Chapter 14 #2
She thrust a hand through her hair. “Maybe not physically, Aiden, but you’re not innocent in all this. You think it’s easy being a single mom? You think it’s easy being me?”
“No, Bree,” I stated calmly. “But I tried to make it as easy as I could. Asked you to move with me to Wyoming; asked you to bring the boys. I could’ve taken some of the load, but you said no.”
“Why should I move my entire life for you?” she spat.
“I have to work,” I pointed out. “What do you think pays for all this? What do you think pays for the designer sneakers, expensive bags, and clothes? You think you’d have this lifestyle if I worked security at the fuckin’ mall?”
She opened her mouth to throw more shit at me but was interrupted by the sounds of car doors slamming from outside.
“The boys are here,” I informed her. “Gonna tell them to pack their stuff.”
“Haven’t got any luggage,” she bit out.
My eyes narrowed on her. “Where are the cases I bought for when the boys travel to me? I noticed they only had overnight bags with ’em.”
She looked down in silence.
My mouth hardened. “You sold ’em?”
“I was short of cash,” she whispered.
The muscle in my jaw started twitching like a motherfucker.
“I give you six grand a month, pay your fuckin’ rent, and give the boys extra for new threads.
You shouldn’t have to sell shit. And if you do, you get a part-time job like everyone else.
Jesus, Bree, I didn’t realize how deep in shit you were. ”
I heard the front door open and laughter filtered in, followed by Roan shouting, “Mom? Dad?”
“Living room,” I called out.
After a few seconds, the boys bustled in, their laughter melting from their faces as they noticed the oppressive air in the room and, no doubt, the frustration in my expression.
“Everythin’ okay?” Rex asked.
“Fine,” I replied. “You’re comin’ to live with me for a while.”
Roman headed toward his mom and clasped her shoulder gently. “You’re comin’ too, right, Mom?”
Bree looked everywhere except in his eyes. “No, baby. I’m gonna stay here.”
Rome twisted his neck to look at me. “You were gonna ask her.”
I sighed heavily because I knew I was about to break my boy’s heart. He could read between the lines, and once he found out his mom had turned down my offer, he was going to feel like she’d abandoned him. Though he wasn’t wrong; in a way, she had.
In the end, it was Rex’s voice that cut through the room. “He did ask her, right, Mom?”
Bree looked stricken.
I took a step toward my oldest. “Son—”
He cut a hand through the air to silence me and rounded on his mother. “Tell Roman. Dad did ask you, didn’t he?”
She held her hands out pleadingly. “I can’t just pack up and leave. I’ve got responsibilities here.”
“We’re your responsibility!” he bellowed. “Us. Your sons!”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” Breanna yelled back. “You’re always acting out. I’m sick of the way you disrespect me.”
“Yeah, Mom,” Rex returned, his tone challenging. “That’s because you don’t deserve my respect. You sit indoors all day, drinkin’ and gettin’ high with Kev and his buddies. You don’t clean the place, you don’t cook, you don’t do anything except party.”
“That’s a lie!” she shrieked.
“No, Mom. It’s not,” Roman cut in. “Rex is right. We’ve been worried about you for months. You need rehab.”
She shoved his hand off her shoulder and pushed him away from her. “No I don’t. I’ve raised you two boys”— she skewered me with a glare— “alone, I may add. You’re old enough to do your own thing now. It wouldn’t hurt you to cook once in a while or wash your own clothes—”
“You’re right; it wouldn’t hurt us,” Rex snarled. “Except you sold the fuckin’ washer and dryer three months ago for smack!”
Bree’s cheeks flushed, but she tilted her chin defiantly.
“Go get anythin’ you wanna keep, boys,” I ordered, my eyes glued to their mom. “I’ll get some bags but just bring the shit you really wanna keep. You can go into Rock Springs tomorrow and get anythin’ else you need.”
They trooped out of the room and disappeared upstairs, leaving me alone with their mother.
“I can’t believe you,” she spat.
I shot toward her, crowding her into the wall, and leaned down in her face.
“I’m warnin’ you, Breanna, I’m holdin’ on here by a thread.
For months, you’ve been neglectin’ my boys, and they’ve been protectin’ you.
It stops now. This is the last time I’m gonna ask ya; come with us and get help, if not for your own sake, do it for Rex and Rome. ”
Her face twisted. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Right.” I stepped back and turned, pulling my phone out as I headed down the hall toward the front door. That bitch had made her choice, and I wasn’t about to waste my time trying to show her the error of her ways. I had to get my boys organized and out of here.
Within minutes, I’d called an old buddy of mine and arranged for him to drop some luggage off. Then I called Bootneck. The phone barely rang before he answered, “Yo. How’s Cali?”
