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“Well, Sturgis was in August. Sammy was born thirty-eight weeks later and two weeks premature, according to the hospital records I pressured Dr. Reynolds into obtaining for us.”
“How is that relevant?” Darkness asked.
“Well, that information coincides with the information Abby listed on the birth certificate, in terms of you being the father. As you already know, the paternity test came back positive. You are little Sammy’s father.”
Darkness frowned and pulled the child closer. “As you already pointed out, anyone can see that.”
Overlaying the results of the paternity test on the screen for everyone to see, Ryder spoke slowly. “I just want every man here to be a hundred percent certain that Sammy is one of our own, ‘cause this is where things get tricky.
“Abby admitted to getting pregnant intentionally, hoping to get money out of you. She stashed the baby with this couple who runs a private boarding school. We just had to pay over eight grand in back fees.”
“Proves that bitches ain’t to be trusted,” Darkness muttered under his breath.
“Don’t you see? They couldn’t take out an insurance policy and kill you unless they figured out how to make it look like an accident. That was just a smokescreen. What they really wanted was to scare some cash out of you by throwing one curveball after another.”
Darkness snorted a laugh. “God knows I ain’t easy to scare.”
Grinning, Ryder continued his speech. “Their plan was to rattle your cage with a near-death shooting by none other than your own damn wife, and then have her hook you up with your little newborn daughter. Any damn man would fall in love at first sight with their own innocent little child. My guess is, Abby insinuating that if she left with the child and no money, they’d take it out on your little one was supposed to seal the deal.”
“Well, if that’s the case, they’re pretty fuckin’ stupid. The fact is, they almost fuckin’ killed me. If I’d died, it would have thrown a wrench into their plan and brought down the fury of the Blind Jacks on their club.”
“Yeah, at least one of the Seven Devils is an extremely poor shot, and I’m betting I know which one. One of their crew ended up dead in a ditch on the outskirts of town the morning after you got shot. He was killed, execution style, with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Dr. Reynolds pulled the autopsy off the hospital computer for us. It revealed he was addicted to heroin and in withdrawal when he died. If he almost blew the whole deal with his shaky trigger finger, they might have cut their losses. What good is a strung-out brother who can’t even shoot straight?”
Ven spoke out. “That actually makes sense.”
“There were a couple of things they didn’t anticipate,” Ryder continued. “One is you needing recovery time because of a misplaced bullet. And two, you ain’t quite stupid enough to cough up a quarter of million dollars without thinking things through. Abby is fit to be tied after being locked in a cell for ten days, by the way.”
Darkness murmured, “Fuck that bitch. The problem is, what are we doing about the situation she dropped in our lap? I don’t care to pay up the money…”
Hickory chimed in with a sense of urgency. “If you do that, they’ll keep using women to get to us with children. That’s a shitty thing to go through, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone another brother. Once is enough with this shit.”
Ryder spoke again. “I’ve been mulling this over and running through different scenarios in my mind. I think we should drop the bitch. If she’s dead, there’s no one to contest the parental rights. That solves the kid part. We need to hit the Seven Devils hard and teach them our club is not their fucking ATM machine.”
Darkness held up one hand. “We’re not killing the mother of my child. I may hate the bitch, and she might be poison, but my little one is not going to forgive us just killing her.”
Ryder sighed. “I thought you were going to say that, so I developed a plan B.”
Ven stared at him in disbelief. “I sure the hell hope it’s better than plan A, son.”
“We hit the Seven Devils and take out their president, Ratchet. That’ll probably advance Devil to president again. That dude’s got to be chafing under daddy’s rule, after being in charge for the last ten years while his old man was in the pen. He’ll be grateful that we’re doing him a solid. We offer Abby fifty grand or something nominal to sign over custody of the child she clearly doesn’t want and another little bonus for signing divorce paperwork. She can kick Devil the fifty grand and look like she’s a stand-up gal, keeping the bonus money for a rainy day fund.”
Ven nodded. “I like that plan much better. Ratchet is a nasty piece of work, and he’s smart enough to cause everyone a world of hurt all the way around. Getting rid of him is a no-brainer.”
Shifting the child on his lap, Darkness wrapped a protective arm around her. “Tossing them some chump change will soften the blow of taking out their president. The loss of one of their own will dampen their enthusiasm for fucking with us in the future. If I divorce Abby, then we’re not related anymore. That means neither she nor Devil can collect against the policy.”
Ryder asked out loud, “Do any of you have any other suggestions?”
Ace spoke up immediately. “I don’t mean to be a dick, but I think getting her to actually cancel the life insurance policy on you should be part of the deal.”
“Good thinking, brother.” Ryder shot his friend a grateful smile. “Why leave anything to chance, right?”
Darkness cradled his drowsy child to his chest. “I’ve heard enough. Let’s vote this shit.”
Needless to say, the vote was unanimous. Ryder watched his brothers leaving the meeting, each making a fuss over their president’s little one on the way out. Stupid fuckers actually thought she was allowed to have lollipops. There was a little pile on the table after they’d filed out of the room.
Ryder’s father approached him. His face appeared to reflect two warring expressions: pride and concern. “You did a good job of figuring all that shit out and presented it in a way that left no doubt in anyone’s mind about the appropriate course of action, son.”
Ryder’s anxiety clicked up a notch. Nothing with his old man was ever cut and dry. “Thanks, old man. You don’t have to point out how critical the next phase of the job is, ‘cause I already know.”
