“Do you wanna come visit with Willow and me for a few days?” I asked, hearing the stress in Peyton’s voice.
“Yes, but I can’t leave the others,” Peyton whispered.
“Don’t worry, Peyton, we’ll call Phoe and have everyone, but Dante stay here. We’ll make a weekend of it,” Willow said, and I glanced at my wife with pure love.
She was amazing. Willow didn’t flinch at my family and had grown up with biker craziness. Hell, she’d had her own crazy to deal with when Willow had been undercover for a few years to bring down a cartel. Keith, Willow’s own brother, had outed her, and there’d been a shootout at Rage as the cartel tried to eliminate her. Keith had been killed by them, and Axel had never really recovered from knowing what his son had done to his daughter.
“How about a campout and barbecue? Danny will enjoy seeing his aunts and uncles,” I added to reassure Peyton.
“Thank you!” Peyton gushed, and I knew she was feeling the atmosphere that had no doubt permeated Reading Hall.
“I’ll phone Mum. Be good kidda. Love you,” I said and cut the call.
“Seems all hell’s broken out,” Willow mused. “Micah, I adore Dante; there is greatness in him, but his attitude is beyond a joke.”
“Can’t disagree.” I looked out the window. If we didn’t stop Dante now, the repercussions would be awful. He wouldn’t be able to take over Rage MC because he wouldn’t become a decent human, and Dante had serial killer potential.
Phoe
“Who do you want?” I asked Fanatic, knowing Eddie and Dante would probably be off the list.
“Scout, Timmy, Garrett, Jake, Peyton, and Tony. Dante and Eddie don’t get to come,” Fanatic replied.
I snorted. “Which one squealed?”
“Peyton. This is affecting her badly, Mum. Peyton needs a break. We all know Dante turns on her when he’s feeling bad,” Fanatic stated.
That was true. However, Peyton and Dante fought like siblings, without the hate that Eddie and Dante had.
“The whole weekend?”
“Yeah. Give them a break, because from what I’m hearing, Reading Hall isn’t a pleasant place right now,” Fanatic said.
Guilt swept me. Were things really that bad? Shit. That worried me. I didn’t want the kids to grow up in a tumultuous atmosphere. Drake and I were failing.
“Mum, don’t go down the rabbit hole. It’s not nice because of Dante’s throwing attitude. It’s no different from when one of us did the same.”
“Not like Eddie and Dante!”
“Nope, but we had our moments. Still do,” Fanatic admitted with a chuckle. He wasn’t wrong. A few weeks ago, the older kids were home, and there’d been bloody noses, black eyes and bruises galore as they played a rough game of capture the flag.
“True.”
“Willow and I will come and grab them on Friday night, unless you can drop them off? Save us using two cars?” Fanatic asked.
“Yeah. I’ll bring them after school. Are you sure you and Willow don’t mind?”
“Nope. See you then.”
Eddie
I couldn’t believe the indignity of standing here. Wrapped up warmly, Dante and I stood with Mama Phoe and another lady at the supermarket where the food collection was happening. The store was open, and shoppers were busy coming and going.
I don’t know what I’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. Most people saw us and glanced away. They didn’t want to make eye contact or speak to us. Mama Phoe ignored that, though and engaged customers with the other lady. A lady exited, handed me two tins of carrots, and smiled before leaving. Was that it? Just two cans? What was that about?
Thoughtfully, I put them in the cart and gazed at it. It was nearly empty, okay, even though the shop had only been open for half an hour. It had been busy, yet we hardly had anything to show. Even if each person bought just one item, we’d have a full cart. Mama Phoe’s meaning was sinking in. How did these fewpaltry items of food feed a family? More shoppers walked past, ignoring us, and Dante began complaining.
“This sucks.”