I heaved out a breath.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Breanna’s deep in addiction,” I told him, my voice grating. “She’s not comin’ back with us.”
He paused briefly before muttering, “Sorry, Ade.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that bitch,” I spat. “I feel for my boys though. Their mother’s given them up for smack, and she hasn’t even tried to hide it to soften the blow.”
“They’ve got us, brother,” Boot reminded me.
“Just wanted more for them,” I admitted. “It’s like history repeatin’ itself.”
“Bullshit,” Bootneck shot back. “They’ve got a dad who would kill for ’em and a club of men and women at their back who would die for ’em.
It’s a fuck of a lot more than you had. They’re gonna be fed and clothed and schooled.
Knowin’ you, they’ll have the best clothes, the best sneakers, a nice ride, and a comfortable home. They’re gonna be okay, Ade.”
“Yeah,” I replied, my thoughts racing. “Can you ask Zara to make sure the boys’ bedsheets are changed. Gonna start house huntin’ tomorrow, but in the meantime, they’ll be at the clubhouse.”
“I’ll move out of my room for the boys,” Boot offered. “They’ll feel more comfortable next to you and it’s plenty big enough for a couple of queen sizes. There’s no closet, but I can get another wardrobe and a dresser moved in there.”
“Thanks, brother,” I said earnestly. “It’s only until I can go house huntin’.”
He let out a snort. “At least you can get Ash to help with that.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, but in reality, my stomach dropped. There was no way in hell I’d get to go see her this week. My boys needed me, and I had to enroll them in school and get them settled into the clubhouse.
“Where’s Thug?” Bootneck asked.
My spine bristled. “He’s on a little job for me. Why?”
“I could do with him here, is all,” Boot relayed. “Got Huntley Junior thinkin’ he’s the big man in town again.”
“What’s the little pissant done now?” I demanded.
“Rumor has it that he’s hittin’ up a few stores in town for protection money.”
“We told ’em that had to stop,” I grated.
“Boss. You know that, and I know that. It’s Junior who needs a little reminder. There are only so many times we can beat him up before it gets old. We need to make a statement.”
My jaw hardened. “Church meet when I get back,” I ordered. “It’s time to make hard plans to take him out.”
“We agreed it was better to wait.”
“We’ll look at our options. I’m sick of his bullshit, and the sheriff’s not handlin’ his son’s out-of-control ass. He’s skatin’ on thin ice already, especially after what happened with Gracie. You’d think he’d want to keep a low profile.”
“Yeah,” Boot agreed. “At this point, it’s like he’s trollin’ us.”
“Motherfucker,” I grunted.
“Just concentrate on gettin’ the boys home, Ade. I’ll handle the rest.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Thanks, brother. I’ll let you know what time we’ll get in.
My bike’s at Rock Springs airport, so the boys will need pickin’ up, but if it gets too late, we’ll stay at the airport hotel in San Diego and fly in tomorrow mornin’.
I’m just waitin’ for some luggage to turn up for my boys. ”
“Doesn’t Bree have any?” he asked.
“Sold ’em,” I cut out. “Along with the washer and dryer, and lookin’ at the house, all her ornaments and the silver picture frames she kept the photographs of the boys in, too.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Didn’t realize how far gone she was.”
“Neither did I,” I admitted. “Should have known. The minute I knew she was buyin’ hard drugs, I should’ve rode my ass here and got her into rehab.
Things have been busy with the club and Ash, so I glossed over it in my head, thinkin’ she’d be okay, but I was foolin’ myself. I’ve let my boys down, Boot.”
“The fuck you did,” he protested. “You can’t control everythin’. Bree’s a grown-ass woman, and you got your ass to Cali the minute you found out how bad it had gotten.”
“Right,” I mumbled, but I took what Bootneck said with a grain of salt. He always backed me up, even when he shouldn’t. He was a good brother, loyal to a fault, but it meant he wasn’t objective when it came to me.
I turned at the sound of a car approaching. “Brother, I gotta go. My buddy’s here with the luggage for the boys.”
“’Kay, boss. Later.”
“Later,” I said before ending the call, tucking my phone away, and walking toward the black Jeep.
My lips quirked at the sight of the tall Hispanic dude almost leaping out of the vehicle, and I shouted over, “Wepa!”
“Mano!” he called as he approached me, a huge smile plastered across his face. “What, you don’t call, you don’t text?”
I grabbed hold of the dude and pulled him in for a man hug, slapping his shoulder. “Missed you, Gabe.”
“You, too, Aiden,” he muttered before pulling back to study me.