X~Tig~X
After I fell in love with Talia, I didn't think I would ever see such a beautiful person ever again, but my daughter was runner up. Jessica Blaire Trager came out with chestnut brown hair and the prettiest sapphire eyes I've ever seen. She was the most precious thing on this planet and Talia let me move in after she was born. Austin and Jayden just turned 16 a few months before she was born, because it took that long for Talia to agree to give me another child, and I'll be damned if Jayden didn't try to keep her attached to his hip all the time. Just like his Mother, he had one hell of a singing voice and he'd be singing his little sister to sleep when Talia didn't. I've never heard Austin sing, but he does rap when his brother asks him to and he can make some impressive beats on just about anything. I was going to get the kid a drum set soon.
The boys were still hooked on soccer and I'm proud to say that I haven't missed a single game. They've won quite a few trophies and Talia decided to trade her muscle car in for a Ford Explorer because she was officially a Soccer Mom. According to her, she had 6 sons. Our boys, Damien, Scott, Raymond and Hayes. When it was her days to carpool, I got to meet the boys' friends and they seemed like a good bunch, but my God, they could eat everything in the house in under an hour.
Other than Jayden having to go to Summer School in 9th grade, the boys do pretty well in school. We've gotten called up there a few times and it was usually because they got into a fight, pranks or because Jayden managed to get a month's worth of detentions in a day, mainly for being inappropriate. That kid loved women just as much as I did. Talia got him a ukulele or some kind of tiny guitar that he usually has strapped on his back all the time and that gets the girls going. Austin's had the same girlfriend since his freshman year and he's introduced Aria to us. The strawberry blonde was a bit peppy, but she was very sweet and she got along with Talia. Austin seemed very happy with the little miss and I was glad he found a nice girl. Jayden hasn't brought home a girl and he said he wasn't getting tied down until he was 29.
"C'mon, princess. Go to sleep for Daddy." I pleaded with my daughter, but she was still fussing.
It was time for my little doll to go to bed, but she had other plans because I've been in here trying to put her down almost a half-hour. One of the hardships of Talia accepting Bounty jobs was me taking over as the head parent and having to deal with a very cranky baby girl. The boys were nothing. They could do everything unsupervised and they only came to me when they needed a little cash or to tell me they were going out with friends. Jessica was a different story.
This girl loved me and it was probably because I always stole her from her Mother. I could get this kid laughing so much, she'd have hiccups for a few minutes and she always came crawling to me when someone scared her because she knew Daddy would kick their ass. With this being our only daughter, Talia kept her close and was very over-protective of our little girl, coddled her even. Jessica was a very cuddly baby and at 9 1/2 months, she accepted the transition from getting food from her Mother after the first few attempts. Jayden didn't want to let go until he was damn near a year old, but Jessie was like Austin and was fine with moving on to real food.
I fed her dinner at 6:30, got her washed up at 7 and she finished her bottle at 8. She went down for a good half-hour, then I heard her crying. The boys didn't make much noise and they were in the backyard with their soccer pack when Jessie was sleeping, came in at 9. They usually turned in a bit early on a school night or when they had weekend soccer practice and were probably in bed now.
It was 10:07 and I was pacing along the nursery rocking Jessica. I checked her diaper and she didn't need a new one. I tried giving her a bottle again and she didn't want it; that goes for her binky too. She couldn't be in pain, so I could only guess she knew her Mother was gone and she wanted her. Talia's been gone almost a week and she wasn't coming back until tomorrow. Her daughter picked the perfect time to be a Mommy's Girl.
I turned around when I heard the door open and Jayden was there in his boxers, his eyes not even slits. His golden blonde hair was wild with bedhead and I still couldn't believe Talia dyed it for him. He looked like a little Nazi now, but Jayden was always the strangest one of all us and his strange was in a good way. He liked to stand out and that's probably why he wanted to be a blonde. Until we saw how Jessica turned out, he was considered our normal child because Austin inherited his Mother's fixation with fire. Needless to say, he has to be closely watched when the 4th of July rolls around.
"Listen here, you adorable little noise monster," He said, wagging a finger at his sister, and she looked over my shoulder at him. She was still blubbering, her hand in her mouth now, but her cries got quieter. She called him Ja-ya because she couldn't say his name yet and pointed to him, looking up at me. "The noise stops right now. I've got practice tomorrow and I need my unneeded beauty sleep."
