Page 13 of Embracing the Consequences

He leveled a glare at their president. “This democracy going full-blown dictatorship?” he questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

Buckley seemed to have realized what he said and tried backtracking. “Now that’s not what I meant to say,” he stammered.

“The hell it’s not,” Bear shot back. “Your actions lately have spelled it out loud and clear. Since when do prospects sit in church?” Bear raised a heavy gray eyebrow at Buckley from across the table.

There was a rustling as brothers looked around the room. “What the fuck?” Nickle glared, looking around the table. The poor bastard was still recovering from the beatdown he’d gotten from the Knights. Besides bruises, a broken rib or two, and a broken nose, he was lucky to have been mostly uninjured after being caught spying on the Ravager Knights—on Buckley’s order.

Marcos took that opportunity to speak up. “Grunts out,” he ordered.

There was a painfully long pause as the five prospects turned to Buckley instead of listening to a direct order from a patched brother, their VP at that.

Marcos narrowed his gaze on Buckley as the man nodded to the prospects around them. The five men that Marcos didn’t recognize stood up and filed out.

“I don’t remember voting on any new prospects either. Let alonefive,” Marcos stated, his voice low. “Who the hell are they even? Who vouched for them?”

“Not me,” Trick said.

“Me neither,” Ransom shot out.

Bear, Nickle, Dagger, and Stone all shook their heads.

Before the door could close completely behind the five prospects, the door swung open again and four imposing figures filed in.

Fucking finally, Marcos thought as Ace, Axel, Blaze, and Phoenix filed in. They were followed a moment later by Jerry Langford. When the five men were seated around the table, Marcos made sure to look them each in the eye as he asked, “Where the hell were you guys?”

“Doing a job for me,” Buckley shot at Marcos before any of the five men could answer.

Marcos watched them unfailingly though. There was something off about their disappearance. Marcos wasn’t particularly close with Ace, Axel, Blaze, and Phoenix, but he would be questioning Jerry later, in private.

Ace glared at Marcos, and Marcos glared back.

Something was going on, and Marcos would get to the bottom of it.

Johnny rolled into theparking lot of the hole-in-the-wall diner on the border of Mourningside and Creekton with Kevin and Derrick on his heels. The nondescript building was run-down, but Momma Jean served up a mean cup of coffee and had the best damn pancakes around.

Johnny parked his Harley up front in the lineup of three other bikes. He cut the engine and dismounted, setting his helmet on the handlebar and waiting for Kevin and Derrick to follow suit.

“You sure about this, man?” Derrick asked, scratching his thick beard as his green eyes surveyed the patrons through the windows.

Johnny couldn’t fault his brother for the distrust. After all the shit that had happened between the Devil’s Psychos and the Ravager Knights lately, Johnny was questioning his own decisions here.

They’d murdered Rachet, sent a spy to the clubhouse, teamed up with Vince fucking Carmichael, and ordered a hit through the fucking Las Serpientes on his own damn father. They’d killed his father.

By all rights, they had declared war on the Ravager Knights.

Johnny could have ordered them all dead, on sight.

Instead, he was meeting with Marcos Candela, the VP of the Devil’s Psychos, in neutral territory. Momma Jean’s was inside the Coopers’ one-mile radius around Skin of a Different Breed. Momma Jean also had the same philosophy as Slade Cooper—no sides, no drama, just pay up. It made for a great meeting place when discussions were needed. It also helped that Momma Jean was a hard-ass who kept a twelve gauge behind the bar, and she wasn’t afraid to use it.

Johnny nodded his head once at his brothers before he headed for the door. Kevin was already a step ahead of him and opened things up. He did a quick surveillance of the inside of the diner before he stepped out of the way and let Johnny through.

Johnny gritted his teeth at his brother’s mother-henning,but it wasn’t that long ago that Johnny was doing the same thing for his father. It was part of the job as the club’s vice president. Johnny nodded his head at Kevin as he walked by him, noting both Stone and Dagger sitting at the diner’s long counter.

Stone and Dagger were notorious in their own rights, but neither had ever personally done anything to slight Johnny. He nodded once at them and headed for the back corner booth where Marcos was already seated.

Johnny moved slowly, not happy that once he took a seat his back would be to the room, but as this was a show oftrust, he would have to deal. He trusted his brothers to have his back should anything unsavory arise.

“Hey man.” Marcos stood up and greeted Johnny as he walked up. He held out his hand and Johnny shook it. “I’m sorry about your old man.”

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