by Rachel Cade
He heard a mechanism and looked up to see a panel in the ceiling move.
“The last thing I wanted to do for you,” Callas began, “was live up to my name.”
A wide black blur dropped from the ceiling. It scattered across the floor like a black hole. Once it started moving, he thought it was a hallucination.
But he wasn’t.
They were scorpions.
Will pushed back hard on the floor. But he had nowhere to go! The feed clicked off when he started screaming.
*
Max shook the rattle hard, spitting out his pacifier, and Noa caught it.
“So what happens now?” Lyndie asked.
Noa looked up from Max. “We could get a house,” he suggested.
She smiled. “That would be a good idea. But I meant with you guys.”
“Aztecs seemed pretty glad they weren’t really going to jail. And they’re gonna handle the stray Los Bandidos for not staying in their lane. So maybe there can be some peace now,” Noa answered.
“Langley still wants me to have the theater, even after what happened with Ashley. I wonder how she’s going to style an orange jumpsuit?” She had to grin a little bit.
“I didn’t know we were giving Max stuff now. Who gave him the rattle?” Chaos pulled up a plastic chair with his plate.
“It was me.” Whisper raised his hand like he was in class.
Lyndie rubbed Max’s belly. He was very excited to have that rattle.
“I think you guys should stay.” Lyndie just spoke her mind and let the words hang in the air.
“Stay,” Whisper repeated.
“Yes,” Lyndie answered. “I mean… can’t Amber Falls be a chapter for the Death Skulls?”
Chaos took a heavy bite of his food as he listened to her.
Bleed walked up sipping a beer. “We’re Nomads, Mrs. C. Sticking around isn’t something we really do.”
“You guys are keeping the business open here, right?”
Noa plucked Max off her lap. “You haven’t eaten yet. Go ahead.”
“I know it’s club business,” she said on a quick sigh.
“I think you earned a spot to have a say.” Noa’s words surprised her a little as she started to eat.
“Me too,” Chaos added.
“I thought you were just doing a temporary El Presidente?” Whisper asked, glancing over at Noa.
“Wait.” Chaos swallowed. “If Death Skulls did a chapter out here, you would be president?”
Max laughed, kicking his feet up in the air.
“I think he’s peeing.” Lyndie smiled a bit. “He gets happy about it for some reason.”
*
Noa grinned hard and kissed the top of Max’s head.
When he looked up, everyone was looking at him, including Lyndie.
“You guys gonna just put me on the spot?”
“Would that… make a difference to you all if Noa was in charge?” Lyndie looked at the guys as she asked.
Whisper made a little noise.
“Shut up,” Noa said quickly.
Chaos swallowed a long swig of beer. “It definitely makes a difference. A good crew needs a good leader.”
Noa thought on it as the night air kicked up. These guys - having a crew again.
The thought put a strange feeling in his gut.
“If, for some reason, Death Skulls had an Amber Falls chapter, I think I could lead it.”
“Look who broke in.”
Noa looked over to see Tin walking up to them.
“Heard I missed a lot.”
Shit.
Noa offered the baby to Whisper as he stood before straightening to face Tin.
“A lot happened, yeah,” he managed.
Tin stepped forward with a smile and hugged him, patting him hard on the back.
“We’re doing an Amber Falls chapter,” Chaos said. When Tin looked at him, he added, “as long as it gets okayed by the big guns.”
“Really? And who would be president?”
They all, including Lyndie, pointed at Noa.
Max shifted his rattle loud.
“Well, shit,” Tin said and began laughing.
Noa reached for his wife, getting her to stand up. “Well, every chapter has to have a First Lady.”
*
Lyndie wasn’t expecting him to pull her into it.
“First Lady?” she questioned.
“Yes,” he answered.
“We appreciate you, Mrs. C,” Bleed called out.
“Skorpio said you would be needing this.” A man walked up, and she recognized him as the ‘officer’ who arrested Will. In his hand he had a leather vest.
It was for her.
Shock should have done her in as Noa accepted it and gestured for her to try it on.
The back carried the same Death Skull emblem as theirs.
The leather felt cool and heavy against her skin, a perfect fit.
She turned to see a crowd of bikers smiling. Clapping started that turned into applause and Tin gazed at her before joining in.
Lyndie covered her mouth a little, feeling her husband kiss her cheek.
So this was family.
A Little Time Passes
Noa rode his bike to a stop in front of his house.
Once he turned off the engine, he could hear birds chirping in the distance.
But that wasn’t what caught his eye.
The little boy that stood up on the top steps smiled wide.
“Hi Daddy.”
Noa took off his helmet.
No matter how many times he heard it, he’d never get tired of it.
He grinned leaning against the bike seat. “You stayed on the porch this time. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Max promptly responded.
The day before, he’d jumped off the porch to greet him as he rode up and almost gave him a heart attack.
Noa hung his helmet and got off the bike.
By the time he got to the steps, his son was raising his arms in the air.
Noa grabbed him letting out an exaggerated groan. “Big Man’s getting bigger.”
“I know.” Max rubbed his hand over his vest.
“What are you looking for?” Noa asked.
“Snacks,” Max admitted.
“Why do you think I have snacks for you in my vest?”
“Because you know I like ‘em,” the little boy whispered.
It was that loud kid whisper that anyone could hear anyway.
Noa held him and turned back to his bike. He lifted up the seat and pulled out a pack of gummy bears.
“Whisper?” His eyes looked like little stars as Noa handed him the box.
“Hide ‘em under your shirt.”
Max proceeded to do as told and Noa had to clench his teeth because the box was easily visible.
When he started up the steps, he saw Vicky at the screen door.
“The one and only Skorpio.”
“Vic don’t quit. What’s up, girl?”
“Heading out now that the man of the house has arrived. Lyndie’s got me sticking up flyers in town for the Halloween Matinee at the theater”
Noa smiled.
“He was in everything!” Vic pointed at Max.
“Not me,” Max cried.
Noa looked at his son as he went through the door. “I know she’s not lying.”
Noa walked into his house and smelled food. His stomach grumbled.
“Me and Mommy and Auntie Vic made pizza.”
“I smell it.” He adjusted him on his hip as he looked down into the baby bouncer.
“Hi Amber.” He leaned down to kiss his daughter.
Her face crunched a little bit and he saw her feet kick.
“Was I tiny like that?” Max asked.
“Yeah. One time. But you were always Big Man.”
Amber stretched out her fist, then her eyes, which were a strong blue like her father’s.
“You woke her up.”
Noa
looked over at his wife.
Lyndie stood in the doorway, her jeans covered in flour and her hair up in her signature ponytail.
Noa grinned. “I had to greet the new Babygirl.”
She walked over to him and he bent down for a kiss. “I can’t forget about the original.”
“Thanks for the shout-out.” She touched the side of his face, showing her dimples.
“You got mail today.” She went over to the hall table and brought an envelope.
“Oh sh- shoot.” He quickly shifted from cursing.
Noa opened it to pull out his green card.
He lowered it looking at his wife. “I owe you money.”
Lyndie pulled his face to hers and kissed him. “You’re paid in full.”
“Thanks for marrying me,” he said he said wrapping his arm around her waist.
Her eyes held his future and every ounce of love in the world. “Thanks for asking.”
*
I hope you enjoyed Lyndie and Noa’s story.
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