He waited for Scar to lock the door and get his ass in his chair before he brought the hammer down.
“By now most of you fuckers know what went down last night. But just in case you don’t. Sin, why don’t you fill us all in.”
Sin laid it out and when he finished there were shocked faces all around. But he noticed two faces were carefully blank, it was the fuckers who had been in the common room. The same bastards who had failed to protect one of their women.
“Right, here’s how this is going to go down. There were eight of you in the common room at the time. Three of you were apparently fucking and didn’t see a thing. Another two were passed out on the couches and of no use to anyone. That leaves three of you who could have and should have stepped in. And before you claim you didn’t see what was going down, don’t. You know there are cameras in the common room. You were going to stand back and allow those fucks to rape one of our own while you watched. Or were you planning on joining in?”
Outraged shouts rang out around the room but Hawk ignored them as he focused on the three men at the far end of the room. One of them looked like he was sick to his stomach and about to explode. And he did, but not in the way he had expected. He exploded at his brothers sitting next him.
“Fokkit! (Fuck that!) Ek weier om julle gatte te cover. (I refuse to cover your asses.) I’m not going down because the two of you are fucking stupid assholes.” Bakkies (Face) raged at his friends.
“Prez, I tried to get them to stop their shit, but no, they kept on bad mouthing her and those bastards overheard them. I think they were under the impression we wouldn’t step up for her. The next thing I know, two of them at the bar trying to grab her. When Chris pulled the shotgun I dived on two of the fuckers who were sitting behind us but I’d had too much to drink and they knocked my ass out.” Bakkies (Face) explained in a tight and disgusted voice.
“You’re very lucky the camera footage corroborates your story, Bakkies (Face). Very fucking lucky.” Hawk snarled at the stupid fuck who had the sense to drop his fucking head in shame.
“So the two of you were okay with what was going to happen to her?” Hawk focused on the two men looking shocked but still defiant. Why they would believe that anyone would back them up stumped him.
“No, Prez, no, we wouldn’t have let it go that far.” Bok (Goat) had his hands up and shaking his head. “We were planning to step in but we wanted her to get a good scare so she would pack her fucking bags and leave. She fucked with Beast and his old lady and she should have been thrown out. Instead she was allowed to stay and it’s causing shit between the brothers because there are some who want her in their beds. We thought this would send her running and the club would finally be rid of her. We would never have let them rape her, maybe just let them rough her up a bit but that’s all.”
There was a roar as Jagger, Crash and Dizzy launched themselves out of their chairs to charge at Bok (Goat) and Zipper.
Hawk had expected something like this to happen and he had Ice and Kid on Jagger. Wrench and Ratel on Crash, and Buzz and Rider had their hands on Dizzy, keeping him in his seat as he struggled to get to the men. They were restrained but kept struggling and Jagger kept roaring threats at the now terrified men. They all knew exactly how crazy Jagger could get when he lost control. And he had lost it, completely. If he got loose they would have fucking carnage on their hands.
Jumping up Hawk quickly approached Jagger where he was being held by Ice and Kid. Standing in front of his brother he stared into his eyes, and then he waited, waited until Jagger slowly started to calm down. Crash had calmed the instant his brothers dragged him back to his chair but his eyes were on Jagger. It was very clear he wasn’t taking direction from anyone but Jagger.
“Jagger, brother, I need you to stay calm. You’re not helping by losing your shit. Sit down and wait your turn. You got me?” He got right into Jagger’s face and waited for the blind rage in his eyes to retreat, only once he was sure his brother had a handle on it did he return to the head of the table.
“Now, let’s get this fucking done. The two of you ignored our bylaws. It clearly states that all women belonging to the club are to be protected at all times. All women, not just some women. That means old ladies, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, and daughters; any woman tied to this club is covered by that law, even fucking club sluts. We heard your fucked up explanation for the shit you were going to allow to happen to one of ours.” Hawk stared into their shocked eyes as he laid it out. “And when I say one of ours, that’s exactly what she is. Chris is one of ours. Jagger claimed her as family a few days ago and we were going to announce it at Church on Monday.” There were a couple of heavily indrawn breaths but for the most part the room was deathly silent.