Jessica's bawls got louder as soon as he stopped talking and I sighed, starting to pat her back again.
Jayden tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to give him Jessie. He held her up at his eye level and sleepily glared at her. Noticing it now, Talia did the same thing when Jessica would start fussing for attention and our baby girl learned to pipe up when Mom gave her that look. There was obviously something wrong tonight because she was crying again and Jayden sighed before cradling her in the crook of his arm. He started singing I Swear This Time I Mean It to his sister and sat in the rocking chair to sway with her. He was halfway though the song when he glanced down at her.
Jessica's hand was on the side of her face, but I could see that her eyes were shut and I sighed in relief. Carefully, Jayden gently set her in her crib. He watched her for a second and she stirred a little, didn't wake up.I thanked him for getting his sister settled down and shuffled off into his room. I went into my bedroom and plopped into the mattress without taking my clothes off, quickly falling asleep.
...
I felt something wet on my ear and it woke me up, but I didn't open my eyes. I could see the sun through my eyelids and now that I thought about it, I related the feeling to someone nibbling on my ear. I smiled a bit. Talia must've come home early. When I felt the too hard tugging of my hair, I opened my eyes and Jessica giggled. She was on the side of my face and she started her better babbling when she noticed my eyes were open.
"How did you get out of your crib?" I asked and grabbed her, holding her up above me. She was laughing and those 2 little bottom teeth were making me smile.
I got up from bed and yawned, munching on Jessie's little hand when she tried to stick it in my mouth. She's never had a problem grabbing for things. I noticed she was wearing a denim jumper and pink shirt, so her brothers were up. They probably sicked her on me this morning.
With Jessie on my arm and me responding to the conversation she was having with me, I carried her downstairs and found one of my shirtless sons in the kitchen. Austin looked like he was making something on the stove and he left it to stick his head in the fridge. Jayden crept from the other side of the icebox and to the stove, taking the pan. He put salt, pepper and ketchup in it, so I think he just stole his brother's eggs. He got a fork and started tiptoeing out, only stopping to kiss his little sister on the nose.
I set Jessie in her highchair and Austin finally got out of the fridge with some bacon and cheese in his hand. He shot me a nod and I pat him on the back when he passed, looking in the fridge for a bottle of pumped milk.
"Jayden, you little theif!" Austin yelled and I heard a plate and silverware clatter on the counter before he stormed into the living room. I heard them start to bicker and the pan that Jayden took clanged on the ground.
I found one of the pre-made bottles and stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds. I pulled out an applesauce container and ripped the wrapping off, sticking Jessie's tiny pink spoon in it. When I set it on her table, she was trying to see what the hell her brothers were doing, but turned to me.
"Da-Da."
"Yes, princess?"
"Ja-ya..." She grunted and pointed over her chair, probably trying to inform me that her brothers were trying to kill each other. She couldn't say Austin at all, so she usually grunted when she was talking to or about him.
I put the plastic spoon in her hand and she started eating, still interested in the commotion coming from the living room. The microwave dinged and I took the bottle out, pouring the almost lukewarm milk into a sippy cup. I was already on to making french toast sticks for us when I heard a very loud thump and what sounded like the sofa scraping against the floor. I would've let it pass because the boys get into minor scraps every other day, but I kept hearing that damn pan and it sounded like they were throwing it at each other.
I glanced over my shoulder at Jessie and she had most of her mouth coated with applesauce now, but she was pouting and looked a little nervous, cringing with a hard blink when she heard another loud noise from her brothers. That was the I'm-about-to-start-crying-for-20-minutes-and-be-in-a-super-shitty-mood look. Mindful that Talia would emasculate me if Jessie's first word was a curse, I covered my daughter's ears.
"Austin, Jayden, stifle yourselves. Stop making so much goddamn noise!" I warmed and took my hands off Jessie's ears.
The noise stopped, but I could hear the boys grumbling at each other. Looking at Jessie, she had a few stray tears on her chubby cheeks, but she didn't look like she was going to pitch a fit and I plated her smaller french toast sticks. I gave her a little syrup and sat next to her to eat, smiling when I saw that she was getting the hang of holding things better.
