Page 64 of Blackout-

Pushing back my chair, the legs scrape against the floor. All eyes move to me as I follow Jack out the door without a word. Making my way to the main bar, I catch him as he takes Reina’s hand and starts to lead her out of Kates.

“Jack,” I call, my voice sounding desperate.

He stops in his tracks and whispers something in Reina’s ear before turning to me. Crossing his arms against his chest, he remains rooted in place as his dark eyes scan the length of me. Finally finding my face, he lifts a questioning eyebrow.

Drawing a blank, I stand there speechless, clenching my fists.

“Good talk,” Jack grunts sarcastically, dropping his arms to his sides. Without giving me another glance, he drapes an arm around Reina and starts for the door. I finally find my balls and my voice calls out to him just before he crosses the threshold.

“I can’t let you do this,” I grind out, watching as he lowers his arm from his wife’s shoulders. Slowly he turns around, narrowing his eyes at me.

“You can’t let me do what?”

“This,” I shout, spreading my arms wide. “All of this, taking the fall for me, giving up your patch and leaving your family behind…I can’t let you do it.”

“It ain’t your call, Black.”

“I was drinking,” I blurt. “Lacey and I had a fight over her not taking her meds during the pregnancy and she threw me out. I hit up a liquor store and broke into Green-Wood Cemetery. I spent the night on a bender and when you called to say it was time for the meet with Javier, I stopped off at the bodega around the corner from your house and snorted a bunch of amphetamines. You still want to throw your life down the gutter for me?”

“You think I don’t know that?” he scoffs, closing the distance between us. The amusement fades from his face as he continues. “You think I don’t know when you’re fucking loaded? Don’t kid yourself, Blackie, I ain’t doing shit foryou,” he spats. “Now, if you’re done with your tantrum, I’ve got a wife and son I need to take care of while I still can,” he sneers. “You should try it some time.”

Gritting my teeth, I close the distance between us.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means Bianci is waiting outside to take you back to the cabin. Go get your wife, Blackie, and bring her home. They’ll be a patrol car parked in front of your house until I sign the deal, but no one will slap cuffs on you. I have an early appointment at the district attorney’s office to work out the details of the agreement. After that, I plan on saying goodbye to my family. So, you have from now until then to tell my little girl her old man is going to prison. She’ll be upset, so you’ll have to watch her for a while.”

“Upset? She’s going to be devastated.”

“She’ll be fine,” he argues. “She’ll have you and the baby. Look, Black, you fucked up. It happens. How many times have I slipped up in the past? We both know I should never have put us in that position with the cartel, but it is what it is and this is the only way out for you and I. So, quit acting like a pussy and clean up your act. Be the man you promised to be when you asked me for Lacey’s hand and do me a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Be a damn good father.”

“I don’t know how to be a father,” I choke. “And the man who was supposed to teach me just flipped the script.”

A small smile ticks the corner of his mouth as he places a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m no role model, Black. I made a lot of mistakes with my kids. I could tell you all the things not to do, but we don’t got that kind of time. Besides, I don’t think anyone can be taught how to be a father and for what it’s worth, I think you’ll do just fine on your own as long as you keep your head straight and your nose clean.”

Swallowing, I jerk my chin.

“Yeah, well, for what it's worth, I think you did a pretty damn good job,” I say hoarsely.

He doesn’t reply. Dropping his hand from my shoulder, he stares at me for a beat before turning abruptly. As I watch him walk out the door, I realize he just taught me the cardinal rule of being a father is to be selfless.

A hard feat for a self-centered prick.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lacey

Sitting on the sofa,I glance across the room at Nico. Straddling a chair, wearing a leather vest that labels him a prospect, he plays with his phone. Whether he’s texting or playing a game, I have no idea, but the thing hasn’t left his hand since he showed up with Anthony. I’m surprised it didn’t die—or explode.

“If memory serves me correctly, you told Mrs. Hansen on career day you wanted to be a chemist,” I remind him, shoving a handful of raisins into my mouth.

Lifting his eyes from the screen, he looks at me perplexed. Nico and I are only a year apart and in elementary school he actually skipped a grade, putting us both in Mrs. Hansen’s third-grade class. Labeling us friends would be a stretch. Through the years we rarely saw much of each other except for clubhouse functions and those were very seldom. Still, I remember Nico as a bright kid with an aspiring future. I guess I’m just wondering what changed and why he’s suddenly has the devil on his back.

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