Page 136 of Steel

Gremlin smiles at me with a wickedness that tells me he’s going to revel in his fists meeting my skin. Jagger, however, is a blank slate. His face is relaxed, his eyes empty. He doesn’tsmile, doesn’t frown or scowl. I know the only time I’ll witness him coming to life is when he’s painting my body black, blue, and crimson. It’s the only time he ever comes to life, unless he’s doing his depraved shit to whoever will let him.

If I’m lucky to still be standing by the time these two finish.

“Who are my last jurors?”

This time, the smile on Wraith’s face tells me I’m not going to be driving myself home tonight.

“Round three, your jurors are me, Crow, and Tweek.”

Of course, he’d choose the two craziest fucking psychos in this club to join him.

When I glance at Tweek, he snaps his teeth at me and winks, causing me to shake my head.

I nod. “When does my sentencing begin?”

“Be in Court at nightfall,” Wraith orders.

After my punishment has been dealt with, we move on to other club business. Once everything is ironed out, Wraith calls an end to Church with a pound of his gavel.

The sound doesn’t only signal an end to our club business—it starts the countdown to my time in Court.

This is gonna hurt.

Chapter thirty-three

Pain.

It’s going to be my companion for the next twelve minutes as my brothers dole out my punishment for my crime against the brotherhood.

Earned every second of it, no doubt, but fuck, ain’t looking forward to going up against my club brothers.

It was always a possibility when I chose to help Bailee. Fucking knew that, but making sure my woman was safe would always be worth it.

When I step outside the clubhouse doors and into the lot, I inhale deeply, pulling the fresh air into my lungs. Gonna be smothered with the sharp tang of blood before long.

Scent of fumes from the bikes, cigarette and weed, and excitement tinge the air around me as I head toward where the crowd is congregated. A lot of the members don’t know why I’m receiving punishment, so they just clap me on the back as I pass, but I expect that to change when Wraith lays out my charges to the watchers.

Once I reach the “ring”, the members part and allow me to step in. The ring is basically a fenced in area off the side of the compound. The “floor” is concrete, and it’s been cleared of anything that could be a hazard. Other than my brothers’ fists, anyway. Wraith stands in the middle with his arms folded over his chest. His torso is bare underneath his cut which he’ll remove when it’s his round with me. His face is blank as he watches me step toward him.

When I come to a stop in front of him and lift my chin, he gives a small, stiff nod before facing the watchers.

“Steel,” he booms, his voice reaching to those toward the back of the lot. “You’re here to face your jurors in Court for the actions you’ve taken against the club. Instead of trusting your brothers to have your back, you chose to keep your woman a secret at one of our properties. Your secret has brought us the attention of a rival club and damage has been done because of it. You are to serve a three-month probationary period for the stripping of your rank. At the end of those three months, a vote will be taken that you will not be present for to decide the future of your spot in office. You are also sentenced to twelve minutes in Court. You will face your jurors in a three-round pyramid. Smokey is your first juror. Should you make it through your round with him, you’ll move on to round two, where your jurors will be Gremlin and Jagger. This is where many would fail.” He smirks. “We know you won’t, which means you’ll move to your final round. Your jurors will be Crow, Tweek, and myself. Don’t worry. We’ll leave you breathing, brother.”

His lip curls on that last word.

Fuck.

He’s going to make sure I’m feeling this by the time they’re done with me.

“I always find it fun to play with my food before I eat it,” Jagger drawls, flicking his knife opened and closed.

I don’t say anything, knowing he’s trying to get under my skin.

If I was facing any other people, I’d be leery. These are my brothers, and I trust them with my life. They won’t go so far that I won’t go home to my girls. They’re just going to make sure I do it in the most painful way possible.

Weapons aren’t allowed. It’s just bare skin meeting bare skin.

“Are you ready to face your jurors?” Wraith asks.

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