Hawk sat in his chair and fumed. He couldn’t believe the shit two of his men, his men, were going to allow. After everything the women at their club had been subjected to. Drawing in a deep breath he got ready to do what he had to do but didn’t fucking like doing. But Jagger interrupted.
“May I speak, Prez?”
Hawk nodded and along with everyone else waited to hear what he had to say.
“Since the day Beast fucked Chris over the men in this club have been looking at her like she’s a club slut. She has never been a slut and every single one of you know it. She’s been with two men in this room. Only two. Think about it motherfuckers. Those were relationships, not random fucking. I don’t give a fuck how Beast tried to spin it, he was in a relationship with her and he knows it. That’s why he pulled the shit he did. I’m fucking happy for him that he’s back with his woman but he should have let Chris down gently. Not ignored her and treated her like a whore before shoving his woman in her face. And brother, I know you and Ice are going to say you talked to her but when you finally did it was already too fucking late.”
Glancing at Beast, Hawk saw the brother nodding in agreement.
“I fucked up, brother, I admit it. If anyone in this room ever steps out of line with Chris ever again I’ll have your back, you have my word.” Beast said quietly.
Jagger didn’t say a word just nodded and let it go, because it had been discussed with the officers, they just needed it to be said where every single patch could hear and take it in.
Hawk put his elbows on the table, interlocked his fingers and held them against his chin as he looked around the room. “Right, you’ve heard it all and now we have to decide how to punish our brothers for violating one of our bylaws.”
Kid and Ice had returned to their seats and it was Ice who tapped on the table to get everyone’s attention. Hawk nodded at him to go ahead.
“As the club’s VP it’s my job to take my president’s back at all times. This is one such a time. As the club’s legal expert I would like to point out how this could have played out if, God forbid, Chris was raped. With what they had planned to do to her she would have ended up in a hospital, if she survived. Pigs would have been involved either way. Our club would have been implicated. The two of you would have been arrested for aiding and abetting a violent rape and murder if she died. Her family, who are all high powered lawyers, would have gotten involved. You would have been looking at about 25 years behind bars. Especially right now when the spotlight is being shone on violence against women and girls.”
Hawk sat back as Ice let that sink in for a minute before he continued.
“You not only endangered one of our own, you endangered the club. The punishment is on the books. You face the president or his proxy in the ring and you lose patch status. That means you lose your senior patch and go back down to junior patch status.” Ice was silent for a second. “Or you lay your kuttes on the table, have your tattoos blacked out and walk out of here untouched. You will be fair game if a brother comes across you, anywhere, anytime. The decision is yours.”
Hawk watched them with narrowed eyes as they lost all colour, then Zipper turned to Jagger.
“I’m sorry, brother. I’ll face yo
u in the ring and take my punishment. I was an asshole and I regret my stupidity. I’m grateful for the leniency granted, I don’t want to lose my patch or my club. I’ll work hard to prove my loyalty to you and my brothers.”
“You heard what he said, Zipper, it’s not me you’ll be facing.” Jagger said quietly. “You’ll be facing your president or his proxy in the ring.”
Hawk didn’t think the bastard could get any whiter, but he did.
Zipper pulled in a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Okay, I’ll take it, anything to clear this up and start back with a clean slate.”
Hawk looked at the man who had been sitting with his head down, his eyes focused on the floor.
“You got anything to say, Bok (Goat)?”
“Ja, Prez.” He said softly. “I’m a fucking asshole, you all know it. But I give you my word I would never have allowed them to rape her. Never, not in a fucking million years. And I agree with Jagger, she’s a good girl but I allowed personal shit to intrude and did something really fucking fucked up. I’m sorry, Jagger, Crash, I should have protected your family. I didn’t. I’ll take my punishment. I deserve whatever comes my way.”
