Sincerely,
Laurent Mercier”
Shadow had read the letter over a dozen times in the past three days, each time happier about its contents. He’d been sure that the one person who would never accept him was Laurent, and yet, he’d been able to change even that stubborn man’s mind. If that was possible, anything was.
Stealing the Pigeon Heart—possible.
Convincing Rev that he would make his son happy—definitely so.
And most important of all, staying with Gray after the next new moon—within his grasp as long as he did his job right tonight.
“He’s on your bike again,” Joker said, taking Shadow’s focus off the letter.
They were so close to the Pigeon Heart now that when the wind blew from the right direction, Shadow could feel its aroma at the back of his nose. With the daylight slowly dying, the lights of Lowe Estate came on, making it more visible from the hilltop where the Kings of Hell had gathered in a thatch of trees.
Gray looked up from above the sandwich he was eating. “I know.”
Joker’s lips quirked, as if that hadn’t been the answer he’d expected. “You’ll let him wear your cut next?
Gray’s gaze met Shadow’s, and he exhaled, watching the other men present while he chewed his food. He only spoke once he swallowed what he had in his mouth. “No.”
Knight, who stretched out his legs in the grass, resting before the job, shrugged. “I have nothing against Shadow, you know that, but I wouldn’t let Elliot ride my bike the way you let him back at Magpie’s.”
“I wouldn’t let Elliot ride my bike either.”
Joker snorted. “Yeah, that boy has a death wish behind the wheel.”
Knight scowled, his shoulders tensing. “Does he?”
Gray swallowed another bite of food. “In any case, the cut is only for members, but my bike’s mine, and if I say Shadow can ride it, then he can.”
Shadow smiled and tucked Laurent’s letter into an inner pocket of his jacket. “I need to learn for the future.”
Beast shook his head, standing with his back to them and staring into the darkening sky. “Why? You wanna prospect?”
Gray had told Shadow a lot about the club, its hierarchy and history. Since some of the details he’d mentioned were technically a secret, Shadow was navigating a minefield whenever he was around the other Kings, trying not to accidentally reveal that he knew about things he shouldn’t.
It had been almost four days since the club members who would take part in the heist had arrived in NYC, and he noticed a change in their behavior toward him since Gray acknowledged the nature of their relationship.
The recognition had Shadow hungry for more. Maybe with time, the men Gray called brothers could become Shadow’s family too?
“Yes, I would like to prospect for the Kings of Hell.” Shadow straightened up on the bike but wasn’t sure what to make of the silence that followed.
Beast turned around slowly. He didn’t have eyebrows, but the skin on his forehead wrinkled in a way that suggested surprise.
Jake was the one to speak first. “It’s a huge commitment, you can’t just say that if you don’t mean it.”
Vars put his hand on Jake’s shoulder, frowning at Shadow. “That’s right, Jake here waited years for his chance to become a member.”
“Just think about it. He would be an asset,” Gray said and smiled at Shadow, licking his fingers clean once he finished the sandwich.
“We will see how you do tonight,” Beast said, which was another little change, because not that long ago he used to rather discuss Shadow with others than speak to him directly. “If we agreed to this, you would be a hangaround first so that you could see if this is what you want to get into.”
Joker laughed. “What other future does he have? It’s not like he has any life skills.”
Gray stood, brushing dirt off his jeans. “He can rip people’s heads off and remain unseen. What special skills do you have?” he asked, casually returning to Shadow’s side.
Jake snorted. “Buuurn.”
Joker rolled his eyes. “I can make a mean chilli.”
It was meant as a witty comeback, but Shadow could sense Joker’s discomfort. He put his arms around Gray and rested his chin on his shoulder with a happy sigh. “Don’t worry, Joker, you’re still young.”
Instead of accepting that compliment, Joker scowled and started walking their way with his arms spread. “Are you fucking kidding me? If you wanna prospect, learn about respecting the patched members first, you six-week-old adult!”
Vars grabbed Joker and pulled on his arm. “Chill, brother, we’ve got more important things to deal with tonight. This spat can wait until our world isn’t at risk of burning to a crisp.”
Joker gave Vars a half-hearted shove. “Just saying that Gray is more of a cradle-snatcher than his dad.”
Gray’s lips thinned, but he didn’t say anything. At least Rev wasn’t around to hear this.