A smile comes to my face thinking about his reaction to this nickname.
“His road name meant something entirely different to me, but he, of course, thought his road name came from what I witnessed on his wedding night. Sorry, Darcy, but that image has forever been burned in my mind. He definitely didn’t have the moves like the real Jagger, but it was sweet of you to make him feel like a rock star... I bet the bastard is still laughing about it now,” Raze says with a laugh while wiping away his own tears.
“Losing Brent came far too soon. He told me once that its old men like us that live forever, I just wish he would have been right about that. He may be gone from life, but his spirit will forever reside with the men standing with us and the stories we pass on to the next generation of Heaven’s Rejects,” continues Raze as his eyes scan the crowd.
“I know you’re looking down on us today, shaking your head and yelling at me to stop fucking crying and go get a beer. Well, Jagger, the beer I drink tonight and every night until my last will be for you. Put in a good word for me up there, brother, because when I get there, we’ve got some hell to raise. May the roads in Heaven ride smooth and the wind be at your back. I’ll see you again at Heaven’s gates; just make sure you tell the bastards to let me in.” Soft laughs murmur through the crowd as Raze lays his hand against the head of the casket; his head hangs as he mutters quietly to himself.
Picking up the cut, he walks to Darcy and kneels before her. “On behalf of the brotherhood of the Heaven’s Rejects Motorcycle Club, we present you with Brent’s cut as a symbol of our brotherly love and commitment passing from him to you and the boys. This brotherhood will care for you from this day forward in honor of his commitment to his club.” Pressing a soft kiss on Darcy’s cheek, Raze slides Jagger’s cut into her hands. Fuck, that’s not how we handle a fallen brother’s cut after his death so I hope Raze realizes his actions are going to piss off some of the chapters. He’s never broken club rules and traditions for anyone before so it makes me suspicious of his motives behind the act. I’ve seen the bastard rip a cut out of a grieving widow’s hand and burn it like our club rules decree. He better have a damn good reason for doing this.
“I promised Jagger that if anything ever happened to him, I would take care of you. From this moment on, you and the boys are my responsibility, Darcy. If you ever need anything, you call me above everyone else.”
Darcy brings the cut to her face and sobs into the worn black leather. Stepping back from Jagger’s weeping widow, Raze instructs the crowd that the service has ended and dinner will follow at the clubhouse. The bike’s rumble to life as they depart, leaving only the club officers and his family behind. We each take turns hugging Darcy as we say our last goodbyes. I silently walk toward Jagger’s final resting place and place my hands over the head of the casket.
“You may be lost to us, Jagger, but I promise you that you’ll never be forgotten. I’ll make those bastards pay, even if it kills me in the process,” I whisper to the sky.
Raze helps Darcy from her seat and we step away to give her and the boys time alone to say goodbye. She walks away a few minutes later and settles into the waiting car. Morton brings me over the corners from his casket as Jagger’s family pulls away and returns to finish his work. Stowing the corners carefully in my saddlebags, I start my bike and ride back to the clubhouse with the other officers.
Entering the club, I notice that the club mamas look almost normal today as they carry platters of food out the back door. They’ve stowed their tits and short skirts in exchange for simple black dresses and minimal make-up. I don’t understand why they think painting their faces like a clown is attractive but frankly, it’s not their faces I’m attracted to anyway. Maria, Hot Shot’s old lady, stayed behind to supervise the club mamas for Maj and make sure the food was ready by the time we got back from his graveside service. Maria has been more of a citizen wife for the club but has wanted to take part more in helping with the clubhouse with Darcy in mourning.
Raze had a tent set up in the yard of the clubhouse to accommodate our brethren and their old ladies. Their chatter fills the tent while my brothers and I eat in silence surrounding Jagger’s mourning family. I can tell they aren’t ready to be around this many people in a social setting so I ask Irons, our newest prospect, to drive Darcy and the kids home after they finish eating. Now that the pomp and circumstance is over, they need time together to heal and figure out how life’s going to work without Jagger. Darcy is a tough bitch, but I know that she’ll be vulnerable while she mourns. Before the services started, I assigned Irons to watch Jagger’s house and make sure his family was safe.
Over the next several hours, the other chapters begin to disperse and ride home to await orders on our plans. Every single chapter president pledged all the manpower they could spare to help us with the upcoming attack. They respect Raze’s decision to wait until the time is right to strike, so there’s no point in them hanging around.
It’ll be nice to get the clubhouse back to normal with just us occupying it. Usually seeing the guys from upstate results in a rowdy as shit party with nefarious results and a multiple day hangover, but this time I’m just not in the right frame of mind for them to be here.
Walking into the back door, Ruby and the girls are working to clean up the mess from lunch while some of the guys and I head into the main room. Ratchet plops down on the worn leather couch next to me and flips the television to ESPN. Raze joins us, parking in his favorite recliner, as we sit in silence, blankly staring off into space in the general direction of the TV.
“I can’t fucking take the silence anymore. I’m getting the fuck out of here and heading to Red’s. I need a change of scenery, liquor and a one-night-stand piece of ass. Who’s with me?” says Voodoo, breaking the silence.
“Shit, man, I’m in. I think we owe it to Jagger to celebrate his life instead of sitting in the dark, mourning like some bitch emo kid. Let me change into some normal fucking clothes and I’ll meet you outside.”
Jumping up from the couch, I run up the stairs to my room and fling the door open. Tossing my cut onto the bed, I retrieve a pair of my worn, ripped jeans from the dresser with one of my Harley t-shirts. Unbuttoning my dress shirt, I toss it into the hamper by the door, which reminds me to tell one of the girls I need my shit washed. The basket is about to overflow when my dress pants land on the top of the pile. I pull the jeans up my muscular legs littered with scars. Seeing the jagged lines on my skin make think about my time overseas again, but I don’t want to deal with that shit right now. Pulling my shirt over my head and lacing up my boots, I grab my cut and keys on the way out the door.
Most of the club is sitting on their bikes waiting for me by the time I get out the front door. A couple of the girls are sitting on the backs of the guys’ bikes so I guess this is going to be a bigger outing than I expected. Raze and Maj are the last to join us as I start the engine of my bike and feel it rumble to life between my legs.
Following Raze, we pull out of the club’s parking lot and cruise toward town. We drive around back when we get to the bar and park our bikes in the employee parking lot. Kellen, the bouncer, waves us in, and we settle in our usual corner. Bobby brings over our normal round of beers and a whiskey neat for me without even needing to be prompted. Red’s may be the shittiest bar in town, but they treat the club right. We’ve taken care of some problems for Red over the years, and he indulges us when we come rolling in. The bar is pretty empty for a Friday night, but it’ll liven up the later it gets. Sucking down the whiskey, I lean back into the booth and watch the girls dancing to shitty pop music. I don’t know how anyone could listen to this bullshit that’s over the age of twelve, but the club girls seem to love this shit.