Hawk tapped his fingers on the table as he looked at his brothers; they were all looking back at him waiting for his decision. And thank fuck today it was easy.
“Right, this is what’s going to happen. Your senior patches will be taken and you’ll start back at the bottom as junior patches. You won’t be facing me in the ring.” Hawk waited for the murmurs to subside before he continued. “You’ll be facing my proxy, Beast.”
The two men looked horrified for a minute but both drew in deep breaths and nodded.
“But, as Beast is as much to blame for this shit he will have one arm tied behind his back.”
Shock showed on the faces of the men but then they started smiling and nodding. Agreeing with his decision, even Beast nodded.
“Okay, fuck, now that we have that shit sorted let’s get on to the next piece of business. Sludge, you have anything to say for yourself, brother?”
Sludge slowly shook his head from side to side then dropped his head against the back of his chair and kept his eyes on the ceiling as he started to speak.
“I fucked up last night. I was on my phone trying to talk Martie into letting me see her and the kids on Sunday and for once we were talking and not shouting at each other.” He dropped his head and looked at Hawk. “When Jilly drove up to the gate it pissed me off and scared me. She’s the reason my old lady left me. The slut told Martie I’d fucked her and that I was going to make her my woman. I didn’t want to fucking talk to her while I had my old lady on the phone talking to me for the first time in weeks. So I waved them through. I didn’t check the cars. I didn’t tell the prospects to check the cars like I should have.” He shook his head with a sigh. “Fuck, Prez, I didn’t want Martie to hear her fucking voice and come to the wrong conclusion. Not when at last it seemed like I had a really good chance to fix my fuck up.”
Hawk totally got it but he couldn’t let it go. Sludge had to face his punishment same as all the others. But he did understand the man’s reasoning. He might have done the same if he had been in Sludge’s situation.
“Okay brother, it will be the ring for you. You’re back on patrols for the time being. Fix your fucking problems with your old lady. Let her know the sluts are gone, permanently. I want to see her and the kids at the next family braai, no excuses. Understood?”
“Thank you, Prez. I’m fixing my shit and she’ll be here. I lost my fucking head for a while but I’m back. No more shit from me, I give you my word.” Sludge said as he laid a hand on the patch over his heart.
“Glad to hear, brother. You’ll be in the ring with Jagger. He requested to face you because according to our brother you need to have your shit woken up.”
Laughter rang out and even Sludge gave a little chuckle as he nodded at Jagger.
“This goes for all of you.” Hawk look around the room at his brothers. “If a club slut or hangaround approaches your woman and hangs you out to dry I need to know about it. Immediately. Right, let’s move on, and as we’re all here anyway we might as well handle some club business.”
Hawk felt slightly more relaxed as he brought his brothers up to date on club business.
“We’ll be hosting Hotdog and some of his men in two weeks’ time. They will arrive on Friday and there will be a party to welcome them to the clubhouse. The party will be for brothers only, no family, I expect everyone to be here but you may leave early. On Saturday we will have a family braai and on Sunday there will be a ride out to Harties for all of those who want to go along, the ride is not compulsory. While they are here I will be in talks with Hotdog most of the time but we will be done by Sunday when we’ll have the usual family dinner. They will head back to Durban on Monday morning. Any questions?”
Scar put up his hand. “Prez, do you know who’s coming with him?”
Hawk knew exactly why his lieutenant wanted to know and was sorry he couldn’t give it to him.
“No, brother, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out. This is a top level meeting so I don’t foresee him coming with more than about six brothers, and those will all be senior patches.”
Hawk watched as the brother relaxed and nodded. He didn’t need another fucking problem right now. He wanted to get out of church now they’ve got shit handled. The shit with Devon could wait until he heard back from their doc.
