Page 49 of Renascence

“What? You afraid monogamy will rub off on you?”

The men chuckle at Gage’s question.

“Fuck yeah. Keep that shit to yourselves, far away from me and Emily.”

“Whatever. We’ll see, Mr. C4,” he says, rising to his feet. “Let’s get church over with so I can get home to mywife. My pregnant wife who I have monogamous sex with every day.”

I shake my head, following my laughing brothers into the chapel. There’s no way I’ll hear the end of this anytime soon. Too bad I don’t care.

I take my chair, scanning the room. Gage sits at the head of the table, Einstein to his left, Razor to his right and my left. Rico, our road captain, is to my right, and Tek, our secretary, to his. Chopper sits at the opposite end, across from his son. Crow, Motor, Charger, and Booker occupy the other side of the table.

“Okay, fuckers.” Gage taps the table. “Let’s get this show on the road. Tek, anything outstanding?”

“No, boss. Just a reminder that dues will be collected today.”

“Got it. Everyone see Venom before you leave.” After words of agreement, he continues. “He’ll also have quarterly dividends from the Kitty and Patch, along with the payout from the Snakes. Merry Christmas, motherfuckers.”

The men break out into cheers and hoots, beating the table. It will be a merry Christmas, indeed. The Pretty Kitty is our top legit business, and it’s done very well this year, especially this quarter. Patch is the only auto parts store around for miles, so it does okay, too. However, most of our money is made under the table, providing security for contraband. No matter what it is—guns, drugs, even people—we’ll get it where it needs to go safely. The Black Snakes are a MC from Mississippi, who partner with our Jacksonville charter to run pain meds. Gage brokered a deal after a run-in with them last year, and we get a kickback as part of their penalty.

Every man at this table earns outside of the club. Gage insists on it. Even without club earnings, we’re all good. For instance, Gage owns a couple other businesses, Einstein is a doctor, and Razor owns a gun store and shooting range. I have the gym and my accounting. With tax season coming up, I’ll be pretty busy.

“Okay, okay.” Prez raises both hands, trying to quiet the men down. “I have something I want to put on the table.” Everyone gives him their undivided attention, some sitting forward. “We don’t have to vote on it tonight, but give it some thought.” Leaning back in his chair, he takes a deep breath. “I’m thinking we should give up the protection runs.”

His statement is met with mumbles of unease. The men love the money that comes from those runs. The thing is, Gage is the brains behind them. If he wants out, then that’s basically the end of it. He’s the reason the clients come to us.

“How you plannin’ on filling that gap, son?” Chopper asks.

“I want to invest in another business. A legit one.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know yet. I got my wife, plus two kids on the way, Pop. I need to find something that won’t keep me away for days on end and put my life in danger.”

“I hear you,” Einstein agrees.

“Nothing we do will bring in the kind of money the runs do, but it will be safer, and will keep us off police radar… keep us out of trouble.”

“You hanging up the robe and scythe?” Razor asks.

Gage earned the road name “Reaper.” He isn’t like me, though; he may be skilled at killing, but he doesn’t enjoy it. Now that he has his family, I can see why he would want to take us legit.

“I’d love to, brother, but it’s a club decision. I’ll go with the vote.”

“Shit, man.” I shake my head. “Don’t put that on us. Like we’d vote money over family.”

Every man at the table agrees with me, and this is why I would kill and die for each one. We may be criminals, but we know what’s important.

“Okay, it’s on the table. We give up the protection runs. Second?”

“I second,” Einstein backs up Gage.

It ends up being a unanimous vote, as I expected.

“Thank you,” Prez says, looking around the table. “I promise I’ll figure this shit out.”

“We know, boss.” Tek gives him a chin lift, grinning as he adds, “That’s why you’re the boss.”

“About that….”