Page 101 of Banshee
But unlike my mother, Darcy Murphy had given her son to his grandmother to raise. King had been raised by his father’s mother and stepfather, only finding out just before Christmas that his biological father was the head of the Irish Mob in Boston.
Sal had walked in and brought Colleen, Maureen’s daughter. He and King had words in church, and King hadn’t come out of that room the same. That was the angriest I’d ever seen King. Until today. King had a temper; I guess that was the Irish in him. He did a better job of containing that temper than my father and brother did.
Zeus was doing quite well holding onto his temper. I’d never seen him outside the clubhouse; it seemed as though he was more level-headed, more diplomatic than our father was. I was glad my father had stepped down and made him president.
I turned back to King as he set his phone down and stared at it. His chest rose and fell quickly. I’d seen Zeus do that just before he exploded.
“What’d Skinner say?” Cash asked carefully.
“The Tumbleweed in Burns, two hours. Two people; one of them has to be Indie.”
“No goddamn way!” Mimic shouted.
King stood. He walked over and sat down next to Indie. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to go,” she said. There was no hesitation in her answer, and my hope soared.
“NO!” Mimic shouted. Indie looked over her shoulder at Mimic.
“How many times do I have to tell you this isn’t your decision?”
“Then I’m going with you,” my nephew countered.
Nav’s phone went off, and he picked it up and looked at it, then looked at Eros. “I’ll go.”
“No,” King said.
“King, Indie isn’t the only trade Skinner is making,” Nav said.
“Who?” I asked. Who else did Skinner have? Who else did he want? King looked at Eros before looking back at Nav.
“Skinner has Firestride’s old lady,” Nav explained.
“The Brotherhood doesn’t have old ladies,” my mother declared.
“They do now.” Nav smiled. “Skinner is trading her for Firestride.”
I looked over at Eros; his face was a mask of calm, but the corner of his mouth hitched the tiniest amount.
“What are we missing?”
Nav leaned back in his chair. “Skinner is a fucking moron. Firestride took an old lady, and Skinner took her from him. This fucking war is over today.”
Nav continued to shake his head as he chuckled and worked on his computer. The screen at the front of the room turned on and showed a picture of a roadhouse.
“This is the Tumbleweed. It’s a biker dive in Burns. Run by a man named Cecil Turner. It’s a neutral bar. Bikers are welcome, but no colors.” Nav turned to look at Mimic. “She doesn’t even have to go, brother. It’s a small bar, so they won’t send the whole club. Not sure what Skinner is thinking, but no way is he leaving that bar with Firestride.”
“You think I’m letting you walk in there alone?” King snapped.
“I’ll go with him,” Eros stated. He pulled his gun and checked the clip. “How many?” he asked Nav.
“A dozen, maybe two.”
Eros nodded, slamming the clip back into his gun before re-holstering it. “I’m ready.”
“The two of you are not going alone, goddammit!” my father shouted. “You’re not walking into the fucking lion’s den for that son of a bitch!”
“Lucas!” my mother hissed.
