Chapter 28

Breaker

I sighas I watch Noah sitting at the table near the sand pit, his eyes not leaving the spot he stood when Jingles held a gun to his head.

Yesterday, he turned six, but he didn"t want to celebrate. Instead, he laid on Quinn all day in the medical room.

I don"t know how to help him.

I smile when a hand touches my shoulder, feeling her before seeing her. My girl sits next to me on the patio, and I instantly wrap my arm around her as her head goes to my chest.

I gently play with the tips of her hair. "You should be in bed resting."

She hums. "I needed some fresh air."

I nod, keeping my eyes on our boy, and whisper, "I"m worried about him. He"s sat there for over half an hour, staring at the same spot."

She nods, staying quiet for a minute before saying, "Maybe talking to Tats" momma will help him? People say kids bounce back, but I think he needs that extra help."

I smile, kiss her forehead, and rasp, "I love you, Goldie." She hums, gripping my cut before I actually look at her. A grin spreads across my face at what she's wearing. "Well, look who"s wearing my patch."

She giggles. "I think it suits me." She looks at me, her emotions shining through those gorgeous blue eyes of hers as she rasps, "Thank you for not giving up on me, for sitting outside my front door every evening, and for showing me what I mean to you. You brought me back, you helped me believe love is real and, yes, scary, but also all-consuming and freeing. I love you, Alex."

My eyes tear up with her words, and I kiss her hard before rasping, "I"ll always fight for you; you"re my world."

She smiles, puts her head back on my chest, and whispers, "Was I seeing things, or was Amber in the common room?"

I chuckle darkly. "Her ban was lifted for good behavior after the incident in my office, knowing she wasn"t an accomplice with Suzy. She's got her sights set on Sniper. According to some clubwhores, he"s emotionally unavailable, so she"s decided to take up bar work here for extra money, much to Sarah and Snake"s dismay. But his momma begged."

Quinn snorts. "Sniper, who has hardly been here?" I nod before my eyes widen when she whispers, "The same Sniper who has been wearing a wedding band?"

I pull back to look at her wide-eyed and stutter, "He, I, uh, I mean…what the fuck!"

She giggles at my reaction but nods, then states, "Wait until he tells you guys. He"s kept it to himself for a reason, and it was only by chance that I saw it. The sun had hit it when he was in the medical room, trying to keep me company. I was shocked but looked away before he noticed I saw it."

I"m in shock. I mean…fuck me.

I shake my head. "That would explain why the clubwhores have started to bitch about him not being around. According to Stench, he hasn"t touched any of them for nearly a year."

She nods, looking back at Noah, who is still in the same spot. She hums momentarily before her eyes light up, and then shouts, "Hey, munchkin!" Noah snaps out of it and looks our way. His eyes light up when he sees Quinn out of bed with a cut on, and she asks him, "Do you happen to know why all of my stuff is unpacked at your daddy"s house?"

How does she know that? She grins, and I sigh. She didn"t know. She just fucking guessed.

Oh well, at least she doesn"t look pissed.

Noah freezes momentarily before stuttering, "I um, uh…."

"Like father, like son," Quinn mutters, making me grin, before the back door opens and Noah"s eyes light up.

"Grampy!"he shouts, causing Quinn to look behind us and her mouth to open in shock.

She asks, "Since when did he start calling my dad Grampy?"

I grin and state, "I can"t pinpoint it, but they spend a lot of time together."

She chuckles, shaking her head, as Paul catches Noah, who whispers, "Momma found out about Daddy and you moving her in. I think we"re in big trouble."

I laugh as Quinn mock glares at her dad, who shrugs, before taking a seat next to her with Noah in his arms.

"We all know that was the next step; he"s claimed you." I smile at his words, before he gets serious and asks, "Are you ready, Pumpkin?"

Quinn sighs, burrowing herself deeper into me, causing her to wince. I scowl at her, not that she can see.

"I don"t think I am…" she mumbles against my chest.

I sigh as I make eye contact with Paul, who looks to be struggling. He loves his wife and wants his family whole again after so long apart, but he also knows the trauma his daughter has been through and the years they"ve missed because of his wife"s actions. After this meeting, he could be waiting a while.

My girl is ready to blow.

I give Paul a nod before gently kissing my girl"s head and state, "I think, after you"ve had this conversation, you can start healing. Look what happened with your dad. You finally spoke about everything, and now look at you." I squeeze her to me. "I"ll be with you, and so will your dad and your brother. You need to get your anger off your chest, Goldie, and I know you don"t want to hurt your momma, but she needs to see what she put you through, trying to punish your dad."

Noah cuts in, "And I"ll be with Auntie Lola," which makes me laugh. Lola has been spoiling him a little too much lately.

"No more candy, Noah," Quinn mumbles, and I laugh while Noah grins. She sits up and takes a deep breath. "Okay, I"m ready."

I smile at her, kissing her nose, then I stand. Then, gently helping her up, I wrap my arm around her waist and guide her inside, where her momma is waiting with her brother. Her dad hands Noah off to a happy Lola.

I clear my throat and look at my girl, who is still looking at the table. We"ve been sitting here for about twenty minutes, and no one has said anything. Her momma watches her like a hawk, waiting, while her dad and brother sweat.

Quinn needs to blow; we all know it, and so does her momma, which is why she hasn"t said anything. We literally sat down, and it"s like a Mafia standoff without the fucking weapons.

