“Grabbed a bite to eat.”
“What did you talk about?”
Sam shrugged.
“You can tell me, honey.”
“We talked about the bullies at school.”
“Really?” I said. I was surprised. Sam was so secretive about it. Even I had a hard time getting information out of him.
“It was no big deal.”
“What did Jackson have to say about it?”
“Well, he told me he’s been through similar stuff. He’s gotten into fights that were very difficult to get out of.”
“I know,” I said, thinking of Los Lobos.
“Yup. And he knows how to make guys steer clear of you.”
“How?”
“Attitude,” Sam said.
“Attitude?” I said.
Sam nodded. “If other guys know I’m steady, if they know I mean business, they’ll stay out of my way.”
“Is that so?” I said.
“Yes, and then the only problems I’ll have left will be lady problems.”
“Lady problems?”
Sam nodded.
I laughed.
“And how do you feel about the fact he’s your father?” I said, carefully testing the subject.
“I love it,” he said. “I always wanted him to come back. He’s exactly what I hoped.”
I smiled. I refused to allow myself to cry. If Sam was happy, that was a pretty good indication that things were going all right, and that everything was going to be okay.
Chapter 49
Jackson
THE COMING WEEKS WERE THE happiest in my life. I’d never dared dream my life could be so full and joyful. During the day, I worked nonstop on the house. I wanted to get it ready for Faith before she found out about it. It had to be the perfect surprise. I told her I was working on the vineyard but she suspected something was up when I told her she wasn’t allowed down to the farm. Grant, Forrester and Grady helped me a lot. They put everything they had into the project. In the space of a month we turned a ramshackle old farmhouse into a classical hacienda every bit as fabulous as the Brotherhood mansion. I had no shortage of money. A lifetime of heists against rich corporations had turned into a nice nest egg.
Lacey helped me with the interior decor decisions and in return, me and the boys did a little something for her.
She finally gave us permission.
One evening after work, we drove into the city on our motorcycles. The four of us rose quite a ruckus when we pulled up outside Matt’s fancy suburban house on our bikes. It was his wife who answered the door.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I said to her, “but we’re looking for your husband.”
She looked us over and knew trouble was brewing. When we get out on our bikes, me and the brothers look bad. We look real bad.
“What is this?” she said. “What is it about?”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, but you’re husband’s a cheating, lying scumbag who doesn’t deserve to be within five miles of a good wife like you.”
“Excuse me?” she said.
“You heard me. You shouldn’t let him touch you. He doesn’t deserve it.”
I looked her in the eye. She seemed like a nice woman. She was actually pretty similar in appearance to Lacey. Matt clearly had a type. She looked back at the four of us, then looked down at the wedding ring on her finger. We watched as she slid it off and handed it to us.
“Give him this while you’re at it,” she said. “I should have left the son of a bitch long ago.”
She drove off as we entered the house. Apart from Matt, it was empty. We didn’t exactly beat him up. There were four of us. It wouldn’t have been a fair fight. Besides, what we wanted to do was humiliate him. So we stripped him naked, and then recorded a video of the four of us spanking his ass until it burned bright pink. Matt was in tears by the time we were done, begging us to stop.
It was awful. He’d remember it for the rest of his life.
And just to make sure, we uploaded the video to a husband humiliation website, where wives could get revenge on the men who cheated on them.
I had his wife’s wedding ring.
“Hey, dirtbag,” I said to him as he lay on his bed, his pants around his ankle like a baby. “Stick this up your ass.”
“What?” he said.
I handed him the ring and a bottle of lotion I’d taken from his bathroom. The video was still recording.
“You heard me. Lube up and shove this wedding ring up your ass. You’re the one who fucked up the marriage. Now let’s see the ring fuck you.”
He shook his head but he knew he had no choice. He poured lotion on his hand, rubbed it on the wedding ring, and then shoved it up inside his asshole. The room was silent. None of us laughed. We just looked at him like the pitiful dirtbag he was.