Jessie suddenly screamed, but it turned into a laugh and I looked under her highchair. Kip was licking her bare feet and I saw applesauce on them. How the hell the kid managed to get her food on her feet was a mystery to me. Kip was our 2 year old Husky x Rottweiler mutt from Rouge's litter and he was ash grey and black with her mismatched eyes. Rouge didn't have a big litter and she passed a few months after. We kept Kip and gave his 3 siblings to the Husky's owner.
Jessie was talking to me again, but I heard that scraping noise and I was about to make her an only child. Her brothers came in here and Austin looked like he was about to make a bowl of cereal while Jayden washed out the pan.
"Ja-ya!" Jessie chirped and Jayden turned around, smiling when he came to her side.
"Hello, my little lovebug." He kissed her cheek and made her giggle. She pat her little table, pointed to me and Jayden looked like he could understand everything she was saying in her baby language because he was nodding. "We both had pretty nice breakfasts, huh? I had a delicious pan of eggs and you had boob milk. You got the good stuff too. You know, when I was your age, I drank from that same boob and Austin did too. We're boob bros."
"Stop talking about my Mother's breasts to my sister." Austin said from next to me, eating a bowl of Lucky Charms.
"Next to Dad, I'm pretty sure Jessie's well acquainted with them. She could probably spot those things a mile away. And what do you mean your Mother and sister? She's my Mom and sister too."
"I came out first, so they're my Mom and sister before yours. I still think you were switched at birth and my real brother is being raised by another family or that you were abducted by aliens and they picked your brain, turning you into the drooling monkey your are."
"Excuse you, but this evolved fetus knows who's umbilical cord it was attached to and you should too because I tried to strangle you with it a couple times. When I saw that bright light, I kicked your ass out and enjoyed all the free space." Austin scoffed, but he laughed when I smacked his brother on the back of the head.
"Stop cursing in front of her."
"Mom said if it's in the Bible, it's not a curse word and it's in there."
"Have you ever read the Bible?"
"I've...skimmed through it."
"Lair." Austin butted in.
"Bite me." Jayden said in a sing-song voice, glancing at me to see if he was going to get scolded again. Austin downed the milk in his bowl and went to the sink, taking mine and Jessie's plates too. I got her un-sticky and took her into the living room, seeing everything still in one piece.
I propped a few pillows from the couch behind Jessie and spread out her colorful blanket, getting some toys from her playpen. We played with her blocks first and she was getting better at stacking them on top of each other. When she noticed her rattle ball, she crawled over to it and laughed when she grabbed it. Austin and Jayden came out of the kitchen and they looked like they were going upstairs, but Jessie called Jayden and threw her ball, making his go chase it.
Jayden sat down to play with his sister, so I took the time to relax on the couch and watch TV. I was thankful it was my day off because I didn't want to leave this couch. The boys had soccer practice from 12 to 3 and it was one of their friends' Mom turn to carpool. I wondered if I was going to have a house full of teenage boys later on and that would probably open the opportunity for a sleep over. Dear God, I did not want to go through that madness again.
When the boys were 10 or 11, I made the mistake of letting them have their friends over for the weekend and Talia took Jessie over to Gem's to let us have a Boys Only slumber party. I didn't think it'd be too hard or anything chaotic. Talia dropped the pack off, we ordered pizza, played videogames, watched movies and I let them eat all the junk they wanted. That's where I fucked up. From 9 o'clock Saturday night to 10am Sunday morning, I had to deal with barfing or shitting tweenagers and a house that smelled like roadkill.
I didn't realize I drifted off until one of the boys was shaking me awake. Jayden was standing over me in his soccer uniform and he had Jessica on his arm. He told me Scott's Mom was outside and kissed his sister goodbye. He grabbed his duffle bag from the floor and left. It was noon, so I figured I could take Jessie to see Gemma or to the clubhouse if the Sons were there. Gem said she was at TM with a few of the Sons and forbid me to even attempt to ride there with Jessie on my bike. I would've put her in her carrier, had her strapped to my chest and drove to the garage, but I guess that wasn't 'safe' enough.
