, maybe even disbelief. What I didn’t expect was Ruin’s arms to wrap around my shoulders. He crushed me to his chest, his chin coming to rest on the top of my head. I could hear him breathing heavily. 

“Gem…”

There was something tortured in his voice. It was pretty evident that he wanted to say something and was struggling with it. Maybe it was because he had a child of his own now. One that he hadn’t known about until recently. There was obviously guilt there. 

“It’s ok.” I untangled myself from his arms, stepping back next to Gent. I knew that Ruin wanted to apologise, something he had always found hard. And as much as I wanted to hear the words, it was enough that he was feeling them. He didn’t need to say them out loud. 

Ruin’s eyes darted between the two of us. “No, it’s not. Not by a long shot.” His hand came up to rub over his chin, his face thoughtful. “I can’t believe I have a brother.”

“Half brother,” I said again, without thinking. 

“Brother, Gem. Blood is blood.” His eyes lifted to the closed door. “I’ve always wanted a little brother. So has Chelsea.” He threw Truth a look, and it wasn’t a friendly look. 

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who’s been fucking your sister.”

I blinked in surprise. Someone from the club was with Chelsea? As much as I was surprised, I couldn’t help but remember the looks that had passed between her and Wicked all those months ago. 

It seemed I wasn’t the only one with news. 

“Not my fault.” Ruin shrugged. “You look so much like him. I want to smash your teeth down your throat.”

Truth laughed. “You’ll get over it. Mind on the matter in hand, Ruin.” With a grin, he shook his head.

“Can I meet him?”

Ruin’s question took me by surprise. Not because I wasn’t expecting it because I was. Of course, he would want to meet Bobby. They all would. I had just expected to have more time.

“Sure.” I hesitated. “ He might be asleep though.”

“That’s fine. I just want to check for myself that the Iad’s ok. And then I will go and make some calls. Get everything organised.”

“Organised?”

“For you all to come home. You and Bobby need to be around family.”



I could feel Gent hovering at my back as I stepped up to brush back Bobby’s dark curls. It was almost like he knew how hard this was for me, and he wanted to be there for me. 

“Shit.” Ruin stepped up to the other side of the narrow cot. “His face…”

Behind me, Gent bristled. But he didn’t say a word. 

“It’s better than being shot.” I couldn’t keep the sharpness out of my voice. Hell, I didn’t even try. And they all heard it.

“I wasn’t saying that, Gem.” Ruin’s long legs brought him to my side in a few easy strides. “You did well to protect him, you as well.” His eyes met Gents. “I will always be in your debt for that. Family is important, you know?”

Yeah, I knew. I hadn’t really understood it before I became a mother. My own family life wasn’t exactly something to write home about. But now I had Bobby; I got it. 

Tears sprang into my eyes, unbidden. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying. It was suddenly so overwhelming. 

“Come on, Gem.” Gent’s arms pulled me back against him. And I went easily, burying my face against the solid muscle of his chest. “No tears now. You have been strong for so long.”

I hadn’t been strong, though. I knew that. He had been strong, and I had leant on him every step of the way. There would have been no way I would have coped without him. 

“You have your family back, your Black Aces family. You and Bobby aren’t alone in this anymore.”

I wanted to tell him that we hadn’t been alone to start with because we’d had him, but something held me back for a moment. 

I could feel Ruin and Truth’s eyes on us. I knew they were wondering if anything had happened between Gent and me in the months we spent together. The whole club was probably talking about it. 

But the truth was, there was absolutely nothing for them to gossip about. Gent had been nothing but an absolute gentleman the whole time. Maybe, in the beginning, I could have been tempted by more. But, after several weeks had passed, he had slipped so solidly into the role of friend that it was hard to think of him as anything but.

“We were never alone, Gent,” I whispered. “We always had you.”

His brown eyes crinkled. “And you always will have me, but now you have everyone else as well.” His eyes lifted to Ruins. “Make whatever calls you need to Ruin. Just get us home, brother.”