I can still recall the sense of peace I felt when I pulled the trigger on King and his blood splattered back onto my face. It was as if a weight had been lifted. It was justice in its purest form, the only kind that exists in our world. An eye for an eye and all that shit. So when Stryker finished off those three fuckers that raped his woman and breathed a sigh of relief, I knew exactly what he was feeling. Still, watching it all unfold, hearing those pigs squeal as Stryker shoved a rusted pipe into their asses was a lot to digest. It was a reminder of what men like us are capable of and how truly fucked the world is.

Needing a reprieve from all this shit when we got back to Brooklyn, I offered to drive Cobra to the hospital so he could see his little girl. He needed to erase the ugly from his mind and get a dose of the innocence we keep fighting to preserve.

And me?

I was fine living vicariously through my brother.

Cobra didn’t seem to mind sharing his sliver of peace and normalcy with me and I latched onto his generosity. In the short time since Cobra found out Skylar was his, that little beauty managed to worm her way into her daddy’s heart. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fond of the little princess myself. After all, she’s what make’s life worth living. She’s the good stuff that is rare. The beauty we take for granted. Some of us aren’t lucky enough to have that piece of greatness in our life and then there are some who forget to cherish it. They take advantage of the gifts they’re given. They forget having people love you isn’t a right but a privilege.

“You should invest in a sidecar,” I suggest, pulling the van out of Pipe’s garage. Once we arrived back from Albany, we parked our bikes and I grabbed the keys to the cage from Pipe’s office.

“I think Celeste might have a problem with Skylar riding a motorcycle just yet,” he says, laughing beside me. “I need a car.”

“Jesus, I’m gone a week and you’re talking crazy,” I joke, peering at him from the corner of my eye.

“She’s pregnant,” he reveals, meeting my gaze.

My eyes widen as I watch the smile creep across his face.

“No shit?”

“We haven’t told anyone yet. Man, I saw her. I fucking heard her. Beautiful. Just fucking beautiful,” he beams.

On top of the decade that Russian motherfucker stole from him, he also robbed him two years of beautiful.  The poor guy never got to see any of that with Skylar. This prick we’re hunting ruined his life. Cobra missed Celeste’s pregnancy and he missed the birth of his daughter.

Justice will find him too.

There’s a time and a place and we’re closing in on that motherfucker.

“Her? You’re having another girl?” I ask, forcing myself to tame the beast inside of me.

“It’s too soon to tell but I’m going with another girl.”

“Congrats, dude,” I offer, reaching across the cab to pat him on the back. “If she’s anything like the first one you got, I’d say you’re one lucky bastard.”

I never thought much about kids myself. Responsibilities aren’t really my thing, especially when I’ve got people gunning for me. Taking purchase here in Brooklyn was a risk, tying myself to these men I call my brothers was another one…a bigger one, but that’s where it ends.

In some ways being here is selfish. I rationalize that they need me, but at what cost? I can’t escape Arlington forever. The same way Cobra’s past keeps bleeding into his present, mine will one day too, and when that day comes there is no guarantee that these men won’t be left unscarred.

As I turn into the hospital parking lot, I make a decision to see the club through this mission. I silently vow to help them bring down Yankovich, but when it’s over, when that cocksucker is dead and buried, I’m out of here.

I’m gone.

I’ll go back to roaming the world, waiting for my penance.

Parking the van, I kill the engine and turn to Cobra.

“You’re coming in?” he asks as I blow out a strangled breath and swipe a hand down my face.

“Yeah, man, I think I need a dose of your angel too,” I rasp. “Been dancing with the devil over a week and I’m starting to question my sanity. You mind sharing your sunshine with me?”

“She is sunshine, isn’t she?”

“Don’t tell Jack, the bastard thinks he trademarked that with Reina, but yeah, your little girl is most definitely sunshine.”

Agreeing with me, he smiles and leads the way into the hospital, straight to the day care center where we spot her playing with blocks. I watch the little girl in amazement as she plays and her dad signs her out early.

Too bad responsibilities aren’t in the cards for me. I don’t think I’d mind a little human to love and protect; my own piece of heaven on earth.

I watch from the window as Cobra interacts with his girl. Her big blue eyes light up the minute they spot him and it’s beautiful.

Those eyes are stunning and oddly familiar.

Like I’ve seen them before in someone else.

But I know I haven’t ever seen anything that pure.

Not in this lifetime.

Not ever.

“There she is,” I say, pushing off the wall. “How’s my favorite gal?”

Cobra places her down on her feet and she runs to me. A grin spreads across my face as I hold out my hand and she gives it a high five. Me and the little one got acquainted the night that shit went down with Gina. Aside from the dirty diaper, we got along just great and I taught her the fine art of a deck of cards.

“Cards!”

“Sorry, babe, I left my cards back home,” I reply, dropping down on a knee to make us eye level. “You think we can still hang out” Spotting the pink teddy bear in her hand, I point to it.

“Who’s this?”

“Teddy,” she says, giving her bear a tight squeeze.

“Oh no, are you trading me in for Teddy?” I ask her, holding out my hand.

Tucking her bear under one arm, she places her hand in mine and drags me down the corridor. Glancing over my shoulder at Cobra, I wiggle my eyebrows and grin.

“She loves me,” I brag.

“Listen, I’m going to run upstairs and tell Celeste I signed her out. There’s an ice cream truck parked out front, get her an ice cream cone and I’ll meet you down there,” he instructs, bending to plant a kiss on her forehead.

Responsibilities.

They have a way of creeping into your life even when you’re trying your damnedest to avoid them. Sometimes we have to take a step back and trust fate. Sometimes we simply concede to responsibilities and welcome them because they come wrapped up in a pint size package full of giggles.

“I’m calling godfather to the next one,” I retort, because if you can’t beat them…fucking join them. “Come on, girl, Uncle Deuce’s got you.”

“Five minutes,” Cobra calls to us as we walk hand in hand down the corridor to the bank of elevators. Enthralled by the little girl squeezing my hand, I wave my brother off and ask her what her favorite flavor is. First, she tells me it’s strawberry, then she changes it to vanilla and finally she decides she loves them all. When we get to the lobby, she decides she wants chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. We step into the sunlight and make our way toward the ice cream truck. I expect her to change her mind again, but when it’s our turn she still wants the chocolate cone. I order her the cone and a strawberry and vanilla twist too, in case she wants some of her other favorites.

“How much do I owe you?” I ask the guy as I hand Skylar the chocolate cone.

“Five bucks,” he replies and turns around to make the second cone.

Letting go of Skylar’s hand, I dig into my pocket for some cash as the teddy bear falls from under her arm.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it,” I tell her as I flip through my bills, pulling out a twenty.

Tires screech across the curb as the wind picks up and blows the money out of my hand. I watch the money skip along the concrete before diverting my eyes to the van as it comes to a complete stop.

In an instant, everything changes.

Quickly, I spin around to grab Skylar, but I’m already too late.

All that’s left is the teddy bear and her barely eaten ice cream cone.

“SKYLAR!”

“Lights out motherfucker,” someone whispers into my ear as a blunt object slams into my head and everything fades to black.

One instant.

A single moment in time.

That’s all it takes for the sunshine to disappear.