He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Let’s get a shower. We need to make an early start today if you want to see your brothers off.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I tell him.
Jinx climbs out of bed, all naked and glorious, like an inked god. A few seconds after entering the restroom, I hear the shower pop on. Following him, we get in together, and he is so kind and gentle with me that it makes me want to cry. He works up a lather. His hands are so careful. This is the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me.
Standing under the water, I let him wash my hair. His hands feel gigantic, rough, and his knuckles are raw from fighting for me last night. I relax into his care, knowing there will never be another man for me. It’s Jinx or nothing.
When he’s finished, I turn around and slip my arms around his waist. When I lay my cheek against his massive chest, I can hear and feel his heart beating. The same hands that pulled the trigger last night are soothing my grief and will hold our baby one day. Somehow, I can reconcile all that in my brain and it’s okay.
“Thank you, for coming for me. And for doing what had to be done and for understanding how messed up this all is.”
“This situation is extremely messed up. But you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. You’re gonna get through this. I promise.”
I talk myself into believing his words are true as we get dressed and head upstairs to the main part of the clubhouse. We sit down at the long family table for breakfast. Queenie and Rock are there with their sons and their wives. Their mood is subdued but they are nowhere near as weirded out as I am about what happened.
I can hear them quietly talking about last night as they eat their food. Rock clears his throat and says, “Miss Nora. I want to say how sorry we are that your old man didn’t make it. We didn’t go there with the intention of killin’ anyone.”
“I know that better than most. I saw what went down with my own eyes. My father went for his weapon, and Jinx did what he had to do to protect himself. I don’t blame anyone, least of all the father of my child.”
“It was a poor decision to be sure,” Rock murmurs, looking down at his plate.
Jinx disappears and comes back with a plate of food from the buffet table they’ve set up in the back of the room.
I murmur, “Thanks, babe.” But the best I can manage is to push the food around my plate. My appetite is nonexistent this morning.
Queenie leans forward looking at me with those eyes that miss nothing. “You need to eat, honey.”
“The food’s wonderful, like always. I’m just not hungry,” I respond.
“You’re eating for two now, so do the best you can.”
“Okay, I’ll try.” I eat a few bites of egg, nibble the corner off a piece of dry toast, and chase it with orange juice.
Jinx leaves and reappears with a steaming mug of what smells like coffee. When I glance up at him, he smiles, “Decaf. I know how much you love your morning coffee.”
I tear up as I pull the cup closer. “Thank you, babe.”
I can’t believe that with everything going on, he remembered I can’t have the real stuff. Dr. Marsh had told me it was okay in moderation, but after my scare, it might be an idea to stay off the caffeine as it wasn’t helping my anxiety.
Wrapping both hands around the cup I bring it to my lips and take a sip of the warm brew. The familiar taste hits the spot, and I can’t stop sipping until I drain the last drop. It doesn’t make anything right again, but it makes me feel a tad better than I did before.
Rock clears his throat again. The club’s founder doesn’t usually say much. So, him speaking twice in one meal is noteworthy. It’s not me he’s addressing this time, it’s the club officers. “You gentlemen are ridin’ out to negotiate the surrender of the Hyenas this mornin’,” he says, looking at Jasper, Slate, Onyx, and then at Jinx. “I’ve buried more brothers than I care to count over the years. So, I’m gonna give you the only piece of wisdom that ever did me any good. Don’t ever strip away the last of a man’s pride. Always leave him with a face-saving way out. ‘Cause if you don’t, they’ll come back to soothe their savage ego.”
Jasper snaps, “Are you sayin’ we should cut them some slack, old man?”
Rock pins his oldest son with a glare that would make a normal man panic and run but Jasper just looks him in the eye, waiting for an answer to his question. “What I’m saying is the Hyenas lost their club president, their road captain is laid up in the hospital, their cartel connection is gone. Their club princess rejected them and now they have lost the territory they hoped to make their own. That’s a lot for any man to bear. If you go to their clubhouse and humiliate them, you’ll turn a run of the mill club war into a blood feud. One that outlives every man at this table and takes some of you and your sons with it. Ain’t no sane person wants that kind of karma following them around their whole life.”
Jasper lowers his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
His eyes settle on me. “Let ‘em save face. Let ‘em keep their patches and their pride. A little empathy and respect don’t cost you a thing. And it’ll save you lives in the long run.”
Rock has the kind of wisdom that most people only dream about having. I think about that the whole ride over to the Hyenas’ clubhouse. And he’s a hundred percent right about treating others like you would want to be treated.
***
We come in twenty-two strong and they meet us in their parking lot. I’m guessing some of them abandoned the club because there were more brothers than this. Half of them are bruised, bandaged or still bleeding. The flag over their clubhouse is at half-mast for my father. Spark stands out front with Brave at his shoulder. Both of them look older and more hardened after last night.
Jasper steps forward and does most of the talking. He sticks to Rock’s advice, moderating his tone and speaking respectfully.
