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“Shayne, you do realize they aren’t my family, they’reourfamily, right?”
“Honestly? I hadn’t really thought of it that way, Julius. Not because they aren’t, or that they won’t be my family too, but because my thoughts hadn’t strayed past you… us. How is Charlee and Gunner going to feel about me becoming your wife? I’m the same age as your daughter is, and your son is fifteen years older than I am. Is that going to make them uncomfortable?”
“My kids don’t zone in on age, temptress. All they’ll care about is that you make me happy. We were incredibly young, too young honestly, when we had Gunner. I was hardly old enough to vote and not old enough to legally buy liquor. Ma was already pregnant when we took off. When my father told me to keep her on the side as my mistress, I was horrified. I knew in my gut that she was my forever, and I wasn’t about to turn her into the other woman. She would never be my side piece. She was carrying my kid, and she deserved so much better than that. If Luca hadn’t stepped up and married the bitch my parents contracted for me, my life would’ve been one of complete misery. I had years of unadulterated love that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
“Why were your parents against you finding and sanctifying your true love, Julius? That’s not how it should’ve been. A parent’s love issupposedto be unparalleled. It isn’t perpendicular. Love shouldn’t fit inside of a box that is nice and tight. Love is messy, beautiful, and meaningful. It’s uninhibited, comforting, affectionate, and most of all, unconditional. They should’ve encouraged you, and supported you, not pushed you out the door.”
“I couldn’t agree more, gorgeous. But my parents, they were old school, traditional, and they firmly believed in marriages that’d not only boost our lineage but give us more money than what we’d know what to do with. They had tunnel vision, thought they knew what was best for us regardless of if we agreed with them or not. They saw everything in black and white. There were no shades of gray in between.”
“They lost so many years with you, your wife, and your children. It’s a shame that empowerment got to their heads the way it did. I’m glad you’re changing the way the Alvarez family conducts things,” she compliments. “I applaud the fact that you let people love who they want to regardless of their station.”
“I learned a lot when I started over. My new identity gave me the opportunity to live life outside of these four walls. Ma and I opened doors for our children, ones any other I might have had with someone else impossible. All I’ve ever wanted was for them to have what she and I did. I would’ve been disappointed and heartbroken if they’d had to settle for who was better for them on paper.”
“And yet, you think you aren’t a good man, Julius.”
“I’m not, baby. But I’m glad you think I am.”
Shayne
Breakfast turns my stomach.I’m a ball of nerves that’ve seemed to settle in my belly. The guys have been going above ground periodically for the last eight weeks, and the stress of the unknown has had me nauseous for what feels like ages now.
I think my response to it is worse today because Julius has had enough of no interaction with my brothers and has decided to join a few of them as they go out and about. I wish it was because they’ve given up on their vendetta against the MC and Alvarez family, but I’m not stupid. They just aren’t having a knee-jerk reaction to their sudden reappearance. They’re biding time, waiting for the right time to strike.
If anyone knows how lethal their venom is, it’s me.
“They’re waiting on me,” I say to the toilet as I rest my head on it, praying that my stomach stops recoiling. “If anyone has me with them, is brazen enough to go against the Crumleys, Garrick knows it’d be them. Dang it.”
“Then we need to convince them to let us go out with them next time,” Mera states, startling me. I was alone last time I checked.
“When did you get here?” I ask her, wiping my mouth with the rag I pulled from the cabinet earlier.
“About your second toilet flush,” she answers. “What’s going on with you, Shaynie?”
“Nothing. Everything. Take your pick, Mera.”
“That’s a lot of in-between to read through the lines, Shaynie. Listen, I know that this is crazy. I get that Julius joining them on the town puts a huge target on his back, but he’s well protected. You know that right?”
“You’re right.” I sigh. “I do know that, but it’s not comforting. No matter if he had the secret service at his back, he’s not invincible, and anything can get past his soldiers.”
“I don’t know your brothers outside of what you’ve shared with me, but I do know these men. Not well, but I’ve seen them training underground and shooting at the firing range. Let me tell you, they hit the bullseye every single time they press the trigger. They’re lethal, skilled, a little pompous, but good at what they do. They won’t take chances for which they aren’t prepared. We have to trust them to do the right thing and put an end to this. It’s the only way we can live without looking over our shoulders. We have, for all intent and purposes, traded one prison for another, and that’s not acceptable. We deserve the chance to walk freely without worrying about someone snatching us off the streets and selling us to the highest bidder.”
“I agree with you, Mera. I do trust them, but that doesn’t mean I’m not afraidforthem. I don’t think my brothers will act irrationally. Every move they make is intentional, well-thought out, calculated, and plotted. They’re waiting, Mera.”
“What are they waiting for, Shayne?” Luca asks as he joins us.
“What is it with you two sneaking up on me?” I berate, not happy that the spills of my intestines are within their eyesight. It’s embarrassing.
“Me, Luca,” I answer before stressing my viewpoint. “They’re waiting for me to show my face and you know it. We all know it.”
“Julius will never deliberately place you in danger, Shayne. It’s not in his DNA to intentionally place a female in a precarious situation where she could be hurt. He’s a protector, always has been, and always will be,” Luca contends. “Unfortunately, I agree that they’re waiting on something, and that may be you.”
“What do we do about it?” Mera asks.
“We talk to my brother. It’s the only thing we can do, Curly Sue.” A giggle escapes me at his nickname for Mera. She hates her tight ringlets, but I’ve always envied them.
Mera stomps her foot and gives Luca a death glare. “Stop!” She hisses, then argues, “I hate that pet name. Find something else.”
“Can you two do this, whatever this is, somewhere else while I clean up and brush my teeth?” I basically beg them, needing a moment and some space to myself. An escape from their brand of foreplay. It’s debilitating, grueling, and depressing. They need to stop fighting their attraction to one another and do something about it already.
