Page 32

Chapter thirty-two

Last night was fucked on so many levels.

Shit I had to deal with for Heather took most of the fight out of me. Never wanted to walk into my ex’s apartment to find her blitzed out of her goddamn mind with our six-year-old daughter sitting beside her and her paraphernalia on the table in front of her.

It’s created a storm of chaos in my daughter’s life that I don’t care much for.

All I wanted to do when I left the clubhouse was come home to my woman and my kid. Then I wanted to bury myself inside my woman and forget the fucked-up day I had.

Instead, I get home to a woman who’s feeling all types of ways about the bond I share with my best friend.

Didn’t want to snap at Bailee, because the truth is, I get where she’s coming from. Knowing I was game to take Emmy Lou if Atlas didn’t want her fucks with her head. Done told her so many times that it’s not been Em since the moment we hooked up. Once I had Bailee, Em never crossed my mind again. Hell, it’s not like she really did in the first place. She’s pretty to look at and would make a hell of an Old Lady, just not for me. There’s only one woman I’ve ever considered claiming in the club, and she’s rubbing her ass against my fucking dick right now.

“Hummingbird,” I growl, tightening my arm around her to hold her still. “Gonna put my dick in you, you don’t quit wigglin’ that ass all over me.”

She moans and pushes back against me in want.

“That what you want, baby girl? You want me to slide your shirt up and stuff your cunt full?”

Bailee whimpers, but I clamp the skin of her neck between my teeth before releasing it. “Words, baby.”

She grabs my hand and shoves it between her legs, gliding my fingers through her slickness. “Good enough?”

Her husky tone rubs against me, my dick growing harder at the desire in it.

“Fuck, yeah,” I groan, shoving my fingers inside her slick entrance. “So goddamn wet.”

“Need your cock, Jericho,” Bailee whines.

Removing my fingers from her dripping pussy, I toss her around until she’s on her hands and knees. I move her up the bed and grab her hands to place them on the headboard.

“Hold tight and pop that ass out, baby girl. Gonna ride you fuckin’ raw, but you gotta be quiet because our girl is sleepin’ a few doors down.”

I feather my fingers down her back and over her ass until I reach the sweet heat between her legs. Gathering her juices on my fingers, I bring them to that tight little rosebud between her ass cheeks.

“Know what? As much as I want your pussy, I want this ass, baby girl. I need to mark you, to make you mine. To show you that I’m yours and yours only.” She moans, pushing back against the fingers teasing her asshole. “‘Bout to get dirty with you, Hummingbird. You good to get dirty with me?”

“Make me messy, bossman. Dirty me up and make me yours.”

She whimpers when I work two of my fingers into her tight ass and scissor them.

“Should see how pretty this ass looks stuffed full of my fingers.” I groan when a bead of cum leaks from the head of my dick. “Can’t wait to watch it stretch around my cock.”

I open my mouth and let spit dribble down to her hole, watching as it lands right where she’s gaping around my fingers. It adds more lubricant to what I’m already using, my fingers gliding in and out easily.

“Please, Steel,” she begs so prettily. “Please fuck my ass.”

“Good girl,” I croon, scooting around on my knees so I can line my cock up.

Reaching over to the nightstand, I grab a bottle of lube and squirt some all over my cock, using my hand to spread it along my length. I make sure to squirt some on her hole, lubing her up before pulling my fingers out and notching my cock at her asshole.

“Don’t make a fuckin’ sound,” I growl before stuffing my cock into her tight little hole.

Hell, I’d like to say I spent the next few hours riding my woman until she was raw and unable to walk. But I don’t last long once I’m seated inside her ass. It’s tight, hot, and convulses around me as darts of pleasure shoot through us.

So, instead of dragging it out like I want, I ride her ass hard, I ride it fast, and I ride it like I’m never going to get another chance to have it strangling my aching cock. I drown in the heat her ass smothers me in as I pump my hips harshly, the loud smacks of skin against skin singing through the room.

A few more pumps and I’m groaning my release into the skin of her neck.

