"Oh yeah, Richie is really on to something there. Meeting him was the best thing that happened to me in prison," Dragon said.
Cooley smiled. "I'm just happy you have someone in your life who you love as much as they love you."
Dragon smiled and nodded, and the two spoke a bit to catch up before Dragon was greeted by someone else. There were so many people present, and he was happily drowning in all the love. He greeted his other uncle, Kai "Curt" Murphy, who had a twin, hisauntie Mai, who was Beast's wife and Lala's and Bear's mom. His uncle Curt was taller than his father at six-five and looked more like his grandpa Angus than his other brothers.
"Miss you, Unc," Dragon said as he hugged Curt, who was burly with a gut and a bushy beard. Handsome, but menacing when he wanted to be. He had gray eyes like Dasan and salt-and-pepper hair cut short on the sides but longer on top.
"Prison made you stronger, nephew... a true sign of a Lord. We'll never break," Curt said as he complimented his nephew.
"Fucking never," Dragon agreed. They chatted for a bit before he greeted his aunts, Mai, Mika, and Lina, all married to Lords who were also Men of Carnage. Bonafide badasses.
His aunt Mia wiped the lipstick stain off his cheek after she kissed him. "My goodness, nephew, you look so handsome. It's no wonder Richie just had to have you. He's missed you so much; we all have."
Dragon smiled. "Yeah, but it was me who fell for him at first sight. I took one look at that ass of his and knew he had to be mine." He laughed after his aunt rolled her eyes and slapped his bicep.
Mia looked at his muscular, cyborg-tattooed arm. "Jesus, you're built like a brick."
Dragon laughed and chatted with her and his other aunts before there was a tap on his shoulder.
Dragon turned to see Stacy, Maverick's first baby mama. "Hey, Dragon," she said with a big grin. "Here are your nephew and niece, Tyler and Lily. He's six, and Lily is now four."
"Holy shit," Dragon beamed before picking up both kids to their delight. It had been a year since they'd last visited their uncle when he was in prison, and they were happy to see him again. They put their little arms around his neck and both kissed his cheeks. "Uncle missed you, and I love you so much."
"You promise not to go away again?" Tyler asked as he played with Dragon's ponytail.
Dragon nodded. "I promise." He felt like he could make that pledge because he had no intention of ever going back to prison. He wasn't going to make the same mistake that landed him there again.
"I want you to play with me, Uncle," said Lily in her soft little princess voice.
"I'll play with you a little later, okay? Got to settle in first," Dragon said and kissed both of their tiny cheeks again. The whole experience felt amazing because now he wasn't in a prison setting where guards were monitoring his every move, as well as the other prisoners receiving visits. He was just with his family and club, and all of the emotions he felt were so natural to him.
"I missed you, too," came a child's voice, and Dragon looked down to see his other nephew, Aries, looking up at him with the innocent and wondrous eyes of a child, both arms raised.
Dragon laughed and put the other kids down to pick Aries up. He was Maverick's son with Rachel. "Hey, little man, I missed you too. How have you been?" he asked.
"Good," said the little two-year-old.
Dragon kissed him and couldn't help but notice how much Maverick's kids looked like him, especially his boys. All princes of the Lords. He couldn't help but think that if Maverick were left unchecked, he could populate a Lord's chapter all by himself. And precious Lily is a princess of the Lords. Dragon also got to see Sofia's son again and Maverick's youngest boys, the twins. Tiny Tim also made his way through, greeting the kiddies, as the Lords were just one big family.
Before long, Dragon found himself at the buffet table. His eyes grew wide as he scanned all of the dishes. "Oh, hell yeah," he said as his grandma handed him a platter, not a plate. "I'm so close to just asking for a fork and letting me eat from all of the trays."
Ayanna chuckled as she shook her head. "It's good you learned manners as a child."
Richie came up behind him. "You're about to put yourself into a food coma, ain't ya?"
"Shit, you already know," Dragon said as he began piling food on his platter—everything he'd been dreaming about eating for the past five and a half years, especially his father's famous ribs.
It didn't take long before Tiny Tim joined him, a big smile on his face as he piled food on two plates. One Ajay held for him while he added to it. "I'm about to tear this food up. It smells so damn good," TT said.
"Oh man, my mom's arroz con pollo... Oooh, she made papas rellenas and mofongo, too!" Dragon said with glee. He had already added his father's ribs and Uncle Gaaji's steak to his plate; now it was time to find someplace to sit down and eat.
Since he and TT had finally made their plates, everyone else started making theirs as well. There were plenty of tables set up both inside and outside for people to eat and chat. Dragon sat down with Richie, Ace, Ahiga, Burger, TT, Sofia, Footlong, Gina, Shotgun, and Ajay—the siblings and their present lovers. Even though TT wasn't blood-related, he was still family, having been a member since childhood as Burger's best friend. He and Dragon spent every day together for over five years, which made them brothers by family, too. The group sat and talked about everything, catching up on years. Members of the club and chapters came by to say a few things to TT and Dragon, which just brought them joy.
Dragon ate everything on his platter and had to unbutton his jeans to get a little relief. "Damn, Dad, you put your whole legs into those fucking ribs," he complimented.
Dasan laughed and nodded as he took a swig from his beer. "Had to show out for my son's and TT's coming home party."
"And Uncle, that steak was better than a Michelin five-star restaurant," Dragon said.
