Page 29 of Blackout-

Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

Emerging from the office, Jack makes his way to the table and takes his rightful place at the head. I lean forward, just as I’ve done numerous times, and slide the meat mallet in front of him.

The Nomads gave me that mallet after the clubhouse exploded and the original gavel was lost in the debris. Jack was out of commission with his temporary hearing loss and I was running the show. It was my first time leading our club on the road to vengeance and my brothers gifted me with the kitchen utensil. The fucking thing had the Bed, Bath and Beyond sticker on it when they placed it in my hand and even now, after all this time, it still does. What started as a joke, has now become a staple in the history of this charter of the Satan’s Knights and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me when I handed it to Jack after he recovered.

That shit still stings as he takes it from my hand.

“Are we ever going to take the Bed, Bath and Beyond sticker off this fucking thing?” he asks as he lifts it in the air.

Not if I have a say in the matter, we won’t. That fucking mallet is perfect just the way it is.

“It gives it character,” I snap, tipping my chin toward the kitchen gadget. “Go on, Parrish, do your thing.”

Slammyfucking mallet.

Hesitating for a moment, Jack slams the flat surface against the grain and brings our meeting to order.

“If anyone wants to know what to buy me for Christmas, a wooden gavel is on top of the list.”

The fucking man is fucked.

He can’t even appreciate a quality utensil.

“I’ll make sure to write good ol’ Saint Nick and give him the heads up,” Pipe offers, leaning back in his chair. Shoving a cigarette into his mouth, he tosses the pack onto the table and swipes the lighter next to it.

“If Pipe is done cracking jokes, we’ll start,” Jack says, crossing his arms against his chest. He’s about to continue when his phone starts ringing. “Jesus, fuck.”

“That’s grounds for the naughty list,” Pipe teases, blowing a ring of smoke into the air. Flipping our sergeant at arms the bird, Jack pulls his phone out of his pocket and shoves it at Blackie.

“What’s happening? Why is Riggs’ mug showing up on my phone?”

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head and snatch the phone from him. The man can call me twenty fucking times a day, but he has yet to master the fine art of FaceTiming. Fuck going to Apple and dropping seven hundred on a phone. The next time Lacey wants to buy her father a gift, we’re going to the fucking thrift store. Maybe we’ll find him a precious wooden gavel amongst the secondhand finds.

“He’s FaceTiming you, Parrish,” I hiss, my voice dripping with annoyance as I swipe my thumb across the screen and accept the call.

“Gotta love technology,” Cobra mutters.

“Says who?” Jack grunts. “Give me a flip phone any day of the fucking week.”

“Riggs you there?” I ask, ignoring the ungrateful bastard.

“Am I late? Did I miss anything?” Riggs replies.

“Is he phoning in for church?” Deuce says.

“You bet your fucking ass I am,” Riggs hollers into the phone. “Turn me around, Black.”

Scratching my jaw, I flip the screen and shake my head. The next time someone asks me why I drink, I’m going to point to my kutte and give them directions to this fucking hell hole.

“Don’t even pretend like you motherfuckers aren’t missing me right now,” Riggs says.

My brothers take turns congratulating him on the birth of his son and vow to come see the baby soon. After everyone speaks their piece, Riggs tells us he has an announcement to make. Fearing he’s knocked up his wife again, Jack tells him to give Lauren’s uterus a break. Pipe takes the opportunity to share some news of his own and reveals that him and Layla are expecting a baby.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Riggs booms.

“I’m serious,” Pipe says. “She just hit the mark on twelve weeks.”

His eyes find mine again and it all clicks into place. With a baby on the way and second chance at a good life, he’s scared of losing everything. I can’t say that I blame him. I’m just not sure when we all became a bunch of pussies. Back in the day we rode to live and fucked the law. If there were consequences to be had, we didn’t care. Nothing scared us.

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