After we catch our breaths, I pull out of her and go grab a warm washcloth. She’s lying on her side, her hands cupped under her cheek, her eyes closed. I don’t miss the tear that rolls down and hits the sheet.

I drop to a crouch beside the bed and cup her face in my palm. “Hummingbird, open those beautiful eyes. Need to make sure you’re okay.”

Her eyes open, clashing with mine, and the remorse in them tears through my skin and straight to my heart.

“I’m sorry,” she cries.

Fuck. She doesn’t have to explain what she’s saying sorry for.

“Baby girl, don’t fuckin’ apologize. I get it. It’s hard for you to believe my words when I ran so conflicted with you in the past. Never got anything steady from me, so you couldn’t trust anything I had to say. Need you to listen to me now. I’m yours, Bailee. Yours. Don’t want anyone else. Don’t fuckin’ need them. Just you. You done fucked my world up, baby girl. Don’t know where we’re goin’ or where we’ll land, but you’re mine and I’m yours.”

Bailee sniffles and pulls my hand to her mouth, placing a soft kiss against the palm. “Thank you.”

“Got you, baby girl. Always.” I brush my fingers over her lips before placing my mouth over them in a kiss that shows her, despite the hard life I live, I can be soft for her. “Goin’ to run you a bath. Then goin’ to make our girl some breakfast before I head to work.”

After making sure the temperature of the water is just right, I toss in one of those silly bath things I bought her and watch as it fizzes up and sends a riot of sweet, chocolatey smells wafting through the air.

Just imagining her skin smelling like this has my dick twitching.

I shut the water off and go grab her from the bed, lifting her into my arms. Placing her on her feet when we’re in front of the tub, I have her lift her arms and whip her shirt over her head. I toss it in the dirty clothes hamper before helping her into the tub.

Bailee settles into the water with a sigh. I stay for a few minutes more, making sure my woman is situated before grabbing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt from my dresser.

Lyric is surprisingly still snoozing in her bed when I stop by to check on her, so I carry on to the kitchen to get started on breakfast for my girls. It’s not often I get to spoil them. Hell, it’s not often I got it in me to spoil. So, I take advantage of the mood I’m feeling.

When I get to the kitchen, I head to the fridge to grab the eggs, milk, a can of biscuits, and bacon. I’m not a damn chef, but I can whip up some good shit for breakfast for my girls. Bailee doesn’t eat eggs much, but I know all the times I’ve seen her do it, they’ve always been scrambled with cheese. Exactly how Lyric likes hers. I fucking love their similarities, and it breaks my damn heart that my girl never had someone like Bailee as her mother. Thankful as fuck she’s got her in her life now.

Bailee comes in not long after and wraps her arms around me from behind, placing a kiss to the middle of my back. “It smells good in here, bossman.”

“Just food, baby girl.”

“Yeah, but I’ve never had anyone who wasn’t our chef make me food before,” she replies quietly before brushing her lips against my back again and stepping away. “What do you need help with?”

I turn from whisking the gravy and anchor an arm around her to pull her back to me. She angles her face up, knowing what I’m seeking before I say anything. I cover her mouth with mine and take a few sips from her before I pull away. “Nothin’. Sit your ass at the counter and give me something pretty to look at while I finish this up.”

“I don’t remember her sleeping this long before. Do you think she’s okay, Jericho?”

Before I turn to her, I make sure to flip off the burner to the gravy. The timer for the biscuits goes off as I’m doing that, so I pull them from the oven and set them on the cooling rack on the counter. Only after I make sure I’m not going to fuck up breakfast do I turn to her.

“She’s usually up by now. Surprised me too when she wasn’t up before us. Yesterday did a lot of damage to her. She had to see something she’s never had to witness before, and it was someone she loves deeply doin’ it. I think it fucked with her head. Would with anyone, I imagine. She talked to you, that’s good. Usually, she’s like me and keeps shit in. You give her what she needs.”

Bailee chews on her lip, her fingers tapping against the countertop. “Should I go wake her up, you think?”

“Think she’d like that, Hummingbird.”