I went up to Jessica's room and started packing her baby bag. When I came back downstairs to get some bottles, I heard Gemma honking outside and she came in. I barely got a peck on the cheek and she took Jessie away, going to get her carseat from Talia's car. I locked up the house and saw Gemma telling Kip that if he pissed in her car, she'd skin him alive. She let him get in the backseat and I put Jessie's bag in.
We made the short drive to TM and Gemma was cooing at Jessie as we went to the clubhouse. Kip ran past our legs and right to Kozik, jumping in his arms. I don't know why that dog likes him so much; Chibs, Opie and Juice were here too.
"Where's Clay?" I asked Kozik as he sat down with Kip occupying his lap, scratching behind his ears.
"He and Jax are out doing something, making a deal I think. Bobby's been getting hassled by his ex-wife and he's trying to get that settled. Miles and Montez just went up to Cara Cara, so Quinn and Rat should be here soon."
"When's Tal coming back?" Juice asked from the pool table.
"If I'm lucky, today. She called last night and Jessie talked to her nonstop for a half-hour."
"Aw, she misses her Ma." Chibs chuckled and smiled when Gemma handed Jessie over to him, leaving. Jessie took a second to recognize his face and laughed when she did, giving him a hug. She called him 'Chee'. "Boys gone to practice?"
"Yeah, they'll be around by 1."
To pass the time, I hung out with the guys and they were all gushing over Jessica like always. Based on what Kozik said, I had to guess Jax went with Clay to make sure we didn't have anything to worry about with LOAN. Things were calm now, but that could mean anything. Those supremacist could be laying low to plot what they were going to do next and we had to be prepared for it. The guys were telling me anything I might need to be updated on, which wasn't much, and Juice told me there was still no word on Happy.
Quinn put the word out to all the Nomadic Sons and told them to keep an eye out for Happy and we got a call about a possible sighting maybe twice a month, but the locations were all over the map. Happy could suddenly go dormant and not come out of incognito mode until he was damn ready. Nobody was going to see him for sure, but I knew he was still out there and probably still working. He had to take care of his Mother and I thought about sending Rat or Miles down to Bakersfield to keep an eye out for our lost friend.
"Tig." I heard Gemma call and I got up. I went outside and Gemma waved me over from the gate, leaning on it. She pointed down the block and I saw Jayden walking backwards to us with a brunette in front of him. He was playing that small instrument of his, but I've never heard that tune before. "Your son's flirting again. Cute brunette, honey eyes, nice rack on her. The song's a new one, but I think it's working."
Tempted to see my son in action, I put my arm around Gem's shoulder and watched. The brunette laughed and put her head down, so she was probably a little shy. Jayden bent down to look at her and that made her pick her head up.
"Cold sweat, goosebumps
My insomnia, it just jumps
My blood pressure rises and I can't feel my legs
My stroke could happen at any moment
My heart beat flies through the room
Flies through you
All the aches, they're pain in me
And my panic is freaking out
I'm fiending for you, babe
I can feel you in my veins
Fiending for you, babe
I can feel you in my veins
Fiending for you, baby
I can feel you in my veins"
We watched Jayden sing another verse and the girl laughed again, but he pushed his instrument on his back. The girl did something that we couldn't see and Gemma directed my attention to Austin and the rest of their friends. They were across the street, leaning on someone's car and watching. There was probably a bet going on. Jayden just got a hug from the girl and she walked off, only turning around to wave at him. The boys came from across the street and as a rowdy bunch, started hooting at Jayden.
When they got to us, Jayden and Austin's friends kindly greeted Gemma and I saw the number scribbled on Jayden's hand. Jay explained that their friends wouldn't be here long, but Scott's Mom was running late and asked if they could use the showers in the clubhouse. By the time they were all clean and Gemma made them lunch, Scott's Mom was waiting outside to pick them up.
"So Dad, when can I Prospect?" Jayden asked. We were in my dorm and he was still trying his hair off. "I know Nana really wants me and Tin-Tin to join the Club, but he said he doesn't want to."
"Why not?" He shrugged. "Did you talk to your Mom about this?"
"I don't think she'll let me. She probably wants me to go to college or join the army like Austin's planning to. I wanna stay in Charming and be part of the family business."
"Austin wants to join the army?"
