He leaned forward, his hands clasped. “See, already big brass balls. Questioning your president. But no, I’m good. They’re right, Rooster. You’ve been more than solid for years, always kept the peace within the ranks, and even without saying a word, guided prospects and new members. Once whatever shit you’d been dealing with was resolved, I knew you could properly lead.”
Running my fingers over the patch, I said, “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, don’t tell me you’re going silent again on us now,” Eagle joked.
Hawk stood and waved me over. Gripping the patch, I stood and walked toward him.
Hawk clasped his hands in front of him. “Rooster, do you promise to always stay true to our destiny and enforce our bylaws?”
With a tight jaw, I said, “Yes.”
“Do you promise to always stay true to your president, your brothers, and the club?”
“Yes. I will.”
Hawk knocked on the table. “Congrats on the new rank, brother.”
The others all knocked on the table before the room erupted into laughs, cheers, and everyone whacking my back or shaking me.
All I could do was stare down at the patch. I’d been proud as fuck to become an officer. I took my job as Enforcer seriously. But Sgt at Arms… unsurprisingly, I had no words. Instead, my chest puffed out, and the first thing that came to mind was telling Sparrow.
When Hawk finally stepped out of Church, I ran out, heading straight to the bar.
Sparrow was at a table with the ladies, but I rushed over and grabbed her from her seat. She squealed but wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “What is it?”
Putting her down, I held out my palm. “They’ll announce it later, but I had to show you.”
She grabbed the patch, and a huge smile spread over her face. “A promotion? Wow!”
Daisy jumped up and looked over her shoulder. “Holy shit! He outranks Falcon!”
Her eyes widened, then she pulled me down for a kiss. “I’m so proud of you.”
Rubbing my nose over hers, I said, “I love you, Sparrow. You made this happen, even if you don’t understand how.”
Chapter 26
Kristie
The last few weeks had been a rollercoaster. This place was home now, but I was still wrapping my head around what happened with the crazy guys from Jersey. Then I learned bits and pieces about what happened when Rooster was in Indy. I’m sure I didn’t get the juicy bits, but those Hellbound Heathens were set up there, and apparently that’s why his arm was shot up. Shiv checked it a few times but said it would be a nasty scar.
She and I continued to grow closer. Daisy and Lacy were awesome, too. Lacy was prepping for her wedding soon. She had her bridesmaids lined up already and I was still so new, I was shocked when she apologized for already having an escort for Rooster.
“I’m pretty sure it’s fine,” Daisy said. “He didn’t even talk, much less look at anyone, until Kristie showed up.”
Every time I was reminded of how he was when we were apart, I flinched a little. He was never a very loquacious person, but he spoke to me. He even laughed sometimes. He was mostly stoic, but he felt deeply, and loved hard. Knowing he barely existed all that time still broke my heart. You’d think I’d eat it up for some sort of revenge for what he did to me, but I didn’t want that for him. It was in the past, and we were together now.
“I’m just happy to be his plus one. If there’s anything I can do to help, though, just say the word.” With all the craziness that had been my life since the night I tossed my drink at Rooster, a wedding sounded great.
It was still wild that this all happened in such a short time. Sitting around the clubhouse, watching cheesy movies, eating snacks, drinking, and listening to the bride-to-be gush over the plans for her do-over wedding made it seem like I’d been here for years. It also made me realize how unhappy and lonely I’d really been all that time.
Bit was my closest family member and friend, but she was always away doing something exciting, finding herself, having real experiences. I loved my work, but I didn’t really love that job, only what it afforded me. I’d made no friends there and let my work consume me.
I was still bitter that even with everything I poured into it, my miracle drug either died or would eventually be passed to someone else to finish. There was nothing I could do about it.
But I was about to start a new job at the CDC, Rooster was promoted to a higher rank, which I didn’t completely understand, except he was basically third down the line, which seemed like a big deal, and more importantly, we were together. While the world around us was hectic, we were each other’scalm within the storm. I hadn’t noticed all the time we were apart, but there was always something missing.
Now that we were together, I felt whole. And while I was nervous about my new job, a sense of belonging settled inside of me. I took my old job to be able to work on the miracle drug, but something about being at the CDC felt more like being part of a team. Even though I didn’t officially start until next week, I’d had several meetings with the group I’d be working with and they already made me feel right at home.
