Page 3 of Forsaking All Others

I nod, watching as she uncrosses her arms and scoops up her son.

“Let’s go get you some clothes before your sister’s boyfriend comes and thinks we condone nudity,” she murmurs, pressing a kiss to Theo’s cheek. Once they’re out of sight, I push off the counter and take the Nerf gun from Shep’s hands.

“Practicing your aim, huh?” I say, fitting the gun to my hand. My finger closes around the trigger, but I don’t shoot.

“Yeah, I had it all planned. I was going to shoot Tara’s boyfriend right in the nuts that’s why I was using Theo as a target, I figure he’s prime height.”

Aside from the fact it isn’t a real gun and Theo is like two feet tall, it’s not a bad plan.

“Unless your sister is dating a midget, you might want to aim a little higher, son.”

“Maverick!” Holly shouts from the other room.

I forgot the woman has super-sonic hearing.

Shaking my head, I set the Nerf gun on the counter and turn back to Shepard.

“No guns in the house.”

“It’s fake,” he defends.

The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree with this one. He’s got his mama’s looks, but he’s all me personality wise which makes disciplining him ten times harder.

“You’re making me look bad, kid.”

Holly returns, wrangling a t-shirt over Theo’s head and huffs out a breath as she glares at me.

“If we fuck this up, she’ll never bring anyone around again, Maverick, and that’s when the sneaking around starts. Is that what you want?”

“I wanted to send her to a convent, but you weren’t on board with that,” I argue.

I’m not joking either. Lightning struck twice when our little girl hit puberty and she became a spitting image of her mama—hypnotic eyes and all.

“Maverick!”

“What?” I grunt, not liking this conversation.

She sighs, turning her attention to Shepard. “Take your brother inside and no more Nerf guns in the house.”

“But—”

I cut him off.

“Do what your mother says.”

He huffs out a breath and takes Theo’s hand, leading him out of the kitchen.

Yeah, Shepard Burnside is the perfect mix of me and Holly. Good lookin’, cunning, and stubborn as all hell. I bring my eyes back to Holly.

“He’s all you.”

“Don’t change the subject,” she volleys, placing a hand on her hip. Her gaze softens as she continues. “I was sixteen once, Maverick, remember?”

Do I ever.

She was friends with my little brother, Shady, and lived next door to us for years prior, but it wasn’t until Holly turned sixteen that I really noticed her. My father, Preacher, was the president of the Satan’s Knights motorcycle club at the time and I was a prospect. Shady had just started hanging around the clubhouse, getting a feel for the life, seeing if it was good fit for him. He mostly washed bikes and served drinks, but every once in a while, he’d bring Holly around. It was obvious he no longer saw her as a friend, but I didn’t give a fuck.

Especially not after our father took the gavel.

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