Blaze
It was my favorite time of day: long before anyone else was awake and the sun was just starting to filter through the blinds. I was laying in my bed listening to nothing but the sounds of my own breathing. Kevin was still sleeping soundly in his room, so I had just a few brief moments to myself where I could begin to prepare myself for the day ahead; one that not only included getting Kevin up and ready for school, but also another big run with the guys. I just wanted to lay there and enjoy the silence for a little while longer, but my alarm went off for the second time, letting me know that my moment of peace was over. I pulled the covers back and got out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I headed to the bathroom for a shower. Once I was done, I got dressed and went into the kitchen to make Kevin some breakfast. Just as I was about to pour myself a cup of coffee, there was a light tap at my back door. Seconds later, I heard the rattle of keys as they unlocked the door, and my mother stepped inside.
"Morning."
"Sorry, I'm late. Your father had one of his spells last night, and I wanted to make sure he was okay before I left."
"Why didn't you call me?" I asked as I offered her a cup of coffee.
"I didn't see the point in bothering you. Besides, after he had a breathing treatment, he was fine."
My father had COPD, a lung disease that obstructed airflow to, well … the lungs, and he was on a shitload of medication that was supposed to help him breathe. Unfortunately, he refused to give up smoking, so he was only getting worse. "He wouldn't have to do so many breathing treatments if he'd just stop smoking."
"I'm well aware of that, Sawyer," she grumbled, "but your father has a mind of his own."
She was right. He'd always been one to do things his way and wouldn't listen to anyone, especially my mother. It was one of the reasons I was glad they lived close by. After I fixed my coffee, I turned back to her and said, "I don't know why he has to be so damned stubborn."
"You're one to talk," she said in a huff. "Leaving home at all hours of the night, doing who knows what and leaving Kevin with strangers. It's just not right."
"Angie isn't a stranger. She's been living next door to us for six years, Mom. She's a teller at the bank, and she goes to your church. I think it's safe to say that she can be trusted to stay with Kevin for a couple of hours."
"Yes, well … That doesn't make it right," she chided.
"Are you done? Cause I need to wake Kevin up."
"He's still asleep? We need to leave in twenty minutes!"
"Yeah, but I'll get him up and going," I yelled to her as I started down the hall. I opened his door and walked over to the bed. "Hey, buddy. You need to get up."
His shaggy blond hair fell over his eyes as he rolled over and groaned, "Ah, man. Do I have to?"
I sat down on the edge of the bed and ran my hand roughly over his back. "Yep. You know how your grandmother gets upset when you're late."
"She's taking me to school again?" he whined.
"I told you last night that I had a run today."
He sat up in the bed and his blue eyes grew intense. "When will you be back?"
"Sometime late tonight."
"So, you'll be back in time for my game tomorrow?" he asked sounding hopeful.
"Absolutely. I wouldn't miss it, bud. You know that."
"Good, because coach said he was gonna put me in as quarterback," my little man's voice boasted with pride.
Kevin had wanted to play ball since he was old enough to walk, but that got put on hold when we found out he had leukemia. After losing his mother at such an early age, it was a hard pill to swallow, but he got through it-we both did. Since he'd been in remission, Kevin was bound and determined to make up for lost time, and when he asked to play peewee football, there was no way I could tell him no. I smiled as I stood up and said, "Of course, you are. You've got the best arm on the team. Now, move it, kid, or you're gonna be late for school. I'll have your breakfast ready in two minutes."
"Okay." Just as I was about to walk out of the room, Kevin called, "Hey, Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful today."
"Always."
Once I'd given Kevin his breakfast, I made my way over to the clubhouse to meet up with the guys. Thankfully, it didn't take me long to get there. It was just a few miles from the house, on the south side of the city. When I pulled up, the guys were done loading up and were standing around their old pickup trucks, and like me, none of them were wearing their cuts. Since we had joined up with our other club chapters and created a new pipeline, we would be carrying a load that contained shipments from five of our fellow chapters. We didn't want to draw any unwanted attention as we transported our load to Louisiana, so we had to get creative. Thinking no one would suspect a few farmers, Gus rigged up a couple of his dad's old horse trailers with hidden compartments under the floor, making it possible for us to hide all the artillery beneath the horses. While it took a little extra work, these runs had been a profitable venture between our clubs, and there were worse things in the world than hauling horses down south.
As soon as I parked my bike, I noticed Riggs, one of my younger brothers in the club, standing beside the trailer in a pair of faded jeans and a plain-white t-shirt. The ladies often called him tall, dark and handsome, but I didn't see it. To me, Riggs was just a smooth-talking pain in the ass. We'd both grown a habit of giving each other a hard time, so I wasn't surprised when I noticed the shit-eating grin on his face. "Well, good morning, sunshine. I'm glad to see you finally made it."
"Fuck off, Riggs. I'm twenty minutes early." Technically, I really was early, but some of the guys had it in their heads that everyone should arrive thirty minutes before the declared time. They thought it made them seem more eager or invested in the club. I thought it was a bunch of bullshit. If you want me somewhere at seven-thirty, then just say seven-thirty. It's not that fucking difficult. I got off my bike and started towards the others. "Unlike you, I've got responsibilities."
"Hey, I've got responsibilities!" he replied sounding defensive.
"Taking your flavor of the week home doesn't count."
"That hurts, man."
"Um-hmm," I grumbled. "Where's Gauge? I figured by now he'd be sitting on go."
"He went to track down Murph. It shouldn't be much longer."
I ran my hand over my beard and sighed, wishing I'd taken the time to have one more cup of coffee before I left the house. I knew the guys were starting to get anxious when I heard Runt growl, "Fuck, if I know, but he needs to hurry his ass up. I'm ready to get on the road."
Just as the words came out of his mouth, the back door flew open, and Gus came barreling out the door with Gauge and Murphy following behind him. He headed over to the trailers to give them the once-over, making sure they were loaded to his liking. When he got to the second trailer, he shouted, "Runt!"
An uneasy look crossed his face as Runt walked over to Gus. "Yeah?"
"Secure that second latch," he ordered before turning his attention to us. "Just got off the phone with Cotton. I told him we were right on schedule. Let's keep it that way."
Cotton was the president of the Fury chapter up in Washington. He and his brothers were responsible for getting the pipeline underway, and there was no way in hell we could let them down. Knowing how important it was, we answered, "Understood."
Runt eased into the trailer, and once he'd locked the hidden latch, Gus gave his nod of approval. "Looks good. You guys are ready to roll."
"You heard what the man said." Murphy motioned his hand forward, "Let's move it!"
In a matter of seconds, we were on the road and driving towards Louisiana. Thankfully, we got down to Baton Rouge without any complications. When we pulled up to the old, dilapidated warehouse, Riggs jabbed me in the side with his elbow and said, "We're here."
"I see that, smart one." I scowled. "Now, move your ass."
As soon as we got out of the truck, Murphy went over to talk to Ronin, our distributor. We'd done well when we'd chosen Murph as our sergeant-at-arms. Not only was he a fucking badass who could handle any adversary, he was levelheaded and knew how to work the business side of the club. Murphy was respected by some of the most notorious criminals in the South. Once he and Ronin finished discussing the plan for distribution, Ronin's guys came over to help us unload. Riggs held the trailer door open while I led the two mares over to the side of the warehouse. With the horses out of the way, Murphy released the hidden compartment, and we started to unload. Ronin motioned us over to the backside of the barge and shouted, "Over here, guys."