Page 72 of Joker's Ghost
After a few minutes, Daisy shifts to face me. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you about.”
Never a good lead-in sentence.
“After the Halloween party, I was putting away some things away, and I found a black stone wrapped in what looked like an umbilical cord in your nightstand”
“That was sent as a warning by the Nomads.”
“The strange thing was, when I picked it up, it was burning hot, I dropped it, and it shattered into pieces.”
Explained why it was broken, but not why it was so hot.
“All that weird shit is behind us now.” Although it still bugged me, I never found the silver feather. I searched The Gold Mine, but nothing. Maybe I really did lose it in another time.
EPILOGUE
One YearLater
“Can’t believe we’re dragging out these boxes again,” Python gripes as he hoists a box of Halloween decorations on his shoulder.
“I can’t believe Dakota’s gonna be a year old in a few days.” I lift up the other box and groan. “They feel heavier than they did last year.”
“That’s ‘cause you’re a fuckin’ old man.” Python laughs around his words.
“Blow me.” I flip him off and head to the back end of the basement.
We drop the boxes on a table in our newly decorated speakeasy. “One year and we finally got the place up and running.”
“Just in time for our opening night. The women were worse than Cobra when it came to meeting the deadlines of this place.”
My mind skitters back to last year and all the bullshit with the Nomads, then the hurdles I had to climb to overcome the guilt in my head. With the help of my brothers, Daisy, and Dr. Stevens, I finally realized I can’t control the good shit in mylife, and I certainly can’t control the bad either. Doesn’t mean I don’t try, but the overwhelming anxiety has lessened to tolerable.
“At least this year we don’t have to dress up.” I told Daisy right off there was no way I was dressing up and channeling any spirits from the past. Not that I believe in that shit, but you never know.
“Agreed.” Python throws back his massive shoulders. “Although, I do think I made a great Jesse James.”
“Of course Rattler couldn’t resist when his Serafina suggested he dress like Lucky Luciano.”
“Swear to fuck, he should’ve been an actor.” Python laughs.
“He’s got the attitude for it; that’s for damn sure.”
Python slaps me on the back. “And tonight your son becomes a Serpent.”
“Fuckin’ hard to believe.”
“Hey, the kid earned it. Saving Daisy from that Nomad and all the shit we put him through the past year as a prospect.” Python laughs. “I can still see him out in the lot picking up garbage.” He cocks his head. “I guess now that he’s getting his patch, I’ll have to go back to walking Kobi again.” He strokes Kobi’s head, his prized black German shepherd and constant companion.
“Yeah,” Rattler lugs in two cases of vodka and stores them behind the bar, “the kid is solid, and he’s already contributed to the club’s finances by working in your shop.”
“I’m just glad none of you went easy on him ‘cause he’s my kid. I wanted him to get the full experience of being a prospect with all the shit jobs.”
“Ohhh, there were plenty of those.” Python snickers. “I had him cleaning up piss and puke at Ecstasy on a regular basis.”
“Along with cleaning out the beer taps, the keg lines, and scraping the muck under the bar upstairs,” Rattler adds. “Ohhh yeah, don’t worry, we didn’t make it too easy on him.”
“This way we know it’s something he really wants.”
“Hey, you can’t fight it.” Rattler comes around the bar. “It’s in his blood.”
