Page 35 of The Savage Outlaw

It felt good to be back at the table. The guys all stood and applauded for Priest as he took his seat. The table was visibly getting thinner. Priest looked at Fitz’s empty chair and he felt his anger bubbling. Along with that came the pain in his head.

“Late night for me last night,” Darrow said. “Mara couldn’t get comfortable. Surviving pregnancy is going to be a hell of a ride.”

Priest had been taking in information as the guys had all been talking. He felt as though he had been in a coma for a decade.

“You fucked the rat’s wife and got her pregnant,” Priest blurted out loud.

The entire table went quiet as Darrow looked at Priest.

“That a problem for you?” Darrow asked.

“I’m in a hospital bed seconds from death and you’re fucking someone’s wife,” Priest said. “Let me guess, she was helpful, right? She played a part in finding the rat?”

“What’s done it done, Priest,” Darrow said. “You’re here. I’m here. And the rat is where he belongs.”

“Priest, when we took the Dr. Smile vote—”

“Don’t say it, Slade,” Darrow said. “Fuck him.”

“Fuck me?” Priest asked. He stood up. “I’ll come over there and fuck you.”

“You’re into that now?” Darrow asked. “You want to come fuck me?”

“You two can fuck each other later,” Cyrus said, finally stepping in. “Are we done here?”

Darrow showed his hands and sat back in his chair.

“Everyone voted for this?” Priest asked.

“We gave all ourDr. Smilevotes to Darrow,” Linc said. “And he made the final call. In your honor.”

“No need to explain things out more than it should,” Slade added, “but Mara fled from Fitz. He wanted to hurt her. Kill her. She went to Darrow for protection. We made sure things were solid before offering our protection too.”

“And now she’s carrying this club’s bloodline forward,” Cyrus asked. “Any issues with that get resolved right now.”

“I’ll keep all that in mind,” Priest said.

“You go near Mara and I’ll fucking finish what Fitz started,” Darrow said.

Priest tried to dive over the table. It took Custer, Monte, and Deed to hold Priest back. Linc and Slade put Darrow against a wall, Linc with his forearm to Darrow’s throat.

“There’s a fucking rat tied up, dying, waiting for us,” Cyrus called out. “Our fucking table is thinned out more than any table should be. We’re supposed to be the goddamn backbone for the other charters. All of the others—SOFRAE, SOFRAN,andSOFRAS—have sent concerns about what’s happening here. So let’s take a fucking vote on what happens next here. Do we handle business or move this table and let Priest and Darrow fight?”

“Prez,” Slade said.

“Fuck off, Slade,” Cyrus roared. “I want a vote. I want this put to rest. Priest, what happened to you was fucked up. Losing you would have been like losing the goddamn heart and soul of this table and this charter. This table did everything they needed to do in your name. Your honor. For your survival. If I thought for a second Mara was an issue, she’d be chained up next to the rat. She’s not a rat. Never was. Never even close to it. She’s got more outlaw in her than half the guys that hang around here.”

Cyrus lifted his gavel. He waited for the vote.

Priest swallowed down his anger and sat down. “I vote we talk and move forward.”

“Darrow?” Cyrus asked.

“For the club,” he said. “We move forward.”

Everyone else agreed. Cyrus hit the gavel off the table and everyone went back to their seats.

Custer shuffled to the back of the room and dug around for a few seconds before returning to table with a dusty mason jar.

---