Page 79 of Pope's Penance

Once she’s taken our orders and brought us our drinks, we all chat quietly.Gavel watches the twins with so much emotion that even my uncaring ass is feeling fucking fuzzy.

“Hey, Grandpop,” Lovelyn starts.

“Hey, Pippin,” he teases, causing her to laugh.

“Daddy said you loved Grandpa Darragh a whole lot, like how Daddy loves Mama.”

“More than anything,” he says gruffly, his normally stoic face warm with memories.

Fucking hairball is stuck in my throat or some shit.

“Will you tell us about him?”

Anguish flashes in my grandfather’s silver eyes, but he smiles softly at Legend.

“Sure thing, Scout.”He clears his throat, his eyes going hazy with memories.“The first time I met him, he was running from a dog that was trying to attack him.He kept swearing the thing was going to eat him alive.”His laugh is husky.“The damn dog only came to his ankles, but in his mind, it was the most vicious thing he’d ever encountered.Here was this tall, muscular dude terrified of this little bitty thing.He swore the dog was mad.That was probably when I fell in love with him first.You gotta understand something, kids.Us loving each other back then was considered all kinds of wrong.Didn’t stop it from happening, just made it harder for us.”

“But how did you all have Mom and Dad?”Legend asks intuitively.

A dark expression crosses Gavel’s face before disappearing.“We had wives.Not having a wife was frowned upon by the church.Guess we got lucky, though, because they weren’t so bad.As long as they got their heirs, they didn’t mind us loving each other so much.We took care of them until they eventually fell in love with others.Then we all went our separate ways.They weren’t evil women.None of us were just right for each other.”

“What happened to them?”Lovelyn asks.

“Life, Pippin.Life happened,” he replies, his words heavy.

“What was Grandpop’s favorite thing in the world?”Legend asks.

“Your mom, aunt, and uncle.He loved them so much.”

They go back and forth with questions, trying to glean as much information as they can about this man we all loved dearly.Gavel brings him to life so vividly that the twins are in awe of a man who is no longer with us.

They really need to stop cutting fucking onions in this place.It’s irritating my eyes.

When Birdie chuckles next to me, I realize I said that out loud and stick my tongue out at her while discreetly wiping my eyes with my shirt.

We’re all laughing at another story Gavel is telling us about Mad Dog when windows shatter as someone fires bullets through them.

The twins and Birdie are screaming as I slide my gun from my holster.“Under the table.”

Gavel shoves Legend and Lovelyn under him since they were sitting next to him, and Birdie crawls under next.She covers their bodies with hers as Gavel and I slide out of the booth.

Thankfully, the place was nearly empty before the shooting.

More shots ring out and more glass breaks as the bullets land around the dining area.

An agonized scream comes from behind the counter, and I watch as a bullet tears through Marigold.

Butcher and Pretty Boy are returning fire outside while Gavel and I return it from in here.

Fucking Demented Demons again.

I grunt as a bullet tears through my shoulder, but the guy who shot me doesn’t stand a chance to do it again since mine pierces his forehead.

Someone must have called the club in because my brothers come flying into the parking lot.They jump from their bikes and finally even out the fight.

“Grandpop,” Lovelyn screams.

I jerk around at her scream, my eyes searching before landing on Gavel’s body lying in a pool of blood.Running over, I slide through the blood as I land next to him.I drop my gun and shove both hands over the wound on his chest.

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