Page 101 of Demon's Angel

Theo wakes us nice and early. Vi tries to soothe him but the tooth that’s trying to come through has literally got him all hot and bothered and even walking him around the living room doesn’t seem to quiet him. Titsy and Bella emerge from one of the spare rooms rubbing bleary eyes. They might have thought me changing him and feeding him cute yesterday, but his antics this morning seems to have opened their eyes.

“Nope,” Bella says, shaking her head firmly, pointing a finger Theo’s way. “You can keep that. Not for me.”

“Me neither.” Titsy looks disgusted. “Hey, Prez. Any chance we can go back to the compound?”

Mo, also having been woken, tries to push past to get into the kitchen. She looks at the girls with critical eyes. “You causing trouble?”

Titsy holds up her hands. “Nah, Mo. Just want to get home.”

Home. That’s what the compound is to most of us. A bunch of misfits with nowhere else to go. As I watch my wife with a struggling Theo in her arms, I wonder whether it’s appropriate to expect her to stay there. Now there’s no danger, there’s no reason we can’t look for a house.

Is this really me? A man with a wife, and ready-made family, and who’s now looking at home ownership?I place both my palms on the counter and lean forward, briefly closing my eyes. In the past few months it seems like I’ve become a stranger. A man who’s found his father is his brother, his real father a rapist, then moved from VP to president. Who has responsibilities I didn’t think I’d ever take on.

Mo catches my eye, and mouths something I translate as,You okay?

Suddenly I realise I am. So many things sent to try me, yet I’ve emerged unscathed the other side. I know my own background is what makes it so easy for me to accept Theo as my son. Maybe everything does happen for a reason. I wouldn’t want to be anyone or anywhere else. I grin widely and nod at Mo, returning aSure am.

I go over to my wife who’s holding a now more settled Theo after a dose of some child painkiller. First, I kiss the top of his head, then I draw her into me and devour her mouth. When I pull away she’s breathless and slightly dazed.

“Got to get to the compound.”

“Yeah, you go do your stuff.”

“Want company?” Hell emerges from his and Mo’s room, already ready to roll.

“Sure.” As we exit through the front door, I’m already in business mode. “We’ll get everyone together for church. Send the prospects here to watch over the old ladies and club girls. Just until we’re sure what’s happening.” I want to know Angel has taken his last breath and be assured we’re facing no blowback from the surviving Silvestri before ceasing my vigilance.

Even early the compound is a hive of activity. Hammers are banging, drills are whirring, men whistling as they go about their work. The pile of stuff that’s been dragged out seems to have been sorted. Scrap metal in one heap, the wood has disappeared. I stand looking at it for a moment.

“Hey, we moved the grills out of the furnace. Thought we could burn all the flammable shit in there.”

I slap Pyro’s back, noticing he’s grinning broadly. Yeah, he’d like that. “Good idea.” As he goes to move away, I pull him back. “Church in five,” I tell him. “Spread the word.” I’ll never be able to make myself heard over the building work.

The kitchen at the back has luckily been untouched. Sparky, true to his word, has done his magic with the electrical and thank fuck the coffee machine is working. I take a cup and nod to Drummer.

The sounds start to fade as I go back into the clubroom. One by one the tools are turned off and or put down. Soon I have a group of nearly thirty men standing around me.

“Okay,” I hop up onto the bar and get ready to start this impromptu church. “First time we’ve got together since, fuck, was it just the day before yesterday that all the shit went down?” It seems crazy, seems much longer. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you all. Brothers from Tucson, Vegas and Utah included in that. I know you hadn’t planned on staying…”

“Wouldn’t have missed it.”

“Wanted some excitement.”

But the Utah group are quieter, and I have to remember they are returning home with one less than the number that came. “Let’s take a minute to think on our brother Thumper.” Men around me bow their heads and clasp their hands.

Then after a moment, Drummer starts, “Ride, Satan’s Devils.”

And is answered by, “Satan’s Devils ride together.”

“Thumper will be remembered. Never forgotten. He’ll ride on, just not by our side.” I turn to Snatcher. “You’ll let me know if he has family…?”

Snatcher shakes his head. “He was a loner.”

That’s something I suppose. But he’ll be missed by his brothers. It’s a sombre moment, but time to move on. “Status report.”

A man standing next to Drummer holds up his hand. I nod to Viper. “Checked out the building. Basically, it’s sound. There’s just one part of the wall I wasn’t happy with, but we’ve put in an extra support beam so it should be fine. You have a few men handy at brickwork, they’re moving along good now. Most of the rest is just window frames, new glass and then the cosmetic shit. Your old lady might want to get involved there, Demon.”

She might indeed. I recall seeing the changes in Tucson, how the furniture was no longer mismatched and broken once they left it to the women to decorate.

---