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“Before I continue…” He looks right at me. “Hawk, is there anything you’d like to say to the club?”
I glance around the table, taking note of all the brothers here with us. Some return my stare with a nod, others look the other way. All in all, I get mixed feelings about the situation.
“Being a part of the Savages motorcycle club has always been a dream of mine,” I start. “I grew up here, and it became my extended family for a while, before it turned into my only family.”
They were a great support to me when my mother fell ill. They all came together as one to tend to my needs while I was looking into options for her. They organized runs to raise money for her care, and they always asked me about her. In a way, she was like the club’s mother, the only one some of them knew.
“The decisions I made while gathering intel to take the Steel Lizards down were not lightly made.”
I stare at my hands for a moment, briefly wondering if I made a mistake. It doesn’t take me long to realize that I am at peace with it.
“The mole was not part of their club,” I try to explain my actions. “And I thought I could protect her if I laid claim on her.”
Prez’s one eyebrow goes up mockingly. “Did you make her your ol’ lady then?”
I know he has me there. Had I given Ruby the coveted title of my ol’ lady, she would’ve had the protection of the club. Then again, I couldn’t have made her my ol’ lady without the club’s prior approval. Either way, I was in a lose-lose situation.
“No,” I respond to him.
“You put your brothers at risk without thinking, Hawk,” he chastises me like I’m a little kid. “You went against my direct orders.”
His voice is like thunder, rolling all around the room. We all understand the implications.
“And because of that,” he continues, “I can’t have you as part of the club. I don’t trust you.”
He glares around the table, resolution clear in his eyes.
“We have two more issues to vote on tonight. Hawk’s elimination from the club.” He brings his eyes to stare at me. “And the manner in which it will happen.”
At this point, I am praying for something easy, like a bullet to the head.
TWENTY-TWO
Ruby
The man named Devereaux gave me no choice but to listen to him. I am scared that I might have jumped into yet another impossible situation. Despite all the years I’ve been on my own, I still feel stupid and naïve. No street smarts to talk about here.
Now, as I walk with him and his huge bodyguard in the house they brought me to, I am in awe of my luxurious surroundings. I have never in my life seen anything this nice before. I am scared that my biker boots will scuff the flooring, and I try to walk as gently as possible, almost on my tippy toes.
“Make yourself comfortable, Miss Santiago,” Devereaux encourages once we passed the entry way and are not in a spacious living area.
I walk over to the couch and sit on the edge of it, trying really hard not to give into temptation and sink into its plushness. My backpack with all the cash is safely in my lap, and I hold on to it for dear life.
“Are you hungry?” he asks. “Thirsty?”
I shake my head, even more nervous than before. My stomach lets out a small grumble but I don’t even know if it is from the nerves or if I am actually hungry. Besides, it would be too easy for them to poison me if I took his offer.
Devereaux takes a seat on the couch opposite me. He nods at his bodyguard to leave the room, and as soon as the double doors close with a soft click, he smiles at me.
“I know that Bricks was targeting you at the strip club,” he starts.
My entire body tenses in anticipation of something bad happening.
“I was doing the same thing.”
His words fall over me like they are made of lead. They hit me hard and make me shrink into myself, unable to believe that I was stupid enough to leave the bus station with him. I could’ve been on my way to Alaska by now.
“Our motives were different,” he confesses while giving me an apologetic smile. “I’d known Bricks for a very long time. In fact, we used to be friends. We also became business partners, and we had lucrative deals for the longest time.”
