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Now I have everyone’s attention.
No one moves or speaks.
“Honor, loyalty, respect. Those words might not mean much to others anymore, but they are values this club lives by.”
And Shadow broke all three of them tonight. I don’t need to say it. If they’re listening, they’ll get there all on their own.
“Those patches some of us wear ‘Brother’s Keeper’ and ‘Respect Few, Fear None’ aren’t empty sayings.” I slap my palm over my own patches. “We’ve shed blood. Done hard time. Protected our brothers to earn those patches.”
A few brothers quietly brush their hands over their own cuts. Younger brothers glance at the patches on other members’ vests. Patches they’ve probably seen a thousand times, but never given a lot of thought. We don’t make a big show of handing out those patches. Bloodshed, incarceration, and sacrifice are what we do to protect what’s ours. Things we acknowledge but don’t necessarily celebrate.
“Lost Kings protect what’s theirs. From the law. From outsiders. From everything. Always. Without question. It’s what we do to survive. And we always protect each other.”
My gaze strays to Wrath and he gives me a subtle nod.
“None of us are perfect. Sometimes we make mistakes. We depend on our brothers to show us mercy, kick our asses, or carry our burdens until we get back on our feet. We may not always like one another, but we’re always loyal.”
Almost everyone laughs.
“No matter how outside the law we live, there are consequences when you betray a brother. Our life and the code we live by demands it. The vows we took to be given the honor of wearing the patch requires our loyalty.”
Now, it’s time to go for the kill.
“Tonight, Shadow betrayed this brotherhood. Twice.”
I pause to let that sink in.
“First, he betrayed the most basic law Lost Kings have—he put his hands on my old lady without my permission.”
Did I just reduce the woman I love to a piece of property to prove a point to my brothers? Damn right I did. I love Lilly and have endless respect for her, but none of that matters tonight at this table.
“We’re not talking about a pinch on the ass or some flirting—which would be enough grounds for punishment.” I stare at each one of them before continuing. “He slammed her into the wall. Choked her.” My voice vibrates with rage. “He terrorized her someplace she should never be afraid—inside our clubhouse.”
“No way, brother. Shouldn’t happen here.” Jigsaw’s calm but stern voice reaches me from the end of the table. “Our families are always safe and under our protection in this clubhouse.”
Murmurs of agreement go around the table. This is the support I need. This isn’t only about me. It’s about all of us.
Fuck, is that killing me too. What I really want to do is march out the door and put a bullet between Shadow’s eyes.
“This isn’t who we are,” Steer says quietly from his seat. “We’re better than this.”
Rooster glances at Steer and then Smoke before raising his hand and standing. “Let’s not forget Shadow also pulled a weapon on a brother. On our president during a righteous beatdown.” He glances around at everyone. “Fighting dirty. Using a weapon against a brother. It’s cowardly. It spits in the face of honor, loyalty, and brotherhood.”
A few brothers actually clap when Rooster sits down. Not expecting such a passionate speech from him, I nod my appreciation and ask if anyone else has anything to add.
While they seem surprised I asked, no one volunteers to speak.
“Let’s take the first vote.” I slap the gavel against the table. “Stripping Shadow’s patch?”
Even though Rock, Wrath, Murphy, Teller, and Dex are here to show their support, they’re not members of this charter so they abstain from the vote.
They’ll sit out the next vote, too. I want there to be no mistake. No questioning me later about this decision.
The vote is unanimous in favor of stripping Shadow’s patch.
The next vote might be more complicated, but it also has to be unanimous. To keep the club strong, it’s worth the risk.
And no, Shadow won’t be granted an opportunity to defend himself. That’s not how this works.
I’ve done enough preaching at them. Once I get the vote to strip his patch, I go right for the next one.
“All those in favor of putting our ex-brother to ground?” I wait and glance around the room. “Take your time to speak now before we take the vote.”
Jigsaw raises his hand. “Brother, for what he did, you’re within your rights…”
“I know.” I allow my gaze to travel to each brother, meeting their stares head-on. “Each one of us understands the code. We also know I haven’t been your president for long. Further, you didn’t vote me in. I was brought in under unusual circumstances by Priest. Because of that, this decision needs to be a club vote. I’ll abide by whatever the club decides.” The corner of my mouth lifts. “Although, I reserve the right to kick Shadow’s ass again either way.”
Brothers glance at each other and low murmurs go around the table. Obviously, this wasn’t expected.
