Family & Felonies: A Necessary Evils Anthology

Love, family, and a touch of lunacy.

Dive back into the world of the Mulvaney family with Family & Felonies: A Necessary Evils Anthology. This collection of mini-fiction stories brings you the heartwarming, hilarious, and sometimes harrowing lives of the seven couples from the bestselling series, Necessary Evils.

These contemporary gay romance tales are filled with dark humor, hot sex, minor trials, and the joyful chaos of married life and parenthood. Experience over twenty stories, including exclusive narratives about two couples in a unique poly relationship, available only in this anthology or on my Patreon.

What makes this collection truly special? The answer is seven bonus epilogues that have never been released in book format, offering fans new content and deeper glimpses into the lives of their favorite characters. Whether you're a long-time reader or new to the Mulvaney family, this anthology offers a perfect blend of love, laughter, and life's little challenges.

Created for those who couldn't join Patreon, and as a gift to loyal patrons wanting a keepsake, Family & Felonies is a must-have addition to your collection. Join the Mulvaney family once more and enjoy the everyday adventures of love, family, and a touch of lunacy.

Bridezilla: Part One

Adam

“I don’t know if we should go with the Whitney dried buttonhole or the Wellington dried buttonhole.”

Adam stood over his fiancé and the disaster that was their living room, an ominous sense of dread settling over him as he attempted to process what Noah had said. “A dried…what?”

Noah gave him that look he gave Adam whenever he was getting on his last nerve. Usually, Adam deserved the look. But he’d just arrived on the scene, having stumbled down their loft stairs after peeking over the edge of their railing to see Noah had taken up camp on the floor.

Adam sighed. This was about the wedding. The wedding Adam was almost certain would never happen. At least once a month, Noah would drag out these enormous binders, pull out photo after photo, quote after quote, and stare at them, debate Adam about them, and then get frustrated and put it all away again. Once, he’d even tossed all the binders in the trash, leaving Adam to fish them out and find the emotional support vodka.

Noah’s stress and anxiety regarding their impending nuptials had become damn near pathological at this point. It wasn’t that Noah didn’t love him or want to marry him. Adam knew that. Their relationship was perfect. Well, as perfect as any relationship he knew. They fought, they bickered, Noah admonished Adam for being a dick in public, but never in the bedroom. No, Noah loved when Adam was a dick in the bedroom.

So, Adam didn’t get it. He wanted to get it. He wanted to care about flowers and color schemes and place settings. He wanted to understand why the idea of this wedding sent his level-headed but emotional fiancé off the rails. He tried to pretend that he got it, that he cared about the things Noah wanted him to care about. But it seemed like, no matter what he said or how many times he agreed with Noah, it was never truly the correct answer.

Noah thrust a picture at him, showing a man wearing a tux and tails. “That.”

Adam scanned the picture. “What am I looking at, babe?” he asked, using the same sort of patience one saved for people who might be on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Noah glowered at him. “The little flowers that go in the buttonhole of your suit? We need to decide on those.”

Adam had no idea why they even needed flowers for their suits. Felix had been given free rein to design their outfits in any way he saw fit, and that was like giving a toddler a can of spray paint. There was literally no telling what was going to happen, but it was likely to be chaotic and unexpected.

“Why don’t you ask the wedding planner? What was her name? Farah?” Adam asked, feeling the best course of action was deferring to someone who clearly knew more than he did about such things.

Noah looked him dead in the eye. “I fired her.”

To the curious onlooker, it wouldn’t appear that Adam had just stepped on an active landmine, but to those in the know, he was teetering precariously on the edge of oblivion.

“Oh?” He tried to make his tone as innocent as possible even as he felt himself start to sweat. “Why?”

Noah set his jaw, his face twisting in disgust. “She just didn’t get it.”

