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“The guys and I have gone over this so many times to come up with the positions we all think you’ll excel at. Valor will not be steppin’ down from his officer role in the club,” Vault states, his voice loud and strong as he looks around the room. “Can all the guys stand up and come over with Kingston so you can get your flash.”

All the boys stand up and come up next to Kingston, Killer and I take a seat with our wives and we wait to hear what’s gonna happen with our sons.

“I’m gonna go down the list startin’ with the officers,” Vault states as Valor steps up and holds the flash in his hand ready to hand out to the boys. “Jinx, you will be the Vice President. The Secretary will be Raptor. Ghost will be the Sergeant at Arms. Devil will become the Enforcer. Geek will be the Road Captain. King, you will be our Tech guy. I want you to get with Valor because I have a feelin’ you’ll be instrumental in helpin’ him with the security company.”

We all clap and cheer for the boys as Valor hands out the flash indicating their new roles in the Phantom Bastards. It’s a new phase in their lives and I know they’ll all be amazing as they move forward with the new chapter. Kingston accepts the hugs and back slaps from the rest of the boys as they all take a minute for themselves before the rest of us step up to congratulate our sons, nephews, and the boys we helped raise from the second they were born. Today is a new day and I can’t wait to see where they go!

Chapter Three

Playboy

KINGSTON REALLY FUCKING surprised every single one of us when he turned down becoming a full patch member at first. Out of all the boys, he’s been the most open about joining the club and following in his dad’s footsteps. Kingston’s been working with Fox for a long time. Long before he became a Prospect of the club. Fox has been teaching his boy everything he can from the second he showed an interest in computers. It was a match made in Heaven and none of us were ever gonna get in the way of those two doing their thing and helping the club search for shit no one else can find. Kingston zones out for hours at a time when he’s working on something and no one can reach him. Not even Carson. Carson and Kingston are closer than brothers and always together.

When Kingston was in his accident, it killed Carson. He didn’t leave the hospital until Fox forced him to. My boy thought if he left his best friend alone that Kingston would have something more happen to him and he’d be the reason why it happened. None of us could talk him out of that crazy thought process. So, he slept at the hospital, ate all the hospital food, and waited for his friend to wake up so he could make sure Kingston was okay. It was touch and go for days and I’ve never seen my son as scared as he was when the doctors didn’t have any positive news for us. If anything, they were preparing all of us for the worst to happen. Kingston’s a fighter though so he eventually pulled through and is still dealing with the aftermath of the accident physically, mentally, and emotionally. I know Carson is there for him the best he can be, but Kingston holds a lot in. Hopefully that will change now that Fox, Killer, and my dad forced him to open up about what’s going on with him.

Walking in the house after a long day at work, I find Sam in the kitchen making dinner. Heading straight for my wife, I wrap my arms around her from behind as she melts into my body. Sam is the love of my life and I regret every fucking day that I almost ruined us. Thankfully, she’s smart and gave me a second chance. Now, I spend every day making sure she knows how much I love her and that I will do everything in my power to make up the time we had to spend apart. There wasn’t a day that I sat locked up that she wasn’t on my mind along with Caleb.

Caleb is my son as much as Carson and Dylan are. I don’t give a fuck what anyone says, that’s my boy and I’ll go above and beyond to protect him from everything I can. That’s kind of hard to do these days. Caleb made the decision to put off Prospecting for the club and went into the military. He’s off fighting for our freedom and protecting those who can’t stand up for themselves. Sam hates that he made the decision to enlist, but did nothing to stop him. Now, we live for the calls, short trips home, and letters from him. Sam is always sending him care packages and buying things for our son and the rest of the guys he’s serving with. She’s got Skylar baking a ton of food to send to them too. I miss Caleb, but he’ll hopefully be home for a visit soon.

“How was your day, baby?” I ask her, nuzzling my face into her neck as she continues to cook dinner.

“Bittersweet and long,” she answers with a pout on her face as I step back and turn her to face me.

Sam has unshed tears in her eyes and I know the boys have started packing their rooms up to move. She doesn’t have to say a word to me. My girl hates crying and will avoid it at all costs. There are only four things in this world that will ever make her cry—Caleb, Carson, Dylan, and me. No one else will ever have that power over her for any reason. Sam’s hair tickles my neck as I pull her into my arms and hold her close. Still to this day she keeps her dark hair short and barely long enough to pull back in some kind of messy bun to keep it out of her eyes. As long as I can grab ahold of it when I’m fucking her, I don’t give a shit how long she keeps it.

“They’re packin’ their rooms up today?” I question her as I look toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms of the twins.

