“But we’re not—”
“You think I’d join someone at the first sign of violence, Spawn?”
He shook his head.
“Give me a little fucking credit here. I want us to be smart and diligent about this, but that doesn’t mean we turn into full-blown pussies.”
I let a little silence fall over the room. No one said a word.
“Tomorrow, Spawn, find the Black Reapers. Given how easily I’ve been able to find them recently, it shouldn’t be hard for you to locate them. And for now, give me and Sonny a moment.”
Spawn didn’t hesitate. He nodded, stood up, and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Spawn was great for many reasons, but chief among them was that when he knew my decision was final and certain, he didn’t hesitate, didn’t play politics, didn’t play any passive bullshit that could have created problems.
And at that point, when I looked back at Sonny, I knew I wasn’t looking at the club’s vice president, but at my son. My family. Myonlyfamily at this point.
“Was it the reporter?”
I nodded. There was no use in lying to him for many reasons.
“Are you sure you want to go down that road?”
“Be careful about the questions you ask, son.”
“The very fact that you’re taking that approach to me tells me you should be careful,” Sonny said, putting me back on my ass. “You know since Mom died that—”
“Don’t.”
Sonny drew in a breath.
“Dad.”
I hadn’t heard him speak to me like that since…well, since Tamara passed away. It was a time neither of us wanted to revisit, and anything that triggered memories of that time period was worse than anything I ever experienced in the military; that much was for damn sure.
“I see what this woman has done to you, and it’s a good thing. At least, it seems that way so far. But she can be the best and the worst thing for you. I don’t even just mean in terms of distracting you from the club. I mean, do you really want to open yourself back up to getting hurt like that? Could you ever recover again?”
A very long silence passed by us. I was honestly grateful Sonny had the balls to confront me on this topic because I apparently had not had the same courage to ask the questions of myself. But just because he asked them didn’t mean he was getting an answer right now.
“I’m sure I will,” I said, but we both knew that was a lie.
“Dad…”
But neither of us said another word for as long as we sat there. Eventually, Sonny sighed, nodded, and stood up.
“I’m not stupid, son,” I said, “I know what the risks entail. But I also know that sometimes, if something feels right, you fucking go with it.”
I opened my mouth to say something else, but it momentarily caught in my throat. I hadn’t even made the realization until just seconds ago, and now that it was there…
“How do you think your mother and I started?”
I literally got shivers thinking about it.
“It just felt right?”
I nodded.
“Not a fucking word of this when you open that door. If anyone asks, we were discussing outreach to the Black Reapers. And Sonny? If you want to have this conversation again, we do it at the house.”
“I know, I—”