Adam didn’t get it either. Nobody got it. Whatever it was this wedding represented to Noah in his head, he was keeping to himself. This was their seventh—seventh!—wedding planner. A staggering number when one considered Noah was the reasonable one in the family. The one Thomas trusted to take over for him someday.

Adam didn’t give a fuck about the planners. Any of them. If Noah had asked him to gut her and paint their bathroom with her blood, he would have done so without question. They were all vapid, shallow, and fake as fuck. A few of them had tried—and failed—to bully Noah into setting the date and booking the venue once and for all. Something that tended to send Noah into a rapid spiral, which made Adam ragey and unreasonable.

But this wasn’t about Farah or whatever her name was.

Adam approached Noah slowly, carefully stepping over now worn color photos ripped from bridal magazines and the binder bursting at the seams. When he’d made it to the inner circle where Noah sat in his underwear, he moved the papers out of his way and kneeled between Noah’s raised and open knees.

He didn’t look good. No, that wasn’t true. Noah always looked good. Beautiful even. But his face was paler than usual, his freckles on full display, purple bruises beneath his eyes. “Babe, how long have you been out here?”

Noah shrugged, then reached around Adam to attempt to snag another photo. Adam grabbed at Noah’s wrists, holding them hostage. “How long?”

Noah’s gaze flicked to him. “I don’t know? A while.”

“A while?” Adam countered. “What’s a while?”

Noah gave another long-suffering sigh. “Since you fell asleep last night.”

Adam dropped Noah’s wrists and cupped his face, tipping it upwards. “Talk to me. What is happening here? Are you anxious about something? Did you have a bad session with your therapist?”

Noah’s gaze floated away from Adam to look at the wall over his shoulder. He gave a jerky shake of his head. “No.”

“Okay, so what is it? Just talk to me.”

“Nothing. It’s just this fucking train wreck of a wedding.”

Adam didn’t take it personally. “How is our wedding a train wreck?”

Noah looked at him like he was stupid. “Because everything is fucking wrong.”

“But why, though? Says who?”

Noah made a noise of frustration, looking like he was on the verge of tears. “You just don’t get it.”

Adam sank from his knees to sit criss-cross in front of him. “Then explain it to me. You’re right. I don’t get it. But I’m trying.”

“I know you are. But I just don’t know how to explain it.”

“Can you try?”

“They’re all watching,” Noah whispered.

Adam frowned, looking around their empty apartment. “You’re worrying me, babe. Who’s watching?”

“The entire world.”

Adam couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped. One he abruptly cut off when tears spilled down Noah’s cheeks. “I know we’re Mulvaneys, but I promise, nobody gives a fuck about a rich asshole’s wedding. We’re not the royals or the Kardashians.”

“I can’t embarrass Dad.”

Adam’s brows rose as Noah sniffled and wiped at the tears on his face. “Thomas? What are you talking about? How would you embarrass Dad?”

“Everybody is watching us. Everyone knows I’m the outlier.”

Adam sat for a minute trying to wrap his brain around where the fuck Noah’s head was at. “Outlier? What does that mean?”

“Lucas is a professor. Jericho owns his own business. Zane is a celebrity author suddenly. And Felix is blowing up all over social media. He fucking designed a dress for the fucking Oscars. And then there’s me, the slacker who does nothing.”

Adam’s fury was instantaneous, a molten heat that rushed through his veins. He didn’t want anybody talking that way about Noah, especially Noah. “What the fuck are you talking about? You work harder than anybody. You’re always researching, tracking down leads, coordinating with Calliope to help keep alibis intact, debriefing after targets are taken down.”

Noah shook his head, tears flowing faster. “Not to the outside world. To the outside world, I’m the loser who landed a billionaire model.”

Adam’s stomach twisted into knots. He hated that he didn’t know how to fix this. “Baby, you’re spiraling here. I need you to come back to reality. I’m not a model. I haven’t modeled in years. I’m the loser of the two of us. I do nothing all day, not just to the outside world but to my brothers, too. Archer—who is a professional gambler—is considered more successful than me. I’m the least successful Mulvaney. If I had feelings, they might be hurt by this, but I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks. I care what you think. Just you.”

