Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
It was a toss-up what I hated more about Christmas Eve.
Visiting Da’s grave—no matter the weather.
Mass—boring.
The kids’ play at church—funny, but I only liked seeing my nieces and nephews on stage.
The movie we had to watch together—The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Having an eidetic memory made the latter torture, the play a sensory hell, and mass a nightmare. Thank fuck we were home.
With a relieved sigh, I dropped onto my seat, growling when Katina’s cats began weaving in and out of my legs.
To stop them, I crossed my ankles and then rolled my eyes when they curled up beside me. So close, I could feel them breathing.
At first, their mismatched heartbeats had a nerve twitching in my left eye but, once I adapted, the sensations soothed me.
When I’d settled, everyone else scrambled for their positions, but the rest of these fuckers I called family knew that this was my spot.
You only sat here if you had a death wish.
From here, I could see out of the window, into the hall, over the city, and the surrounding roofs.
Ma and Uncle Paddy might have been overseas, but the bulk of my people were here, safe, not sound, and always annoying.
“Stop sighing.” Inessa tutted beside me, simultaneously shoving her tit into my arm and dropping the extra-large bowl of popcorn on my lap, the one we both pretended I didn’t eat.
Now, this was bliss.
Ren hissed at her backtalking to me then gifted Inessa the co?p de grace—a butthole-shaped salute before taking off.
As Pebbles jumped up beside Inessa and spun in a circle until she found the perfect spot, I drawled, “I’m not sighing.”
“You’re sighing.”
“Why does Katina always bring these damn cats anyway?”
“You know you love them.”
Ha!
The kids, already dressed in Christmas PJs, leaped around like the freaky ass skeleton would be loping around Christmas Town once Star finished setting up a dangling star pinata.
“Only she’d pick a star.”
Star sniped, “I heard that, fu— ja— I mean, Eoghan. What could I do? The store only had this shape left in stock!”
“Narcissist.” I rolled my eyes as she flipped me the bird before carrying on with the task.
“Already told her that,” Troy declared. “And it isn’t in the middle.”
“Everyone’s a damn critic,” Star snarled. “If you want to center it, you do it, Troy.”
As the pair started bickering, I told Inessa, “I’m not sure this is a wise decision.”
“Troy made the puzzle a tradition, so Star wants this to be hers.”
“She has violence in her soul, that one.”
“And you don’t?”
“Hell, they’re never with us anyway on Christmas Eve. They’re only here this year because stomach flu swarmed the Sinners’ compound.”
Inessa gagged. “Gross.”
“I hit too. I hit too,” Roman shrieked, snagging our attention.
“Like father, like son,” I called out, earning me a scowl from Brennan.
“Oh, yeah, Uncle Brennan,” Kat yelled from the dining room, loud enough to make me wince. “I told Alessa to tell Nyx that if he comes to the city again, you’ll pickle him, but I don’t understand the logistics of that. How do you pickle a human being?”
“Pickle!” Third shrieked, earning a proud look from her father.
“No pickles tonight, baby.” He kissed her crown. “Pizza.”
As Third took off like a bat out of hell, crowing about pissa, Brennan hollered back, “Best not to ask questions, Kat. But thank you for passing along the warning.”
“I’ll pickle you later for having my daughter be the go-between,” Star sang in a tone that warned of a painful, painful, painful death.
“Says you,” Savannah drawled. “You use Kat as a go-between all the time.”
“I do not!”
“Sure you do. Alessa still blames you for—”
“Never mind!” Star glared at Savannah, who shrugged.
“Just keeping things fair.”
“I’ll remember your idea of fairness next time,” Star intoned.
“I hit! I hit! I hit!” Roman reminded us, tugging on his mom’s arm to get the action going.
Armed with mini baseball bats that the kids wielded with all the promise of being future pro players/great fists for the Firm, I grunted as Jake managed to smash the pinata within two tries.
Niall and Roman were way too small, but as candy cascaded over the floor, they cackled in glee and let it rain over their heads.
Third shrieked at Declan, who just so happened to be holding her after we collectively agreed never to allow her near weapons. Not when she almost impaled Ma with a turkey baster the other day. Still, I wasn’t surprised when he put her down; she shrieked loud enough to take out an eardrum.
Happy once liberated from imprisonment, Third dashed over to be with her buds—Roman, Niall, and her were thicker than thieves.
Which, again, boded well for the Firm.
It was almost a shame Da couldn’t see it for himself. He’d have been proud as fuck.
While LyLy picked up a couple pieces of candy from the floor, ones that weren’t being squished by two toddlers with main character energy, Cam hopped on his feet and kept on swinging until Declan, his hands free now, swept in, tilted him upside down, and dangled him.
