“Yeah, it’s your lucky fucking day,” he quipped, pulling back to take a better look at me.
“Heard through the grapevine you got yourself a little boy,” I smiled as his whole face lit up at my mention of his son.
Wow, that was a change.
He whipped out his phone and pulled up a photograph when I spotted the ink that covered the knuckles on his right hand spelling out the two words…Own it. He turned the screen around, displaying a photo of a baby boy with a Harley Davidson onesie and a sideways Yankee cap on his tiny head.
“That’s my Eric,” he beamed, proudly. “Pretty fucking awesome, huh?”
“Amazing,” I said, taking the phone out of his hand to get a better look at the kid.
Truly amazing…God takes but God gives.
“So what do you say? You ready to blow this popsicle stand or what?” He asked as I handed him back his phone.
“Yeah,” I said, grabbing a hold of his forearm before he turned around. “Hey…I’m sorry about Bones.”
“Yeah, me too,” he rasped, drawing in a deep breath. “But he’ll always be with me,” he added as he made a fist and brought it against his chest. Like the other hand each knuckle had a letter only this hand was dedicated to his best friend, our brother…Bones.
He dropped his hand and his eyes darkened before he placed his sunglasses back on his face. “I took care of that cocksucker,” he growled. “Made sure that motherfucker never gets to hurt another person I care about.”
He tipped his chin toward the car signaling for me to get inside as he walked around and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“What about you?” he asked as he started up the truck.
“What about me?”
He shrugged his shoulders, placed one had on the steering wheel and with his other hand he opened the console. I leaned over and saw my gun sitting pretty inside.
“Thought you might want to take care of business before you go off and get the girl,” he said, closing the console with his elbow.
“Who said I’m going to get the girl?”
“You better go get the girl after how many times I put my ass on the line,” he warned.
I smiled.
I couldn’t wait to go get the girl.
But Riggs was right.
First things first.
I reached over, opened the console and took my piece out. I checked to see if it was loaded before dropping the safety on it and opening my jacket to tuck it back where it belonged.
“My man! Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” Riggs enthused, grinning. “Blackie’s back…back again,” he rapped, mocking the Eminem song, Back Again.
Yeah, I’m fucking back.
One more chance to get it right.
“Take me to my bike.”
Throughout the drive Riggs brought me up to speed on everything I had missed while in lock up. It seemed like everyone was getting hitched and the club that used to be about drugs and corruption was turning over a new leaf. Pipe was doing big things with the garage, expanding it was definitely a good move because Jack took over the union contracts Vic had with the Atlantic Express buses. Riggs was trying to get the club on board with opening a security company, and I told him he had my vote at the table. I think it’s good we start making legit money. That doesn’t mean we’re a bunch of pussy’s though. Jack put up his house, took the equity out and handed over a lump sum to Pops to repair all the damage done to the shooting range. We have a new buyer for our guns too, Rocco Spinelli, the mobster moving in on Vic’s territory.
And then there was the new blood—I had already gotten to know Stryker a little better and would make it my business to learn what made the rest of them tick.
I knew Riggs had his hands full while I was away so I didn’t think to ask him about Lacey and how she was doing but he offered. He told me about the talk he had with Jack and how he confessed knowing there was something going on between us. He also mentioned that when Jack went to get the confession and make the kid drop the charges Lacey was already there doing his dirty work.
My girl wants her man back.
I’m coming, angel.
Gonna’ take real good care of you.
Once we finally pulled up the Dog Pound Riggs parked the truck, and I made my way over to my bike. Someone had my baby detailed, all her chrome was freshly polished and my helmet was hanging off the handlebars.
The boys knew I had a score to settle, and they had everything ready for me to do what I needed to do.
I straddled my bike, revved the engine and let my baby purr to life.
Sweetest fucking sound.
I glanced over at my side view mirrors and saw Wolf and Pipe walk out of the clubhouse. Wolf gave me the finger as he grinned while, Pipe gave me a two-finger salute. Riggs crossed his arms and mouthed the words two words he lived by…own it.
I glanced around the lot, looking for Jack but neither he nor his bike were anywhere in sight, reminding me there was one war still raging and it was the one between him and I.
I took Vic’s words to heart and tried to put myself in Jack’s shoes.