“If I fuck this up and embarrass Dad, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Asa and Zane were half an hour late for their wedding because they were fucking in a broom closet. Archer has puked or passed out at no less than two Mulvaney weddings. Adelyn vomited all over Felix in the first family wedding photo. If none of those things have embarrassed Dad, he’s not going to give a fuck about flowers in buttonholes.”

“He’s the only parent I’ve got,” Noah mumbled.

Adam frowned harder. “What? What are you talking about? I know you and your mom aren’t close, but—”

Noah reached behind him to pull something out from beneath the couch, thrusting it into Adam’s chest. It was a crumpled envelope with their address on it. Adam’s fury continued to simmer as he realized it was a Texas address. Noah’s mother.

Dearest Noah,

I’ll keep this short. We won’t be attending the wedding. I know you were waiting for us to let you know when we’d be available to visit so you could set the date, but this just isn’t working out. We’re not working out. I think it’s best that we don't contact each other again.

I don’t make this decision easily, but it’s clear our lives are just too different. The knowledge of your existence has been hard on the girls and Chad. And on me. Every time I look at your face, I know what you suffered when you were taken from me and I can’t help but feel my heart being ripped out once again. It’s taking a toll on my health and well-being and affecting my children. My other children.

I’m so happy and truly blessed to know that you’re alive and thriving and I wish you nothing but the best. But please, don’t contact me again.

Juana

“When did you get this?” Adam rumbled, his tone lethal.

Noah shrugged. “I found it on the table last night. It must have been in the mail we grabbed when we came in after the movies.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Adam asked, opening his legs and dragging Noah into his arms before closing them once more so he was surrounded.

Noah didn’t sink into him like he usually did, just remained stiff, though his forehead came to rest on Adam’s shoulder. “It didn’t seem worth it. You would have just threatened to go to Texas and kill her and her family.”

“I still might.”

“Why? She’s right. Why should she force herself to suffer just for my comfort?”

“Because if she’d kept a better fucking eye on you, maybe you wouldn’t have spent the majority of your goddamn life being tortured? Maybe because she’s your mother and she’s supposed to suffer if it means making life easier for her children?” Adam fired back.

“We both know that’s not true. Mothers are just people. And some people suck. She’s just trying to protect the children she cares about most. The ones she raised. Seeing her hurts me, too. It’s like having a scab ripped open. No, it’s worse than that. It’s like having stitches torn open and your insides fall out. But I didn’t care because I wanted to know I wasn’t alone in this world, that there was someone bound to me by blood.”

“If being a Mulvaney has taught me anything, it’s that blood doesn’t mean fucking shit in this family. You’re a Mulvaney. Whether we get married or not. Whether you take my last name or not. You’re one of us. You’re never leaving me, and you’re never going to be an embarrassment to Thomas or anybody else.”

Noah finally collapsed against him, his arms sliding around Adam’s waist. “I’m tired.”

“Is she right, though? Is she the reason you didn’t want to set a date? Have you been waiting for her to tell you when she and her family would be willing to come to the wedding? All this time?”

“She just kept making excuses, so I kept putting it off. I thought it was important to have them there.”

“Well, it’s not. Those people aren’t your family. We are. We’ve always been your family. As for Dad, if I had to guess who was his favorite—aside from Aiden for obvious non-familial reasons—it would be you. Not the favorite significant other, either. I think you’re just his favorite. He looks after you the most. He keeps you closest. Identifies with you the most.”

“Really?” Noah asked, voice muffled against Adam’s throat.

“Really.”

Noah was crying again, hot tears pouring down Adam’s chest. “That’s nice,” he sobbed.

Oof. Adam struggled to get his legs beneath him with Noah still clinging to him, but once he was on his knees, he said, “Hold on tight.”