Carson and Dylan might be identical twins, but they’re as different as two people can be. Carson is outgoing and always the center of attention. He loves riding his bike and still takes the dirt bikes out as often as he can to get that rush of speeding the boys love so much. Dylan prefers to be alone or with his best friend, Wade. The two of them are always off together and I know they share girls between the two of them. Yeah, I walked in on that shit and it’s something I didn’t need to know about them. Dylan is very quiet and reserved. He watches over the world around him and thinks through every move he makes. He’s not one to lash out in anger either. I can’t always say the same about Carson. That boy can be a fucking hot head and lets his temper overrule rational thought at times.

The boys have so many similarities to one another though. They’ve got eyes the color of a storm and it changes depending on their moods. With Sam’s bright blue eyes and my gray eyes, the twins somehow managed to get a mixture of the colors to create that storm cloud color. It’s so hard to describe. Both of them have the darkest blond hair and they keep it cut short. Sometimes they do something different with their hair to look different from the other one, but most of the time, they simply go with their normal cut. Our boys are as tall as I am these days and the only other major difference is the muscles each boy has. Dylan is just a bit bigger than Carson. He works out daily and never misses time in the gym. Even when he had to Prospect, he’d get up even earlier just to workout. My dad used to meet Dylan in the gym just to spend time with him while Carson would sleep in and then rush to the clubhouse.

“Yeah. Went out and got boxes this morning and they’ve been packing ever since. I’m not ready for them to leave, Griffin,” she says, tears soaking my tee-shirt under my cut as she buries her face in my chest. “Caleb is already gone and rarely comes home. Now the twins are leaving and I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Honestly, I’m not ready for them to leave home either, baby. But, they’re grown and it’s their decision to make. We can’t hold them back. The best thing we’ve ever done for the boys is show them constant support and make sure all our boys understand they can turn to us no matter what’s goin’ on in their lives. It’s what we’ve done for Caleb over the years and we can’t do anythin’ different with Carson and Dylan. I’m gonna go see them before I jump in the shower,” I tell Sam, placing a soft kiss against her lips as she keeps her arms wrapped tight around my body.

“I love you, Griffin. Always have and always will,” she says as I swat her on the ass and make my way toward the boys’ rooms.

Knocking on Dylan’s door first, I wait for him to respond before opening the door. His music turns down and I listen to him walk across the room before the door opens.

“Hey, Dad. Did you just get home from work?” he asks me, stepping back so I can enter his room.

“Yeah. Damn, you’ve got almost everythin’ packed already,” I state, looking around the room Dylan’s had for most of his life.

He’s got a few posters hanging on the walls of his favorite bands and one my dad got him of a naked girl draped over a motorcycle. I can’t help but smile at that one because Sam lost her shit when she saw it the first time and I thought we were gonna have to pull her off my dad. Thankfully it didn’t come to that, but my wife and Shy didn’t talk to Dad for over two weeks. He wasn’t a happy man at all. The boys love the poster they each got though. Along the wall over his desk are the trophies he’s earned from football and baseball. He’s got two huge poster frames with his jerseys on each end of the shelves. Dylan did play sports and is fucking phenomenal at both he chose to play in. I’ve spent countless hours with him practicing in our backyard and going to every game and other event he’s been in over the years.

“You’re leavin’ your sports stuff behind?” I ask him, as he walks over and takes the frames off the wall to stack with other frames leaning against his bed.

“Yeah. I don’t want to break the trophies in the move. Unless you want me to take them,” he says, sitting on the bed and facing me.

“Son, you can leave whatever the hell you want here. Just because you’re movin’ to Pine View doesn’t mean you’ll never come back home,” I state as I move his computer chair and take a seat across from him. “This will always be your home and I don’t give a fuck if you leave everythin’ here and buy all new shit. You’ve been savin’ your money most of your life and have a great nest egg built up. Do whatever you want. Are you okay with the move? I haven’t really been able to check in with you lately.”

Dylan’s hiding something from us. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something going on with him. I can always tell when the boys are going through something and this is no different. However, I’m not going to force him to talk to me about something he’s not ready to say. I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and it kills me to know he doesn’t feel as if he can talk to us about what’s going on. It’s his story to tell though and eventually, he’ll be ready and I’ll remain at his side.

“I’m good with the move. I think it’s time to see somewhere new and spend some time away from Benton Falls. I mean, this will always be home, but maybe I’ve outgrown this place. I think I need a change of scenery or somethin’,” he answers me, looking at the floor so I know he’s not giving me the whole truth of the situation.

“You know you can talk to me about anythin’, yeah?” I question Dylan as he remains on his bed with his chin resting in his hand.

“I know I can, Dad. There’s nothin’ I wanna talk about right now. Eventually, I will, but today isn’t the day,” he says, confirming my suspicions about something going on with him because of the way he’s been acting.

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