“I know, Mom. I will.”
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his temple. “Thanks, cherub.”
“Why do you have to make hugs weird?” he complained, and I bit back a laugh.
“Because I can,” she said. “Now, go clean up and do your homework.”
He put his bowl in the sink, then headed upstairs and I took his seat at the island.
“How’d it go?” Maisie asked, setting a plate of pasta in front of me.
I filled her in as I ate and she blinked back tears. “My poor darling. He always takes the weight of the world on his shoulders and won’t talk to anyone about it.”
Before I could commiserate, my phone buzzed and it was Booker calling. “It’s Booker.”
“Take it,” Maisie said, and I did.
“Hey, brother.”
“Myron Payne’s got a porn business, not a particularly good one, but it’s an earning avenue.”
“And?”
“And his girls are getting younger and younger. FBI’s currently got him on surveillance. They suspect him of child porn, but they haven’t got him on anything yet.”
“Fuck me,” I breathed out.
“He’s also a Spider.”
“Goddammit. Is he an officer?”
“No. He’s a cleanup guy, though. Real nasty motherfucker. He was under Brick up until his death.”
“And Madison?”
“She’s his stepdaughter. Madison’s mom married him a year or so ago.”
“Okay. I’m gettin’ a picture here, but I need to talk to Flash.”
“Okay, brother.”
I hung up, sliding off the barstool and walking around the island to kiss my woman.
She laid her hand over my mouth. “As much as I love tomato kisses, I think I’ll wait until you brush your teeth.”
I kissed her fingers and grinned. “I’m gonna go talk to Flash real quick.”
“Okay, love.”
I managed to steal a quick kiss, then headed back upstairs, knocking on Parker’s door before pushing it open.
He was lying on his back on the bed staring at the ceiling. “I don’t want to talk, Dad.”
“I get it, bud, but we’re gonna anyway. Sit up.”
He did as I asked, begrudgingly, and I sat in his computer chair and leaned forward. “I know who Madison’s dad is.”
“Okay.”
“He makes dirty movies.”
“Yeah,” Flash said, staring at his hands.
“Is he tryin’ to make Madison do shit she doesn’t want to?”
“How did you know?” he asked, then groaned. “You just figured it out, huh?”
“Yeah, bud, I did. That’s a lot of stress on you, Flash. I can see why you’ve been fallin’ down on your grades. She really needs to tell her teachers.”
“She doesn’t want to tell the teachers because they’ll put her into foster care again. Her mom just got her back and she’s afraid they’ll take her away for good this time.”
“Did she tell her mom what’s been goin’ on?”
“Her mom just gets mad at her and tells her to quit flirting with him. It’s so gross, Dad.”
“Okay. Look, I’m gonna give you some leeway here because you’re helpin’ a friend and that’s what we raised you to do, but you’re still grounded until you get your grades up.” I handed him his phone. “You can have this back for now, but if she’s not willin’ to tell a teacher what’s goin’ on, then you need to.”
“I’m not a snitch.”
“Then I’m gonna talk to Auntie Payton.”
Payton was the principal for the elementary school most of our kids attended, and if anyone knew this Madison girl, it would be her. She’d also know how to handle the situation delicately.
“I’m okay with you talking to Auntie Payton,” he said. “That’s actually a good idea.”
“I know it is. Now, you might want to apologize to Tate and smooth things over with her.”
“She’s just gonna grill me for information.”
“Well, then you need to figure out how to stay strong and not tell her if that’s what you feel you need to do.”
He stared at his phone. “Yeah.”
“Park, look at me.”
He met my eyes and I smiled. “I’m real proud of you, son. I’d like you to talk to me first in the future, but I get that you were helpin’ a friend, and that means somethin’.”
I left him, calling Payton on my way downstairs. After giving Payton all the information I had, I headed back to the kitchen where Parker was wrapped up in Maisie and she was giving him all the motherly love she could bestow in a hug. Flash had always been a hugger and Maisie was his go-to for all things emotional. They were two peas in a pod and loved each other fiercely.
“I’m sorry, Mama,” he said.
“All forgiven, cherub.”
“I’m gonna go get my grades up now.”
She cupped his face. “I love you to the moon and back, Parker.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Looking like the world had just been lifted from his shoulders, he smiled and headed out of the room. I grabbed him and gave him a bear hug before letting him go, then I snagged a beer from the fridge and Maisie and I snuggled in front of the fire until the kids were asleep.
Then it was time for me to show her just how much she meant to me.
Minus
“It’s settled, then. Should the Spiders declare war, Los Psychos will provide soldiers and weapons as needed, and in return will receive twenty percent of the profit of the public storage businesses on MLK and Broadway for the next three years. If all remains quiet on the Western Front, and the Spiders stay out of Portland, the Saints agree to pay Los Psychos twenty grand as a sign of goodwill for their willingness to help.”
El Cacto rose to his feet, refusing the help of the soldier who accompanied him, swatting his hand away before straightening his white suit.
“The history of our two clubs is no secret,” El Cacto said, addressing the room in a distinguished tone. His thick Mexican accent perfectly accentuated by a thick baritone that sounded every one of its eighty-something years.
“The Burning Saints and Los Psychos were first bonded by blood. The blood we spilled while at war with one another.