Her head bobs, and she scrambles from the seat, hurrying out of the kitchen. Bailee loves Lyric as much as I do and wants to make everything better for her.

While she’s getting our girl up, I get the table set and wait for them.

For the next thirty minutes, I watch the interaction between my girls and let it bring me the peace that’s been hard to find lately. With everything going on with the club and the way shit’s been happening at our businesses, it’s been hard to find time to breathe, and the only time I seem to manage it is when I’m here at home with them. Bailee has been staying here more than she has Sinful Saloon. Scares the shit out of me, but it’s the only thing I’ve felt right about for a long damn time.

It’s been bugging me that I missed out on three years with Bailee, but I also don’t regret it because I know Heather would have made it even harder than she has for me and Lyric. Bailee was an unfortunate sacrifice that had to be made so that I could have my daughter around the way I needed her to be. I did a lot of damage to my Hummingbird in the past. Don’t doubt I’m going to cause more before we settle into smooth sailing. It’s just the way my life is. Want to minimize it as much as I can, but I’m a fucking prick. Know that much about myself. Don’t like using words unless they’re necessary, but for her, they all seem to be.

Want to give Bailee everything she wanted from me last time, but it’s hard to do when I still have one foot out the door because of the shit with Heather. That bitch has fucked my life up more than I thought she could. My fault, because I was the one who gave her the power to do that. Makes me worried about what I’ll let Bailee get away with because of how much I feel for her.

My phone pings with a text, and since there’s so much going on with the club, I need to check it. Any other time, I wouldn’t bother while I’m at the table with my kid.

There’s a message waiting from Wraith wanting me to show my face at the clubhouse today. We got things going down, and he wants to meet about our game plan.

“I can finish cleaning up here, bossman, if you need to head out,” Bailee says quietly from beside me.

“Wraith wants me at the club.”

“Then go. Lyric and I are good. I’m sure we’ll find things to keep us occupied until you get back.”

I glance to Lyric. She’s watching the interaction between me and Bailee with a bright smile on her face. “Good with me goin’ to the club, Princess?”

“Yeah, Daddy. Like Bee said, we’ll be okay. Better do what Uncle Wraith wants before you make him mad.” She giggles. “He’ll whip your butt.”

“I don’t know,” I reply, lifting my arm and making a point to flex my muscles. “Think I could take him, Princess.”

Lyric rolls her eyes. “Duh. You’re my daddy. You can take anyone.”

Fuck, kid.

I wink. “Damn straight.”

Climbing to my feet, I place a kiss to the top of Bailee’s head and one to Lyric’s. “Call your brother to come stay, Lee.”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to put him in this any more than he already is. There’s too many people I care about who could get hurt.”

“Babe, can’t get a prospect to come stay ‘cause the club. Em and her people are also busy today. Don’t want you here alone if we can help it.”

Bailee sighs, folding her arms. “Fine.”

I march back to her and cup her face in my hand. “Gonna tell the club while I’m there. It’s time.”

She nods. “Yeah, probably past that. Let me know if you need me. I’ll have Reed bring us to you if you do.”

“Big boy, baby girl. Can take care of myself.”

Bailee lifts her hand so she can wrap her fingers around my jaw. “I know you are, bossman, but I also know what these guys and that club means to you. I won’t let you take them on by yourself, and I sure in the hell won’t let you ever lose them over me.”

Her words fuck with me, and I drop my forehead to hers, needing her as close to me as possible.

Fuck. If she could crawl inside me, I’d probably let her.

“Not gonna lose them, baby girl, but fuck, just knowin’ you’d have my back with them means the fuckin’ world.”

Sparks shoot from her narrowed eyes. “Of course, I have your freaking back. You had mine without a beat. You and me, bossman. Always.”

Fuck. I gotta get the hell out of here so I can breathe through these things she’s making me feel. They’re smothering the fuck outta me and making me want to blurt things I ain’t ready to say aloud. Things that make my skin itch and my body twitch.

“Gotta go,” I say gruffly, giving her a kiss and backing away. “Lock up behind me and keep the gun near.”

