“Roxy.” Lucius laughed. “She’s not here to tell me how to live, so I’m going to keep on doing what I do.”
Lash looked at him. “You know, this is guilt talking. Abandoning your club because you don’t feel part of it. Riding away. Not hearing a word from you. The way you only truly talk to Natalie. What did you do?”
Lucius dropped his cigarette into the snow and pressed his foot into the ground before he turned to Lash. “You’d do anything and everything for your woman, right?”
“Yes,” Lash said without any hesitation.
“Exactly. You’d do whatever she wanted. Even if she begged. Even if she pleaded. Even if her days were numbered but she was crying because the pain was getting to be way too much that she couldn’t stand it. That she’d beg you repeatedly and even tell you that they wouldn’t keep a dog alive in this much pain.”
Lash knew. “Roxy begged you to end her life.”
Lucius stared at him, and everything fell into place. On the day Roxy died, Lucius was the last person with her. He spent the day with her, if Lash’s memory served him well. This was a long time ago, and looking at the man now, it made a whole lot of sense.
“You did what she begged,” Lash said.
“Doesn’t make it right. I killed my best friend, and that kind of shit, you don’t come back from. Ever. I don’t deserve to be in the club.”
“And you think this is what Roxy would want?” Lash asked. “Do you think she would have wanted you to disappear after asking you to do that?”
“It doesn’t matter what she wants anymore. She’s not here, and Death, he’s going to come for me someday. When he does, it’s not going to hurt the clubs.”
Lucius walked back into the clubhouse, and Lash shook his head, knowing he shouldn’t get involved with this kind of shit, but also knowing he had to tell Devil. Lucius wasn’t a Skull, but he was family.
****
Christmas Day
The kids had woken up way too early.
Angel didn’t mind, but she’d stayed up all night waiting for Lash to arrive. The moment he’d gotten to bed and saw she was up, he’d apologized, explaining he’d gone to see Devil. He hadn’t delved into any more of an explanation, so she figured it was club business and hadn’t asked more questions.
She’d fallen asleep in Lash’s arms only to be woken up by screaming kids, telling everyone that Santa had been here. Her own children, who were not young anymore, came and got her and Lash up. Chloe joined in the fun with Connor by jumping on the bed like they used to as kids. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
The kids did all the rounds on all of the parents, and seeing as this was a full family get-together, there were a lot of people to get up.
She made her escape to the bathroom before heading downstairs, still in her pajamas, and got to work on filling the kettles, and of course, working the coffee. A lot of people would be needing coffee.
The presents were already under the tree in sacks labeled with their kids’ names. Everything was coming together. She got the toaster set up as the kids just wanted a bowl of cereal to start their day.
Personally, she needed a slice of toast or something. She quickly pulled on an apron over her pajamas and got to work on the preparation, and it wasn’t long before she was joined by Tate, Eva, Lexie, Natalie, and the rest of the women. Lacey came into the kitchen and helped pour coffee.
Once the preparations were underway and everyone had breakfast, it was time for the presents. She sat on Lash’s lap as she watched the kids grow giddy with excitement. Each time they opened something, they’d run to their parents, hugging them.
“Do you think we should have another baby?” she asked.
Her children were way too big now, but another brother or sister would be a nice addition to the mix.
Lash growled. “Staying up all night with a screaming kid?”
“We still do it now when we offer to take care of them.” She sank against him. “Come on, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll see about that big bow I get to unwrap tonight.”
She felt an answering arousal, which she quickly curbed because there was no room for it on Christmas morning. With all the gifts taken care of, it was agreed that all the kids could stay in their pajamas for Christmas, including dinner.
Of course, some of the older kids asked if they stayed in theirs, would they get out of helping? Angel agreed, so several of the older kids stayed in their pajamas.
After all the presents, she made her excuses and went to get changed into the outfit Natalie, Lexie, and the Chaos Bleeds women had arranged.