The Iron Predators, Part IV [SAMPLE]

Chapter 5

KNUCKLES

I'm up pretty early the next morning. No one else is awake other than Lydia who's in the kitchen, making breakfast.

I sit down on one of the barstools at the kitchen island.

"Morning, Knuckles," she says, smiling.

"Morning," I say and lean my chin on my hands while having my elbows on the counter.

"You're up early."

"Yeah, I went to bed early last night."

She looks at me a little suspiciously while cutting up some bread. "Tell me what's wrong. You know that I can see when something isn't right."

That she can. She's the momma bear here. Even if we're grown men, she still fuzzes with us and makes sure that everyone's ok.

"I'm starting to question my entire fucking existence," I sigh.

"Wow, that's deep," she says, chuckling a little. "Especially coming from you. What got you feeling like that all of a sudden?"

"I have no fucking clue. It started when Trigger and I came back. Suddenly, Tammy didn't do it for me. You know, in the sexual department." I whisper out the last part. "I thought that I was just growing sick of her since I'm not a one-woman man, you know."

"Oh, I know," she says, smirking.

"So, last night, I was with Betty instead, thinking that it would go well...but it didn't. I've never had a fucking problem before, but now, even their clothes and makeup bother me. I think I'm going mental," I say, sighing again.

"Oh, Knuckles," she says and puts the knife down just as Blade comes into the kitchen.

"What's going on here?" he asks.

"I think our boy has finally grown up," she gushes and claps her hands together.

Both Blade and I look at her confused just as the front door opens and Carla and Fiona walk in.

I sit up a little straighter and smile at them. "Morning, ladies."

"Morning," they both say and sit down at the island, Carla next to me and Fiona at the end.

"You didn't come to the party last night," I say to Fiona, who by the way looks really fucking cute today.

"No, Penelope was a little sad last night and didn't want me to leave."

"Oh," I say and wonder what she was sad about, but I'm not gonna ask if she doesn't want to tell me.

It's not that I care about a kid anyway.

I turn back to Lydia, and she and Blade are smirking goofily at me.

What the hell is their problem?

I hear the front door open again and Bull comes in...and then there's that sound again—drunken, giggling gnomes. That can only mean one thing—the kids.

Quinn wobbles around and Bull catches him just as he's about to faceplant, then Penelope comes into view.

"Nucklis!" she yells happily and runs over to me, almost crashing into my leg again.

"Woah there! We don't want you to fall again, do we?"

She looks up at me innocently through her long lashes and shakes her head, then breaks out into a grin. "Upsy," she says and reaches up her arms to me.

Fuck, she wants me to lift her up. All eyes are on me and I can't be rude to her when Fiona is here.

I grab her gently under her armpits and lift her up so she's sitting on my lap, facing her mom. Carla looks at me with raised brows, but I narrow my eyes at her, making her leave it alone.