The scents of leather, beer, and sex that slither through my nostrils when I step inside the clubhouse is as welcome as going home to my girls is. It’s familiar and it’s brotherhood. It’s scents that let me know I’m in a place where I’m welcome.

I inhale deeply, needing to breathe it in and savor it in case it’s the last time I get the chance.

There’s no telling how they’re going to handle the fact that I’ve kept this shit from them. Especially now we know that Killer has been targeting the club. I’m gonna be lucky if I walk away from here with my life, let alone my colors. We don’t fuck around with betrayal, and that’s what I did. Wasn’t my aim. Protecting them and Bailee were the only thoughts going through my head, but I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to get them to see that or not.

Before I get the chance to talk to anyone, my phone rings. I don’t recognize the number, so I decline the call. Anyone who’s important to me is stored in my contacts. It goes off again, this time with a message.

UNKNOWN

It’s me. I wanted to check on Lyric. I don’t like it here, Steel. I want to come home to my girl.

Fucking Heather. How the hell is she able to send me a text? From what I understood, they’re not allowed cellphones at that facility. The only calls they’re allowed to make are from the phone in the lobby that’s monitored by the staff. I’m going to have to check in with the center and find out how she was able to get a cell, because if she’s able to easily access things she’s not supposed to have, that doesn’t bode well for her not being able to get her fix.

Ignoring the message, I shove my phone in my pocket with a scowl.

Sage comes barreling through the common room, running people over in her haste to get out of here. The expression on her face tells anyone that she’s ready to fuck their shit up if they even think of coming at her, so I just step to the side as she rushes past me.

Wraith steps out of the room off to the side, his eyes connecting with mine. “Church. Go let Crow know. Him and Sage are at it again.” He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before turning on his boots and walking back into the room.

It’s only a few minutes later that Crow is rushing down the stairs, his violet eyes scanning the room with a violent scowl on his face.

“Just about to come find you. Your woman ran out of here with a huge ass scowl on her face. Didn’t even stop to say anything to Wraith. He’s called Church.”

Crow’s eyes narrow on me, and the hair at my nape stands at attention. If anyone notices the way I’ve been acting lately, it’d be this big motherfucker. He pays attention to fucking everyone. Wouldn’t be a good VP if he didn’t, I reckon. Just makes getting away with shit a lot harder. One of the reasons I ain’t been around as much as I needed to be.

“What’s going on with you?” he asks.

“Just got shit goin’ on,” I reply.

Ain’t no sense in telling him alone when I plan on telling all of them once Church is over.

“Heather giving you shit?”

I snort. “When isn’t that stupid bitch? She’s goin’ to keep fuckin’ around with my daughter, and I’m goin’ to put a bullet between her fuckin’ eyes. She thinks she’s goin’ to keep Lyric from me. Caught her ass high as a fuckin’ kite the other day with my girl sittin’ in the livin’ room. That shit was just layin’ on the table right next to her.”

Even just thinking about it again has the rage drifting back through me.

“Need me to pay her a visit?”

I scrub my hands over my face as exhaustion weighs me down.

Wraith whistles, grabbing our attention before we can finish the conversation. Not gonna complain because I don’t want to be fucking talking about that shit anyway. It’s just going to piss me off all over again, and I ain’t got the time for that.

Wraith waves us over into the room. The brothers start filing in behind me. Gremlin, Bones, Crank, and Jagger all take up space against one side wall while Fender, Rembrandt, Bender, and Griz rest against the other. Wraith, Thrasher, Ronin, Tweek, Blade, and Phantom are in their normal spots around the table, so I pull out my chair and take a seat to join them.

My body tightens, and my fists clench against the thighs of my jeans when I feel someone step up behind me. It doesn’t feel like an enemy, but I can still sense their dark energy rolling through me, letting me know who is at my back. If there is one person I don’t want to have there in a way that’s not friendly, it’s fucking Crow.

This motherfucker is scary as hell, especially when he wraps that chain around someone’s neck and cuts off their air supply or he’s swinging that barbed bat around.

