Page 87 of Penance

“I don’t know what you want me to fucking say!” Eli suddenly yells back. My head snapping in his direction, my neck screaming with the motion. “I’m doing my fucking job! Unlike you, you fucking cunt!” Eli hisses. “Where were you when I was interviewing for security?Huh?WHERE WERE YOU?!” he roars. I don’t think I haveeverseen either of these men behave like this. “Don’t walk back in here, holier than fucking thou,” he spits, venom shooting from him with every word. “You’re too fucking good for us,remember?You’re better than this shit!Youfucking said that!Youdid! Asurgeon!” he scoffs. “Fuck you, J! Just fuck you, you fucking arsehole, I’m fucking done listening to your shit. We’re the ones knocking our bollocks out, grinding harder every fucking day to make this family safe and our businesses run smoothly. You think you can do a better fucking job, you fucking do it!” Eli slumps down into his seat, breathless and red-faced.

“Well, looks like I’ll have to, doesn’t it,” Jacob spits back, not letting this go. “Who signed the clipboard last? Which guard?” he questions, still staring down the table at Eli. “I’ll have him dragged downstairs for Charlie to question, and-”

“No,” Charlie pipes up, “you won’t,” he rasps, his voice strained. “You don’t dictate here, Jacob, I’m not even sure why you’re a part of this conversation.”

“Charlie,” Dee starts to say but Charlie cuts him off.

Another thing that’s unheard of, Charlie never involves himself in arguments.

“No, Dad. He didn’t want this; Jacob didn’t want to be a part of the family business. He’s allowed to change his mind, we would welcome him with open arms, but he hasn’t done that. Have you, J?” Charlie rasps, his voice melodic yet gruff, the volume getting quieter the more he strains his damaged vocal cords.

He cocks his head, white-blonde hair falling into his emerald eyes, looking down the table. Guiding his line of sight past Eli and Cam, both between him and Jacob. In fact, there are two empty seats between Cam and Jacob too. Eli right beside Cam, Charlie the other side of Eli.

“I’ve not changed my mind,” Jacob says calmly.

Smoothing his hands down the front of his shirt, still in a dress shirt. Black, the top two buttons open, sleeves folded up to his elbows.

“Then sit down, and be quiet,” Charlie finishes.

The table in silence. Jacob still standing. Charlie reaches forward, his fingers sliding around a glass of lime water, condensation sluicing down the sides of it. He lifts it to his lips, swallowing half the glass, nobody speaks. He puts the glass down, eyeing it for a moment.

“Kyla-Rose made a decision.” Cam, the most silent member of our family speaks next. His dark blonde hair pulled back into a bun, the sides and underneath shorn. “Knowing full well she could be putting herselfandothers in danger. She did it anyway. Kyla-Rose is an adult, the people she was with are adults. They all made up their own minds. Nobody was coerced or forced into the situation. It was of their own accord. She got hurt. We know, this life is dangerous, but we can’t stop living it because someone, may or may not be, out to get us. Jacob, you’re not actively involved. You can’t pipe up with an opinion when you have no idea what we’re all dealing with on a daily basis. You’re upset she got hurt, so am I, so is Charlie, Dad, Eli. We all care, this isn’t about that. It’s about discussing what went wrong and how, fortunately, we can learn from it. Okay?” Cam says calmly, ever the mediator when he does decide to put his two cents in.

I lick my lips, my thigh vibrating with anxiety beneath the table, jumping violently. I eye Jacob, still standing, his fingers curling and uncurling into fists at his sides. His teeth clenching, jaw grinding, I bite my lip. I think of the already torn skin, I bite back into it anyways, never able to stop myself. Max clamps a hand down onto my thigh, his grip firm but gentle, careful of my hideous bruising and road rash. Kacey’s hand sliding up my other, his fingers circling the purple, mottled skin. My gaze still laser focused on Jacob, I suck my lip into my mouth, the tang of blood making me want to heave again. But I don’t, I hold it in, swallow down my anxiety.

“If I can just say-”

“Shut your fucking mouth!” Jacob spits at me, his eyes wide.

My mouth drops open at his outburst, Charlie silently stands.

“Don’t fucking speak to her like that,” Kacey warns lowly, getting to his feet.

One giant hand splayed out on the table, his shadow towering over me.

“Watch how you fucking talk to her,” he points a thick, tattooed finger at my eldest cousin.

My tummy flip-flopping at having him stick up for me.

“Oh, fuck off,Kacey, put your overgrown ape bullshit away, no one gives a fuck what you have to say.” Jacob scoffs, “you’ve not got enough going on upstairs to be a part of this conversation,” tapping two fingers to the side of his head, he chuckles caustically, the air around me grows finer, making my lungs ache.

“Jacob!” Dee scolds, his bark biting, like a whip cracking through the room.

“No! No!” Jacob shouts, “thisis exactly the fucking problem! She gets away with EVERYTHING! Where is thepunishment?!” he bellows.

“You’re behaving like a child.Enough. Sit down,now.” Uncle Dee commands, his voice brokering no arguments, a low growl in the back of his throat.

Kacey glides back down into his seat beside me, Charlie silently retaking his.

Dee may be slowing down on the work front now that us kids are slowly taking parts of it over, but he is still the patriarch of this family. Always will be, until his dying day.

“Now, I feel this has been discussed enough for one evening. Eli, I trust you’ll look into the situation with the weaponry in the cars,” Eli nods firmly. “And Cameron, you will aid your brother in any way you can, between now and New Year’s.” Cam nods in response. “The fights will be open for our largest event of the year, we have five days before then, that’s a lot of work and with Lala out of action because of her surgery tomorrow-”

“Possible,” I cough the correction, “possiblesurgery.” I confirm quietly.

Dee offers me a wink, “with Lala’spossiblehand surgery tomorrow, we need to work extra hard and help each other. You boys can do it. Charlie, you know what you’re tasked with. Try to keep it clean, my boy,” he raises an eyebrow, a slow smirk working its way onto Charlie’s lips.

“Kyla-Rose can help me downstairs during her recovery,” he rasps, a shiver rakes its way down my spine. “Just to keep her hand in,” he cocks his head, his big green eyes on his dad.

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