I make eye contact with Snake and Tats, who are both sitting at the bar in support of my girl, while everyone else is in the yard.

Jack taps his finger on his leg, his eyes firmly on his sister, waiting, while I keep my hand on her thigh, keeping pressure so she doesn"t jolt and hurt her shoulder when she explodes.

"Fuck, all we need is some ammo, and this would be like a Mafia standoff," Tats mutters, and I suck my lip ring into my mouth to stop my grin because, yep, that"s what I thought, too.

Quinn"s breathing picks up as Tats" voice snaps her out of her head. Everyone at the table stills while my brothers behind us stand and get ready. Quinn grabs her glass and chucks it, barely missing her momma"s head. I silently curse for not moving the glass before she could grab it.

She grabs my glass, too, then throws that at her momma next, skimming her shoulder. Finally, she points at a shocked Janet and sneers, "You"re a selfish, spoiled, little bitch, and you don"t deserve to have kids." My eyes widen as Jack"s mouth drops while my brothers move behind me. Paul sits back and crosses his arms over his chest, knowing his wife needs to hear this. Quinn continues, anger radiating off her from years of pain, "Noah isn"t even my blood, and yet just the thought of doing to him what you selfishly did to me kills me!"

She stands, and I quickly stand with her, wrapping my arm around her waist to steady her as her momma sits with tears in her eyes, taking her daughter"s rightful anger. "I spent years, years, showing disdain and anger to my father and—why? Huh, Momma? Because you decided to pretend to kill yourself to get my father"s attention, but I interrupted that, didn"t I?" Her momma flinches. "Yeah…you got a new idea in your head. Why not make daddy"s confused little girl hate him? You said all that bullshit to hurt me, and I was seven…seven!" She shakes her head in hurt and disappointment, causing me to hold her tighter, giving her the strength to carry on. "It worked a little too well though, huh Momma. Not only did you traumatize me to the point that the thought of falling in love terrified me, but you ruined my childhood—my relationships!"

Janet sniffles before rasping, "I-I wasn"t well darling, I was hurt?—"

Quinn cuts her off and shouts,"I was only seven, and you used me for revenge! I would never do that to Noah! Never!"

She flinches. "I blanked it out. For the first few days, I felt justified. I thought we were better off without him, but then your daddy and I, we finally came back together, and I-I put what I did to you to the back of my mind. I-I couldn"t understand your hate after so long…. I"m so sorry, baby."

I shake my head at her excuses, and just as Quinn is about to scream again, her brother speaks up, "Momma, your excuses suck," causing everyone to look his way. "You knew, deep down, why she wanted nothing to do with Dad, but didn"t want to address it because of this reason right here. She has spent years hating him, and you were the sole reason. I know what he did was wrong, but you chose to forgive him, you chose marriage counseling, and you chose to guilt trip your daughter to keep her mouth shut about what you did. Your excuses are not justified, because you chose to forgive then try and force Quinn to do the same when, in her mind, dad didn"t just cheat. In her mind, her momma had a breakdown and cried about how she had nothing to live for while blood poured down her hands."

Quinn flinches, and I hold her tighter to me as she looks at her mother, who silently sobs. I can feel the pain coming from my girl as everyone stays quiet as my girl deflates against me.

"I don"t want anything to do with you," Quinn whispers, causing her father to drop his head and her mother to cry out. "I couldn"t ever imagine hurting Noah the way you hurt me. You continued to live that lie, knowing what you put me through…. I don"t want a relationship with you right now, if ever."

With that said, Quinn turns out of my hold before making her way to our room. Janet sobs, begging me to get her to listen, but I ignore her and go after my woman. Snake and Tats pat my back, looking sad for my girl, as Jack slumps down in shock. Paul follows me.

When I get into my room, my eyes soften at Quinn sitting on the floor near the window. I walk over to her and kneel beside he.

I grip her bent knees and murmur, "Goldie?"

She sniffles and asks, "Am I a bad person?"

Paul answers, "You"re not a bad person, Pumpkin. You"re hurt, and you have every right to be. And right now, you may not be ready to forgive, but maybe, in the future, you will be. You got your hurt off your chest, and that"s the beginning of healing. Don"t feel guilty for your words or for not wanting anything to do with your mother right now. Everything is still fresh for you. Give it a few weeks, and maybe we could all try this again." Quinn nods as Paul whispers, "I"m so proud of you, sweetheart."

She nods before he squeezes my shoulder, and then he leaves, shutting the door. I lean forward, kissing her lips gently, and whisper, "I"m proud of you, too. You did well, baby."

She smiles a little, flattening her legs before grabbing my cut and pulling me to her. I grin as my lips meet hers.

"How long did Doc say I had to wait until I can get some?" I laugh.

"A few weeks, Goldie," I reply, before stating, "though, if we"re careful…."

She grins as I gently pick her up and place her on our bed, my body going over hers and my lips hovering over hers.

"Thank you for loving me," she rasps, and I smile, kissing her, pressing my cock against her pussy through our clothes, grinding down.

"I couldn"t imagine loving anyone else; you"re my everything, Goldie, and I will give you the world," I rasped, breaking the kiss, and making her smile.

I kiss her again, slowly hooking her leggings with my thumbs, ready to have my girl, and show her exactly what she means to me.