Chapter Twelve Rev #3
I thumped his back, appreciating his show of emotion. “Thanks. It’s good to be back.”
Once Deacon released me, Alexandra quickly replaced him. When she pulled away, she tenderly kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
I could see the concern for me in her eyes, and I hated that I had been the cause of it. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“It’s okay. Just don’t do it again,” she replied with a smile.
“I’ll do my best.”
She smacked my arm playfully. “You better.”
“So what’s this I hear about a boy?” I glanced between her and Deacon. “You two have some news for us?”
Alexandra shook her head. “Not yet. But we did get to see the baby at today’s appointment.” She thrust a grainy black and white image in front of my face. Once her hand steadied, I surveyed the picture of my future niece or nephew. My heart swelled with pride at the sight of the new life.
“Looks strong and healthy.”
Beaming with happiness, Alexandra replied, “The doctor said everything looks great. The baby is even measuring a few days ahead of its due date.”
I smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Tell him about the heartbeat,” Deacon urged.
With a slight roll of her eyes, Alexandra huffed, “Just because the ultrasound technician commented it might be a boy because of the heart rate, Deacon has it in his head it’s one hundred percent a boy.”
Deacon grinned as he placed a hand on Alexandra’s stomach. “I’m telling ya that’s my son in there.”
Jutting her chin out, Alexandra countered, “It could just as easily be a girl.”
Deacon grunted. “We already have a girl. We need a boy—a son to carry on the Malloy name.”
“You’re impossible,” she muttered.
“But you love me anyway,” he countered. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him.
She grinned up at him. “Yes, I do.”
It was at that moment Willow came into the kitchen leading Annabel by the hand.
From Annabel’s lighthearted expression, I could tell she enjoyed being around Willow.
That wasn’t surprising to me. Despite all the horrible shit she had been through in life, Willow possessed a carefree nature that was infectious.
At the sight of Annabel, both Deacon and Alexandra’s brows rose in surprise. Then they both looked from Annabel over to me.
Swinging Annabel’s arm back and forth, Willow said, “This is my mommy and daddy. This is Belle.”
“Actually, that’s Annabel,” I corrected her.
Both Deacon and Alexandra continued to stare at Annabel and me. Finally, Alexandra shook her head slightly like she was shaking herself awake or out of a stupor. “Hello,” she said, as she took a step forward.
She offered her hand to Annabel. After Annabel shook it, Deacon came over. “I’m Rev’s brother, Deacon.”
Annabel smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Deacon’s brows shot up. “I hope it was all good.”
“Yes. It was. Your daughter is delightful. She’s been so sweet to show me around.”
Like the proud father he was, Deacon beamed at Annabel’s praise of Willow. “I see she was showing you her good side.”
“Daddy!” Willow protested with a pout.
He reached over and affectionately ruffled her hair. “Just teasing you.”
“Why don’t we all sit down?” Mama Beth suggested.
“Bishop not coming?” I asked, as I steered Annabel over to the table.
“Nah, he’s getting shitfaced up at the roadhouse,” Deacon replied.
“David, honestly,” Mama Beth chided.
Unlike with the rest of us, he didn’t dare argue with Mama Beth.
Instead, he took a seat next to Alexandra.
After we had all gathered around the table, Mama Beth returned thanks.
During dinner, the conversation remained light.
Deacon and Alexandra told us about their honeymoon in Hawaii, or at least they shared the G-rated details with us.
Willow filled us in on all we had missed while we were gone.
Luckily, no one pressed Annabel with any questions that were too personal.
When we finished dinner, Deacon and I went outside for him to have a smoke. I could tell there was something he wanted to say to me in private. I figured it had to do with potential blowback from what happened with Mendoza. Of course, I should have known Deacon would never cease to surprise me.
“What do you say we go up to the roadhouse and see the boys?” Deacon asked.
“I would, but I really need to get Annabel settled in.”
“My phone was blowing up during dinner with texts. They’re itching to see you, Prez. You've been gone almost ten days,” Deacon argued.
I snorted. “You act like the brothers have been pining away for me like some lovesick teenagers.”
He laughed. “They have been deprived of the Malloy brothers all at the same time for the first time ever.”
“What a tragedy.”
“Come on, man.” He glanced over his shoulder back into the house where we had left the girls. “Not that I would want her to know, but I’ve missed being with the guys while I was off honeymooning.”
“Your reputation as the ultimate lover is waning in my opinion if you were missing the guys while with a beautiful and sexy woman on your honeymoon.”
“Cocksucker,” he muttered, as he smacked my arm. “Spending all that time just with Alexandra has made me miss having beers and shooting the shit with the guys.”
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea for me to leave Annabel tonight. She’s in a new place with a bunch of strangers.”
“I think I’ll survive a few hours for you to go just up the hill,” Annabel said.
I whirled around to see her propped against the doorframe. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“And according to your mother, you boys weren’t supposed to duck out on drying the dishes,” she replied with a smile.
Deacon grunted. “I’m a grown fucking man who is still being bossed around by his mother.”
“And now your wife,” Alexandra said from the doorway as she crooked her finger at him.
“Fuck me,” he muttered before he went into the house.
Annabel came out on the deck to join me.
“Would you really be all right staying here for an hour or two?”
“Of course I would.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you? I know how women will say one thing when they totally mean another.”
