Chapter 29

Axel

I arrived at the bar at five o’clock on the dot, as agreed. Hanna and Ellie were with me, but I asked them to hang back for a bit. Once we were done discussing business, the girls could come join us, but for now, it was best if they waited outside.

Ellie didn’t protest. She nodded and kissed me before I slipped through the doors and paused to let my eyes adjust to the dimness of the place.

All of the MC was already there.

They were taking up almost the entire place. Beer pitchers sat in the middle of nearly every table, and as the doors closed behind me, all heads turned in my direction.

Johnny, dressed a plaid shirt and old blue jeans, got to his feet and picked up his glass of beer from the table. He held it up high and then without saying a word, took a sip. The others all followed suit in saluting me.

I didn’t like the attention, but I had been expecting it.

I walked through the tables to where Johnny sat and dropped down into an open chair beside him. Across from me sat Jax. He was grinning like a fool as he picked at French fries in front of him in a red basket. Also at the table was Hyde and Derek, both of whom looked pleased to see me.

“So, Dani is pleased with how shit went down yesterday.” Johnny took another swig of his beer, and a little bit of foam lingered in his dark facial hair. “Says you had a bit of a fight on your hands when she showed up.”

“Had to make a call. Shit was going to go sideways real quick if we went into that bank.”

Johnny nodded almost sympathetically. “The bastard didn’t do any real damage, did he?”

Jax chuckled and popped a fry into his mouth. “You all worried about the well-being of our Axel?”

Johnny scowled over at Jax. “Shut up.”

Jax shrugged. “Just saying. The concern is sweet. I hope you’d feel the same about me if I was ever—”

“Shut the fuck up, Jax. Nobody’s talking to you.” Johnny’s glare was darker now, and Jax obeyed by clamping his mouth shut and swallowing his French fry.

I started laughing. Everyone looked over at me with surprised expressions. I suppose it made sense. Laughing wasn’t something I did very often.

“Let’s just get this meeting over with,” I said, and I got to my feet.

As soon as I stood, all the chatting, deep voices around us fell silent, and all eyes fell on me. I had the attention of everyone in the room without having to speak a word.

“So, I’ve called a meeting today to give you all an update on everything that went down yesterday concerning the Black Hearts new leader. Watson Young is going to be looking at the inside of a prison cell for a very, very long time.”

The men in the bar roared and cheered as they clapped in celebration.

I raised my hand to silence them once more, and they fell quiet. “Of course, this doesn’t mean his crew won’t still be out on the streets looking to start a fight. I don’t know where this leaves us with them.”

Jax cleared his throat, and I glanced down at him. “I’d like to say something about that, if I could.”

I nodded and Jax got to his feet so that the room could hear him. “I ran into a Black Hearts boy on the street this morning.”

Mumbling broke out in the room at those words.

“Shut up, you bastards. You gossip like high school girls at a dance.” Jax said, and then waited for silence again. When he had it, he lifted his chin and continued speaking. “He approached me. And then he thanked the MC for taking care of Watson. Apparently, the guy put a bad taste in a lot of their mouths, but they weren’t exactly in the position to do anything about it. Axel, you’re kind of a household name over there now.”

I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t been expecting that.

“So,” Jax continued, “As it stands right now, there’s no bad blood between the MC and the Black Hearts. I, for one, am happy to keep it that way. Peace sounds like something we should all try, you know?”

I was nodding before I even realized it.

I had bigger problems now than petty gang disputes. I had Hanna and Ellie to worry about. When I wasn’t working in the shop, those two girls would have all of my time and energy. Plain and simple. They deserved at least that.

Johnny stood once more. “A state of peace between us and the Black Hearts?” He shrugged and then grinned. “Crazier things have happened, right?”

“Right,” Jax and I said in unison.

Then the whole bar was toasting to peace, and all of us were settling down into our seats to enjoy the company of our brothers.

Jax nudged my shoulder with his. “Crazier things like finding out you have a daughter.”

I chuckled. “Yeah. Well. Doesn’t feel so crazy anymore.”

Jax’s eyebrows crept up his forehead, and he and Johnny exchanged a look. “No?”

