Ruin’s Embattlement (Tenillo Guardians AIMC #19)

Ruin Chapter 14

I was anxious. The call from Sin earlier had taken me by surprise, and to have him ask Desi and me to come to his house after work to talk more made me uneasy. When I got off the phone, I had to get back to the job at hand. I was on a deadline, but when the president called, you did not blow him off. To concentrate, I put my phone on silent. It was due to this that I didn’t know Desi texted me until I was leaving work for the day. Rather than respond, I decided to wait until I got home and saw her. I did send off a message to Sin asking what time he wanted us to come over.

When I got to the compound, I went to my trailer to shower and change first. I had Sin’s answer for when to be there. It was on my phone when I parked my bike. I rushed to get done and over to see Desi. After I was finished, when I walked into the family home, a distraught Desi hurried over to me.

“I’m so sorry, Tanner. I didn’t mean to say anything to Sin or to get you in trouble. He guessed and then started asking about my move, and it kind of snowballed from there. Please, don’t be mad at me.” she pleaded. Her face was filled with dismay.

Taking hold of her hand, I led her to her room and closed the door behind us. I didn’t want anyone overhearing or seeing us, although so far, she was the only person I saw. I pulled her against me, and I kissed her. That was the first and most important thing. She relaxed into it and kissed me back. I took my time. This wasn’t something to rush. When I was satisfied, I let go. She had a dreamy smile.

“ Mon désir , I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry I didn’t text you back, but I had my phone on silent, and I didn’t notice you’d sent it until I was on my way home. I decided to wait and tell you in person.”

“ Mon désir ?”

“Yea, I thought I’d take a page out of Dad’s book. Mom seems to love his nickname for her and the way he says it in French, so I did the same, although I can’t give it the flare he does. He throws in that Cajun twang of his. Are you alright with being called my desire? It’s on the nose since Desiree means desire, but that’s what you are to me—my greatest one.”

“Tanner, you can call me anything you want, but I have to say, hearing you speak French is very sexy. I love it.”

“Good. Now, back to Sin. I bet you were flustered when he began talking about us. I guess the cat is out of the bag. Are you ready to get this over with? He said to be there by six-thirty. Let’s get it over with, then we can spend the evening as planned. Where’s the rest of the family? Shane is still coming with us, isn’t he?” We’d planned to go to dinner in town, the three of us. We were going to tell him about us and see how it went.

“They’re at someone’s house. I don’t know for sure whose. Yes, I still want us to go out to eat and talk. The good thing about Sin’s request is that I’m more anxious about it than talking to Shane.”

I hugged her. “Baby, it’ll all be fine. Come on, let’s get this over with and see what Sin has to say.”

I held her hand as we left the house. Sin and Lyric’s home was at the opposite end of the street from Mom and Dad’s, so we were at their door within minutes. I rang the doorbell. It was less than a minute before the door opened, and Sin greeted us warmly and then motioned us inside. As we entered, I looked around. It had been a while since I’d been here. Following him to where I recalled the living room was, I was startled and then began to sweat. Instead of finding Lyric and the kids, we faced the officers and Dad. Desi gave me a panicked look. Her hand gripped mine tightly.

“Before you freak out, know this isn’t anything bad. Desi, you look like you’re about to faint or run, sweetheart. Relax. Sit. Can I get you something to drink?” Sin asked casually, sounding friendly. I’d never had reason to be afraid of Sin, but I still had a healthy respect for him.

“No, thank you,” I said. Desi merely shook her head.

“Okay, have a seat, and we’ll get to it. There’s nothing to be upset about. I was afraid you’d stress more if I told you I asked the others to join us,” he explained.

“Is this because we haven’t told the club about us? We plan to, but we want to tell Shane first. We’re doing that tonight,” I informed him swiftly.

“No, it’s not about that. But we are overjoyed for you. More on that later. First, we want to talk about you moving in together and what you said earlier about not building anything for a few years,” Sin said. Desi and I had sat on the loveseat. Sin, Executioner, Saint, Talon, Phantom, and Dad had taken up the couch and chairs.

“What about it?” Desi finally found her voice and asked.

“We don’t think you should wait. I told you, there’s more privacy in a house than in a small trailer. You’ll need that. The two of you are starting out with an extra person. Ask Talon how that is,” Saint popped in to say.

“He’s right. We love Zavier, but it was nice not to be right on top of each other. Hell, it’s even more so with Gunne. And Shane will need his space, too,” Talon added.

