“Come on, dear,” Margo said, steering Naomi toward the kitchen. “I’ll make you something to eat while the men go stomp their feet and pound their chests.”
Jake and I joined Link in his office. Link was sitting at his desk, with a bottle of Crown Royal and a shot glass in front of him. He took one look at us and pulled two more glasses from his drawer. Pouring us each a shot, he passed me mine and said, “How’s Naomi?”
“She’s gonna be okay,” I assured him. “The baby’s fine. How’d it go at the pier.”
“That son-of-a-bitch Naomi shot… he’s Buzz’s son.”
“Shit,” I replied, knowing Buzz wouldn’t let something like that slide. There’d be repercussions. I’d have to find a way to keep my woman and child safe.
“Yeah. If Texas doesn’t put Buzz down, we’re probably gonna have to do it ourselves.” Link looked at his father. “You sure you don’t want to come back and take over, Pops? I fear I’m fuckin’ it all up.”
Jake frowned. “Then you’re doing it right, son. When you stop caring, that’s when you’ll know you’re done.”
“Did you stop caring?” Link asked.
“Fuck no. I recognized that a club’s gotta change—gotta evolve—sometimes to improve. The old guard that I brought in, they’re good men, but they would have held it back. They would have fought change every step of the way. This club’s too important to let any man’s ego or traditions get in the way. It’s gonna have to keep changing to stay relevant, to be what this city and our brothers need.”
“Is that why none of your men made it to the vote?” Link asked.
Jake nodded. “They didn’t need to be there. Sometimes we just gotta do what has to be done. Son, I’m sorry about Brass.”
Link swore, shaking his head. “Still can’t figure that motherfucker out.” He picked up his shot glass. “To fuckin’ Brass. The traitor, thief, and junkie who ate that bullet for me. Bastard surprised us all in the end, didn’t he?”
Nodding, we all drank.
Jake set his shot glass down for a refill. “He made some mistakes, but he redeemed himself in the end.”
“What did you do with his body?” I asked.
“Called in another fuckin’ favor. He’s sitting in a pine box over at Schubert’s funeral parlor. He’ll get a burial.”
Brass had grown up in the system. He had no family and had burned all the bridges with his friends. We were probably the only people in the world that would care that he was dead. Well us, and Buzz, since that motherfucker wouldn’t be getting the money he was owed.
“What about the Serpents?” I asked.
“Texas sent over a crew. They’re taking care of their own.”
“I’m just glad both of my kids are home safe tonight. And I have my first grandkid on the way.” Jake said.
“You better not fuck my sister over,” Link added, his attention back on me.
“I’d think you’d know me a little better than that,” I fired back.
“Everyone knows your reputation, Eagle. You’re an asshole.”
“If I remember right, so were you.”
Cracking a smile, he picked up his shot glass and held it in the air. I followed suit.
“You gonna marry her?” Jake asked, lifting his shot glass up as well.
“We haven’t exactly had time to talk about that. She basically told me she was pregnant and took off. Said she wanted to give me time to process.”
“And have you?” Link asked. “Processed? Whatever the fuck that means.”
Was he fucking with me? I couldn’t tell. “You know damn well how I feel about her, Link. I only stayed away from her this long because she was active duty and I couldn’t go down that road again.”
“Is she out of the service?” Jake asked.
