Five hours isn’t enough sleep, but that’s all I’m getting, apparently, when the rap on the door gets louder.
“Motown, Hawk wants all the guys downstairs, like now!”Declan says in a loud whisper.
“Yeah, man.I hear ya,” I groan, running a hand over my face.“I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Make it a quick minute.He sounds anxious,” I hear from the other side of the door.
Tessa is still asleep, and when I go to move away from her, she purses her lips in a pout.It’s so fucking cute, and I wish I had the time to wake her up properly, but club business comes first this morning.I pull on a fresh pair of jeans, drag my tee over my head, and slip on my boots.As I slip out the door, I look back and see Tessa snuggling with my pillow; the sheets have slid down to her waist, exposing the curve of her back.My cock stirs, but I ignore him and gently shut the door.
Shooter and I come in together and see that Declan and Lee are in the room as well.That’s new!Prospects aren’t allowed in club meetings.Then again, these guys have been through plenty of rough patches from the start and, in my opinion, deserve to be here.
“We’re all here, so let’s get to it,” Hawk says, then looks over at our prospects.“Lee and Declan have been with the club for two years, and it’s time to decide on whether they stay or go.This means we vote.I would rather have done this at a different time, but we have a bigger battle ahead of us, and I want it done now.Any objections?”He looks around the room, then declares, “Right.Let’s get on with it.”He points to Declan and motions for him to step forward.“We’ll go around the room.We start with you, Drifter.”
“Yes,” Drifter replies firmly.“I have Raven’s vote, and he votes yes.”
Shooter, Flex, and Decker give a resounding “Yes.”
I’m up next.“Yes,” I state firmly.
All eyes move back to Hawk.“I have Phantom’s vote, and he agrees with me.We both say yes.”
Declan’s face lights up, and his chest puffs out like a peacock.I remember when I was brought into the club.It was a little different because I was one of the founding members, but trust still needed to be earned, and if any one of us wasn’t feeling it, then I would have been out.
“From this day forward, your road name is Roar.You speak your mind and roar like a raging lion when you protect the club.Welcome, brother,” Hawk says and hands him his new black leather jacket with his new name stitched into the back and the full Redemption Rider insignia on his chest.He takes it from Hawk and steps back, then shrugs off his old prospect jacket and dons his new one with pride.
Hawk nods to Lee.“Step forward.”Lee moves up and looks directly into Hawk’s eyes.“Ready for our vote, Lee?”
“Yes, sir,” Lee replies with his head held high.Lee has been harder to get to know.He holds a lot in and speaks only when he has something to say.He’s not a big talker, but his actions say it all.He’s fiercely loyal and isn’t afraid to do what it takes to protect his brothers and the club.
Hawk nods to Drifter.“Yes, for both my vote and Raven’s,” Drifter says.
“Shooter?”Hawk prompts.
“Yes,” Shooter answers.
“Yes.”Flex jumps in before being asked, and Decker adds his ”Yes” immediately following.
“Motown?”Hawk looks to me for my response.
“It’s a yes for me,” I say, but I turn my gaze to Lee, who I can see wants to be part of this club more than anything and is so close with two votes remaining.
“I guess it’s up to me and Phantom,” Hawk says with a sigh.“I know that you belong with the Redemption Riders.It’s good that you shared your story with me, and the rule for this club is that you share what you’re comfortable with in your own time.I think it says a lot about the men who voted for you to stay, because most of them don’t know what I know.That’s called trust.”Hawk takes a step forward and places a hand on his shoulder.“Phantom left his vote to me, and I vote for you to ride with us.Welcome, brother.”
You can feel the tension ease from Lee’s body, and a glimmer of a smile crosses his face.“I won’t let you down,” Lee says, looking around the room.“You can count on me.”
“From this moment on, you are called Tacitus.It means a man with a quiet nature.I think it suits you best.”Hawk hands him his new jacket.
“Can I say something?”Tacitus asks.
Hawk waves his hand in a gesture to go ahead.Tacitus clears his throat and speaks up.“I stopped believing in good people.Junkie parents, shitty foster care homes, too many kids with nowhere to go.I wanted to be their hero, and I couldn’t save them all.My gut still aches when I think of the ugly shit I’ve seen and couldn’t change.I haven’t shared too much because it still hurts”—he places a hand over his heart—“here.But I will, I promise.”
Hawk slaps his shoulder, and Tacitus steps back next to his friend and brother, Roar.
“We’ll have to save the celebration for later.Dealing with Bronson is a priority.You know how I hate involving others in our business, but I don’t think we have much of a choice.Too many of our members are away at the moment.Some are still serving in the army, and others are finishing business with other clubs.We can’t wage a war and win.I want to call in Satan’s Pride, with the understanding that we decide how to move forward in our attack against Bronson Sunderland.Guard’s the only man I trust to have our backs.But we all need to agree,” Hawk says.
“The Pride are solid brothers and think the way we do.I’m in,” Drifter says.“I also think we need a man undercover.Someone to infiltrate Bronson’s circle and feed us information.He’s been one step ahead of us, and that needs to stop.”
“It can’t be any of us,” I say.“He knows our faces.”