Page 43 of Property of Shotgun
I sigh, lowering my hand back to my side. I promised Jade nothing would tear me away from her, but when I went back to the apartment, I realized I may have told my first lie to her. The truth is, we’re entering unchartered waters. The club hasn’t had to deal with such a blatant act of disloyalty before. There’s a fifty-fifty shot I won’t make it out of this no matter how much of a fight I put up, and I’m not ashamed to call in some reinforcements… even if they’re fucking dead.
“Losing you destroyed her, but she pulled herself out from the rubble. It’d be a shame for her to be buried under all that debris again. So I guess I’m asking you to look after her should that happen. I might have her now, but I don’t believe for one second, she’ll be mine in the afterlife. That’s all you, brother.”
I stand, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“The boys are amazing. Legend is doing great in football, and Raiden is ham on the baseball field. They talk about you every day, and Legend is already asking for me to teach him how to ride. I figure in a year or so, I’ll buy him a quad. Get Jade used to the idea of her boy riding something a little more terrorizing than a scooter. Killian looks the most like Jade and is just as stubborn as she is. I think he might be the one that keeps us on our toes the most.” I pause, rocking back on my heels. “You’d be proud of them, and I promise to make sure they know that. You’d be proud of Jade too. She’s been nothing but a pillar of strength for your three sons. She has put them first every single day you’ve been gone. You made her happy Irish. You gave her a beautiful life, and three children whom she adores. I can’t take your place in any of their lives, and I won’t try too. But I will love them with everything I got.”
I just hope I get to do it for a long time.
I took the garbage out when I brought the boys out for breakfast this morning, so I’m really not sure where the six black, contractor bags sitting on the front stoop came from. Sighing, I toss the bag of things I stopped at the drugstore to get on the mat in front of the door and haul the trash bags to the curb.
The fucking garbage men are going to hate us.
Making my way back to the house, I grab the bag from the drugstore and enter the house. Raiden immediately runs to me.
“Uncle Shotty, guess what? Mom said the soldiers are coming to the house. Like real soldiers with guns and tanks!”
“What?”
“It’s true,” he says, looking at his older brother to back him up. “What’d she call them?”
“Veterans,” Legend supplies. “And they’re not coming today.”
“Where’s your mom?”
Legend points to the stairs. “Can we have a football catch? Billy from next door wants to play but his dad can’t throw the ball to save his life.”
“Yeah, give me a minute.”
“What about me? I want to play too,” Raiden whines.
“You can play too. I’m just going to run upstairs and talk to your mom real quick. Legend, go call for Billy. Raiden, you go in the garage and get the football.” My eyes dart around the living room. “Where’s Killian?”
“Upstairs with mom,” Raiden says.
The boys take off to do as I asked, and I head for the stairs, climbing them two at a time until I reach the landing. I find Jade in her bedroom, all the contents of her closet on the bed, and a bunch of open boxes.
“Jade, what the hell are you doing, and why do the boys think there are a bunch of army men coming to the house?”
She pops her head out of the closet. “Jesus Christ, Shotgun, you scared the hell out of me.” She tosses something into one of the boxes, and steps out of the closet, placing both hands on her hips. “For the record, you don’t greet me like that. Not anymore.”
“How would you like me to greet you?”
“A kiss would be nice.”
I kick the door closed behind me, and step toward her, bending my head to take her mouth with mine. With the boys just downstairs, and Killian up here, floating around somewhere, I make sure not to get carried away.
“That’s better,” she murmurs, smiling up at me.
“Still waiting for an answer to my question.”
“I’m cleaning out the closet, and there are no army men coming to the house. Well, at least I don’t think so. I called the Veteran’s Association to see if they take donations. They do, and they’re sending someone to pick up the bags on the porch.”
“Fuck. I thought those bags were trash. I took them out to the curb.” I guess I’ll be lugging them back. Maybe I can bribe Legend and Billy to help. I focus on the boxes. “And the boxes?”
“Well, the boxes are things I’m keeping,” she says, her gaze sweeping around the room to take in the mess she’s made. “They’re things of Irish’s I think the boys will want one day. Oh, I made a box for the club too,” she says nonchalantly, like she didn’t just blow my chest wide fucking open. I watch her turn and strut toward one of the boxes. She lifts it up and places it on top of the bed. Filtering through it, she continues to ramble on, “There are some photos from past parties, and that traffic light him and Biggie robbed from the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Avenue U, and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff I’m not sure what to do with.”
“Jade,” I call softly, forcing her to turn around. Her eyes lock with mine, and I close the distance between us, my hand closing tight around the bag I almost forgot I’m still holding. “You don’t have to do this.”