“Get him, kids!” he cheered as the others—aside from Jake—abandoned the candy to tickle Cam, who yelped and squealed and giggled. Even Benjamim, who was the quietest of Star and Conor’s kids.
I’d admit—that earned a smile out of me.
Especially when the cacophony of animals we had all got in on the action—even Pebbles jumped down from her place beside Inessa, and Ren and Stimpy deigned to stop using my feet as pillows to join in.
“Holy cow, was that a smile?” Inessa inquired with a mock-gasp.
“Nah.”
She hooted. “Just like you refuse to admit that Maxton Hall intrigued you?”
“I was not intrigued.”
“That’s why you were asking questions about it, huh?”
“You read the book!”
“Well? You can read it too.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” She snickered. “I can include you in my reading nook. I’ll even share my armchair with you.”
Interested in the prospect, I arched a brow. “Seriously? That’s the only place I’m not welcome in the apartment.”
“You’re welcome. You’re just not allowed to disturb me.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You do that,” she said smugly then laughed. “Jake’s focused on the prize.”
“Just like his father. Watch him share it, though. He’s a sucker for Cam.”
“He’s his baby bro. LyLy has them wrapped around her finger too.” Finn chuckled. “I think I’m seeing a trend. All the girls are nightmares and the boys are their supporting acts.”
Inessa crowed, “Rightly so.”
I glanced over at Finn, who smiled at the scene before him. It was hard to believe that he’d get sappy over this shit, but becoming a father was hell on the heart. I’d seen four of my siblings fall into that madness, so I recognized the descent.
“You ever think about how Da must have been before he had kids?”
Finn’s brows shot up. “No. I don’t willingly give myself nightmares.”
“He wouldn’t have been that bad,” Inessa excused as she dipped her hand into the popcorn bowl.
“Says who?” I scoffed.
“Who wouldn’t have been that bad?” Brennan asked.
When he tried to get some of Inessa’s popcorn, I hissed. “Get your fucking own. This is Inessa’s.”
Brennan jolted when Ren and Stimpy joined me in hissing at him in my defense.
“Oh, it’s like that, is it?”
“Yeah, it fucking is.”
Finn heaved a sigh. “If I have to break you two and the crepes apart, I will.”
“Camille’s methods worked.” Inessa chuckled. “I’ll even tell you where we store the produce if you need to know.”
“Not more potatoes.” Brennan groaned, but pride loaded down his grin.
Inessa smirked as I shook my head—that tale had made the rounds at Ma’s calamity of a Christmas meal. “If Camille’s at the end of her tether, then it’s Finn we have to feel sorry for. You’ve been dealing with this a lot longer than we have.”
I lifted my hand and played the world’s tiniest violin.
Finn shoved my arm. “They’re talking about Da, Brennan. If having kids softened him.”
Brennan sneered, “Yeah, I don’t think so. Or if it did, it happened by the time you were born, Eoghan. It’s why you’re such a fucking brat.”
I narrowed one eye at him, aimed my finger, and lifted it sharply. “I know where you sleep.”
“And your wife is my wife’s sister so my ass is fucking safe.” Brennan sneered at me and, giving the cats a wide berth, stalked over to the other couch, where he tugged Camille onto his lap like she was his real-life teddy bear.
“You two spend too much time together,” Finn remarked.
“I’ve had him over three nights this week! And we’ll be having Orthodox celebrations here!”
“Stop grumbling.” Inessa jabbed my arm with a fingernail. “We only have it at home because you can ensure the perimeter’s secure. He accommodates your issues all the time— Oh, Jake! Look at your haul.” He shot her a shy smile and handed her a piece of candy. She squealed. “I love this one.”
Finn tugged Jake onto his lap. “What you got there, little man? Anything Daddy likes?”
As they divvied up their treasure, Aoife hurried along with three pizza boxes stacked in her arms. Conor, Aela, and Declan came with three apiece too.
When they set the boxes on the coffee table, I peered at them and heaved a sigh.
If pizza had arrived, then that meant the movie was about to begin.
“You can always go and help with the puzzle if this is so bad,” Finn joked.
Puzzle, pinata, and pizza.
Jesus H. Christ.
I ignored his smirk and accepted the eggnog that Aela passed me with a muttered, “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. Inessa made it.”
“It’s good,” Finn praised.
“I made it in October!”
“After three tries,” I whispered in her ear, laughing when she whacked my thigh. “Wonder if Aidan’s too bougie to drink it. You know he prefers his million-dollar bottles of hooch.”
“Hey! Leave my man alone. We all need a hobby,” Savannah cried.
Curving his arm around her, Aidan smirked. “What can I say? I’m a man with great taste.”
“Damn straight!”
“What are you doing here again?” Inessa drawled.
Savannah stuck out her tongue.