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“Hey, buddy. You can’t be doing that to your mom,” I told him. Oblivious to my lecture, he patted my beard with his wet hands. Despite him wiping his spit all over me, I couldn’t find it in me to care. He blinked his big blue eyes that looked so much like his dad’s and aunt’s that it hit me in the guts.
A deep, shuddering breath shook my chest as I held Parker close. He wrapped his chubby fingers in my beard and pulled me in his direction as he leaned in to press a wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss. Then I extricated him and handed him back to his mom, ignoring that goddamn sappy gaze of hers.
Not in the mood to chat, no matter how cute their kid was, I walked away.
With a clatter, I dropped my phone in the basket and went in to take my seat. Ghost was already seated, bitching about the cold with Blade. They both stopped talking and glanced my way when I dropped into my chair.
“What?” I asked them belligerently. Ghost cocked a brow at my tone, but I looked away.
“What?” Blade mimicked. “You’ve been a miserable asshole since you, Voodoo, and Raptor came back. Have you smiled once? I haven’t seen him smile, have you?” he asked as he looked to Ghost for his reply.
“Nope.”
Instead of answering, I maturely flipped them off.
Angel came in and gripped my shoulder. “You still up for that ride tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I answered. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at me.
“You guys are fucking idiots. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow afternoon. That means it’s really fucking cold,” Ghost grumbled.
“That’s what heated gear is for,” Angel tossed back at him with a mischievous grin. Ghost rolled his eyes.
Everyone else filed in, and the pounding of boots on the concrete neared as Chains and Squirrel burst through the door. Chains dove for his seat and smugly looked up at a glaring Squirrel.
“Too bad you can’t use that disappearing shit to get here first, huh?” Chains poked the bear. Our bylaws said no unfair advantages could be used to get into church before others. Squirrel really hated that. He huffed as he sat next to Blade.
“Dude, do you wanna talk after this?” Blade asked. Confused, I looked at him because I could’ve sworn I heard him say it, but I knew he didn’t open his fucking mouth.
He quickly looked away.
“Squirrel, new cleaning supplies are in the bags on the bar,” Venom told him. Something had pissed him off because his jaw was set and the two creases between his brows were extremely prominent.
Fuck, I hoped this meeting wasn’t an ass-chewing. I really wasn’t in the mood.
Except Venom handed the floor off to Raptor.
Raptor stood to address us. One by one, he looked us in the eyes. With one hand shoved in his pocket, the other raked through his hair, leaving it a mess. He seemed out of sorts. “Each and every one of you are all more than brothers in the club to me. You are my family, through and through, which is why this is so difficult.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth.
I cast a glance at Venom, trying to figure out what was going on. Oh yeah, he was definitely pissed, and his fingertips anxiously drummed the tabletop.
“Fuck, this is hard,” Raptor muttered before he took a deep breath and exhaled with a whoosh. “I’m stepping down as your VP. I’ll be moving to Texas in two weeks.”
Initially, you could’ve heard a pin drop. Then everyone was talking at once, outrage being the general consensus.
“Enough!” Venom raised his voice to be heard over the cacophony of protest.
Silence immediately ensued.
Raptor stared at the tabletop, his gaze tracing the RBMC logo there. Then he looked up at us. “I’ve gotten permission from Nationals to reopen the Dallas chapter. I have to have five members to open. Tig, One Short, Gator, and Torque have agreed to join me.”
His announcement had the gears in my head turning. My fingers strummed the table as I mulled over the possibilities. Then I thought about the full mailbox and lack of replies and wondered if I’d be making a mistake.
“One Short and Gator, huh? And Torque, too? Damn,” Blade blurted, as everyone else mulled over what Raptor had said.
One Short and Gator had been members of the chapter before it was closed. They had laid down their colors when shit was going in a direction they couldn’t stomach. They weren’t out bad, so they were in a position to come back. Torque had been a member of a support club in Austin but had been friends with Gator since they were kids down by Houston. I’d met him once when I’d gone down to do a job in Austin. Gator had been visiting him and brought him when we had dinner and some drinks.
“Know that this isn’t easy.” Raptor’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, taking his seat.
