“Fuck my life,” Garrett mutters, and it’s enough to make him follow me into church and close the door behind us.
There’s a laptop set up in church by Wren. It’s as secure as fuck, apparently. Now, where possible, we’re supposed to use it to communicate, to lessen the risks of being hacked or tapped. There are rules taped next to it on the table. No using it for email. No saving files. No opening attachments. Nothing.
I call up Halo, the road captain of the New Jersey chapter, and while we wait, I squeeze Garrett’s leg beneath the table. “Are you okay, love?”
He sighs. “Just got some shit on my mind.”
Before I can ask what it is, the screen flickers to life, and Halo appears in a room that looks like a building site. The drywall is half up, Spark, the club’s sergeant at arms, is in the background cutting wood to length, and someone has a song playing that Iswear is Metallica but it’s being played in the tinkling keys of a piano.
“Yo, brothers,” Halo says. His hair is up in a messy bun, there’s a dust mask around his neck, and he’s removing work gloves. He drops his hands down to the ground and then stands again with his daughter, Lola, in his arms. “Say hi to Jackal and Shade, sweetie.”
She flexes her chubby fingers to wave at us. “Hello.”
“Hey, Lollipop. You got so big,” I say.
“I help Daddy.” She smiles so fucking brightly, I can see why Halo loves her. I mean, he’s biologically her brother and it was a huge adjustment when he was suddenly left to care for her. His father was a piece of work. Knocked up a club girl. Then, the two of them shacked up with the baby until they were murdered. Now, Halo and Ari, who is the club girl’s sister, are a couple and have adopted Lola.
“I can see that. How’s Ari doing?”
“Fucking blessed, man. She’s due in seven weeks. Had an easy ride compared to King’s old lady, which, did you hear, he had a little girl two days ago. Five weeks premature.”
“Yeah? Everyone okay?”
Halo nods. “Rae was a champ. Baby’s doing great in the NICU. Little fighter like her dad.”
“More like her mom.” Niro appears on screen with a pencil behind his ear. Next to him is Avery, who has a matching pencil tucked behind her ear too. “Although King’s been a bit strung out, both of his girls in the hospital.”
“Yeah,” Avery says. “We got to see her through a window. She’s in a plastic box to keep her super warm and let her grow. Her name is Imogen Juno Hills. When she was born, Uncle King cried, and then baby Imogen cried, and then Uncle Colton cried and then?—”
Niro playfully places his hand over her mouth as she chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, kid. We get it. We all fucking cried.”
Avery’s hand immediately comes out, even while being gagged.
“Fuck my life,” Niro says, and pulls out two fives and hands them to her.
Out of nowhere, she pulls that grubby panda backpack she schleps everywhere with her.
“You still got the panda?” Garrett says.
“Yeah,” she says as she stuffs the two fives in it. “But I empty it once a week and give it to Uncle Vex to invest for me. I have a portfolio. Do you want to see me pick a lock? Uncle Colton taught me. I can do it in under thirty seconds.”
Garrett laughs. “Send us a video later.”
See, the curmudgeon who didn’t want a video call is now not only fucking smiling but asking Avery to send him a video later. He’s such a contrarian, at times.
I can’t help but smile too. It’s easy to see how some things don’t change when you stay in one place. Niro still swears, Avery’s investments increase, and Jersey is all growing up together, having babies and getting married and shit.
I fucking want that. I just didn’t want to live in New Jersey. I needed something with mountains and air and big sky.
“Is now a good time to talk?” Garrett asks.
“Sure,” Halo says. “Ave, can you take Lola back to the mats over there and read to her for a bit?”
Avery looks up to Niro. He’s not even her father; his best friend, Bates, is. But the two of them have had a special relationship since the day they met. I swear that girl spends more time with Niro and Cat than she does at her own house.
Avery looks to Niro for the answer.
Niro nods. “Yeah. Go ahead. You can help with the wiring when we’re done with our call.”