I catch the look that Wraith aims at Crow, and my entire world crumbles.

They already know.

Whatever happens from here, I won’t go out with regrets. I can’t regret doing what I had to do to keep my woman and my brothers safe. That alone will make me go out with a smile. I should have fucking held my girls a little longer this morning.

Wraith’s eyes meet mine unflinchingly. I lift my chin, meeting his stare head-on but hoping he can read the apology in mine. “I was brought some concerning information tonight. The threats against the girls at Sinful Saloon, we were sure they were connected to the shit Crow has going on. Come to find out that’s not the case. Looks like we have a rival club wanting some attention. The Night Skulls MC has decided to make their presence known to us through our girls. Anyone have any idea why?”

Crow’s and Wraith’s anger licks against my skin. I can’t hold my President’s eyes any longer, so I drop my head, rubbing the back of my neck in weariness.

“It’s not what you think, Pres.”

“Then why don’t you fucking tell me what it is, Steel, because where I’m sitting, it looks like you’ve been keeping secrets from the club. Secrets that have gotten some of our people killed.” Wraith reaches out to take the picture that Jagger’s looking at and slides it across the table to me. “Want to tell me what the fuck Bailee Sterling is doing hiding out in my goddamn strip club, and why you look fucking cozy with her, brother?”

His words vibrate with anger, giving me a glimpse at the rage he’s holding back. The breakfast I ate with my girls sours in my stomach as pain licks up the back of my throat. During all of this with Bailee, I’ve tried hard to not think of the consequences of my actions and how my brothers were going to react when they found out what I’ve been hiding. Knew they’d not take it well. Knew there was a chance I’d walk away without them. When it wasn’t right in my face, it was easier to accept, easier to say the consequences didn’t matter.

But glancing around the table and seeing the betrayal, anger, and pain on my brothers’ faces, I realize it does matter to me.

Can’t regret keeping my woman safe, but it’ll kill me to have to give this life up.

I drop my eyes to the picture in front of me.

Why didn’t I think someone would be manning the security cameras? Hell, why didn’t I realize someone would be paying attention to them at all? Maybe I wanted them to? Maybe I wanted them to know what was going on until I was ready to bring it to them.

I study the picture, and the amount of emotion that pops off the scene at me somehow surprises me. Know what I feel for her, know what she feels for me, but somehow, seeing it is different. It’s real, it’s raw, and it looks fucking painful for both of us.

“What does Bailee have to do with what’s going on at Sinful Saloon?” Wraith asks.

The time for playing on my own is over. It’s past time for them to come aboard.

“Bailee caught Killer and a couple of his members on camera committin’ murder. She barely got away, was shot in the thigh and shoulder as she was escapin’. She called me and did a rush job explainin’, but I met her and patched her up myself. Sendin’ her to the hospital would’ve been a surefire way for her to get dead.”

“Why didn’t you send her to the police? Fuck, why didn’t you come to us with it?” Wraith questions, his frustration and anger still evident in his voice.

I can’t believe he’s actually asking me that. The police part anyway.

“You know damn well why I didn’t send her to the fuckin’ police. The department in Shipton is dirty as fuck. Killer has every single one of them on his payroll. As for why I didn’t bring it to you, we have enough shit goin’ on right now. Our focus is helpin’ Crow find these motherfuckers who are also targetin’ our people. I had it handled. Least, I thought I did. Somehow, they fuckin’ found out where she was. Now, we’re all fixin’ to pay for my goddamn fuck-up. Long as Bailee and Lyric are safe, I don’t give a fuck how we handle this.”

“What’s our rules, Steel?”

They’re so fucking ingrained in me that I could recite the motherfuckers in my sleep, backwards and forwards. “Never betray the club and protect each other at all costs. Never broke either, Pres. I protected everyone the best way I knew how. Didn’t betray anyone either, so don’t pull that bullshit on me. You know damn fuckin’ well I’m loyal to this club. Just because I made a decision you don’t agree with doesn’t mean I’m not.”

