Page 42 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
He’d seen through me too easily.I had to throw him off track.“Dick.Dick Brown.”
John snorted.“That’s awful.But okay.Richard Brown it is.”
Zoe Brown.Not ideal, but easy enough to throw someone off track, right?
Zoe Regina Brown was born at four-fifteen in the afternoon on April 24th.Her father,Dickthat he was, was out of the picture.And I, one Katherine Jackson, with no insurance, was glad of it.Everything about her paperwork was a lie.One corroborated by an upstanding member of the local police force, so no one questioned any of it.
Crystal sat with me, holding Zoe as she slept.“You tell him yet?”
Him.“I will.”
“You have to, as soon as possible.He’s going to flip out if you keep it secret.He’s got too much of his father in him not to.”She cooed at Zoe and traced her eyebrows.One sweetly curved with a little perfect arch, the other crooked and angular, just like too many men in her family line.It gave her a puzzled look.Like one that asked, “What the fuck have you gotten me into, Mom?”
A mess, that’s what I’d gotten her into.One I intended on cleaning up, hiding, or burying as soon as I could.
Chapter 13
Skilletsville, April 24, 2009—Jackson
Pinner held his baby girl, Lily, with great care.His gaze locked on the practically perfect little human with blonde hair like his own, and the good fortune to take after her mother in most other features.A year and a half old, and spoiled as hell.I felt bad for him, and the whole situation.
No sooner than the whore, Jewel, announced she was pregnant, Pinner’s wife left the state, hell, the continent, moving back to Hawaii to be with her parents.And she took Pinner’s oldest daughter with her.Now the old man was doting every ounce of his love on this baby because if he didn’t, he’d kill something.
But a biker club was no place for a child.Especially since we had church tonight.Every Friday night like clockwork.The junkyard office would shut down promptly at six, the floors swept, then the beer flowed, and the gavel pounded.And with this gavel pound, I knew today was going to be the best day of my life yet.Rumor had it Toro was pissed at Kush for something or another and needed a new vice president.I intended to be that man.I’d worked hard to gain the trust of the officers, the members, and any motherfucker who held influence in the region.Even Nonno said I was a shoo-in.
There was one man who didn’t hold that opinion, though.And since this was an election meeting, the nearby clubs were present and vocal.
Shock walked past me as I manned the counter and stopped in his tracks.He pointed his meaty finger at me and said too loudly, “That’s the only position you’re qualified for.”Then he laughed and shut himself in conference with Toro.
“Toro won’t listen to him, he’ll listen to us.”Pinner said as he rocked Lily who was mostly asleep.
I wasn’t so sure.I was so close to having it all.“He’s an asshole.”I spoke quietly enough, so only Lily and Pinner overheard.Days like this, I knew better than to say a bad word about any ranking member, but I hated Shock with a fire that wouldn’t die.And he returned that hate with a grudge of his own.
“He’s always going to think you stole his wife.”
I shifted, not willing to rehash old news.“He’s an idiot on top of being an asshole.”
Pinner laughed quietly.“You talk to Sprout?”
“About what?”
“About keeping his big trap shut.”
I glared at Pinner.“I didn’t hand him that phone, you did.”Lie often enough and long enough even innocent people believe it.
Pinner smiled.“Damn straight.”He jiggle-walked a pace or three away.“You hear from her?”
“Who?”
He turned and shot me a look that said, “Do I look stupid to you?”
So, I fired my answer right back.“You look dumb as hell, holding a kid.”
“There ain’t nothing like it.Looking down on that pretty little face and seeing parts of you there.One day, Jackson, you’ll get that.Hopefully, it won’t be taken away from you like my oldest.You need something like a baby girl to keep your ass honest.”
“Get the fuck out of here with that shit.”He was talking out of his ass.
He shrugged.“The way you whore around, I’m surprised you don’t have five kids toddling around here.”He began to count and point and namenames.“There’s Jackson’s son one, and Jay two.Over there, Jay three, and four, twins, you know?”He laughed.