Murphy crosses his arms over his chest and sits back, giving me a slight nod. Wrath and Teller are more tense, watching the room for any signs of anarchy. Rock’s eyes are on Smoke, which makes sense. Not long ago we were visiting when Smoke brandished a gun around the clubhouse and I had to tackle his drunk ass to the ground and wrestle the pistol out of his hands before he shot someone.
Killing a full-patched brother, a former officer, is about as serious as it gets in our world. Emotions are sure to be all over the place.
Steer finally signals that it’s time to take the vote. Next to Sway, he probably has the most time in this club, so his “yes” vote carries a lot of weight.
Each brother’s yes is slow and deliberate. We may be a brotherhood full of outlaws, but no one takes killing someone they’ve shared a patch with lightly.
My gaze lands on Rooster. Instead of a yes or no, he holds up his hand, halting the vote. After all his earlier comments, he’s not who I expected to vote this down.
I hide my irritation and nod, giving him the floor to speak. Rooster’s got brass ones and doesn’t shrink under the scrutiny.
He stands and looks around the table. “I wasn’t going to bring this up until I had more information, but something else needs to be discussed before we continue with this vote.”
He swallows hard and looks my way.
“Go on,” I encourage. Now I’m curious.
“I’ve been gathering proof…some records, video, shit like that. I think Shadow was involved with Sway’s shooting and I think he set us up to get ambushed the night Malone’s burned down.”
Well, now I understand why Rooster wasn’t ready to bring this to the table until he was one hundred percent sure. Two serious accusations. He could be kicked out of the club if he accused a member of this level of betrayal without proof.
Hustler sits forward. “What do you have?”
“His toll records. His real ones. He wasn’t using the club-issued EZ Pass. He’s been using another one registered to his wife.”
“His who?” Murphy asks.
“He’s got a citizen wife on the outside,” Jigsaw explains. “None of us really know her that well.”
Figures.
“She’s his tie to the Vipers,” Rooster says. “Her brother is a prospect.”
Jesus Christ, what’s Sway been doing at the head of this table for the last few years, napping? “How did none of you know this?”
Steer raises his hand. “Like Jiggy said, half of us have never even met her. Shit, the way he plows through clubwhores, I didn’t even realize he had a gal on the outside until Rooster and I dug into him when Sway nominated him for VP.”
Yeah, ‘cause where a guy sticks his dick is proof he’s fit to be an officer. Jesus Christ.
“All right. What’s the big deal about his toll records
?”
Rooster pulls a folder out from under the table and sifts through a few papers. “He’s made a lot of trips down to New Jersey over the last few months.” He looks around the table. “We all know we don’t conduct business in Viper territory. There’s no reason for Shadow to make so many trips down there.”
Someone whistles. A few what the fucks are muttered.
“Maybe it’s his old lady?” Smoke suggests.
“Could be,” Rooster concedes. “Still,” he glances my way and down toward Murphy and Teller. “Any of you let your girls go into Viper territory when they held down Ironworks?”
“Fuck no,” Teller says.
Rooster’s pained eyes meet mine. “I finally tracked down the person who rented the black Cadillac.” He tosses a grainy black and white photo down the table toward me.
It’s fuzzy, obviously a still from some security camera that’s been enhanced. He’s not wearing his colors. I still recognize the cocky set of the shoulders and one of the tattoos on his neck. Shadow.
“Time and date are at the bottom.” Rooster says quietly.
It’s dated a couple days before Sway was shot.
“How convenient,” Smoke sneers.
“Come the fuck on,” Steer spits out. He sits forward and motions for me to hand him the photo. “Jesus Christ,” he whispers after studying the photo.
“You got any idea how many fucking computers and security systems I had to break into?” Rooster says to Smoke. “He rented it in Jersey figuring we wouldn’t look there since he had no business being in their territory.”
Steer passes the photo down the table and lifts his chin at Rooster. “You still have the actual video?”
“I got copies of everything. Including the video where his wife confesses what went down to Jigsaw.” He shoots a glare at Smoke. “Anyone who wants to examine my evidence is more than welcome to. I printed that out before we sat down but there’s lots more.”
“All right. That’s damning enough.” I lift my chin at Rooster. “What do you have on Malone’s?”
“Word is he did it for the insurance money so he could pay off DeLova.”
“Is it possible Shadow got his wires crossed and thought DeLova was coming?” Hustler asks.
Dumb theory, but I get it. We’re all grasping at straws. Struggling to wrap our minds around a brother betraying the club.
