Chapter Twenty

Priest

Two weeks later...

Trudging towards the kitchen, I tried to ignore my aching back. Whatever Stevie did to my bed, she fucking ruined it. I was going to have to order a brand new one soon. Well, whenever she left, but that wasn't going to happen until Phoebe was home where she belonged.

God help me, my stubborn wife had dug her heels in and was refusing to listen to anyone. No one was getting through to her. Not her sisters, not her parents, not the girls. Hell, I even begged Scribe and Gunner to talk to her, which, looking back, wasn't the best option, because whatever those idiots said seemed to piss her off even more.

I was at my wits' end.

I wanted my wife back, and preferably before my back gave out!

Plus, whatever shit Stevie hung from my windows smelled awful and was giving me a headache. I wasn't even going to mention the clothes I now owned.

They were itchy.

Wasn't cotton a natural fiber?

Why couldn't I have cotton shirts instead of hemp ones?

Needing coffee, I pushed open the kitchen door to find the cause of my restless and sleepless nights, smiling happily at me.

"Good morning, Shaw."

Grumbling something unintelligible, I placed a large ring adorned with feathers, colorful strings, several tiny bells and beads in front of my annoying mother-in-law before heading for the coffeepot.

"What's this doing down here?" Stevie said, picking up the large ring thingy, examining it intently.

"It is keeping me awake at night."

"It's a dreamcatcher, Shaw. It's supposed to keep the nightmares away, letting your chakra roam free, so your soul can replenish."

"My chakra is fucking cranky, and if my soul doesn't get a decent night's sleep soon, it's going to hurt people." I groaned, walking over to the table and sitting.

"Good morning, everyone!" Gunner said cheerfully when he walked in holding his daughters as Sarah followed, carrying their son. Watching as they placed them in highchairs, I noticed Sarah wasn't very talkative this morning, which was odd ‘cause she was usually chewing Gunner's ass for something or another. Instead, she was glaring at the goofy loon, and if her looks were any indication, Gunner was soon to be a dead man walking.

Athena chose that exact moment to walk through the back door, looking perplexed while she absently twirled around the room like she'd forgotten something before looking at Sarah and frowning.

"What's wrong, Sarah?"

The woman just glared at Gunner, who smiled broadly, puffing up his chest as she pointed her finger at him. "This isn't funny, Gunner. You are getting a vasectomy."

Gunner paled.

"It's not my fault I have superhuman sperm."

"Gunner, if you knocked me up again, I will castrate you!"

King and Bailey chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, only to stop dead in their tracks.

"Sarah's pregnant again?"

"NO!"

"I hit the bullseye again, bro. Congratulate me!" Gunner grinned happily.

"You hold him, Sarah, and I'll snip him. Athena, hand me that butcher's knife," Bailey threatened, slowly lowering herself into a chair. The poor woman was due in a few weeks, and if King knew what was good for him, he better make damn sure his child arrived on time, without any fanfare.

"Sarah's not pregnant," Athena said to no one in particular as everyone's head whipped in her direction, just in time to see the flighty woman heading back out the way she came.

"What?" Gunner gasped.

"Really!" Sarah beamed while Bailey moaned, rubbing her stomach.

Taking a drink of my coffee, I tried to drown out the conversation.

Cameron was right.

There were too many Bettys in this damn club.

Since the women had arrived, and now with Phoebe's family ensconced to help me get her back, there weren't a lot of places one could go to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee.

Oh, I knew of one, but I didn't think she would like it if I showed up unannounced.

But then again, I wouldn't know unless I tried, right?

Getting up, I dumped my coffee in the sink before making for the door when Bailey asked, "And where in the hell do you think you're going?"

"To find a quieter place to think."

Stevie snickered. "Tell my daughter that I will stop by this afternoon."

"Got church today, Priest," King muttered, taking a seat next to his wife. "Don't be late."

"I won't," I replied, when the kitchen door swung open, hitting me square in the face, causing everyone to laugh. Taking a deep breath, I was about to wring someone's neck when I heard.

"Hi, Priest! Guess what?"

I groaned.

Of course, it was Cameron.

"Got five to ten for bringing a snake to school?" I deadpanned as a heavily pregnant Skylar and Pyro walked in behind him. Unlike Bailey, Sky was due any second. Poor girl was already three days past her due date.

"Nope. Today is the first day of summer vacation!"

My head whipped to King, who stiffened in his seat and Gunner froze.

Oh shit.

This was not good.

How in the hell did we forget about summer vacation? Of course, there was summer vacation. The school had to parole the jailbird, eventually. Keep him contained and he wouldn't think twice before causing an uprising.

Shit. That meant Cameron was going to be underfoot for the next eight weeks.

God help us all!

