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“As if you’re some mobster expert all of a sudden,” King teased, shaking his head.
Meg raised her chin in defiance. “I watchedThe Making of the Mob, thank you very much. Pretty sure I know more than anyone in this room.” She glanced at Leo and Sig with a smug look, then quickly added, “Oh, well, you two probably know more. I’m used to talking to a bunch of bikers, not mafia guys.”
Sig, looking both entertained and perplexed, turned to Leo. “This is Meg, right?”
Leo nodded, his expression torn between amusement and exasperation.
Meg reared back dramatically, placing her hand over her chest as if in shock. “You know me?” she asked, feigning surprise. She turned to King, her eyes wide with mock disbelief. “How do they know me?”
King didn’t miss a beat. “Because you’re one of a kind, babe. Crazy as hell. Your kind is known all over.”
Sig stepped forward with a small bow, playing along with her theatrics. “I’m Sig. I work for Ms. Brynn.” He shot me a quick, polite smile, though his eyes sparkled with humor.
Meg reached out to shake his hand, but before she did, she turned to Leo with a sly grin. “Tell me why he’s more polite than any of your guys, Leo. He’s got charm.” She wagged her finger at Sig. “I like him.”
Leo sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. “That’s because my guys know how crazy you are, Meg, and they’re tired of bailing you and the girls out of trouble when King calls me because he can’t control the ol’ ladies.”
Meg threw her head back in laughter again, clearly enjoying every second of this. “Oh, please. Like you haven’t had your share of chaos with your own boys.” She shook Sig’s hand firmlybefore leaning in like she was about to let him in on a secret. “Just a word of advice—don’t ever play poker with these boys. They cheat like hell.”
“Noted,” Sig said, giving me a sideways glance, his smile broadening.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. In the midst of all the tension surrounding Candace, the looming danger, and the weight of my responsibilities, here was Meg, cracking jokes about the mafia and making everyone laugh like we were just a bunch of friends hanging out at a barbecue. It was disarming but in the best way.
As the conversation carried on, I caught Leo’s eye from across the room. He gave me a small, knowing smile, and in that moment, with the warmth of the kitchen and the laughter around us, I realized how much I needed this—this brief, perfect moment of normalcy.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo
“When are Marco, Royal, and the kids coming in?” Meg asked, leaning forward with that familiar gleam of curiosity in her eyes.
I glanced at her, trying not to laugh. She already knew the answer—she and Royal were thick as thieves, as close as I was with Marco. But Meg liked to ask questions she already had answers to. She liked to stir things up, keep the conversation rolling. “They’ll be here in a couple of days,” I said casually, pretending not to notice the way she perked up.
Meg nodded, acting like the news was fresh. “That’ll be nice.”
I smirked. “You can relay that information back to my sister when you get back to the clubhouse. Save her the trouble of asking a million times.”
That earned me a chuckle from Meg, but I wasn’t wrong. Fayth was always ahead of the game when it came to news about Marco and Royal. She was probably already counting down the hours till their arrival.
“Fayth already knows,” Meg admitted with a grin. “She said she’ll be knocking on the door before they even land.”
King, who was sitting next to her, shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Babe,” he sighed, looking at her like a man who had long since accepted his fate but wasn’t above calling her out.
“What?” Meg asked, feigning innocence.
“Can’t you keep your nose out of shit just one time?” he asked, his voice low but filled with affection. King had been with Meg long enough to know better than to expect her to stay out of anything that didn’t concern her directly.
Meg reared back, putting on a show of being offended. “Where’s the fun in that?”
The room burst into laughter, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. That was Meg for you. It was one of the reasons everyone loved her, even if she drove King up the wall most days.
We were all gathered in the kitchen, and it was a full house tonight. Princeton, Kitty, Larry, and Clyde were perched at the kitchen island, shoveling food into their mouths like they hadn’t eaten in a week. Don, Jack, and Sig were leaning against the opposite side of the island, talking between bites. Around the table sat Murphy, Tatum, King, Meg, Creed, Jada, Pie, Bristol, and Brynn—who was right next to me, close enough that our arms brushed every now and then. Baby Duke sat in his highchair by Larry, making a mess of his dinner but looking completely content to do so.
It was the kind of night that didn’t happen often. The house was rarely this full. For a long time, it was just me, Creed, Murphy, Princeton, Apollo, and Bristol.
Now, it seemed odd if there weren’t at least ten people wandering around the large house.
But even as I sat there, feeling the warmth of the room and the steady hum of conversation, I couldn’t fully relax. Not with everything hanging over our heads—especially Candace. Tomorrow would bring another round of stress, but for now, we were here, pretending like everything was fine. And maybe for a few more hours, it could be.