“And we get that, but it’s not feasible. We’re just getting started on saving. I banked as much of my pay as I could in the Corps, but it’ll take time to be able to build something like the rest of you have,” I reminded them. The majority were well into their thirties before they settled down. They had time to create larger nest eggs. I was just fortunate enough to find my forever woman young like Phalanx and Bullet had with Raine.

“We know that. However, let’s talk that through. You had to have seen the open lot across the street from Ex and Skye’s house and caddy corner to ours,” Dad stated.

“Sure. It stands out since it’s the only one on the whole street. What about it?” I asked.

“It’s not been taken because it was spoken for,” Sin said.

“Who?” Desi asked. I was as surprised as she was. Only Hazard and Arrow were single, patched members eligible for a lot, and they hadn’t been here nearly long enough to have reserved that plot, which had been sitting empty for years.

“Me and your mom,” Dad stated.

“You and Mom? Why? You have your house. Are you planning to build a new one?” I asked. This made no sense. I thought they loved their place.

“Our house has everything we want and need, so no, we’re not building a new one for ourselves. It’s for you and Desi. I knew you were determined to join the club one day, Ruin, and would need a spot for your home. If you didn’t want that one, I hoped Desi would end up with an Infidel and need it. It was pure fate that you two ended up together, although I’d been praying for that to occur for a while,” Omen explained happily.

“Dad, I don’t know what to say. We’re blown away and stunned you thought that far ahead. I love the idea of us living there, but it’ll have to wait, like Ruin said. What about Tyson? What if he joins the club? Where will he live?” I asked.

“Tyson told me a long time ago that if he ever settled on the compound, regardless of whether he joined or not, he loved us but didn’t want to live right next to us or his sister. There’s a spot reserved for him. Your mom and I want all our kids here. The club agrees. As for waiting, that’s what we need to talk about.”

“Exactly. We know you’ll have a ton of things to do, and we want to ensure you start out right. With that in mind, we want you to build the house you want right away. Don’t worry about the cost,” Talon added. As it sank in what he said and the only way it would be feasible, I shot it down.

“No, no way are we letting the club pay for it. We can do it ourselves. We appreciate the thought, but everyone else did it on their own. We can, too,” I stated adamantly.

“I told you he’d be stubborn,” Executioner muttered.

“Damn right, I am. I can take care of my family,” I argued.

“Let us explain before you lose your shit. When the rest of the members settled, they had some money to invest in their houses. The club was doing alright but not well off enough to build all their houses for them, although I wish we had. Things have changed,” Sin said.

“Changed how? I know the financials of all the businesses, and they’re in the black, but going around building a bunch of houses would wipe out the savings. What happens when Hazard, Arrow, and new members who come along want a house?” Desi asked.

“First off, you see the business accounts but not the investment ones. Sin and I are the only ones who have access to those. Recently, a significant chunk of money has been added. As it is, that could build several houses and more. We talked about it, and we want to use some of that funding to build additional houses for the club when the time comes. In addition, those who already have financed their homes can either take a payout or use their share of the funds differently,” Talon explained.

“I don’t understand. What money?” I asked.

“You heard Pitbull and I got our patents approved and started producing our devices,” Talon stated. I nodded. “Well, the US government was more than delighted with them. They perform better than anything they have. They gave us a substantial contract, and to ensure we were able to meet their demand and then some, they gave us an enormous advance. I’m already investing a large portion of it.”

I was not only happy but proud of how successful the two of them were with their invention, but it should be their money used for their families. I was about to tell Talon that, but I was beaten to it.

“Talon, that money belongs to you and Pitbull. You should keep it for your families,” Desi objected. I nodded in agreement. Technically, it was their business. They’d been nice enough to have it added to the club’s portfolio, but the money they got up front and the bulk of the profits should be theirs.

“Don’t waste your breath. We tried to argue and convince them of the same damn thing, but they won’t hear it. They said this club is their family, too, and they’ll have more than enough for their old ladies and kids. Since we couldn’t change their stubborn minds, we came up with this idea. It hasn’t been presented to the whole club in church, but we’ll do that next. However, since this came up today, we wanted to tell you first. So, are you accepting it graciously, or are you throwing it back in our faces?” Sin asked with a smirk.

“Christ, Pres, why did you have to say it like that? Fuck, if we say no, we’re assholes and ungrateful,” I complained.

“That’s right,” Talon said gleefully.

“Damn straight,” Saint added.

Dad, Phantom, and Executioner were all smiling. I glanced at Desi. She was speechless. She made eye contact with me and mouthed shit .

