Page 24 of Grim's Gem

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

“Well, did he win?”

“What do you mean, you kept the money? He earned that shit.”

“Fuck!”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in twenty.”

“I said I would be there in twenty!”

He stands and gets up from the table.

“Sorry, Prez, have to head to the school and pick up Rome,” Loki says, making his way to the door.

“Everything okay, brother?” Swift asks.

“Yeah, Rome got caught gambling at school,” Loki growls.

“Shit, brother. Is he going to be expelled?” Grease asks.

“He’s getting three days of suspension,” Loki says, making it to the door.

“You and Halle gonna punish him?” Hitter asks, smiling because we all know the answer to that is a big fat fucking no.

“Hell no, I’m going down there to whoop someone's ass for taking the money back from him. He won it fair and square. It wasn't like he was bullying kids into taking their lunch money. He was betting kids fair and square for their ice cream money. Halle will probably just be pissed he got caught,” Loki says, opening the door and stepping out.

“Alright, well, is there anything else we need to discuss?” Swift asks the table.

“Yeah, that Robby fucker is still in the back shed, and he's starting to fucking stink. We need to get his ass taken care of before it gets worse,” Grease says.

“We’ll take care of him tonight and make sure he’s disposed of and never found. We can't leave Loki out of this one. He would torture us if we did,” I tell my brothers as we all chuckle.

“Well, if there is nothing else, Church dismissed,” Swift says, turning for the door.

“Grim, want to help me with this Harley Sporster I got in the garage?” Grease asks. I used to spend a lot more time hanging with him in the garage, but lately haven't had the chance. Between the hospital and Jade, I’ve kind of pushed it to the back of my mind. It would be good to get my hands dirty.

“Yeah, sounds good, brother. Jades at the shop, and I was just going to go over supplies in my office, but that can wait,” I say, following him out and over to the garage next door.

“You're happy, brother. I can see it written all over your face. How are you doing with the prospect of a baby girl?” Grim asks, picking up a ratchet and getting to work. I pick up my own tool before sitting beside him.

“Honestly, I’m nervous as fuck, but excited at the same time. Jade is going to be an amazing mother. I’m just ready to meet her, though,” I tell him.

We make some more small talk before we fall into a comfortable silence. I get lost in my work until I see Loki pull up with Rome on the back of his bike. Rome hops off and kicks the gravel at his feet. I stand and make my way over to them, rubbing the top of Rome's head.

“Heard you got into some trouble. What were you doing gambling anyway? You know you and your sisters are spoiled ass rotten. Ask any of the brothers, and you could get whatever you wanted.” And I'm not exaggerating on that. We are wrapped around these kids' fingers. It's hard not to be when they are such amazing kids. It would be a different story if they were spoiled and just expected shit or one of those kids who pitched a fit because they didn't get what they wanted. But each of the brothers knows what these kids had to go through in their short lives. We feel like we have some making up to do with making them happy.

“I wanted to buy flowers,” He mumbles. I bend down in front of him.

“What was that? I can't hear mumbles,” I say, turning my head like I’m trying to hear him whisper again. He sighs before spitting it out.

“I wanted to buy flowers. I had enough in my piggy bank to buy them for Paisley, but I didn’t want Rae to feel left out. So I had to find a way to make more money to get two sets. I wanted it to be bought from money I worked for and earned. I didn't want it to be like you all were paying for them,” He pouts, crossing his arms over his chest.

I lean back, amazed at this boy's heart. Damn, he wanted to buy flowers for his best friend but didn't want his sister to feel left out. How could you be mad at that?

“Alright, well, how about this? You come to my office. Help me arrange the gauze, bandages, and stock up on some other things. I’ll pay you twenty dollars,” I say, holding my hand out for a shake. His whole face lights up as he nods and takes my hand, shaking as hard as he can.