Page 72 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

“I change my name to Bishop, or you change yours to Lenaghan?”

I cough into my hand when the explosion comes. Not just from one Bishop, but from them both. “What the actual fuck, Jessica?!”

Jay throws his hands into the air. “He’s not changing his fuckin’ name! A man doesn’t change his name.”

“I’m not changing my fuckin’ name!” Kane paces the garage. “What the actual fuck is going on in your head that you think I’m gonna change my name? That’s the girl’s job. As a man, my name carries on!”

“Oh shit.” I back up to the step leading into the garage and take a seat. Because Miss Fancy in all her pregnant glory is going to kill a couple thugs today.

“The girl’s job?” she asks. “The girl’s job? Are you stupid, or did you forget women aren’t possessions anymore? We still earn seventeen percent less than a man; we’re constantly passed over in the workforce even if we’re smarter, just because the baboon next to us has a dick, and now you wanna take our names, too? My law degree says Lenaghan! The only thing you have with your name is a rap sheet.”

“Oh, burn,” Spence snorts.

“You can’t expect him to give up his name!” Jay intervenes. “That’s our legacy. Those babies in your stomach are Bishops. It’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

“Says who?” Soph snaps. “I’m not giving my name up when we marry.”

He spins on his girlfriend with wide eyes. “Uh, yes, you fuckin’ are!”

“No, I’m fucking not!” she fires back. “Why is it so unbelievable for a man to take a woman’s name? You said it yourself: I have a good,strongname.”

“Yeah, for a girl.”

Spence dives forward and catches Soph mid-flight. Claws bared, teeth thrashing, she aims for her man’s face and growls as Spence holds her off the ground and absorbs her wild kicks to the shins. “I’ll kill you, Jay Bishop! I’ll kill you dead, and then nobody gets your name.”

“Jessica still gets my name,” Kane snarls. “Jay can go, because our name will live on.”

“Motherfucker! Where’s the loyalty?”

Kane thrusts an arm toward a fuming Jess. “I have my own problems right now, Jay! Stop being so fuckin’ selfish.” He turns to Jess. “Peonies, silver, and Bishop. The answer is fuckin’ Bishop! This isn’t up for discussion.”

“It’s lucky we have two babies coming, then.” Jess slams her car door and moves toward me. “I have dibs on one of them. I’m gonna choose the boy if we get one of those, and I’m gonna name him Lenaghan. Then my name lives on for eternity.”

“We’re not giving them different last names!” he calls after her. “Jessica Anne! Get back here so we can discuss this! Luc gets to carry your name on.”

She stops right beside me so her shins touch my legs. “You say discuss, but what you mean is dictate. Watch your back, Bishop! You don’t wanna fuck with a pregnant chick.”

“You’re overreacting!”

Spence drops Soph and sprints out of the garage mere seconds before Riley and me.

* * *

I walkthrough the diner doors that evening and slow at the ruckus that Mac and Ben make in their booth. My eyes instantly shoot across the room and stop on Katrina’s. It’s like she was waiting for me, and with a small nod, she expresses everything she needs to without a single word.

Act cool. Do not say anything that could tip Mac off.

I nod in reply, then drop my hands into my pockets and make my way to my booth. Head down, hat on, snicker on my breath because my best friends are idiots and still won’t stop pouting over the name thing, I pass the guys and look up in time to meet Mac’s waiting eyes.

“Cap.” He offers a hand and waits for me to tap his knuckles.

“Mac.” I turn to Ben and lift my chin. There would be no fist bump from him. “Ben.”

“FuckWhit,” Ben replies. “Didn’t find a different diner to eat in yet?”

A loud scuffle beneath the table ensues, then Mac growls a response when Ben kicks back. “What’s up, Cap?” Mac’s voice squeaks, because Ben got a good shot in. “Busy day?”

I lift a shoulder and continue moving to my booth before Katrina shoots across the diner and kills me for talking to her kid for too long. My back is to Mac’s, so I still answer. “Same old. Work and shit.”

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