Page 6 of Grim

“I’m here.”

“Yeah, I appreciate it more than you know.” He inhaled a deep breath, then added, “You didn’t have to bring him to me, but it meant a lot to me that you did.”

“Wish I could’ve done more...”

“I know. I get it.” He gave me a half-hearted shrug. “They’ll get theirs in the end. Assholes like that always do.”

“Yeah, they definitely do.” I finally had him talking and didn’t want him to stop, so I said, “I bet you’re ready to get home and sleep in your own bed.”

He grimaced as he answered, “About that... I’m gonna be staying over at Amy’s place.”

“No. That’s not gonna happen.”

“I’ve put a lot of thought into it... It’s sittin’ empty and most of my shit’s still there. Just makes sense to hang there until things settle down.”

“It’s almost Christmas. You gotta know that being there is gonna fuck with your head.”

“Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t.”

“And what about Prez?”

“What about him?”

“He wants you home with him for the holiday.”

“And I will be. I just won’t be right up under his fucking nose.” Beckett shook his head and sighed. “I know he won’t like it, but he should be happy that I agreed to come back at all. Things were good in Washington. Those guys treated me like I actually mattered.”

“Don’t even start with that shit. You know damn well that you matter here,” I snapped. “Hell, everyone bends over backward for you.”

“Yeah, right.” His brows furrowed. “I’m nothing there. Just the Prez’s kid, spoiled and entitled, and that’s all I’ll ever be.”

“That attitude isn’t gonna do you any favors.”

“It is what it is.” He shrugged with a scoff. “But it’s all good. I’m over all the bullshit.”

“You sure about that?”

“Might as well be. It’s not like me bellyaching is gonna change anything.”

“No, it won’t.”

“See?” I felt a sense of relief when he said, “I’m just ready to put all this shit behind me.”

“Not sure how staying at Amy’s place is gonna help you do that.”

“I’ve just gotta figure some things out.”

“Like what?”

“If I wanna keep my ties to the club or if I wanna do something else. I can’t do that living under Dad’s shadow.”

“You’re seriously thinking about walking away from the club?”

“Yeah, I am. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Beckett had been a fixture in our clubhouse since the day he was born. We’d all just assumed that he would follow in his father and brother’s footsteps and patch in. “What would you do?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.”

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