Page 86 of Golden Atonement

“Fuck, man, I thought I’d never see you again.”

Slapping my brother on his back, I replied, “Gonna take a lot more to kill me. So, who else did you bring?”

Axel groaned. “My little brother, Romeo.”

“He doesn’t look little to me,” I said, eying the six foot five wall of muscle as Massacre and Player stood next to the man, talking animatedly.

“Don’t let his size fool you. Little shit is barely seventeen.”

“That’s seventeen?!” I shouted, pointing at the kid.

“Mom fed him well,” Axel snarked as his kid brother grinned like a loon. “Stop smiling and go get Mom’s bags.”

I stood there while the kid happily walked off, doing as he was told.

“Axel,” his mother said, getting his attention. “Where is the kitchen? I want to get started on dinner.”

“Mom, you just got here. You can see the kitchen later.”

The small woman snarled as she craned her neck to look up at her son. Axel gulped, quickly taking a step back while Catarina laughed, before walking over and linking her arm with Maria’s. “Let me show you, Aunt Maria. It’s beautiful. The boys made sure we had all the bells and whistles. I got everything you asked for and then some. I thought we could spend the day together like we used to. Just you and me in the kitchen.”

“I would love that.” The woman grinned as they both walked off.

“She just got here,” I muttered. “She knows she doesn’t have to cook, right?”

“I ain’t telling her that,” Axel whispered.

“Me either,” Massacre murmured.

“Mom loves being in the kitchen. It’s her favorite place. The more people to feed, the happier she is. So, where can I put her things?” Romeo asked.

“Follow me, Rome,” Player groaned. “And when you’re done unloading the U-Haul, you and I are going to talk about school.”

“But I want to join the club like George.”

“His name is Axel, and no prospecting for the club until I see a fucking college diploma.”

“College diploma!” Axel shouted then groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fucking idiot is dumber than a box of rocks. Who am I kidding? Rome will barely graduate high school.”

Smirking, I side-eyed Mass and said, “So he’s Massacre, then.”

“HEY!” the big goof protested while Axel and I both laughed.

Leaving Massacre and Player to get their family settled, I headed back to the house to let Remi know that Maria had arrived, so she could go introduce herself. As my wife, she should have been there beside me to greet her, but considering everything going on, I didn’t bring it up.

I was already in enough hot water.

No sense in adding another boiling pot.

Walking inside, I shouted, “Remi?”

“What?” my woman snarked as she walked down the stairs with a full laundry basket in her arms. Looking around, I didn’t spot the kids. Shouldn’t they be here helping their mother?

“Maria Simmonetti arrived along with her son, Romeo.”

“I’ll head over in a minute,” she said, walking past me toward the laundry room.

“Where are the brats?”

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