Page 187 of Golden Atonement

“Yes, and Dwayne made the right choice. I love my family, but old values run deep within the Valentinetti Clan. Cousins are less than and always have been. Unless your last name is Valentinetti, you are just fodder for the family to use when needed.”

“Is that why you moved here?”

“Yes,” Maria admitted. “I didn’t want my Romeo to end up like his father. Another victim of the family. Don’t get me wrong. I truly love my family, but too many cousins have died protecting the Valentinetti name. I didn’t want my youngest to suffer the same fate.”

“That seems reasonable.”

“Dwayne is the oldest of the cousins here. He is in charge. Even my George will follow Dwayne’s lead. Dwayne sees it as his responsibility to keep his family together and happy. That’s all he’s ever wanted. A happy family.”

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. “And that’s why he does the pranks.”

“Yes. He doesn’t mean any harm. When things become too tense, Dwayne will revert to what he knows to lighten the mood. He doesn’t enjoy seeing his family upset.”

“Then he shouldn’t have joined the Golden Skulls.” Axel walked in, kissing his mom on the cheek. “Besides, half the drama here is his fault.”

“You leave Dwayne alone, George. He’s only doing what comes naturally to him.”

“He’s gonna get his ass kicked.” Axel chuckled, reaching for an orange from the fruit bowl on the table. “Especially when Reaper finds out, and I, for one, wouldn’t miss that for anything.”

“What are you talking about, Axel?” I asked, sitting up.

“Nothing.” The handsome brother winked while he whistled a merry tune out of the kitchen.

“Children,” Maria sighed slowly, getting to her feet. “I’m surrounded by children.”

I couldn’t help but agree wholeheartedly.

I was sitting in bed when Max finally returned home. The second I laid eyes on him, I knew things hadn’t gone well in Alabama.

Laying my book down, I asked, “The kids?”

“Home safe,” he muttered, shucking off his boots before pulling his shirt over his head. That’s when my eyes landed on the large bruise on his side.

“And that?” I asked, pointing to his rib cage.

“Fucknuts,” he growled, refusing to look at me as he headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing, I threw back the covers when I heard the shower turn on.

Well, this wasn’t good. Bad enough he was moody, which meant he learned something he didn’t like, or he didn’t gethis way, but he wasn’t looking at me, which told me he did something he knew I wasn’t going to like.

Getting to my feet, I walked over to the bathroom door and opened it to find him leaning on one arm, head hanging down while the hot spray cascaded over him.

Leaning against the door, I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, “What happened?”

“Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, if you don’t talk about it, you will toss and turn all night. Which means I won’t get any sleep. So why don’t you do us both a favor and get it all out now, ‘cause I’m fucking tired and need some sleep.”

“Montana’s a dick.”

“I already know that. What happened?”

“He won’t listen to reason. He thinks he knows everything.”

“Again. I already know that,” I firmly said, pushing off the doorjamb. Walking over to the shower, I threw the curtain back and said, “Can we skip the obvious recap and get to the real reason you won’t look me in the eye? What did you do?”

“Baby, I just want to shower and go to bed.”

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