Page 29 of Explosive Union
“I didn’t agree to it,” Da growls. “I fucking told them no. Why the hell did you go behind my back?”
I hop down off the counter. “I think it’s best we leave these two to sort this out. We should probably show our faces to the others,” I say to my brothers, who quickly nod in agreement.
“Jade,” Da says as we reach the door. “Your cousins will be in attendance at the meeting today. As will Hayden. We’re showing a united front. Every member of this family will be there. We’re showing the men that we’re stronger together.”
“Okay, Da, I’m ready whenever you are.” I don’t look back at Mam as I leave the kitchen. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact she went behind Da’s back and agreed to this union.
“Well, that went a hell of a lot better than I expected,” Hayes says as we walk toward the dining room. where I can hear voices.
I scoff. “You’re joking right?”
“No one was injured, and Mam didn’t start bawling. It was a good outcome,” Hayden agrees.
My family is completely fucked up. But I wouldn’t have them any other way.
“Hey, how come I wasn’t invited last night?” My cousin Finn asks with a frown the moment I step into the room. “Why the fuck do those two get to go with you?”
Hayden’s not in the slightest bit insulted. He sits down and reaches for an apple from the fruit bowl. “Maybe it’s because we’re her brothers, or it could be that you had disappeared by then. Either way, you weren’t invited, and she didn’t need you to hold her hand. She’s more than capable of doing what needs to be done.”
Just like Hayes, Hayden speaks with pride and love when he talks about me.
Finn nods. “I heard. Did you really have to stab him in the cock?”
Makenna laughs. “It’s fitting, wouldn’t you say?”
My cousin Danny’s wife, Melissa, nods in agreement. “Oh definitely. I cut the bastard’s dick off who raped me.”
I smile. This family is beyond crazy, but we’re perfect. “There are still four more to go.”
Her grin matches her husband’s. “Plenty of time then.”
“Exactly. But I’m open to ideas.”
Romero Bianchi—my cousin Holly’s husband—pipes up. “We’ve had scalping along with flaying. What’s next?”
“Well, along with stabbing the fucker’s cock, Jade also disemboweled him,” Finn tells him.
“How, exactly, do you know what I did to him?” I wonder just where he got that information.
“On the way here, I had Melissa hack the police report, and I read it. A woman named Deborah Carols has been arrested in connection with his death. I assume that was done purposefully?”
I nod. “Yes. She has no proof that I paid her a cent, and she works with him in the prison. They’re going to put two and two together and get a hundred.”
Finn’s grin is dark and twisted. Out of all my cousins, he’s my favorite. We’re the closest, and even though he’s overbearing like my brothers, he’s always been there for me, and I really appreciate that from him. “Great, so who’s next?”
I shrug. “Well, no one today. As Hayden said, the longer we wait, the more paranoid they’re going to get. Besides, today, we have a meeting.”
“Yep,” Hayes beams. “Jade’s being named as underboss. So, make sure you eat. You know what Granda’s like when he starts his speeches. They never fucking end.”
The entire table erupts into laughter, but unfortunately for Hayes, said man walks into the room.
“You little shit, this is why you get nowhere. You’ve no respect.”
“The boy ain’t lying, Henry. No wonder you’re old as dirt; your speeches go on for decades,” Da says as he walks in behind him.
“You take after your father,” Granda points at Hayes, who merely shrugs. “Fucking ungrateful bastards,” he mutters and turns to the table. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes. I don’t want to hear a single person complain. Women are to be in attendance also.”
I glance at Finn, whose jaw looks as though it’s about to break with the way he’s clenching it. Having his wife, Destiny, around men he doesn’t really know is a huge task for him. Especially as a few years ago, his brother kidnapped her, and she almost died.