Page 11 of Rest In Pieces
A whiskey is placed in front of me, along with a beer chaser. I stare down at the amber liquid when, out the corner of my eye, a familiar figure sits on the stool next to me.
“If I wanted company, I would’ve stayed at the clubhouse.”
“Careful, you’ll hurt my feelings.”
I look up at King, and even though I want to punch him in the throat, I manage to hold back. His lips twitch like he knows what I’m thinking, but he doesn’t say anything as I look back down at my drink.
Truth is, King is somewhat of an enigma. Part man, part legend, he was once the president of the Kings of Carnage before he faked his own death, leaving his son Orion to step up and take over.
And if that wasn’t fucked up enough, there are rumors the guy’s ex-FBI or CIA or something. He sure as shit isn’t someone I’d want to cross. How Blade manages to share a woman with him and not look over his shoulder every two seconds is beyond me.
“So, he told you?”
“That he’s leaving? Yeah.” I throw back the whiskey, savoring the burn, before slamming the glass down on the bar.
“I get that you’re pissed.” He grabs my beer and starts drinking it as I wait for him to continue. He looks at me for a moment before smirking. “That’s it. I get it.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Thanks, Dad.”
“I’m old enough, you know. To be your dad.” He takes another swig of my beer before he starts peeling off the label. “I missed out on a lot with my kids, and now they’re grown, most of them with kids of their own. I don’t have many regrets. But making them an obligation, not a priority, is one of them.”
He looks at me.
“We’re not young anymore—me, Conan, Inigo, and Blade. We’ve had one hell of a ride, no doubt about it, but we sacrificed everything for our clubs. We sacrificed our families and put our brothers and our colors first, over and over again. And at the time, it was the right thing to do.
“But when is it enough? Sunshine already lost one man; now she might lose another. That’s going to mess with her head, and she’s carrying twins, which is no fucking joke.
“And Conan is, well, Conan. If anyone can beat this, it’s him. But…” His voice trails off.
“But what if he doesn’t?” I finish for him.
“Nobody’s leaving. You get that, right? Blade’s still gonna be there to piss you off every day. He just won’t have to deal with all the stress and shit that comes with being the president. You’re a team, and I know he sprung this shit on you. Like I said, I getit. But the truth is, this isn’t about you, G. It’s not about Carnage or Ravens either—not this time. It’s about putting our family first for once. About living in the moment and making memories while we still can.”
He doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t have to.
He slaps me on the back, then stands up and walks away, taking my beer with him.
“Motherfucker,” I growl, but there’s no heat behind it.
I sit there, letting King’s words sink in, before deciding I’ve had enough to drink and it’s time to go home. I stand up too quickly, and the room spins. I feel myself start to fall when an arm wraps around me.
“Whoa there. Are you okay?”
The person holding onto me smells like raspberries and sounds like a woman. I turn my head and see a spectacular pair of tits peeking out of a tank top.
Yep, definitely a woman.
“Nice tits.”
“What, these old things?” her amused voice replies.
“They don’t look old to me. They look…umm—” Huh, some bastard’s stolen my words from me.
“What?” another voice asks. This one’s female too, but I don’t bother looking for her. I’ve already found the perfect rack.
“Rack? And people wonder why I’m still a virgin.”
“Wait, who’s a virgin?” I shout.