"Dad, where have you been the past 2 years? Austin's obsessed with getting into the military. He's been getting all kinds of pamphlets in the mail and going to get his tests. He's graduating a year before me and he's planning to go straight to war after our 18th birthday."
"He never told me..." I muttered to myself, thinking about how I could've possibly missed out on something so important. I didn't notice anything in the mail and I rarely went into Austin's room because I didn't want to invade his space. I've never even heard him talking about it at dinner or something. I looked up at Jayden and he just stuffed his towel back into his duffle bag. "You can Prospect when you're 19. Hopefully, you'll be out of high school and don't even think about dropping out because I'll ship you off if you do."
Jayden let out a whoop and bolted from the armchair to come hug me. He's always been interested in the Club and once he was old enough to understand it, he wanted to be a member. Jayden was always a bit of an adrenaline addict and I could only guess he thought he'd be having the time of his life as a Son.
Someone knocked on my door and Rat opened it, telling me Clay was back. Jayden and I started heading out to meet him and he was parking his bike with Jax when we got outside. Before anyone could welcome them back, a honking car stopped Quinn from closing the gate. He went to the driver's side of the blue Chevy Impala and stuck his head in to see who it was. He let the car come in, so I could only guess Felix was coming to see if Talia was around, but his lowrider was red.
The passenger door opened and my wife poked her hear out, smiling at everyone. She got out and the first thing I saw were those mile long legs of hers. She was wearing denim jumper shorts, a black shirt with 'Nirvana' printed in bold yellow letters over top their signature smiley face and cowgirl boots. She grabbed a bag from inside the car and leaned inside it, probably talking to whomever the driver was. She pat the hood and the driver honked before leaving.
Jayden left me to go hug his mother and Austin joined him a second later, getting smothered in kisses. I was next and we were kissing up until the boys started complaining, then she found Jessica with Chibs. Jessie wouldn't stop smiling and Talia was steadily showering her daughter with love. The Sons got a one-armed hug from her and Juice offered to take her bag inside.
"Who was that?" I asked when we stepped inside the clubhouse again. Talia sat down on one of the couches and set Jessie down on the floor where her blanket was down and her toys were out.
"Nero Padilla, my newest associate."
"What is it with you and making friends with wetbacks?" I teased and she smiled.
"Felix came to pick me up and he said he wanted me to meet someone I could do business with, a guy he used to run with when he was a Byz Lat. He invited Nero to the Den and we talked. He's got a cathouse of his own called Diosa. It's just as nice as the Den and we talked about making something together, Diosas del Amor. It's still just an idea, but I think we're gonna open a business together in a year or so."
"Luann should be willing to trade some of her girls for yours, maybe the Saffron Sisters for your best Kittens."
"Ebony and Ivory, those girls could get a man to prematurely cream himself with one look."
For a minute, Talia and I talked about some potential business deals she could do with Luann. She was more welcoming to the idea now that Luann's Caruso problem was handled. Speaking of changes, I noticed that she hasn't stepped inside the ring since our boys got here and I asked her about it. She said she was in the process of cutting off all the dangerous things she used to do and her Bounty work was next. She said she had to do another job or 2 before she had enough cash saved up to put our boys though college and I thought that was a smart idea. When Talia was pregnant with Jessica, I got a little trust fund started for her and she'd be set for the future too.
"Austin wants to join the army?" I asked. Talia was on the floor with Jessie now and she looked up at me.
"Yeah, wants to be a Navy SEAL. He's been going on about it nonstop. I thought you knew."
"No...he didn't say anything about it."
I rubbed the back of my neck and Talia called Jax. He came out from the dorms and took Jessie back to his room, already making her laugh as he walked down the hall. Talia came to me and I set her in my lap, nuzzling into her chest.
"Oh, Alex. I'm sorry. I thought he was going to you to get all that information."
"Why would he? You're the one he loves. He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you and he's never said anything like that."
"He hasn't called me 'Dad' since he was a kid and he barely says 2 words to me now. He tells you everything. He told you when he started dating Aria, when he got his driver's license. The kid told you the day smoked his first cigarette, Tal. He was gonna get enlisted in the army and I wouldn't have known until it was time to send him away. I have to hear about all the things he's doing from you or his brother because he doesn't want me in his life. I don't know what I did wrong. I love him. I've been trying, Tal. I really have. I've tried to get close to him and he just keeps me out."
