Page 2 of Switch

Mason looks around the table, satisfaction in his eyes. “That’s unanimous. We’re moving forward. Rev, make a note of it. Jax, start crunching numbers. Tank, Piston—you’re on carnival duty.”

“Gotta say,” I pipe up, “this sounds expensive. We’ll need uniforms, equipment, maybe even liability insurance. Plus, we’re pulling guys off other jobs to cover this.”

Piston groans. “There he goes, talking money again. Just say the word, Mason, and I’ll ‘negotiate’ us some extra funds.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the mayor would love that,” I say dryly.

Tank laughs. “Relax, Jax. You’re just mad because you’ll have to balance another set of books.”

“Damn right I’m mad,” I reply. “You think accounting is easy? Try figuring out how to write off a bar fight as a business expense.”

Dagger raises an eyebrow. “You did that?”

“Once,” I admit. “Don’t ask how.”

The room erupts into laughter, the tension breaking for a moment. Even Mason cracks a rare smile.

The room’s still buzzing from Mason’s speech, but I notice Piston leaning back in his chair with a sly grin, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh, the girls are going to love this,” he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Tank snorts. “Yeah, I can already hear Sophie now, ‘Tank, why don’t you dress up as a clown for the carnival while you’re at it? The kids would love it!’”

The room laughs, but Dagger smirks, tapping his finger on the table. “Chloe’s not going to let me hear the end of this. She’s always saying I need to do more ‘community service.’ Guess this counts.”

Piston lets out a bark of laughter. “Jenny’s going to have a field day. She’ll want to dress me up in some official uniform just to embarrass me. ‘Oh look, Daddy’s a real-life superhero now!’”

Mason rubs a hand over his beard, trying to hide a smile. “Carlie’s already on my ass about ‘getting more involved.’ You know how she is. She’ll probably show up to the carnival with the twins decked out in little Iron Reapers shirts.”

Tank grins. “Better than Sophie. She’s still in baby mode. I swear, if she tries to bring our girl to this carnival dressed as some kind of Reaper mascot, I’m out.”

Dagger laughs, shaking his head. “Yeah, but at least you’ve got an excuse with the baby. Chloe’s going to drag me there early to ‘set a good example’ for our son. He’s only eight months old! Like he’s going to remember this.”

“Just wait until he’s old enough to ask for a funnel cake,” I add. “That’s when the real chaos starts.”

Piston leans forward, grinning. “You laugh now, Jax, but wait until you’ve got one of your own. You’ll be the guy hauling around a diaper bag while trying to act tough.”

“Not likely,” I shoot back, smirking. “I’m too busy keeping all of you in line to even think about that.”

Piston groans. “Someone remind me why I signed up for this.”

“Because you love us,” Tank says with a grin.

As the meeting breaks up, I grab my coffee and lean against the wall, watching the others file out. This isn’t what I signed up for when I joined the Reapers, but Mason’s right. We’ve got more to protect than just ourselves now.

Time to make Jackson safe again—for the club, for our families, and for the future.

TWO

BELLA CARTER

The humof the air conditioning is about the only thing keeping me awake as I sit at the nurses’ station, scrolling through patient charts. It’s one of those slow-but-somehow-tiring days at the doctor’s office where everything feels like it’s dragging. I sip on my lukewarm coffee, hoping it’ll kick in soon.

Amelia, my coworker and occasional partner in crime, strolls up with a spring in her step. She drops her Stanley on the counter and slides into the chair next to me.

“So,” she says, leaning her elbows on the desk like she’s about to spill a secret, “did you finish it?”

“Finish what?” I ask without looking up, already suspecting where this is going.

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