Claimed by the Biker Giant (Maxine and Tank) novel Chapter 123

Tank POV

My heart was breaking as Fixer read the letter.

At first, I was angry, as we learned new things, but then I felt bad for being angry, as my little lady read the letter, tears forming on her face the more she read, and I saw Uncle Simon’s face was almost the same as Fixer’s.

When the sobs came as she read the letter, I removed it from her hands and, after putting it away, pulled her to me. I was shocked that she left me for Uncle Simon, and then glad that she had. moved to him, they needed to start growing a bond, one that all families should have. Seeing Uncle Simon pull her close and whisper in her ear made me wish I had other family besides Zero; he would never hug me like that. I missed my mum at that moment. A tightness formed in my chest, and tears spilled down my cheeks. This was not what I wanted, but it’s hard to stop once the thoughts formed, and things that can never be, hit you hard.

“Come here, son. I have room for you, too.” Uncle Simon said, when he lifted his head and saw me watching them.

Fixer turned to look and moved to the side, opening her arm, and I was engulfed in a group hug, where the three of us allowed the tears to flow freely. This might be the one and only time this will happen, and for a while, I will let myself be held, like a child, and be comforted by my senior. I needed this more than I was prepared to admit. It was just the three of us, for some time, holding each other, like we were giving each other something, and not just taking. It was nice, comfortable.

“Fixer, leave the letter for now, give it a few days, and we can go over it again. Let’s do what we have learned so far, and start some investigating. Let’s get Prez involved, because he needs to feel involved. We can get him to check out the Jones gang and Barry. My gut says they are linked somehow. I will get our team on Sheila’s side and find out whether Zoey was their child. I feel she might not be; something about the timing doesn’t work, now that I think about it. I will also send the information on the accident to my investigation team; they can get doors open that no one else can, no matter who sealed them. If they exist, we shall find them.” Uncle Simon was sorting out what we could do now and what we needed to leave for when we were ready to take another look at that letter.

“Uncle Simon, I don’t understand how you didn’t know a lot of this. You are Grandma’s twin; surely you knew.” Fixer asked the question that was plaguing me, too.

“To answer that question, I need to give you an idea of my childhood.” He took a deep breath before he started.

“Josey had always lived with us. I remember holding her as a baby, well, sort of, she was two years younger than us. She went to school with us, and my sister took her under her wing, protecting her, making sure she didn’t get bullied or hurt. They were thick as thieves, those two. She always called Josey our sister, introduced her to new people as such, and I guess over the years, I came to believe she was, too. When your Grandmother turned eighteen, she and your grandpa disappeared for the weekend and came back married; they had eloped, because your grandmother didn’t like the choices our parents had for her. Dad was so livid that he made them both start studying the business with him, believing he was a hard taskmaster, and that being all day with him was a chore. His answer to that was to send me to military school. He said it would make a man out of me and away from the temptation of women. I was so angry at my sister, my parents, and the world, and I stayed away from home, breaking all contact. I was good at my job, and rose in the ranks, fast, soon they found I was a good linguist, and taught me many languages, moved me to more of a liaison position, a negotiator, but I can’t tell you much, but sometime was in a bad place, wounded more than once, and was sad each time I recovered and sent back out into the field. My sister kept sending me letters, but I never replied. I was so bitter. I heard she was pregnant and decided to come pay her a visit after the baby was born, only to find out she had two children: your mother was three months old, and the other girl, Sheila, was a little over a year old. My father was dead and gone, and I didn’t feel sad that he was. I didn’t question who the other child was; I just assumed I had gotten dates mixed up. I came home maybe every two or three years, missing most of the growing up. I loved my job, the challenge, never knowing if I would still be alive in the morning. I slowly, over time, and rise in the ranks, softened, the bitterness gone by the time your parents married. Your father was in my team, how I met him; he was rising in ranks and was a good soldier, loved the Marines. It was when we were talking casually, after returning from abroad, that I learned he was my nephew-in-law, and you were on the way. Till then, I hadn’t known who he was other than a kindred spirit, having joined the military to get away from family pressure. I regretted not being around for the family, having been away in the military for too long. Tandy was a great help, keeping my side of the family fortune under control, and I had little to worry about. I was forty-eight when you were born, your mother thirty. Your mother had you the same year she married, coming early, and was in the hospital for a month because of how premature you were.” Uncle Simon went quiet for a while, not saying much at all, and I thought that was the end.

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