Page 84 of Shattered Union

"I'm hungry," I tell him. I didn't eat anything before they called me into this bloody mess. "I've got to call Stephen and tell him to not come in this evening."

His brows knit together. "Why?"

"We'll it's not really him, but Freddie. And we all know wherever Stephen is, Freddie goes. And Ava's ex is currently sitting at a booth in the back of the bar and if Freddie sees him, he's going to lose his mind and start a fight and I'm not in the mood to deal with their bullshit today."

"Babe," he says amused. "They're grown men, leave them be."

I sigh. "Fine, you can deal with them when the bullshit starts."

He grins as he gets to his feet, holding me close to him. "Let's get you fed, what's good here?"

"Everything, but I want pizza and Marcus is great at making them."

"Marcus would be?" he asks while glowering at me.

"My chef. Who's Preston's boyfriend," I inform him as I move toward the door. "I didn't realise you were a jealous man."

He grips my hips and holds me against him as we exit my office. "I'm not usually. But with you, a red haze of anger forms whenever you speak about another man."

"What?" I ask. He has to be joking? "Even when I'm with Maverick and Stephen?"

"About that. How the hell did Stephen end up as part of your family?"

I should have known he'd ask this, eventually. "When I was five, Maverick and I had a birthday party and Stephen somehow ended up crashing it. Instead of telling Mam we didn’t invite him, I pretended I knew him. I made sure he was fed and when Maverick shoved cake in my face, Stephen beat him up." I giggle at the memory. God, that was a good day. "From then on whenever I'd see him I'd always talk to him. His home life was awful, and he was always starving. So when I'd see him, I'd pretend I was hungry and wanted him to come with us. Mam cottoned on pretty quickly what I was doing, but Stephen didn't. Not for a while. He was just glad he was eating."

"So he's been a part of your family since you were five?"

I nod. "Yeah, we're really close, always have been. It's weird because when people find out Stephen and I are closer than most siblings, they always wonder how it could be. I'm not blind, nor am I stupid. I know what Stephen's like. The urges he has and the demons he faces. I'm not afraid of him because I know who he truly is."

Denis is quiet, and I let him be. It must be weird knowing someone like Stephen in a professional capacity and then facing the version of the man that I know and love. I guess it's a bit like Denis himself. To the world he's the big bad mafia boss, but to me, he's just the man that I love.

"You have a thing for those who are damaged," Denis says quietly as we make our way back into the main part of the pub.

"Aren't we all damaged somehow? It's just how we deal with it that makes us different. Some hide it and let it linger, some use it to power on and strengthen them. Others use it to express themselves. Then there are those who let it consume them, bury them until they're unrecognizable. Those are the ones that are feared the most but shouldn't be. They show the world their true self."

"Hmm," he comments. "Very philosophic."

I throw my head back and laugh. "Hardly, I don't see it that way. I just know those that I love are the ones who have let it consume them. I'm okay with that. We're all unique and as long as they're happy, that's all I care about."

He leads me toward the table where he was sitting at and my stomach flips at the sight of eight people sitting down, watching us with wary eyes. Malcolm gets up from his seat and smiles brightly at me.

Thank fuck someone I know and can talk to. "Well, hey there, stranger," I say with a grin.

He gives me a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I wasn't sure if I should swing by or not."

"Of course you should. Seriously, everyone else does. It's no big deal."

He raises a brow like he doesn't believe me.

"Honestly. Most mornings I have at least three people in the house for breakfast. When your dad was over today, my parents dropped by unannounced. It's normal. No invite needed," I tell him sincerely. He's family after all and family doesn't need an invitation.

He kisses my cheek. "I'm going to hold that to you," he tells me as he sits back down.

"Hey, Callie," Raylee says with a smile as Malcolm throws his arm around her shoulder.

The girl is drop-dead gorgeous. Her skin a sun-kissed brown, she's got luscious brown hair that's streaked with blonde. She has the most unique eyes I have ever seen. They're a golden brown and in the light, they look pure gold. They're beautiful.

"Hey, you having a good night?"

---