“Stop lying,” he spits out. She shakes her head at his words. “Stop. Lying!” he yells and fires a shot above her head.
The crack of the gunshot echoes through the hall. The once-small panic grows, and screams fill the air as more people pour out into the hall. Even the prospect marches through the door, but thankfully Ruby grabs his hand to prevent him from pulling his own weapon.
Things are bad enough with one gun. It can only get worse if there are two. And with the way Barry is shaking and waving it around, anyone is liable to get hurt.
Including me.
And my unborn kid.
Chapter 24 - Karter
We file out of Church and most of the brothers head to the bar, including me. I need a drink. Nothing too hard, but a beer sounds right.
I nod at the prospect on the other side of the bar, who hands me one of Bulldog’s brands. His shit is fantastic, but I rarely say it. Guy’s got an ego, and none of us need him getting more than he already has. His woman, Lady, does a good job of keeping him in check, but not even she can curb his ways sometimes.
“I’ll take the same,” Kooper calls out as he sidles up next to me at the bar.
The boys are around, but none of them are close like him. Either they noticed and gave us space, or the world doing its thing and making shit come together on its own.
Neither of us speaks, even after we get our drinks. Just sit next to each other in silence as we sip on them, letting the flow of the brothers’ conversations around us filter in the space between.
Till I crack.
“You and Peaches, huh?”
I’m looking at my beer, but I don’t miss his side smile out of the corner of my eye before he takes another pull from his longneck, then a nod before putting it back down.
“Yeah.” Nothing more to add. Which I get. I threw the first punch. I disrespected him and her. He owes me nothing. I’m no longer the president. Even if I were, it would still be me eating humble pie to get back into a compatible talking relationship of sorts.
Either that or we go play pool, say nothing, and move on. We’re guys, after all. We can smash on each other all we want and still have the other’s back. Most of the time, at least. Bringing an old lady into the argument might make things take longer to heal, but eventually we could go back to what was. If that was something I wanted, or had the time to deal with. But that’s not an option, especially with what Ruby told me the other day and what she has growing inside her.
Something about being a granddad is hitting me weird. I really can’t move on, and I don’t think I should. Biker life ain’t flowers and rainbows. Weekend riders might get that, but we’re a club. A club that makes money in ways that aren’t all legal. We don’t deal in heavy shit, but we’ve transported things across Kansas for people with certain reputations. We’ve got rules on what we transfer—nothing living, and no drugs that fuck up kids. But guns? Other drugs with lesser issues? Sure, we’ve done it. We even did some laundering a few years back for some guys up north.
The mercenary gig with OHH has kept us busy enough that lately we don’t mess with the other shit. And we keep it out of our territory. Sucks for the person moving product, as they’ve got to go around. It’s harder, but not impossible. Maybe one day we’ll take it all on and clean up everywhere we go. But not today. Today, only one mess needs cleaning.
The one I made.
“When did you decide?”
He looks at me, and I turn to him. His look is one of confusion, and mine is neutral. No judgment, but I want to know. “That she was worth more than top brass?”
He looks me dead in the eye and speaks so clearly there’s no room for doubt. “Not only the top brass. She’s worth more than the club patch itself.”
His words surprise the shit out of me because I’ve never heard someone say that before. Some might have thought it, but none have ever said it out loud like that.
“Even gave up the club for her.”
“You did?” My gasp sounds girlish, but I don’t give two fucks. His words and actions tell me so much.
He nods and then smirks, shaking his head a bit. “But your damn girl wouldn’t have it and dragged my ass back to the club, then demanded Casper give it back.” He laughs and takes a sip of his drink. Lost in a memory, I’m sure, as I sit dumbfounded.
A brother gave up the club for a girl. Not just any girl—my daughter. Tells me a hell of a lot about the man beside me, more than I thought I knew. But it also tells me about the girl. If she can pull a man like Kooper to her, have him choose without her demanding it—because no way would she ask—then she must be one helluva woman.
“She told me.” Now I’m the confused one, just staring at him. He shrugs. “That we made something special. Just wanted you to know that I’ve been in love with her for a while now. I fought it for years. Didn’t act on shit till I knewthe top brass wasn’t worth losing her. And I knew if I took it and had her, she’d hate how I got it.”
“So you want the spot?” I latch onto the easier topic and ignore the rest. I don’t mind hearing about it, but I wonder if I should hate him since he knocked up my kid. Even if there are zero memories of the kid being an actual kid in my mind.
He shrugs and spins to look out, placing both elbows on the bar behind him. “Maybe. One day. Not today. Not for a while. I told her she leads where we go with this. I might wear the club patch, but she and my kid come first.” He finishes his beer. “Well, till she tells me otherwise,” he says with a look my way, like I should understand.