“Then I guess we have no choice but to say thank you a million times. We’re beyond grateful, and as long as the same offer is extended to everyone to come, we will try not to feel as bad. You have no idea what this means, and if you need anything, it’s yours. Thank you.”

I stood and held my hand out to Talon first. He stood, shook my hand, and then yanked me into a bear hug. This led to a round of handshakes and hugs with all of them, and Desi got the hugs and cheek kisses. Executioner pretended he was going to kiss me, and I had to threaten him with a beating, which made them all laugh. After settling down, the surreal started to set in. Before it got too advanced, more was said.

“We gave you a lot to think about, and we don’t want to hold you up. You said you were telling Shane tonight. Do it. Just keep the details of how you’re paying under your hat until we tell the club. Speaking of them, Desi said you wanted to tell the club all at once about the two of you. Will this Saturday work? They’ll be so stoked when they find out,” Sin stated.

“The sooner the better. Once Shane knows, there’s no reason to hide it. I’m good with Saturday. Are you, babe?” I asked her.

“Sure. Is it okay if I ask Isaiah to come? He already knows, but I’d like him to be there.”

“Desi, Isaiah is always welcome. We have a couple of others we’ll ask, too. We’ll make it a big family get-together. In the meantime, find your house plan, and then we’ll get the builder to put you on their schedule. Anything else?” Pres asked the others.

They all shook their heads. And just like that, Desi and I were launched into the world of becoming not only a family but homeowners. Excitement was bubbling up inside of me. I couldn’t wait to sit with her and figure out what we wanted.

We didn’t linger after that and left to find Shane. As we did, she squeezed my hand outside. “Oh my God, did that just happen, or am I dreaming?” she whispered exuberantly.

“It happened, or we’re both having the same dream. They’re unbelievable. We have the best goddamn family in the world, all of them.”

“We sure do. We’re blessed. Okay, let me text Mom and see where Shane is. He has to be starved.” We took our time walking back to their house. She texted as we went. We were about to open the door when she got a response. She smiled. “He’s inside.”

We barely made it through the door before he mobbed us, asking if we were still eating in town. We assured him we were. He told us that Mom had made him take a bath and change into clean clothes, so other than saying goodbye and letting Desi get her purse and a jacket for both of them, we were set.

Shane chatted all the way there. He was excited and chattering like a magpie. One of the reasons was because we let him pick the restaurant. Wouldn’t you know it, he insisted it be The Hangout. Neither of us objected, so I headed there when we got into town. It was almost eight o’clock, but there were still a number of cars and trucks in the parking lot. Lucky for us, there wasn’t a wait when we got inside. In no time, we were seated, and our drink orders were in. We were scanning the menu. I was going through the kid’s menu with Shane to see what he wanted. He was listening as he colored.

The idea was we’d eat, then take Shane for a drive and tell him about us. We weren’t afraid of him making a scene in The Hangout if told there, but privacy would be better. Leave it to chance to blast that idea all to hell.

We’d given our food orders and then, in short order, received our meals. We enjoyed eating and talking about this and that. We had just finished eating, and I’d gotten the bill from the waitress. I was pulling out money to pay it while Shane was back to coloring when we were interrupted. A guy we both knew from high school came strolling up to our table. He hadn’t been a friend or anything, but I didn’t hate the guy. He stood there beaming.

“Hey, it’s good to see you guys. Tanner, it’s been a long time, man. You home on leave?” Wylie asked.

“Hi, Wylie. It has been a long time, and no, I’m not home on leave. Actually, I’m out of the Corps. I got out about five weeks ago. It has been ages since I’ve seen you. A lot has gone on. In fact, one of those is I’m called Ruin now,” I informed him nicely as I partially twisted so he noted my cut. It wasn’t as if it was hidden. His mouth fell open.

“Wow, I had no idea. I mean, everyone at school knew your family was part of the Infidels, but I had no idea you’d joined them. Congratulations. Welcome home. Desi, you’re looking lovely as always. And this must be your son.”

“Thank you, Wylie. It’s nice to see you, too. Yes, this is Shane. Shane, honey, put down your crayons and say hello to Wylie. He went to school with Mommy and Ruin.”

Shane had manners, and he did as he was told. When introductions were over, we sat there giving Wylie expectant looks. If he wanted to say hello, it was done. Why was he still here? He gave me an apologetic look.

“Tan—oops, I mean, Ruin. Would you mind if I spoke to Desi for a minute? I’m finally back permanently in town from school. I’ve been hoping to see her. We can just step over there.” He pointed to the area where people waited to be seated.

