He gripped it in his hands. “I will not put this on until we find the fucking sons of bitches responsible for this. Mark my words, retribution will be fast and sweet.” His declaration boomed throughout the large room.
All of the men remained taciturn, and it wasn’t the reaction I had expected. I was used to rage bellowing out, yelling with fists slamming, bloodlust emanating from every pore. It didn’t happen this time, though.
“How’re Crickett and the kids taking it?” Red asked from the other end of the table.
Abel pursed his lips. “As good as you could expect. Crickett is strong, and we’ll make sure the kids get through this all right.”
“If you need anything, you let us know.” Red was gnashing on a plug deep in his jaw as he leaned back in his chair. “I know you’ll make this right. We’ll make this right.”
Red was one of the old-timers, one of the few we had left in the organization. He was weathered, mean as fuck, and scary as hell, but he had a heart of gold—just like most of the men I had the pleasure of sitting at that table with.
The other guys nodded in agreement with Red as they offered their help and condolences.
“For the time being, keep your families close, and no one goes anywhere alone. We need to ride in at least twos until this threat has been eliminated.” Abel slammed down the gavel. “I think we all need a drink.”
Pulling Abel to the side, I spoke quietly. “Don’t you think we should go on lockdown? I mean, this could be the beginning of a war.”
Abel shook his head. “We’ll keep the guys on high alert, but I don’t want whoever the fuck did this to think we’re rattled and weakened. We’re going to have to smoke them out, and hiding in this clubhouse is not going to get that accomplished. We’re going to have to be smarter than them.”
“Where do we even start?” I asked. It seemed like a dumb-as-hell question, but it needed to be addressed.
Abel rubbed the back of his neck as he thought for a few seconds. “There was a guy in the bar today. He was sniffing around, said he was looking for his old man. I smell a mole, if you ask me.”
* * *
Sittingon my front porch with a can of Busch in hand and my sawed-off to my right, I burned cowboy killers, one after the other like a goddamn chimney. I was pissed. I hated sitting on my hands not knowing who was out for us.
Just as I was about to open a new pack, Crickett’s truck pulled up into my drive.
I hurriedly trotted down the steps, meeting her in my front yard.
“Hey, hon. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked, offering her the fresh pack.
She took it, ripped the plastic off, and waited for me to light her cigarette in rapid succession. “Have a minute? I need to run something by you and I didn’t think I should do it over the phone.”
Crickett’s cheeks were puffy and her eyes were bloodshot. Pain weighed her entire body down as she trudged closer to my side.
“Sweetheart, I have all the time in the world for our queen.” I put a hand on her shoulder as her sunken eyes met mine.
We ambled up to the rocking chairs on my front porch. She sat there chewing on the filter for a few seconds, staring off at the dusk-covered mountainside off in the distance.
“How’re you holding up?” I asked after lighting yet another for myself to choke down.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It ain’t real yet…but that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then what’s going on, darlin’? I know you’re not here for the riveting company or to steal my smokes.” I tried to laugh but it was futile.
“Do you have a son?” The question took me by surprise—smacking me in the face.
“Fuck no.” I didn’t skip a beat. I hadn’t spent more than a couple nights with a woman since I was fifteen, and I always used protection. With how shitty my childhood had been, I didn’t think I would be a good father and didn’t want to risk being a deadbeat dad and ruining some innocent kid’s life.
“A guy came into the bar today, said you were his daddy. Just thought you needed the heads-up.” Crickett looked over at me with a hallowed stare.
“What a fucked day.” I pulled in a sharp breath. “How old do you think he was?”
“Too old to be your kid, that’s for damn sure.” She started laughing a little. “I knew it was weird, but he knew your full name, so I had to ask.”
Every hair on the back of my neck stood on end.There goes sleeping tonight.Maybe Abel was right about the dude that came into the bar. It wouldn’t be the first time an enemy sent in an infiltrator to try to pinpoint a weakness in our organization and a false claim of paternity would be a clever way to do it.