"Have you asked him why?"
"No. Have you asked him why he doesn't want to Prospect?"
"Said he doesn't wanna join, simple as that. Jayden wants to. Maybe that's why Austin pushes you away."
"What, Jayden?"
"Maybe he feels like you favor his brother over him. You gotta talk to him, Alex. Don't wait for him to come to you because he won't."
I took Talia's words in, but what she wanted me to do was easier said than done because I highly doubted Austin would be willing to have a conversation with me.
I couldn't pinpoint when he started distancing himself from me, but I've really started to notice it when he was a teenager. I thought it was just a phase or something to do with hormones, but it wasn't. I've been doing a pretty good job being present in the boys' lives though. I never missed a birthday, I'd dress up with them on Halloween, they were drowning in presents on Christmas and we've had little family trips to theme parks or the aquarium, wherever the boys wanted to go. Talia warned me not to, but I did miss a few visits and Jayden would forgive me as soon as he saw me again, but I don't think Austin ever did...
I tried not to show favoritism with my sons either. I loved both of them and treated them the same, but Jayden always wanted to be around me more than his brother. He was more like me and Austin was more like his Mother. He could talk to her about any and everything without being nervous or afraid that she'd be upset with him. He's never done anything too bad though. He got busted with his brother for having fake IDs and trying to get into a concert's after party, but that wasn't anything too bad.
I didn't want to stall having some time to talk to my oldest son and figured I'd attempt it tomorrow. Right now, I wanted to spend some time with my wife and show her how much I missed her being gone for those few days. In a swift motion, I was up and had Talia over my shoulder.
"Tig!" She laughed and I started walking down the hall to the dorms. "What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna be doing you a few minutes." I promised with a pat on her ass and that got another laugh.
I went into VP's room first and he was sleeping. Jessica was sitting on his chest and looked like she was trying to unfasten the sheath to his knife or pull his belt buckle off. This is exactly why Jax isn't allowed to be alone with her. I picked Jessie up and had her sitting on the palm of my hand. She was laughing at her Mother and from being up so high. I found Opie and asked him to watch my little princess, then asked him to keep the boys from coming home for a hour or so.
"If you guys have another baby, I get to pick the name."
"Babies." I corrected and Ope raised an eyebrow. "I'm aiming for triplets this time, brother."
"What the hell do look like, a breeding horse?" Talia protested, but I was already out the door and going to my bike.
The ride home was accompanied with Talia's temptations. She'd rubs her hands over my chest and make her way down to the crotch of my jeans to give it a provoking squeeze. It was bad enough I was already aroused by the rumbling from the engine and feeling her chest pressed to my back. Tempted enough, I got us home in 15 minutes and almost broke the goddamn door down. Talia and I didn't make it to our bedroom, but that was fine because the sofa, the floor, the wall, the kitchen counters and table we're good enough for us. Modesty was the most foreign thing to us sometimes.
That hour turned into a few and after a round or 2 in the hallway, we finally made it to our bedroom. We were on the floor with the blanket wrapped around us, but still in our room. This is how it usually was when Talia's Bounty trips were longer than 3 days and I loved it.
I'm the son of rage and love
The Jesus of Suburbia
The bible of none of the above
On a steady diet of
Soda Pop and Ritalin
No one ever died for my
Sins in hell
As far as I can tell
At least the ones that I got away with
The upbeat song was muffled through our door, but we could feel the vibrations from the drums and guitar.
"Your children are home." Talia mumbled with a smile.
She gave me a kiss and we started getting dress. Looking at the time, it was going on 8pm and I was a little surprised that I managed to go that long with her. Then again, she was one hell of a woman and she would always be the most attractive being I've ever seen. Once presentable, we went downstairs and found our sons playing on the game system we had down here. Jayden had the guitar-controller and Austin was behind the drum-controller. I didn't understand these goddamn things, but the boys and Talia could play it for hours. I saw Opie come out of the kitchen and Jessica was drinking out of her sippy cup. Talia thanked him for dropping our sons off and went to start on dinner while I took Jessie. The boys asked Oto join in on their game and I watched as the giant managed to slide the toy guitar over his shoulders. He had to get a few pointers from Jayden, but he got the hang of it and he really got into it when they started playing Mötley Crüe. Jessie was clapping along and trying her best to sing, which was horribly cute.