Wraith’s palms smack the table, but I don’t even flinch. His wrath is well-earned. “You got some of our people hurt and one of them killed. Women who thought they were safe with us.”

Anger and guilt wrestle inside me, causing me to jump to my feet when I can’t fight them off.

I place my palms on the table so I can lean across it toward Wraith. My lips pull back from my teeth, and I can feel the vessels in my face constricting. “And that’s something I have to live with. Me, Wraith, not you. Their blood, her death, it’s all on my hands. Do what you gotta do to punish me for not comin’ to you, but know that whatever you do isn’t goin’ to hold a candle to the way I punish myself.”

My lungs contract, tightening then loosening, over and over until I can’t get air in to breathe properly. It all collides and explodes inside me. The anger, the hate, the guilt.

Need to get the fuck out of here.

I snap upright and turn, intending to walk the fuck out, but I only make it a few steps before Wraith barks at me.

“Sit the fuck back down!”

My fists clench as I fight through the emotions battling for supreme. Ever since Bailee walked back into my life, it’s been harder to lock them down as I normally would. This time, I put up the fight of my life against them until I come out the winner and they’re shoved into that steel vault in my brain.

I drop back into my chair and stare at the seething man across from me.

“She’s got this footage?” he asks, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest.

“She said she’s got it somewhere safe. Won’t tell me where it’s at.”

“You’re gonna need to bring her in. We’re already involved in this mess, and I need to know what the fuck we’re up against with the Night Skulls. They’re not a fucking cookie cutter club. These motherfuckers make us, Hades Hellions, and Twisted Kings look fucking tame. It’s going to get messy, and it’s going to get fucking bloody. If we’re going to war, we need to be prepared. We need to see those pictures,” he tells me.

The last thing this club needs is to go to fucking war. The more Old Ladies and kids we bring on board, the more vulnerable our club gets because it means we have weaknesses that can be exploited. Means we have to work harder at protecting them. Thought that’s what I was doing with Bailee, but I’m beginning to wonder if I wasn’t wrong in my assumption.

“I’ll do my best to get her in here.”

Wraith growls. “There is no doing your best, Steel. You will bring her in. No harm will come to her, you know that, but if I have to go get her, I won’t be nice about it.”

“Why didn’t she go to her brother? He’s got plenty of fucking money to protect her,” Crow asks from behind me.

I turn to face him so I can look him in the eye when I respond. “She doesn’t want him involved too much. After the shit they went through with their father, she said it’s been rough on him. He’d wrap her in a fuckin’ bubble, and Lee is too independent for that shit.”

“Lee?” he asks, his lip twitching.

Heat spreads over my face, and I grimace. “Shut the fuck up.”

When the quiet laughter flits around the room, I know we’re going to be okay. I might be on the shit list for a while, but they know I didn’t mean the club any harm by trying to protect them and Bailee. My posture loosens as the tension around the room breaks.

Once we quiet down, Wraith gets us back on track and steers the meeting toward Crow’s shit.

He questions him about whether his contact found any information on Baldy. According to Crow, they only found out that there were a couple cases throughout the U.S., but that none of them had solid evidence that link to any one suspect. Jagger explains to Wraith when he asks about Venezuela that they’re looking at all possibilities, but they’ve been unlucky so far. He does believe they’re getting close, which is at least something.

After that response, I can feel the weariness come from Wraith’s side of the table. When I glance over, he’s rubbing his hands over his face.

“Hope so,” he says. “All this shit is exhausting. Hell, I pulled us away from the hard shit and took us more legit so we’d get some calm between the chaos, but it’s been never-ending.”

Griz speaks up for the first time since Church started. “This life, you don’t really get a break, Pres. Been in a long damn time and I’ve yet to see any kind of peace. Not the kind you’re mentioning anyway. You did some good shit, kid. Took this club in the direction it needed to go. But you got to remember, there’s always going to be enemies. We just gotta make sure when we go to war, we’re going for the right reasons. Because when there’s war, there’s also loss of life. This club has already been hit hard once this year with Bozo.”

Wraith peers over at him, studying his face. “You think this is the right reason?”

