Page 5 of Rest In Pieces

Five years ago, when Blade told us his plan to tie us to the Kings of Carnage, most brothers were skeptical. Conan and Inigo were, and still are, members of Carnage and have been since before I was born. But to protect their old lady Sunshine—who’s now also Blade’s old lady—and to unite the clubs against a mutual enemy, Conan and Inigo became dual members. Their cuts even show Raven’s wings around Carnage’s burning deck of cards.

I had my doubts that it would work, but I trusted Blade. And, as usual, he was right.

“I was going to hold off on this next part for a while,” Blade says, and everyone quiets down. “But I’ve decided now feels like the perfect time?—”

“Anyone know what he’s talking about?” Probe asks in an overly loud whisper.

Blade glares at him. “If you’d let me finish.”

Probe pretends to zip his lips, making me shake my head. The guy’s got a death wish, I swear.

“I’m stepping down as your president.”

“What the fuck? You can’t just drop that on us,” I shout before the rest of the room can react, pissed that I’m hearing about this with everyone else. Despite our age difference, Blade and I have always been tight. Or at least I thought we were.

Things have been different since Sunshine and the others came along; that was to be expected. But this? Raven Souls is in his blood. How can he just walk away?

“I’m not leaving. Calm the fuck down.” He rubs his hand over his face, suddenly looking more tired than I’ve ever seen him. “We haven’t said anything yet because Sunshine wanted to wait until she was in her second trimester. But she’s pregnant. With twins.”

Everyone explodes with excitement as they jump out of their seats to congratulate Blade, Conan, and Inigo, but I’m still too shocked about Blade stepping down as president to join in the celebration.

“So that’s why Sunshine has been MIA lately,” Probe says with a laugh. “I thought it was because she was sick of us.”

“Don’t be stupid. It’s just harder for her to hide her bump. It might still be early, but with twins, she’s already showing.”

Blade walks over to me and stands silently, waiting for me to say something. Somehow, I manage to hug him before offering the same to Conan and Inigo.

Once the noise dies down, I take a seat and shake my head, feeling like I’ve been sucker-punched.

Crane leans over. “You okay?” he asks me.

“What? Oh, yeah. Just shocked, that’s all.”

“You’re telling me. I thought they’d all be firing blanks at their age.”

Midas, who’s on my other side, chimes in, "I'm more shocked they can still get it up."

Crane laughs. “You’ve seen Sunshine, right? She could make a eunuch get a hard-on.”

I catch movement out the corner of my eye and watch as Conan moves to stand behind Crane. Midas snorts as Crane looks from him to me before sighing.

“Conan’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

I nod as Crane smiles sheepishly and turns around.

“I meant it as a compliment.”

“Keep your comments about Sunshine to yourself, or you’ll learn firsthand if a eunuch can get a hard-on.”

“Yes, sir,” Crane says, clearly not wanting to cause a fight. You don’t want to mess with Conan. He’s about six-seven and weighs around two hundred and fifty pounds. Anyone wanting to start a fight with him is crazy. Which, to be fair, describes Crane perfectly.

“Alright, let’s call it a night. Give you all a chance to process everything. We’ll go over the rest at the next meeting.”

With the church over, I head out the door and make my way upstairs, needing a few minutes alone.

I make it to my room without running into anyone and close the door behind me. I sit down on the edge of the bed and go over everything from the past few days, trying to remember if Blade had given me any hints that I might’ve missed. But I can’t think of anything. How fucking hard is it to give me a heads-up?

A knock on the door makes me growl because I know exactly who it is. So much for calming down. I walk over to the door and yank it open, finding Blade standing there with a blank look on his face.

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