Page 50 of Friar
“You endangered one of our own,” he said, each word falling like a hammer blow.“You brought heat to our doorstep.You betrayed the trust of this club.”
I watched Tasha’s tears drip onto the floor between her feet, felt nothing but a cold satisfaction at her breakdown.She’d tried three times to take Cheri and our baby from me.Had very nearly succeeded.Had put a bullet in my shoulder that could just as easily have gone through Cheri’s heart.My sympathy had died with her first attempt.
Beast gave a slight nod to Forge, who stepped forward to take Tasha’s arm from Hawk.“Take her to the back.We’ll deal with her after Church.”
Forge led the sobbing woman away, her steps faltering as the reality of her situation fully registered.I watched her go, feeling nothing but a grim certainty that justice was finally at hand.The club would vote, but the outcome was never in doubt.You didn’t target an old lady, especially a pregnant one, and live to brag about it.
A few hours later I followed Beast into the back room.Church felt smaller tonight, the air already thick with cigarette smoke and tension before the brothers had even filed in.Beast took his place at the head of the long wooden table, the carved gavel in front of him a stark reminder of the formality of what was about to happen.This wasn’t the usual club business of territories and profit margins.This was life and death… Tasha’s life for her attempts on Cheri’s life.
One by one, my brothers entered, faces grim as they took their seats.No one spoke, the usual pre-meeting banter absent, chairs scraped against the floor.The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting harsh shadows across weathered faces.I eased into my chair, fatigue weighing me down, but I wanted this shit resolved and my family to be safe.
The door closed behind the last brother, Shield moving to stand near the projector he’d set up at the far end of the room.The click of the lock engaging echoed like a gunshot in the silence.
Beast cleared his throat, his massive hands resting flat on the table before him.“Church is now in session.We’re here to address the actions of Tasha Davis against this club and specifically against the old lady of our brother, Friar.”
The words “old lady” sent a surge of something fierce through my chest.Cheri was mine, and Tasha had tried to take her from me.
“For the record,” Beast continued, his voice steady but with an underlying current of steel, “the charges against Tasha are as follows: First, the poisoning of Cheri at our club barbecue, an act that endangered both her and her unborn child.”
I clenched my jaw, the memory of Cheri doubled over in pain, her face ashen as she collapsed, still raw despite the weeks that had passed.
“Second, the orchestration of a hit-and-run attempt outside the maternity store in town, where Nugget intervened, saving Cheri’s life, and where both Hawk and Wrangler were assaulted in the course of their duties as her security.”
Nugget nodded almost imperceptibly from his seat across the table.
“Third, yesterday’s shooting at Rusty’s Diner, where Friar was wounded protecting Cheri.”
“Shield, present the evidence for the record.”
Shield stepped forward, clicking a remote that brought the projector to life.Images appeared on the screen -- security footage from the barbecue showing a figure by the food table, phone records with highlighted timestamps, credit card statements, and finally, a transcript of the recorded conversation we’d all heard earlier.
“The evidence is conclusive,” Shield said, his voice lacking its usual sarcasm.“Tasha Davis personally poisoned food intended for Cheri, hired individuals to run her down outside the maternity store, and coordinated the shooting at Rusty’s Diner.She confessed to all three crimes when confronted with this evidence.”
I scanned the faces around me.Men I’d ridden with, fought beside, bled for.Men who’d become more than brothers by choice rather than birth.I saw the same hardening in their expressions as Shield outlined each attempt on Cheri’s life, each calculated move Tasha had made to eliminate what she saw as competition.
No one spoke.No one needed to.The code we lived by was clear on this matter.You didn’t target family.You didn’t endanger children.You didn’t betray the trust of the club.Tasha had done all three.
“This isn’t just about Friar’s woman,” Beast said, his gaze moving deliberately from face to face around the table.“This is about loyalty to the patch.About what happens when someone brings heat to our doorstep, when they endanger what’s ours.”
He didn’t need to elaborate.We all knew the stakes.The shooting had drawn police attention we didn’t need.Had put civilian lives at risk.Had crossed lines that couldn’t be uncrossed.
“We vote now,” Beast said, the traditional words hanging heavy in the smoke-filled air.“A tap for yes, flat hand for no.”
This vote was a formality, we all knew it, but traditions mattered in the club.Process mattered.It separated us from the chaos outside our walls, gave structure to the violence when violence became necessary.
Snake went first, the heavy silver ring on his right hand making a dull thud against the wooden table.Hawk followed, then Forge, then each brother in turn.I waited until last, my heartbeat loud in my ears as I raised my hand and brought it down firmly, my ring connecting with the scarred wood with a sound of finality.
Not a single flat palm.Unanimous.
Beast nodded once, accepting the verdict without surprise.“Forge,” he said quietly.
Forge stood without a word, moving toward the door that led to the back rooms where Tasha was being held.The lock disengaged with a metallic click, and he disappeared into the hallway.
The silence stretched as we waited, each man lost in his own thoughts.I stared at the wall across from me, not really seeing it.My mind was on Cheri, safely back at Beast’s house under heavy guard.On our baby, growing stronger each day despite Tasha’s attempts to end that life before it had properly begun.On the justice that was about to be served, cold and final.
The door opened again, and Forge returned, giving Beast a slight nod that told us everything we needed to know.Tasha was secure, ready for whatever came next.
“Tonight,” Beast said, his voice cutting through the thick silence, “we send a message.No one threatens our family and lives.No one.”
