Kristel

 

Henry won’t stop crying. As I hold him in my arms, I pace back and forth while I coo and try to soothe him with my voice. His eyes are clenched shut, and his little fingers grip the edges of his blanket. He is the most miserable baby I have ever seen. I have tried to feed him, bathe him, change him, play with him, read to him, and sing to him, but thus far nothing has worked.

 

“Henry… hey, come on now. Come on, stop crying. You’re okay, you’re safe.” I let out a quiet sigh of frustration and hold him closer. My brow is wrinkled with concern, and I check his forehead for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. He doesn’t have a fever. “You have to tell me what’s wrong, little guy. What’s wrong?”

 

He cries even harder when I stop pacing, so I keep going. Where is Andre? He and the rest of the group were supposed to be here ten minutes ago. He invited me to the main safe house about an hour ago, but wouldn’t tell me what was happening. Maybe my own anxiousness is getting to Henry.

 

When I hear a car pull up outside, I skirt over to the window and peek through. It’s not like I can hide too well with an upset baby in my arms, though.

 

“Shhh, please be quiet,” I whisper. “You’re okay. I wish you would tell me what’s wrong.” As I speak, I spot Andre getting out of a truck, along with five other men, including Grant. My eyes widen. I haven’t seen Grant since the incident with my father more than a year ago. Last I heard, he was hiding from the police even though I don’t think anyone saw his face. Better safe than sorry, though, I suppose.

 

I open the door and step out, Henry still crying. “Grant! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

 

“Hey, Kristel.” He flashes me a smile, but doesn’t come too close. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full there. You coming inside?”

 

“Yeah… pretty soon.” I don’t even try to keep the confusion from my voice as he gives me a nod and walks into the safe house. The others follow him, save Andre. Andre steps over to me and gently takes our son from my arms. He stops crying almost immediately.

 

My jaw drops, and I shake my head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? He’s been crying since I left the house.”

 

Andre laughs and kisses my cheek. “Come on, I have a surprise for you inside.”

 

I shake my head and let out a huff before I follow him inside. Unbelievable.

 

He takes me into a large room that’s been cleared out. There are a few chairs along the walls, but otherwise there is nothing in sight. I look around, still confused, then settle my gaze on Andre. “What’s going on here?”

 

“An initiation.”

 

“For who, exactly?”

 

“You.” Andre smiles.

 

“Um… okay.” My arms fold across my chest, and I raise an eyebrow.

 

“I need a new lieutenant, and since my last one betrayed us all, I want you to have the position.”

 

The confusion leaves in a hurry, replaced by shock. “Me? But, I’ve been here the shortest time. Grant is-”

 

“A better advisor,” he interrupts me. “Everyone here has a job except for you. And they’ve all agreed that you’re the best person for the job. Hands fucking down. Besides which, you’re also my wife, which means it just makes sense.

 

“But…” I look around at everyone and suddenly feel like a deer in the headlights. It’s not a feeling I have often, and I struggle to regain my composure.

 

“Just say yes, Kristel. You’ve cut ties with your old family, and we’re your new one. Little Henry included. And after you say yes, all you have to do is come with us for a ride. I’ve set up a little carrier for Henry so he can hang out in the back. I think he’ll love being out on the road.”

 

My heart pounds in my chest, and I draw in several long, deep breaths to steady myself. “I… yes.” I mean the word when I say it, my brain still trying to catch up. “Yes, I’ll be your lieutenant.”

 

The room erupts into cheers and whoops and laughter. Andre hugs me with one arm and kisses me deeply, our baby held safely between us. I laugh into the kiss and return the embrace. It feels like the grin on my face is permanent. There just one thing missing now: Danielle. I’ve touched base with her here and there over the last couple of months, but a few weeks after Henry was born, she left on a trip around the world. I hope she’ll be back soon so I can tell her the news.

 

“This is… amazing. Thank you, Andre, for trusting me. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

 

“I do trust you. I trust you with my life and with theirs. Besides, I think you’ve got a great head for business. Look at everything you’ve done. You’re tough and resilient and able to take a beating even when you’re down. You could probably run this whole damn show without me.”

 

I snicker. “Okay, you’re laying it on a little thick.”

 

“What? I’m excited! And to think, on the same day I make you lieutenant, Henry says his first word.”

 

“Henry said his first word?” Grant steps closer and looks at him. “What’s the little roadster have to say?”

 

“Dada,” I tell him.

 

“Dada.” I gasp softly, and so does Andre, as Henry says it.

 

“Well I’ll be damned.” Grant chuckles and shakes his head. “My first word was ‘pan’ or something to that extent.”

 

“Mine was ‘cat.’” I shake my head and smile. “But I think someone loves his dad already. He hasn’t said ‘momma’ or whatever his version of it is yet. And I know he understand who is who because earlier he pointed at Andre when he said ‘dada.’”

 

“That just warms the heart.” Grant squeezes my shoulders and kisses my cheek. “So in celebration, why don’t we go out and warm up some engines?”

 

“Yep, let’s go!” Andre claps his hands and leads us out of the room and into a large indoor garage. Inside are 12 bikes. On the wall by the door is a large box made of glass, inside are all the keys. He opens the box with a key from his pocket, then tosses keys from the box at everyone. Then he takes one for himself and gestures to me to follow him. Henry is still in his arms.

 

Almost giddy with excitement, I follow him over to his bike. It’s black and chrome, and it shines as though it’s never been used. I’ve never seen it before, or any of the bikes in here. We’ve all been too busy either running from the law or running from my parents or dealing with the baby or all three. In the front is a make shift child seat, and he slides Henry into it before strapping him in. Once he’s secured, he gets on and I hop on behind him. My arms slide around his waist, and I press my cheek against his back, that smile still on my face. We put our helmets on, his with a dark visor and mine without.

 

“I love you, Andre,” I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear me.

 

As he turned the bike on, it rumbles throughout the whole garage, louder than the others. The door opens with an automatic button, and the daylight shines in.

 

“I love you, too, Kristel. More than anything.”

 

Behind me, as the bike rolls forward, I don’t hear our son crying. I look ahead and swear I can hear our son laughing even over the engines. My arms tighten harder around Andre as the bike rolls out, and the air rushes against us. I feel apprehensive, as I’ve never been on a bike before, but my heart pounds wildly with excitement. As we head out onto the open road and pick up speed, I swear I’ve never felt this kind of freedom in my life. With Andre in my arms and our son up at the front of the magnificent bike, I know everything will be okay. We are the Black Knights, and we are family to the end.

 

THE END

 

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