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My stare fell on our Prez, who had the baby on his back, laying across his lap while he expertly changed the kid’s diaper. “What the fuck are you feeding him?”

“Breast milk, you halfwit,” Hendrix clipped, snapping the poppers closed on JT’s romper. “What the fuck do you think we’re feedin’ him? Steak and fucking foie gras?”

I balked again.

“It’s not normal,” Diablo grunted.

“How the fuck do you dare talk about normal?” Hendrix demanded, his face turning an angry shade of purple.

“A baby taking a shit is normal. What’s not normal is a grown-ass man cutting off body parts and keeping them in jars on a shelf while illuminating them with different colored fucking Christmas lights .

” His voice rose to a bellow. “I dunno how you have the brass balls to sit there criticizing my son’s ass when your room stinks of goddamned roadkill! ”

Gambit sank down in his place at the round table, chuckling to himself while I took my seat next to Diablo.

The door swung open again, and Trick appeared, followed by Pyro and Will.

Trick’s face turned green. “What the fuck is that smell? ”

Hendrix sighed.

“What?” the road captain demanded. “I’m very sensitive to aromas.”

“So why the fuck do you stink like rancid old pussy most of the goddamned time,” Hendrix shot back.

“’Cause I fuck a lot of it.” His stare slid to me. “Talking of which, is it true you turned down a second go with Arizona and Heather doin’ girl-on-girl? Did your dick break or somethin’?”

Every eye turned to me, and Diablo’s narrowed. “None’a those bitches have done girl-on-girl for me.” He sniffed.

“That’s because they’re too busy shitting their panties in case you get a hankering to cut off one of their fucking toes or something,” Blade snapped.

Diablo turned to Veep. “Have they done girl-on-girl for you?”

Blade rolled his lips together. “A gentleman never tells, but yeah.”

D’s stare swept around the table, taking in the men shifting in their seats while they looked everywhere but at him.

“Jesus fuck,” he rasped. “First Gambit gets multiple mass cock sucks, then they do girl-on-girl for the rest of you shitheads. Why the fuck don’t they come up with hot shit like that for me? ”

Will waved a nonchalant hand. “Not just you, brother.”

“You don’t fuck the whores,” the SAA said accusingly. “Plus, you’re like, a hundred and goddamned three. They’re probably scared they’ll kill you off.”

Will grinned. “True. Though, come to think of it. Arizona and Tia did offer me a lil’ show for my birthday last year.

Turned ‘em down though. You’re right; I’m too old for that shit, and with havin’ a dodgy ticker and all.

..” He patted his heart comfortingly. “Let’s just say they probably would kill me off.

” Will went over to Hendrix, rubbing his hands together. “JT wants to come to Gramps.”

“Fuck off,” Drix snapped.

“You’ve had him all day,” Will argued.

“He’s my kid,” Hendrix reminded him.

Will grabbed his cell from his inside pocket and stabbed at the screen. The sound of ringing filled the room, followed by Anna’s voice saying, “Hey, Will.”

“Sweetheart,” Will crooned. “Have a word with your ol’ man, will ya. He’s hogging the baby.”

Hendrix’s head reared back. “Did you really just call my woman and tattle on me?”

Anna laughed softly. “Jamie. Give him the baby.”

“Fuck no,” Prez muttered. “He’s all ‘let me hold JT’ when I’ve just changed the kid’s diaper. When the kid shits his diaper, the old fucker’s nowhere to be seen.”

“The perks of bein’ a grandparent instead of a parent,” Will grumbled.

“It’s your job to change shitty diapers, not mine.

I did all that with you, and you had the shittiest ass I’ve ever encountered.

When you came outta your ma, you were an ugly little thing.

Your head was distorted into a cone shape because it was abnormally big, and your mom had a job squeezing you out.

The nurses had to use those suction cup things and suck you out.

What with your shitty ass and your weird cone head.

I thought your ma had been abducted and impregnated by aliens.

I used to say, Sweetheart, are you sure you don’t remember getting beamed up to the Starship Enterprise?

‘Cause our boy sure does resemble a fuckin’ Vulcan.

” His voice dropped, and he muttered, “I was a hairsbreadth away from naming you goddamned Spock.”

Diablo roared, choking out, “Fuckin’ cone head.”

I chuckled.

Blade’s lips twitched.

Anna giggled down the phone .

Hendrix looked at the ceiling and sighed out his frustration. “Can we get on with fuckin’ Church?”

Will said his goodbyes to Anna and ended the call. “Gimme the baby,” he ordered, “Or I’ll tell ‘em about the time you thought your ma was haunting you, and you pissed the bed.”

“A lotta kids have trouble controlling their waterworks,” Blade interjected,

Will smirked. “When they’re seventeen?”

