OUTLAW KING(13)

I needed to talk to Knox and get a sit down with Uncle Jakey.

Before that…

“Holy f*ck!” Noah screamed as his big arms flew around me.

I hugged him back. We smacked each other’s backs like we wanted to hurt each other.

The door to the office blasted open again and out came the rest of the guys.

Matteo, Elijah, Ari, Liam, Slam, and Knox.

We were in a big huddle that stunk of grease, sweat, and smoke. We were f*cking filthy outlaws. We had always been filthy. The good boys of the town got sweaty playing football and then would part their hair on the side to go to church and praise whatever they believed in for their ability to throw a football. Me and my boys were the wild ones that walked along the football game, picking out the player’s girlfriends to have a little fun with. The star QB may have had the cheerleader on top of the pyramid Saturday through Thursday, but on Friday night, the only thing she was on top of was me.

And, f*ck, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Slam grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in for a big, sloppy kiss to the cheek. I swore the old softy was f*cking crying.

When I finally faced Knox, it was so intense. He slapped my face and shook his head. “All because of guards f*cking around and new evidence. That’s what did it.”

“That’s what I’m told,” I said. “But I have to talk to you, brother. You and me. Okay?”

“We have plans first,” Matteo said.

He swatted at my back and it was like getting whacked with a bag of bricks.

These were the biggest and strongest guys I’d ever known.

“Plans?” I asked.

“Reaper’s Bastards,” Knox said. “Come on. Let’s have a meeting.”

Knox slid his arm around me and led the way to the office.

We went through the office and hooked a left where Knox opened another door.

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

It was a true chapel. A place for the MC to meet and discuss business. A table with chairs. A chair for all the members.

My eyes quickly saw a chair with a leather cut on it. The only chair with a leather cut on it.

“I can’t believe this,” Ari said. “Our lost brother is back.”

“We need drinks,” Liam said. “We need to get on our rides and hit a titty bar right now. I’ll call Sabrina. We’ll go over there and shut the place down.”

I smiled. I looked around the room. I looked at all my brothers. My boys. I thought about what Anderson wanted to achieve. I wasn’t sure what he could possibly get the MC for, if anything. More so, he wanted Uncle Jakey. The problem with that was that Uncle Jakey was old blood, going way back to the days of Knox’s old man running the MC. And Uncle Jakey had ties to outside organizations. So that meant things were still very touchy.

“Before we get out of hand,” I said. “Let’s take a breath. I’m still in a world of shit here. I don’t know how this is going to play out.”

“That’s why we go for the throat while you’re here,” Elijah said. He shoved at my back and let out a cackling laugh.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Knox said. “Before any of that… everyone shut up and line up. Right now.”

The guys all got in a long line. Side by side. All of them wearing the Reap cut. Looking rough and tough, ready for a fight and f*ck. Funny how I hadn’t seen these faces in hundreds of days and yet within seconds of seeing them it was like we hadn’t missed a beat. Like I had gone to take a long shit or something.

Knox walked around the table and pulled out the lone chair with a leather cut on it. He lifted the leather cut up, showing it to me.

It was my leather cut.

Fuck, right before everything went to hell and back, the MC had been falling apart. There were outside wars, wars inside, and the authorities were taking us all down one by one for dumb shit. By the time I stripped myself of the leather cut there wasn’t much left of the Reap. That sort of made the death row stuff a little easier to digest.

But not anymore.

The Reap was back and in full swing.

“This is yours,” Knox said. “From the second I put my cut back on, I put yours on this chair.”

“Hell yeah,” Slam said. “Lost brother… not fallen.”

I nodded to Slam. “Thank you.”

“So now we make our final stand,” Knox said. “If you should get the leather cut back or not.”

Or not?

“I say yes,” Knox said.

He walked the cut to Noah. He gripped it tight, nodding. “Of course.”

He passed the cut to Matteo. Then it went to Elijah. Then Ari. Down to Liam. And finally, Slam.

“Fucking hell yes,” Slam said without hesitation.

He took a step forward and the door to the chapel opened.

In came Uncle Jakey.

Old, rough, wearing dirty flannel, his weary eyes looking straight to mine. Without saying a word, he grabbed the leather cut right from Slam’s firm grip and he lowered his hand down. He wobbled toward me, the leather cut almost dragging on the floor.

“Well, well, well,” Uncle Jakey’s beat up voice said. “Look who’s back from the dead.”

“I never died, Uncle Jakey,” I said. “Just put away for a little while.”