Page 157 of Knight
Four yearslater
I turned off the tattoo gun and sat back to examine my handiwork. The shading of the steampunk clock inked onto Pike’s shoulder was damn near perfect. I was proud of it, because I’d had to take two community college art classes to lift my work up to the standard. With an artist like Emory around, we all had to bring our A-game to compete.
“Damn, Knight, that’s amazing,” Emory said.
I puffed up. “It’s not bad.”
“It’s fucking badass,” Pike added with a huge grin. “It took forever, though.”
“Hey, you can’t rush genius,” I joked.
“It’s worth it, man. Not saying it’s not.”
I glanced at the clock and swore under my breath. Speaking of time, I was running late to meet Aiden. It was usually the other way around. I thought when he finished his residency, his life would slow down, but being a traveling doctor, he was sometimes late getting back to town.
Today, though, I was meeting him out at Larry Schumacher’s place for a doggy play date with Waffles and Biscuit.
Our gray-and-white Boston Terrier wasn’tquiteas well-behaved as Waffles—especially when he ripped the stuffing out of my pillow—but he was too cute to stay mad at. Taking him out to romp with Waffles would also run off some energy.
Aiden took him along on his house visits most days—a lot of patients loved the extra comfort of a cute pooch, and for anyone who didn’t, he could wait in the car—so I didn’t have to worry about picking him up.
“Shoot, I’m running late.”
“I’ll take care of Pike,” Fox called from the back of the shop. “Go meet your man.”
“Thanks!” I grabbed my jacket off the hook by the door, left my station cleanup to our newest apprentice, and called out my goodbyes as I hurried out.
My Jeep Wrangler sat at the curb. I still had my bike, but I kept it for scenic cruises with Aiden plastered to my back rather than everyday transportation.
I hopped in and started the Jeep, reversing out of the parking lot where my former biker club had tracked me down and beat me to a pulp five years ago. Hector had kept his word and left me alone after the illegal fight I won for him. In his eyes, I’d paid my way out. Puck had tried to reach out to me once or twice, but I shut that shit down hard. I wanted nothing to do with that part of my life, even if Puck hadn’t been a little weasel.
But he got his due. I’d seen a news article two years ago that there had been a big bust of the club. Four of the guys had gone down on weapons and drug charges, Puck among them. Because they were transporting weapons over state lines, they were doing hard time.
In the end, Puck would get what he dealt me, plus about twenty years more.
I was halfway to Larry’s, whistling an off-key tune and thinking ahead to the barbecue chicken Larry had promised to grill, when my phone rang. I put it on Speaker, so I could keep my hands on the wheel.
“Hey, Matteo. How the hell are you?”
“Not bad,” he said. “I was calling to ask you a favor.”
“Uh-oh. Who’s in trouble now?”
He laughed. “No one, thank god. I’ve got a good crop this year, but a lot of guys have graduated in the past few months.”
“So you’ve got newbies now, huh?”
“Yeah. You were always such a good mentor, and I know you’ve got a good thing going at the tattoo shop, but how would you feel about stepping in to lead group on Sundays?”
“Seriously?”
“The program has grown a lot. I’ve got twelve guys now, instead of four or five. I spent most of my time coordinating the paperwork and making connections with business owners. I think the guys could benefit from a mentor…and I think you’d be an excellent role model for them to see. But I understand if you’re too busy.”
Running Sunday meetings would intrude on my weekends with Aiden—but hell, he’d understand better than anyone the good I could do. And we spent every evening together. Most Saturdays, too, though he still volunteered at the clinic.
A flicker of excitement made my heart flutter. I’d always loved the little family I’d made with the other ex-cons in my years of Redemption Road. We still hung out, but everyone had a lot going on in their lives right now. Good stuff, thankfully. But they didn’t need me the way they once had.
Helping a new crop of guys plucked at those protective chords inside me. If I could help, I wanted to do it.
