EMOTIONALLY ENTANGLED

P R O L O G U E

Her sons didn't know, of course and she preferred to keep it that way. Jessica worked at the local cafe on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to provide for the boys whilst their father was away with the gang. She did her job and cared for her children the best she could despite struggling on some days.

Upon glancing to her left, she saw Damien in her eldest son, Owen. From the way the boy carried himself and acted, she could tell he'd grow up to be exactly like Damien.

...and sometimes that scared her.

It's said that the eldest son of the leader of the gang would be next to take his place and for Jessica, it seemed her son Owen was next in line.

That was tradition, but Damien was never the eldest son in the family. He had numerous older brothers who completely blew their chances of becoming a leader and though he rather opposed the idea at first, Damien was the only man who had the guts to take on the role. He knew his priorities and that made him an unlikeable contender to his brothers.

However, Damien wanted Owen to take over when he was older. Sure she was terrified, but she knew the sacrifices she'd have to make when choosing to be with this man. One of her children would have to take over one way or another.

Suddenly, Damien's sister, Kiara entered the kitchen—probably after using her own key to the house—coaxed in sweat as she ran a hand through her long locks of hair. She had a small smile on her face as she placed her hand upon the small bump of her stomach.

"Hey, Jess, Damien back yet?" she asked. Jessica knew Kiara visited every day to check if her brother was back so she can give him a good beating for leaving her behind for a mission she knew more about than he did.

It wasn't down to Damien, though because he was too much of a sucker to let her sulk around. Alfonso—her husband—ensured to Damien that she stay at the compound for her sake as it was the baby's.

Kiara was pregnant by about two months and though she was enjoying the peace and quiet, she wished she went on that mission with the boys.

"No, K, he isn't. I heard they were on their way back. A huge success it was apparently," Jessica said, hiding her smile for the sake of not spoiling everything for the boys, "we just hope they come back without any trouble."

"God almighty, of course, they're not gonna get in trouble. What shit are they gonna run into that they can't handle?" she spoke loudly and Owen prodded Jaxon lightly, quietly telling him to cover his ears.

"I think I should be more concerned about the kind of language you expose my sons to, but they already know to much from their father," the woman spoke with a laugh, "he's such a blabbermouth sometimes."

"Of course, he is. He's his mother's son and she could talk endlessly about anything. You name it." it came as a shock how easy it was for Damien to open up to Jessica for he was never really one to express too much emotion when they were at school. Damien's past with his father and brothers didn't really help in him allowing himself to open up to others; he had learnt from a young age that he could only depend on himself.

"I'm more surprised they don't use that language," Kiara said, her tone almost impressed as she grabbed an apple from the side and bit into it. Jessica smiled proudly at her boys as they ate their food silently like they usually did because just like their dad, it was rather difficult to get them focused once their attention was on food.

"What can I say? My boys know better and you know what Damien said if he found out a rude word came out of their mouths." the boys knew their mother spoke so highly of them and they never got tired of hearing it, but for the sake of their mother, they preferred to stay quiet and accept the praise when it was given.