Annabel laughed. “Rev, I’m a politician’s daughter. I’ve been raised to work a crowd of strangers. Regardless of what I’ve recently been through, I think I can handle a few hours with the girls.”
“Don’t speak too soon. Willow can wear anyone out in a matter of minutes.”
At the mention of Willow, Annabel’s eyes lit up. “She’s adorable, and I love how she has all the men around here wrapped around her little finger.”
“Yes, I can see where you would find it amusing that three hardened bikers are totally owned by a six-year-old little girl.”
“Exactly.”
Deacon appeared in the doorway. “I did your part too, brother. So are we on?”
Annabel threw a look at Deacon over her shoulder. “Yes, he’s on.” Before I could argue with her, she added, “Make sure he has a good time. He deserves to unwind and cut loose.”
Deacon grinned at Annabel. “It will be my pleasure.” He came over and grabbed my arm. “Come on.”
Although I was still a little reluctant, I allowed Rev to drag me off the porch. As I got to the bottom of the steps, I glanced back at Annabel. She smiled and waved.
Our boots crunched along the gravel road. Deacon lit up a cigarette, and when he offered one to me, I decided to take one. I needed to settle my nerves a bit for what I was about to do.
We passed by Case’s place, which had been rebuilt in the six months since his death. Kim and her kids still resided there, even though there wasn’t a patch member in the house. Part of the Raiders creed was to care for our old ladies, and until she remarried, Kim was still an old lady.
I realized then an overwhelming sense of irony that the house had burned down.
Before it had been Case’s, it had been Miss Mae’s.
The physical dwelling where I had lost my innocence in such a brutal way no longer existed.
By telling first Annabel and then Bishop, I had begun to demolish my own house of secrets.
When we reached the backdoor of the roadhouse, I stepped in front of Deacon. “You got a minute before we go inside?”
He took a long drag on his cigarette. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”
I flicked the ashes off mine before I spoke. “There’s something I need to tell you—something I should have told you sixteen years ago.”
Deacon’s expression darkened in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s the reason why Breakneck called me out of all the guys when Sarah was in trouble.”
“I’m listening.”
My chest tightened as I braced myself to once again unburden myself. Maybe the third time was the charm because this time seemed to go a little easier. When I finished, I didn’t have the quickening, anxious breaths or the erratic heartbeat as I had before.
I took another drag on my cigarette and waited for Deacon to respond. What he did next shocked the hell out of me. With all the strength he had, he shoved me against the back door. “What the fuck?” I demanded.
His dark eyes narrowed on me. “Why? Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. Not even Mama Beth knows. Once I told Annabel, I realized my brothers and my mother had a right to know.”
“Jesus, Rev,” Deacon muttered through gritted teeth.
“This wasn’t exactly the reaction I expected you to have.”
He released my shirt and took a step back. After jerking a hand through his hair, he shook his head. “I’m not mad at you, brother. I’m mad at myself.”
“But why?”
“I’m just so fucking angry I couldn’t protect you from being hurt.”
Tears burned my eyes at his words of remorse. “You were just a kid yourself.”
“I was a fighter before Preacher Man got me. I could have taken that fucking pervert out.”
I shook my head. “No one could have done anything to stop it from happening. Thankfully, Preacher Man ended it.”
Deacon threw down his cigarette and stubbed out the glowing embers. “More than anything, I hate you thought you couldn’t tell me. That I would think differently of you or something.”
“I’m sorry. Preacher Man thought it best not to tell anyone.”
With a snort, Deacon replied, “I think the old man’s greatest fault was his fucking secrets. It was one thing for him to keep them, but he shouldn’t have imposed them on his kids.”
My brows furrowed with confusion. Was Deacon hiding a secret of his own?
He reached in his cut and lit up another cigarette.
I fought the urge to tell him he needed to cut the shit out now he had a kid and one on the way.
“When I was fifteen, Preacher Man found where my real father was. He offered to let me be the one to put a bullet in him.” Deacon stared at me straight on. “So I did.”
“Jesus,” I muttered. I had no idea anything like that had ever happened. I just knew Deacon’s biological father disappeared after he killed Deacon’s mother.
“Guess you could say I started early with my body count.”
“You had every right to take that motherfucker to ground, Deacon. Just like Preacher Man had every right to kill Kurt.”
Deacon exhaled a puff of smoke and then grinned. “Don’t think I’ve spent one single night wishing I hadn’t killed my old man.”
“I didn’t think you had. It’s just a lot for a fifteen-year-old kid to have to deal with.”
“You can say that again.” Then in a move so uncharacteristically Deacon, he pulled me to him for a hug. “I love you, brother. Always have and always will.”
It took me a moment to process his words.
Deacon and Bishop hadn’t told me they loved me over the years, but then again, they hadn’t needed to.
I just knew. But knowing now that both my brothers would have defended me, killed Kurt for me, branded me with a different strength.
Solidarity within family as well as within the Raiders.
I did, however, fear how Mama would react. This would break her heart.
I smacked his back and squeezed him tight. “I love you, too.”
As he pulled away, I thought for a brief second I saw a tear in his eye, but I quickly dispelled that thought. Nothing made Deacon cry. He jerked his head at the door. “Enough of the emotional bullshit. Let’s go in there and get shitfaced.”
I laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”
With a wink, he said, “First round’s on me.”