Talia called us for dinner and after smacking our hands away for not washing them first, she let us sit down. She made cheese burgers and fries for us while Jessie got tiny meatballs with her fries. Throughout dinner, the boys were telling us about today's practice and Opie took a plate of leftovers home. The routine fight for the bathroom started and Jayden managed to get in first for once while I was getting Jessica cleaned in our bathroom. She could stay in here for hours just playing with the bubbles.
After she was cleaned and dressed, Talia got her down in a few minutes. The silence of our house was always strange to me because I was used to the boys playfully yelling at each other as they played a game or hearing their friends or Jessica's babbles. It always took a second for me to get used to the peacefulness. I appreciated the silence and with Talia next to me, sleep came easy.
...
I shot up and had the gun I always keep under my pillow clutched in my hand, aimed at the door. It wasn't until I saw the low glint of silver in the moonlight that I realized Talia was up too. My arm was around her and she had her gun out too. We heard something fiercely pounding downstairs and Kip started barking. I got out of bed and headed downstairs while Talia went into Austin's room. It was pitch black in the living room, but I knew my way around the house and I went to the door. I felt Kip at my right leg and I could hear him huskily sniffing at the crack of the door. The thumping started again and I yanked the door open, gun aimed on the person on my doorstep.
"Where's Talia?"
"Felix?" I squinted in the darkness and turned on the porch light. Felix was there and he looked like he just crawled out of some rubble because there were streaks of black grime scatted on his tanned skin. He looked frantic, but scared and that was new.
"Where is Talia?" He asked in a more forceful tone and I felt a hand on my back. Turning, I saw Talia there and her eyebrows furrowed at her Spanish companion. "Lo siento mucho. No sé lo que pasó. Matias llamó y dijo que algo estaba mal en el burdel. Llegué allí y que era un puto desastre-"
"Felix, English."
"...you gotta come to the Den, both of you." The quiver in his voice threw me off and he took a step back, mumbling in his native tongue as he ran his hands over his face.
Talia was wearing one of my shirts and shorts while I was just in my boxers, so I went to get some jeans and my cut. I went into my sons' rooms and they weren't in there, so I went into Jessie's room and they were in their sleeping bags on the floor. I saw Austin's air rifle propped against the window and knew they'd be fine because he was a damn good shot. When I came back downstairs, Talia was already in Felix's lowrider and we pulled off together.
One by one, I noticed the Sons joined us and the bad feeling I was getting never left. I didn't know why the hell we'd need to come to Talia's cathouse because the Devils could hold the fort down without us and Clay didn't want us to push them out. Her brothel wasn't under our protection or on our turf, so why the hell were we involved?
The sirens and flashing lights stopped my thought process and the Den was in our sights. Well, what was left of it. The firemen were still dousing the burnt foundation and there were squad cars or ambulances all over the place. Talia got out of Felix's car and slowly walked towards the ruins. I spotted David and he sent us a particularly ugly glance before following after her. There was something about that pig that made my skin crawl and I loathed when he was around her, so I managed to get to her before he did. The look I gave him was a warning to back off and I'd knock his ass out if he pushed it, to hell with his badge.
I saw a few of the Devils on the back of one ambulance and they all looked like they had some minor nicks. Felix went over to them while Talia sadly stared at the destruction. The Devils came over to her and Felix had something in his hands now. It was black and it almost looked like a shirt. He held it out to Talia, but she didn't even turn his way. He turned to me and I took it in my hands, immediately recognizing the feeling of leather.
I turned around and looked at the Sons. I was sure everyone was here, but I did a head count just in case.. Clay, Jax, Bobby, Chibs, Juice, Opie, Miles, Rat, Quinn, Montez and...Kozik wasn't present. I didn't want to believe that he wasn't here. I just saw him a few hours ago and he was holding my daughter, smiling at her and making her laugh.
I dug in the pockets of the cut and my fingers closed around something rectangular, made of paper. I pulled it out and held it up to my eyes. Even in the darkness, I could see what the picture was and I remembered it so well because I was the one that took it.
Kozik was sitting in a chair, holding a newborn Austin and Jayden in either of his arms.