King called for an emergency church meeting the second Cameron dropped the summer vacation bomb. While it wasn't technically the quiet place I was looking for, it was better than the madness happening in the kitchen. Even from behind a closed door, we could all hear the pandemonium happening in the other room.

"You should have reminded us, Pyro," King muttered, rubbing his temples as Frank, Scribe, and Enigma tried to wake the fuck up. Banks and Hawk were still sleeping, or at least trying to, in their chairs.

"I did. It's that big red circle on the calendar over there. You know the circled date with a colorful bomb exploding around it. I drew the damn thing myself."

"Where the hell is Carebear?" Gunner snickered, looking at Frank, who chuckled every time he heard his brother's new club name.

Thanks to Cameron, George Steiner, the club's newest brother was officially named Carebear. While George hated the name, everyone else enjoyed the hell out of it.

"At the hospital with Lidi. Should be back this afternoon." Frank smiled.

"What are we going to do?" Scribe asked. "Bad enough we have to deal with Cameron. Got lots of love for my little man, but now we have Benny and Sean too. God help us if Hailey shows up."

That was for damn sure.

Cameron was a handful, but Savage's niece, Hailey—or Hellraiser, as we all liked calling her—was a pain in the ass. The little girl was just as bad as Cameron, if not worse. Hailey may not be Jess's biological daughter, but Jess loved the girl to pieces, and she had no problem ripping us a new one if we left Hailey out of anything.

"Frank, Scribe, you two spend the most time with the brat. What does he have planned for this summer?" King asked.

When both brothers shrugged, shaking their heads, saying nothing, I asked, "What? You have to know something. Are we looking at a hostile takeover, mass murder, world domination? What? Give us something to work with."

"That's just it." Scribe sighed. "He's been quiet."

"Brat doesn't know the meaning of quiet," King remarked.

"What do you mean?" Pyro leaned forward and glared. "The kid talks non-stop. He had to say something."

"You live with him, Chase," Gunner clipped.

"I may share a house with him, Cord , but he does not confide in me," Pyro stated flatly, before mulishly adding, "He doesn't consider me a close friend."

Frank leaned forward and spoke. "My little buddy has been tight-lipped about his plans for this summer. I know he's got plans, but as to what they are, he's keeping them close to the vest. Haven't heard a peep out of him."

"Well, that's just great!" King sneered. "We've got two women ready to give birth any second, businesses to run, Trip to babysit, and that's not mentioning our club shit. Now we have to worry about what Carnage has planned in that devious head of his?"

The room snickered.

"That's a great name for the brat. Carnage," I muttered, thinking King hit the nail on the head with that name.

Perfectly described Cameron to a tee.

"I still say we patch the little fucker in and call it a day," Banks offered. "It would solve everything."

"He's seven." Enigma groaned, shaking his head.

"Going on twenty-one," Hawk added. "Look. I've heard all the stories. While funny as hell, I don't see the kid causing too much trouble."

We all stared blankly at Hawk. He didn't know Cameron like we all did. While we barely survived the kid breaking us all in, Banks, Hawk and Trip, were off distributing Hell's Breath up and down the coast. They'd only recently returned and were now getting to know the brat and all of his devious ways.

Then again, who better to watch the little shit?

Leaning back, I looked at King. "You know, I think it's only fair that Banks and Hawk get the full Cameron experience. We've all had to adjust to the kid. It's time they do too."

King smiled. "I couldn't agree more, Priest."

"Hey!" Banks scoffed loudly. "We know the kid. Just saying he isn't that bad."

Pyro snickered as Scribe, Frank, and Enigma all grinned, shaking their heads. "Then you should babysit the brat this summer."

"Do you guys seriously want Cameron hanging around with Banks and Hawk this summer? It's like adding gasoline to a fire."

"Fuck you, Gunner," Banks snapped. "We're not that bad."

"No, you're worse." King sighed. "But Gunner has a point. Bad enough we have to deal with two-thirds of the Triple Threat. I still say who better to watch the club's evil mastermind than those two? At least they can keep the brat from creating too much havoc."

"Only way to do that is lock all three of them in jail for the next eight weeks." Pyro groaned. "But you have a point. Cameron might think twice if Banks and Hawk ride shotgun wherever the little shit goes."

"Or he converts them to the Darkside, and we inadvertently create a disaster in the making," Gunner whispered.

"And don't forget, Cameron now has Ben and Sean to help with whatever he's planning for this summer. I say the first thing we need to do is figure out what my little buddy has planned, then we act accordingly," Frank advised.

Well shit.

I hated it when Frank made sense.

Looking at Enigma, I asked, "You are Ben's father. Have him tell you what Don Corleone has planned."

"He won't tell me." Enigma sighed.

"You are his dad. Make him tell you," Banks snapped. "'Cause I ain't babysitting that kid all summer long."