A niggling thought surfaced as to why he wanted to speak to her alone. No way did I want him talking to my woman. Besides, Desi didn’t know him well enough to be totally comfortable with it being just the two of them, or that was the excuse I told myself.

“I don’t see why you can’t just speak to her here. We’re about to head home, so we don’t have a lot of time. It’s past Shane’s bedtime.”

He wasn’t happy with my answer by the look on his face, but he refrained from saying so. Instead, he pasted a smile on and said to her, “I’ve wanted to ask this for a while, and now that I’m back in town and won’t be going off to school for months at a time anymore, I can. I wondered if you’d go out on a date with me. I’ve wanted to ask you forever, but it didn’t seem right to do it and end up possibly in a long-distance relationship if we hit it off. I liked you in high school, but I was too chicken to ask you out then. That kid is gone. I’d like us to go out. Who knows what might come of it.”

I heard the hopeful tone, and I wanted to yell at him to get the hell away from her, but I didn’t. Desi was struggling to find a way to let him down easily. I knew she was because that was the kind of person she was. Desi hated hurting or disappointing anyone.

“Wylie, that’s sweet of you to ask, and it was very mature not to ask when you were so far away. As for high school, I wasn’t ready to date anyone then. I’m truly flattered that you asked, but I can’t. I’m sorry,” she told him quickly but with a kind look and tone.

I was letting her handle it, even if deep down I wanted to tell him to get lost, that she was mine. I would’ve been able to stick to that if he hadn’t pushed for an explanation. He did it right after I handed off the cash for the bill to our waitress as she passed our table. I’d been holding it the whole time. She smiled and mouthed thank you and kept going.

“I don’t understand. You said you can’t, not that you won’t. I was told you’re not dating anyone, not even that guy you’re always with. Come on, what’ll one date hurt? I think we’ll hit it off,” he cajoled.

“I said no. We can’t go out. Who would you ask who would know whether I was dating someone or not?” she questioned him.

“Ruin, tell me, man-to-man, is your sister dating someone? Why can’t she go out with me?” he asked.

The nerve of him pissed me off. I was responding before my brain kicked in. “She doesn’t owe you an explanation. But yes, she’s involved. Her answer is no. Drop it.”

“With whom?” he demanded to know. It was his tone and the way he was looking at her. It pushed my buttons further, and I blurted out the answer.

“She’s involved with me, that’s why. Now, do you mind? We’re on our way home from our family dinner,” I growled. He blinked, and his mouth gaped open until his brain must’ve kicked in.

“You! What the hell? She’s your sister!” he exclaimed loudly.

“Keep your voice down, and for your information, no, she isn’t. She’s my foster sister. Desi, are you ready? It’s time to get Shane home and into bed.”

“I am,” she said quickly as she stood up.

I guess Wylie was stunned speechless again because he was just standing there staring at us. I got up and pulled out her chair and then Shane’s. The poor kid was silently watching us with wide eyes. She took his hand and started for the door. Deciding I’d said and had enough of Wylie, I went to follow them. Wylie’s next remark stopped me in my tracks.

“That’s sick. I guess that answers who her kid belongs to.”

Fury blazed through me, not that I cared if he or anyone else thought Shane was mine. Sure, it would’ve been a little awkward due to our ages when he was born, but it was the way he said it was sick and curled his lip up that infuriated me. I leaned into him so I could whisper.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop right now. Who Shane’s father is isn’t anyone’s business. And it’s not sick. We love each other. We’re not related by blood. And if I ever hear of you saying shit or approaching my woman or her boy again, we’ll do more than exchange words. Beat it before I beat you,” I threatened.

Turning my back on him, I walked out. I heard people whispering and felt them staring. It wasn’t the way I thought to announce to the public that we were a couple, and I sure hadn’t wanted to tell Shane this way. He had to be full of questions. When I got outside, they were waiting by the truck for me. I hurried to them. I unlocked the doors, opened hers, and made sure she was inside before I got him in his booster. Neither of them was saying a word. Once they were both settled, I was in, and the truck was running. I glanced at her. She was nibbling on her lip. It was Shane who broke the tense silence.

“Is Ruin my real dad?” he asked in a whisper.

“Honey, no, he’s not your real dad. We can explain what Ruin meant by him and me. We wanted to talk to you about this tonight,” she explained.

“I wish he were,” Shane whispered so softly I almost didn’t catch it. I turned to look at him. His head was hanging down.

“Shane, buddy, look at me,” I asked. He did. I saw the disappointment on his face. “You wish what?”