“A woman is in trouble because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Doesn’t mean she needs to lose her life over it. We’ve always been about the innocent, especially when it’s women and children. Sounds like this Bailee needs her a bit of protection from the Dirty Mavericks.”

I blow out a breath when Wraith nods at Griz’s wise words. “I’ll bring her in tomorrow.”

“Right. Next item on the agenda.” He looks straight at me, and this is when my tension comes back. “What do you think we should do to you? You know we don’t want to do this, but brother, what you did . . . we can’t just let it go.”

“Told you, do what you feel you have to do. Know I fucked up, but wasn’t doin’ anything none of you all wouldn’t do for the women you care about. You need to demote me, I’ll cut off my patch right now. Don’t wanna, but it’s what I’ll do to appease you. Want my colors? Fuckin’ guts me, but I’ll do it if you need.”

Wraith tilts his head, studying me before coming to some sort of decision. “All in favor of demotion?” Vote goes around the table with a unanimous nay. “All in favor of a three-month probationary period for stripping rank?” This vote comes out in a unanimous yay. “All in favor of stripping colors?” Again, the vote lands unanimously with nay. “I want more than probation. Suggestions, brothers?”

“Let’s take him to Court,” Thrasher, our SAA, suggests.

Motherfucker.

So much for going home and fucking my woman into oblivion tonight.

Court consists of a member getting in the “ring” with chosen members of the club for however long the vote deems necessary. The members being taken to court go through a pyramid setup that’s voted upon. The first round, you have to face a prospect. This allows us to see which of them have the stomach and the skill to hack it as a Dirty Maverick. In the second round, you face a non-officer member. If you make it through those two rounds, it’s the last round where you take your fucking beating. You have to step in and face three officers. The officers vary, and it’s always voted upon. Death isn’t allowed, so some caution has to be taken, but there have been times when Blade and Phantom, along with Kiwi, have had to do some work, depending upon the severity of the offense. It’s vicious, but it gives the club another option for punishment other than demotion, stripping colors, or banishment from the club and all their owned establishments.

Bailee is going to be so pissed.

“All in favor of taking Steel to Court?” Wraith asks, and this time, the vote is a unanimous yay. Wraith glances at me and fucking smirks, gleeful satisfaction in his eyes. “It’s time to serve your sentence, brother.”

“How long am I serving?” I ask with a sigh, needing to know how sore I’m gonna be later.

“All three rounds will last two minutes per juror. You have the choice of facing them individually or together,” he says.

“Who are my jurors?”

I know whoever they choose, I’m going to be in a world of fucking trouble because my brothers need me to feel their pain for not coming to them.

“First round, your juror is Prospect Keaton.”

That crazy-ass fucking prospect. Keaton reminds me too much of Phantom and Blade. He’s got that killer instinct, and I’ve seen him in a brawl or two . . . fucking lethal.

Dammit.

“Round two, your jurors are Gremlin and Jagger.”

Gremlin smiles at me with a wickedness that tells me he’s going to revel in his fists meeting my skin. Jagger, however, is a blank slate. His face is relaxed, his eyes empty. He doesn’t smile, doesn’t frown or scowl. I know the only time I’ll witness him coming to life is when he’s painting my body black, blue, and crimson. It’s the only time he ever comes to life, unless he’s doing his depraved shit to whoever will let him.

If I’m lucky to still be standing by the time these two finish.

“Who are my last jurors?”

This time, the smile on Wraith’s face tells me I’m not going to be driving myself home tonight.

“Round three, your jurors are me, Crow, and Tweek.”

Of course, he’d choose the two craziest fucking psychos in this club to join him.

When I glance at Tweek, he snaps his teeth at me and winks, causing me to shake my head.

I nod. “When does my sentencing begin?”

“Be in Court at nightfall,” Wraith orders.

After my punishment has been dealt with, we move on to other club business. Once everything is ironed out, Wraith calls an end to Church with a pound of his gavel.

The sound doesn’t only signal an end to our club business—it starts the countdown to my time in Court.

This is gonna hurt.