Noah didn’t question him, just clung as Adam made it to his feet then began to walk to the stairs.

“Where are we going?” Noah said around a sniffle.

“Bed. You need some sleep.”

Noah made a sad noise but didn’t argue.

Once they were up the stairs, Adam tried to deposit Noah onto the bed, but it didn’t work. Noah held tight, then pulled back to catch his lips in a kiss that lingered.

“What are you doing?” Adam asked against his lips before dipping his tongue inside.

“What do you think?” Noah countered, turning the kiss dirty.

Adam sat on the edge of the bed. Noah took it as an invitation to wrap his legs around him and grind their cocks together through their underwear until they were both groaning.

“You need sleep,” Adam said, even as he continued to kiss Noah, his hands already squeezing his ass to drag their bodies against each other, already half-hard.

“Fuck then sleep,” Noah murmured.

Adam wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. “Noah…”

Noah pulled back. “Don’t Noah me.” He gave Adam wide brown eyes, his mouth forming this sexy fucking almost pout. “Fuck me, Adam. Please?”

Christ. “Stand up.”

Noah didn’t question him, just did as he was told. He was always so fucking obedient in the bedroom. Adam dragged Noah’s underwear down and off, not even bothering to do the same with his own, just shoving them out of the way before pulling Noah back into his lap.

Noah grabbed the lube from the side table, slicking up his own fingers and wrapping them around Adam’s cock, jerking him to hardness with only a couple of pulls. He didn’t wait for Adam to finger him open, just used his knees on the mattress to rise up, lining up his cock and sinking back down with a low moan.

“Christ. You’re so fucking tight,” Adam groaned, letting gravity drag him into the tight heat of Noah’s body.

“You say that every time,” Noah teased, sounding slightly better.

“‘Cause it’s true every fucking time,” Adam assured him, hooking Noah’s knees over his elbows before standing up.

Noah sucked in a breath. “Oh, fuck.”

Adam loved how easily he could toss Noah around, how he could just hold him in one place and pound into him until he was a babbling mess. But this time, he just wanted him beneath him, wanted to watch him fall apart.

He turned, depositing them both onto the bed without pulling free of his body, practically folding Noah in half so he could fuck into him in hard, deep thrusts that had Noah whimpering every time he bottomed out.

Noah was usually super verbal. Begging and babbling. It was the sexiest thing in the whole fucking world to Adam. But not this time. This time, he was just clinging to him, panting each cry into Adam’s mouth, leaving him to judge his enjoyment based on context clues. Adam sucked at those. But he couldn’t stop driving into him. He wouldn’t. He didn’t know if Noah was okay emotionally, but the way his nails were tearing at Adam’s back told him he was doing something right and that was all that mattered.

“Fuck, baby. You feel so good. I’m not going to last. You’re so hot inside.”

Noah thrust his tongue into Adam’s mouth. “Hard. Fuck me hard until you come. I want to feel it. Fill me up. I need it. I need to feel owned. Just use me. Please.”

Adam snarled, shifting slightly, bracing his hands and knees on the mattress so he could drive into him hard enough to make him cry out, the headboard slamming into the wall hard enough to cause permanent damage. Adam was sweating, his muscles aching, the scratches in his back stinging. It didn’t matter, though. Pulses of pleasure worked over his body until his balls tightened and the base of his spine tingled. Fuck. He couldn’t stop.

Suddenly, Noah gave a gasp of surprise followed by a low moan, looking down between them. Noah had come untouched. Fucking hell. Adam grunted as his orgasm overtook him. He collapsed against Noah, burying his face against his neck as he shuddered, his hips thrusting against his will until every drop had left him.

After a while, Noah tapped his shoulder. He released Noah’s legs, listening to him groan with relief as he let them drop.

Noah’s hands were suddenly petting through Adam’s hair. “Thank you. I needed that.”