“No.” I shook my head. “She’s mine, and I love her. And now that Watson is out of the picture, I finally feel like I have the space to let her into my life. I know that probably doesn’t make sense, but—”

“Makes sense.” Johnny patted my back. “You’re a thick-headed fucker, you know that? But we’ve got your back. Always got your back.”

“I know.” I sipped my beer.

Daylight illuminated the bar for a brief second as the doors opened again. I turned in my seat to see Ellie standing with Hanna. The little girl was hiding behind Ellie’s legs, and Ellie was doing her best to coax her out. I suppose it might be daunting for a three-year-old to walk into a dimly lit bar surrounded by obnoxious men.

I got up and wasn’t oblivious to the stares I received as I went to meet my two girls. Ellie smiled at me as I dropped down to Hanna’s height and peered at her from between Ellie’s knees.

“It’s all right. These people are all my friends. Which means they’re your friends, too. I know they’re really loud, but this is a good place to be.”

Hanna still looked nervous, but she let me grab her hand. I pulled her to me and picked her up. Then, I took Ellie’s hand and the three of us went back to the table I shared with the guys.

Jax pulled up a chair for Ellie, and she thanked him before dropping down into it. Then, he poured her a beer and slid the glass across the table. She caught it, lifted it to her lips, and drank thankfully.

I sat down with Hanna on my lap and bounced my knees.

“This is my daughter, Hanna, everyone. Hanna, these are my friends. This is your Uncle Jax. And this ugly guy right here is your Uncle Johnny.”

Johnny scrunched up his nose. “Who are you calling ugly?”

Hanna giggled, and all the men at the table became softer at the sound.

“Fuck, she’s cute,” Johnny muttered.

“Language,” Ellie snapped.

“Sorry,” Johnny said, holding his hands up apologetically and leaning back in his seat. “Just sayin’. Didn’t think Axel had it in him to make something so sweet. Which reminds me,” Johnny reached under the table and withdrew a brown paper bag with twine handles. Then he pulled something out that was wrapped in pink tissue. He pulled his chair closer to me and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, so that he was eye level with Hanna.

She didn’t try to press herself against me to get away from him. Instead, she watched him as he started speaking to her.

“You know, Hanna, your daddy is a cool guy. He’s part of our … Kingdom. And do you know what every Kingdom needs?”

Hanna shook her head, her strawberry blond curls dancing around her pink cheeks.

“A princess, of course,” Johnny said, and then he handed the wrapped object to her. “And a princess needs to wear the colors of her Kingdom.”

Hanna stared down at the package in her lap and then looked up at me. “Go ahead. Open it,” I encouraged.

Her little fingers dug into the tissue, and she worked to unwrap it. I knew what it was as soon as the first piece of pink tissue was stripped away. Black leather emerged, and when all the tissue was gone I couldn’t help but laugh.

Johnny had got Hanna a leather jacket to match the ones we all wore.

“I want one,” Ellie scowled beside me, crossing her arms under her breasts.

“Sorry, beautiful, there’s only one princess in the Kingdom, and that goes to Hanna.” Johnny leaned back, pleased with himself, and crossed his hands behind his head.

Hanna smiled up at me. “It’s just like yours, Daddy.”

“Yeah, it is. Now we match. Want to put it on?”

Hanna nodded gleefully.

I slid her off my knees, and she stood in front of me as I held out the jacket. I had to guide her little arms through the sleeves, and then I straightened out the jacket for her.

“Show everyone how awesome it looks,” I said.

Hanna turned around, and Johnny and Jax started clapping. Derek joined in, watching with a humorous expression as my daughter performed a curtsy that contrasted the edgy leather jacket she was wearing.

Johnny slid off his chair and dropped to one knee. He bowed his head to Hanna. “Welcome to the Kingdom, Princess Hanna. We are all here to keep you safe.”

Hanna giggled and raced back to my chair. She grabbed on to my leg and peered up at me. “I’m a princess, Daddy.”

I put my hand on her head and looked at Ellie, who was watching both of us with a giant smile. “Yeah, you are.”