“Okay, you fuckers, we’re done. The rule about no one riding alone still stands. Now get out of here so I can spend the rest of the day with my old lady.” Hawk slammed the hammer down and was already out of his chair and heading to the doors when his men started laughing. Throwing up both hands with middle fingers raised he strode out the door that Zipper had rushed to unlock and went in search of his old lady.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Scar
For the last two weeks security had been stepped up at the compound and at all club businesses. Everyone was keeping a sharp eye out for the woman who had poisoned Devon. The tests their doc had run came back positive for a slow acting poison that would make you damned ill but not kill you. According to the intel the club had gathered he had been poisoned by Jane Warne, a woman who hated Hawk, his old lady and the club. Devon had been lucky the poison wasn’t lethal but it had knocked him on his ass for two whole days.
One of the few highlights during this time had been the fights. Every one attended and cheered as Beast, with one arm tied behind his back first faced Zipper and then Bok (Goat). After watching those fights Scar knew to never get on Beast’s bad side. Even with one arm tied behind his back he had wiped the floor with both men.
But it was the fight between Jagger and Sludge that had set the betting book on fire. Apparently Sludge had been a professional boxer before joining the club and still fought in underground fights, and it showed. He was in very good shape and gave Jagger a damn good fight. They were so evenly matched neither could get the upper hand and eventually Hawk had to step in and call the fight. It was declared a draw. He hadn’t placed any bets on the outcome and therefore didn’t lose any money, but the same could not be said for many of the brothers. When there wasn’t a clear winner the money on the betting book went into the club’s slush fund. It had made Kahn grin because he administered the fund. It was apparently used for rallies and events and so on.
While his brothers had been working on improving security Scar had been working his ass off to get his body strong enough to be an asset and not a hindrance. He had felt fucking helpless when the shit had gone down with Chris and never wanted to feel that way again. For the last two weeks he had been swimming daily, sometimes more than once a day, to strengthen his back muscles.
And he had been stalking Chris. He had approached her in the pool and spoke to her but then backed off. He couldn’t stay away though. He arrived early for his daily swim, and watched her as she got out of the pool. Her b
ody had been honed by swimming and in her plain black swim suit he had a great view of her amazing rack and toned ass. Those long legs of hers had him seeing visions of them clasped around his waist. It made him hard as a fucking rock just thinking about it.
Until he realised he was getting too interested in a club girl and immediately stopped going to the pool to watch her. Not fucking happening. Not again.
Added to the swimming he had kept up a punishing regime of exercises set by his physical therapist and Tori. And today, finally, his hard work had paid off.
This morning his specialist had given him the green light to throw away the fucking walking stick plus he was cleared to ride his bike. He had to wear a brace, but fuck, he was riding and that’s all that mattered. What his doc and Tori didn’t know was that he had been sneaking walks without the damned stick for the last week and had been taking short rides on his bike. Yes, his back had ached like a bitch at first but it had been worth it. Today he would be taking a longer ride, with the brace the doc insisted he wore, as a test and was waiting for Boots and Spook on the veranda outside the front doors of the club. As he looked around the compound he noted the stepped up security. Jagger had increased the men at the gate and there were now two patched members along with two prospects on duty at all times. Visitors no longer came through the gate without calls to the clubhouse for clearance.
And just thinking about visitors had his gut churning. Hotdog and some of his men were due to arrive at the compound tomorrow and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all. The minute he had ridden out of the Durban compound he had mentally closed the gates behind him and focused on what was going to be his new road. A road he had thought would be him joining the Nomads. That did not happen, instead here he was, a lieutenant at the mother chapter.
Another thing that bugged him almost continuously was that he still hadn’t apologised to Chris. He should have the minute he had walked out of church on that Saturday morning. He had approached her at the pool but again didn’t do it. She had been a no show at the clubhouse for a few days, and when she did come back to work she had a new and very vicious guard constantly at her side.
Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5) Page 10