The men snickered.

“For fuck’s sake, take the baby,” Hendrix bit out.

Will grinned and made a grabby-hands gesture. “Give him here.” He moved toward Drix and leaned down, transferring JT into his arms. “There’s my little fella,” he crooned, pulling the baby into his chest and moving toward his seat.

JT let out a little mewl before snuggling into his gramps and falling back to sleep.

Hendrix picked up the gavel and smashed it into the sound block, startling JT out of his sleep. The baby opened his mouth and let out a piercing cry, angry at being disturbed.

I couldn’t help myself. I sat forward and began to bust a gut.

Will slowly stood, rocking JT from side to side, trying to soothe him. “What the fuck did you do that for, you idiot?” he whisper-shouted.

Hendrix looked up at the heavens and sighed.

“Shouldn’t he be with his mom?” Pyro asked.

Hendrix’s eyes narrowed on my buddy. “You’ll get kicked outta Church before my boy does. Anna’s busy making inquiries about the empty salon in town, so I’m on daddy duty.”

“You can’t babysit. You’ve gotta club to run,” Pyro shot back.

Hendrix’s face blanked. “Come again?”

Pyro looked confused. “What? ”

“Do I look like a fuckin’ babysitter?” Hendrix asked.

Pyro shook his head. “That’s my point. We need to get down to business. You can’t do that while you’re babysitting.”

“I’m not babysitting,” Hendrix spat. “I’m being a parent. It’s as much my responsibility to care for my boy as it is my ol’ lady’s. Hence, I don’t babysit my own son; I care for him like any father should care for their kid.”

“Well said,” Will muttered. “Maybe you’re not a lost cause after all.”

“You, shut the fuck up,” Drix ordered. “I’ve banged the gavel, which means Church is in session. As of now, I’m in charge, not you.”

Will shrugged and took his seat again. “Well, just be in charge a bit quieter. Don’t wake the baby.”

Prez raised a hand to his temple and rubbed. “Can we get back to business now?”

A chorus of whispered ayes went up.

“Right,” Drix murmured. “First on the agenda. Adrian Lis is coming to visit. He’ll get in about six tonight. He’s gonna spend a couple of hours with Anna and James, then head up to DC.”

“As simple as that?” Diablo asked.

Hendrix shrugged. “I dunno why it has to be complicated. He wants to meet his nephew. Anna’s cool with it. Job done.”

“He’s one of the most dangerous men on the east coast,” D pointed out.

“So am I,” Hendrix answered. “Up to now, he’s played ball. If he stops playing ball, we’ll deal. Until then, I’ll go along with what Anna wants.”

“At least let me take extra precautions while he’s here,” Diablo requested. “Wanna make sure your woman and kid are safe. ”

Hendrix’s face softened. “Can’t argue with that, brother.”

“Extra guards on the gate. Men dotted around the place. We’ll all be armed, and you’ll stay with Anna at all times. We can do all that discretely, seein’ as Lis doesn’t know how we usually operate. As far as he’s concerned, it’s a normal day at the office.”

“Sounds good,” Drix agreed. “Ice, Gambit, and Picasso, hang around while he’s here. Blade and Pyro, you hang in the background. D, take Fletch and Mac for the gate.”

We all murmured our agreement.

“Okay, next on the agenda. We’ve had a job come in. It’s a three-month gig. Personal protection for a rock band.”

My ears pricked up, and I sat a little straighter.

Six of us were licensed for close personal protection.

Me, Picasso, Gambit, Trick, Ghost, and Fletcher.

I was the highest-ranking officer out of all those boys, so I usually took the lead on bodyguard jobs.

However, usually, Prez came to me before he announced anything to the brothers so we could plan the job.

On this occasion, he hadn’t, and it rang alarm bells.

“Who’s the band?” Diablo asked. “Dischordium again? Or one’a them boy bands who have all the girls screaming, you know, like the Backstreet Boys?”

“Backstreet Boys?” Trick questioned. “Jesus, man. How old are you?”

“What?” Diablo said defensively. “They were good.” He began to sway from side to side and clicked his fingers rhythmically. Then suddenly, he pointed at Trick and started to croak out the chorus to “As Long as You Love Me” very badly.

Trick’s lip curled, and he snapped, “Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit. ”

Gambit chuckled, shaking his head. “Our boy bands were way better than those wannabes. Take That were the dog's bollocks.”

“Nah,” Trick disputed. “Boyzone was where it was at.”

Hendrix looked between them, his eyes getting bigger, then he glanced at Blade. “Have you got a clue what the fuck they’re talkin’ about?”

“They lost me at Backroad Boys,” Blade said dryly.

“It’s Back street Boys,” Trick corrected.