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He’s quiet for a beat before he picks me up and shakes me around like a kid opening the toy he’s been asking for on Christmas Day. “My boy is back!”
The room, full of fear before, erupts into cheers. I laugh. “It’s never a dull moment around here,” I tell him as he puts me down.
“Panic feeds panic. If we act like everything’s okay, so will everyone else.” And sure enough, people start drinking and dancing, forgetting about the two unconscious men on the floor.
“Gator. Scat. Get these fuckers down to the cellar and lock them up. We’ll deal with them later. Tonight, we celebrate.”
More cheers, this time from the brothers who come and offer me a congratulatory pat on the back. When people start to wander off, I look at my dad, who hasn’t left my side. “It’s good to be back.”
“It’s good to have you back. And I’m not talking about you walking again. For a moment there, I thought I might have lost you. And it had nothing to do with you almost dying and everything to do with almost wishing you did.”
“I know, Dad. I get it. I think it took me longer to get my head working again than it did my body when I finally started putting in the work.”
He slaps me on the shoulder before pulling me in for a hug. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“Thanks. It wasn’t easy, but turns out my father didn’t raise a quitter.”
“I’ll drink to that. So, you’re good now? No underlying issues?”
“Honestly, we don’t know. The bullet is still in my back. With it still being there…well…There’s always a risk, but the last X-ray shows it’s moved away from my spine a little, and they seemed pretty happy about that. They’ll monitor it, and if it moves enough, they’ll operate and remove it completely.”
“So, throwing yourself at a fucking gunman probably wasn’t the smartest idea now, was it?”
“If I had to choose between my president and a wheelchair for the rest of my life, I’d choose the wheels.”
“I don’t need a bullet to take me out. I swear to fuck you’re gonna give me a heart attack before I hit sixty.”
I huff out a laugh as he gives me a bone-crushing hug again.
“So, any idea who they are?”
He gives me an odd look before I see a lightbulb go off over his head. I’ve missed a lot lately, but hopefully that will change now.
“Not sure about the one that went for Mauler. I didn’t get a good look at him. But the one you just beat the shit out of was the asshole who shot you.”
I’m stunned for a minute. Nobody told me that he was one of the Bloody Scorpions who escaped. I shake it off. It doesn’t matter now. “Well fuck, that deserves a drink or five!” I dip my head and grin, knowing the one on his face matches mine.
“A-fucking-men to that. When we hit their clubhouse, a couple had scattered like rats. And now we have the means to find whoever is left and finish them off for good. Plus, you can get your revenge on that fucker for what he did to you.”
“Got a lot of witnesses that just saw what went down. These guys turn up dead, and people might start putting two and two together.”
“Anyone here knows better than to talk about what goes down at the clubhouse. Even so, in a few minutes, I’ll get a couple of the prospects to strip the fuckers and dress in their clothes. Then I’ll have a couple of brothers make a big deal about kicking them out for their stupid prank.”
“The same witnesses will say they saw them leave,” I muse. “Smart. Cops can’t pick and choose the parts of the statements they want to hear.”
“Exactly. You in for a persuasive interrogation later?”
“Yeah, always. But there is something I need to do first.”
He sighs, and for the first time tonight, he looks wary. “What is it? You haven’t spoken to Emma, I take it?”
“No, I wanted to be ready. I refuse to mess her around anymore. But that’s where I’m heading after this. I just wanted to see you first, and thank fuck I did.”
He swallows and nods, looking unsure of what to say.
“How has she been?”
“I don’t know, son. She hasn’t been around since the day she caught you with Nat.”
