Page 10 of Wizard's Spitfire

“Hey, what about me?” Pops asks with a pretend pout.

“You always let us off the hook,” Lucia says.

Pops has the grace to look chagrined.

“Two weeks! I’ll miss the summer dance. I have a date!”

“Not anymore.”

“It’s Dad’s weekend. He’ll let me go.”

“You’re not going to your dad’s for two weeks, either. I’ll call him and let him know. Now give your phone to Ma.”

Valentina lets out a screech but hands her phone to Ma. One problem solved. At least for now.

“Francesca, why did you say your father cheated?”

“Come on, Mom, we’re not babies. I know Dad cheated more than once. He introduced us to his girlfriends a few times.”

“What?”

“Sorry, Ma,” Lucia says, casting her eyes downward. “After I caught him, he figured why bother hiding them?”

“We can unpack all this later. We don’t have time now,” Ma says.

I nod in agreement.

“Let’s go.”

We make our way to Wizard.

“We’re ready.”

Wizard nods. “Right this way, ladies, and Pops.”

He leads us around the side of the building. I can hear laughter and music from here. When we round the corner, I see dozens of people. Men, women and children. Wizard leads us to a couple. Both are tall. The man’s long dark hair is in a single braid down his back. The woman’s sapphire blue hair hangs loose down her back. They’re laughing. He’s holding an infant, I’d say around a year old, and her belly is slightly rounded with another pregnancy.

“Charlie, I’d like you to meet Gambit, our President and his ol’ lady, Stormy. Also known as Queenie, our club’s queen. The little guy in Gambit’s arms is Xavier.”

He points out other children. “Their oldest, Bastian, is our newest prospect. Goes by Crab. That’s Genni, Remy, Acadia and Antoine.”

After Wizard introduces us to Gambit and Stormy, he introduces us to other people, mostly couples with children.Hollywood is next with his two kids, Ella and Brayden. They are six and seven. He doesn’t have an ol’ lady. Alena, with her son Xander who will be a year old in a few months, is a friend of the club who lives on the compound. Teagan, whose brother Tully is a prospect. She’s sixteen and her brother is only nineteen. Nitro and Lucia have EJ, Benji and another on the way. Boomer and Olivia have infant twins, Romeo and Rocco.

Pops gets a huge kick out of that. A baby with his name. We have to pry the infant from his arms before Wizard introduces us to Dmitri, Lily, and Dakota with their baby Ace. Outlaw and Delta and their little girl, Delilah. They’re expecting twins in the fall. Papa and Nay are due around the same time.

Smoke and Sabian have triplets. Avery, Riley and James. Two boys and a girl.

“I have so many questions,” Sabian says.

“Ma and I will be happy to answer all of them. She was indispensable with the girls. Still is,” I say, pulling Ma in for a one-armed hug.

“Smoke’s grandmother is moving here to help.”

Smoke nods. “My bio brothers are packing her stuff as we speak. She’ll be here next week.”

“I look forward to meeting her,” I say.

Smoke smiles and Wizard leads us to Millie and Wrath. They have a set of twins that are a few months old. Madison and Mason. They’re due again in December. I almost ask Wizard how the math works out, but decide it is none of my business.

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