Chapter Twenty-four
BLACKIE
I expected him to look frail and out of sorts like Lacey described him a couple of weeks ago, but Jack doesn’t look the slightest bit weak. In fact, the bastard looks better than anyone sitting at the table. Better than me that’s for sure.
Passing everyone, he takes his seat beside me and glances at the patch resting on the table. His eyes slice to me and suddenly, I can’t bring myself to look at him. At the risk of sounding like a total pussy, the relationship between us goes deeper than brotherhood. We may have started off as two friends destined to be criminals and through the years, we may have been driven by an insatiable hunger for power, but that changed once I fell for Lacey. Now, Jack’s my father-in-law before anything else. Him, Reina, Lacey and even Danny—they’re the only family I got. How am I supposed to look him in the eye after all the damage I’ve caused?
“Why is your patch on the table?” he questions.
Lifting my eyes, I notice his patch is missing too.
“Why is yours not on your kutte?” I volley with a well-rehearsed bite to my tone.
Appreciating the familiarity of our easy banter he tips his chin before glancing around the table. With every beat of silence that passes, the tension thickens in the room. As curious as we all are, none of us are willing to break the peace, fearing whatever he says will change our lives.
Leaning forward, I press my elbows to the table and stare at him expectantly.
“I’m stepping down as president,” he declares all too calmly. “I’m taking a deal and confessing to murdering the paramedic in exchange for full immunity for the club.”
Figuring there’s gotta be more to his confession, I wait for him to look at me, for his dark eyes to give me a clue as to what’s really going on here. Jack doesn’t give up. He doesn’t surrender to anyone. Not his fucking mind and sure as hell, not the law. There’s gotta be a plan…there’s always a plan.
“You can’t do that,” Wolf shouts. “I won’t fucking let you do that, Parrish.”
“It’s not your call to make,” Jack replies, leaning back in his chair.
He’s so fucking calm it’s scary.
“We can fight the gun charges,” Pipe asserts.
“You can’t fight murder,” he argues, finally looking at me.
Our eyes lock and I realize there is no greater plan. Jack isn’t going to pull me aside and fill me in on some elaborate scheme only privy to us. He’s riding solo on this one.
“And you’re not going away. Your place is here. Not with the club but with my daughter.”
He’s also not giving up.
No, the bastard is sacrificing himself to protect me.
Defeat, guilt, and shame force me to bow my head. My hair falls in front of my face, shielding my eyes and for that, I’m grateful because suddenly, I can’t control my emotions. Tears fill my eyes and my shoulders shake as I try my damnedest to hold them from spilling.
“Look at me,” Jack demands in a low tone and I force my eyes to his. I wonder if he sees my failures. If he recognizes my pain. Does he look at me and see regret? Does he hate me for what I’ve done or is he too mad at himself for giving me permission to love his daughter?
“Take care of her,” he says hoarsely, answering my questions. “Take care of the baby.”
The answers to my questions are reflected in his eyes. They’re in his words. If given the chance, Jack would do everything the same. He’d give me Lacey’s hand and trust me to take care of her. To love and cherish her. I don’t know if that makes him a fool or the greatest man I’ll ever know.
“Jack—”
“I hope it’s a girl,” he continues. “I hope you get to know that bond a father has with his daughter. Cherish it, man, fucking cherish it, because one day some guy with long hair is going to come around and he’s gonna steal her heart.”
I’d love that.
Not the part where some undeserving prick steals my daughter’s heart, but the part where I feel what Jack feels for his daughter. That unconditional love you’ll do anything to preserve—I’d really love to experience that, but how fair would that be? How could I let Jack lose that feeling? Lacey may love me, but she’ll never forgive me if she loses her father. I don’t want her to resent me and even if she didn’t, I don’t know if I could live with that guilt.
“I can’t let you take the rap for this. Lacey will never forgive me. She needs you, Jack.”
“She needs you more,” he replies, placing a hand on my shoulder. A beat of silence passes between us and I watch as his eyes fill with tears. Clearing his throat, he forces a smile.