Adam snorted, pulling free from Noah’s body, then rearranging them so Noah was the little spoon. “I hate when you thank me for sex like I did you some kind of favor.”

“I’m just really polite,” Noah said sleepily.

“Mm,” Adam said, noncommittal. “Get some sleep, baby.”

“I love when you call me baby,” Noah murmured, already sounding half-asleep. He turned in Adam’s arms, burrowing deeper, resting his cheek on Adam’s bicep and tangling their legs together. It wasn’t long before his breathing evened out and he was snoring softly against Adam’s chest.

Adam reached blindly for his phone behind him on the nightstand, pulling it free and bringing up the text thread he shared with the original Mulvaney men.

I need help.

August answered first. What’s wrong? I’m assuming you mean with a speeding ticket or you wouldn’t be reaching out via…text.

August’s way of making sure Adam hadn’t grabbed the wrong phone like he was some kind of rank amateur. Duh.

Asa: You never need help.

Avi: Especially not family help.

Atticus: What’s happening right now?

Archer: Are you sending this on the right…channel?

Adam rolled his eyes. Oh, my God. Can’t I just need my family’s help?

Thomas: What’s wrong?

Adam gave a short, unemotional breakdown of what transpired downstairs and of Noah’s behavior, leaving out that he’d fucked Noah into a coma.

Thomas: He thinks he could embarrass me?

Adam could practically hear his father’s horror from across the city. He hadn’t been lying when he said Noah was his father’s favorite. There was something about the boy that Thomas felt the need to protect. It wasn’t that Thomas didn’t love his other son-in-laws. He did. But Noah was special to him somehow, and everybody saw it but Noah.

Adam: Yes! I need the feelings faction of the family. STAT. I'm in way over my head.

There was a flurry of dots as several people typed at once.

Thomas: I’m leaving now.

Asa: Felix and Zane are on the way.

August: Lucas too.

Atticus: Jericho is already wrangling a gaggle of emotional boys at the garage today, but I can have him head over too if you think he can help somehow.

Adam: No, that’s okay. Thomas needs to fix this. Lucas can help. Felix and Zane are going to have to take up the slack for the wedding stuff.

Asa: I thought you had a wedding planner.

Adam: He fired her…again. Just send them. They’re the only ones he listens to anyway.

A separate text bubble popped up on his screen.

Zane and Felix in a group chat.

Zane: We’re on our way. Do NOT make him worse before we get there.

Adam frowned. What’s that supposed to mean?

Felix: It means you aren’t the most tactful person. Just don’t make him worse.

Adam looked down at Noah who was still sleeping soundly.

Adam: Not possible.

Zane’s and Felix’s responses came through at the same time. It’s possible.

Adam: No it’s not. He’s…napping.

Zane: You didn’t give him the vodka, did you?

Adam rolled his eyes. How Noah thought he was unloved in this family was a fucking unsolved mystery. Even if he hadn’t been Thomas’s favorite, the rest of the family was super protective of Noah. Even Zane and Felix who were thick as thieves. Adam didn’t even want to contemplate the why of that foursome.

Felix: Yeah, is he sleeping or passed out?

Adam frowned. Hard to say, really.

Zane: So you did give him alcohol?!?!

Adam: No, I gave him dick. Good dick. He’s worn out.

Zane: Oh, my God.

Adam: You asked.

The conversation died for about five minutes and then the bubble returned.

Felix: We’ll be there in a bit. We’re stopping for supplies.

Adam: Supplies?

Felix: Yes, sugar and alcohol.

Adam: Why can you give him alcohol but I can’t?

Felix: Family privilege.

Adam: He is my family.

Zane: He’s your future spouse. He’s our brother.

Why was Adam arguing about this?  Just fucking hurry.

He dropped his phone onto the mattress behind Noah then snuggled him closer, kissing the top of his head, smiling when Noah made a happy little noise in his sleep. He would be okay. Adam didn’t know what to do but the others did.

The family would always take care of Noah.

Always.