“I wish you were my dad. All the other kids have one. Why don’t I? Why did that man get upset and say Mommy is your sister? I know PawPaw and MawMaw are like her Mom and Dad, but it’s different. MawMaw didn’t carry Mommy in her belly like Mommy carried me.”

“That guy didn’t know what he was talking about. It is different, you’re right, but it doesn’t mean they love her or you any less. Uncle Tyson thinks of her as his sister, but I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Shane, remember when we talked about how people can love each other in different ways? There’s the way you love me, and I love you. The way brothers and sisters love each other, or you love a friend. And then there’s the way people love like MawMaw and PawPaw or Uncle Executioner and Auntie Skye. Well, in our case, Ruin and I love each other like PawPaw and MawMaw do, not the way I love Tyson,” she explained.

He was quiet for several minutes. He didn’t appear upset, merely thinking. I put the truck in motion. We could talk and ride at the same time. If he got upset, I’d pull over. I was about to ask him if he was okay when he spoke again.

“Does that mean he’ll be my dad, and you’ll get married, and we’ll live with him?”

“I…” Desi started to say, then gave me an alarmed look. She didn’t know how to answer him, but I did.

“Yes, it means I’ll be your dad, you’ll live with me, and I want more than anything to marry your mom. Are you okay with that?”

He gave a shout of glee then grinned as he yelled, “Heck yeah!”

“Shane, what did I tell you about saying heck?”

“It’s the same as a bad word. I’m sorry, Mommy. I’m happy. Can I tell everyone? What about Isaiah? If we live with Ruin, we can’t live with him. Won’t Isaiah be upset if we don’t move to his house? When are we moving to Ruin’s?” he babbled.

“Hang on. You’re getting ahead of us. We can’t tell everyone yet—not for a couple of days—but Tyson, PawPaw, MawMaw, Ex, and Skye know. Oh, and so does Isaiah. He’s happy for us. He’s not mad or upset that we’re not moving in with him,” she told him.

“And Mommy and I are talking about when to move us all together,” I added.

This set him off dancing in his seat. He kept up a flow of constant chatter the rest of the way home. He barely took breaths. When we walked into the house, he took off running and shouting to the family about how he had a dad and a bunch of other things. They were amused and talked excitedly about it. I loved seeing him so happy about us. It seemed we’d stressed over how Shane would take the news for nothing.

It took a good while to get him calm enough to go to bed. He insisted on hugs and kisses from us both as we tucked him into bed. When we came back out of his room, Dad and Mom told us to go to my place and talk. They knew we had even more to discuss after Shane’s reaction. As we walked out, Mom whispered something in Desi’s ear. She blushed but nodded.

Back at the trailer, I led her straight to the bedroom. We could be comfortable while we talked. It wasn’t so I could jump her. After removing her shoes and socks and mine, along with my cut, we lay on the bed. I cuddled her in my arms.

“First, let me say I shouldn’t have let the news of us slip the way I did. I was furious at Wylie for pushing you, but it’s no excuse.”

“I’m not angry at you. He was out of line. What got into him? He was the one who should be apologizing. As for Shane, I don’t think that could’ve gone any better. Do you think he’ll come back later with questions we can’t easily answer?”

“Maybe. I had no idea he wanted a dad so badly.”

She sighed. “He started to ask about a year ago. He wanted to know who his dad was. I didn’t know what to tell him, Tanner. I don’t want him to know how he was conceived, although I know one day it may come out, but not until he’s an adult and can handle it. I never want him to feel bad about himself or think I didn’t want him.” There were tears in her eyes.

“Baby, there’s no damn way that he can ever think that you don’t love or want him. He knows you love him to death, and he has so much love from everyone else. When the time comes, we’ll tell him, but not for a long time. Don’t worry about it. Although he did raise a good question.”

“Exactly what question was that? He only asked at least a hundred,” she said, giggling.

“He did. But I was referring to the one about when you and he are moving in with me. I know we have the whole house thing to figure out, but I don’t want to wait months before you do. I already detest you going home most nights and me sleeping without you. Please, for the love of God, don’t make me wait. If you do, I may die.”

“Honey, it kills me to do it. We can talk about moving in together. I know we have the house to decide on, but do you mind if we do something else tonight?” she asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“Good, then I’d love it if you’d make love with me. I need to celebrate our official status.”

As she said it, her hand came down. She gave me a coy look as she unsnapped my jeans and then began to lower the zipper. Instantly, I began to harden in anticipation.

“I thought you’d never ask,” I murmured a second before I took her mouth. She moaned, then whimpered. All thoughts of Wylie and his idiocy evaporated.