Page 62 of Saint's Sinner

By the time they reached the challenge circle, which was little more than a patch of asphalt surrounded by stones, a crowd had gathered, but unlike the other fights Sinn had witnessed here, no one was laying odds or making bets. It filled him with pride to hear the murmurs around him and know that to a member, everyone in attendance was certain that Teddy was about to be treated to the ass kicking of a lifetime. With so many standing side by side it was next to impossible to make out who was who, save for Creature and Kong, who each stood almost a head taller than anyone else. Those two massive club brothers were pressed shoulder to shoulder and Sinn had begun to suspect that there was more going on there than just friendship.

Sinn stepped over the rocks and held out his arm for the rope to be attached to it while a section of the crowd parted to let Teddy and Scout pass through. Their new hanger on was rambling a long stream of questions a silent Teddy didn’t answer, so Mark did, cluing Sinn in to the fact that he was the one attaching the rope to him.

“It’s simple, kid,” Mark said as he moved from Sinn’s side over to Teddy. “If at any point you think he can’t take anymore punishment, you toss this into the circle and it’s over. But makedamn certain you’re not tossing it just to bail him out, or you get to come in here and fight his battle for him.”

Sinn knew what Mark handed Scout. He’d asked the first time he’d stood beside Saint while a challenge took place. It was a rock wrapped in a bandana. Joker’s colors were deep purple and black, so one rock had been wrapped in purple, the other in black so there could be no debate about who’d thrown what, or in at least one instance, according to Dalton, who’d thrown what first.

“I think I get it now.”

“Don’t think. Be certain.”

“Yes sir,” Scout replied. “I-I’m certain.”

“Good.”

Heavy hands came to rest on Sinn’s shoulders and rubbed lightly.

Saint.

The man said nothing, but the fact that he stood there loosening Sinn up was proof positive of what side he was firmly on, not that Sinn had questioned it.

A tug on his wrist alerted him to Mark testing the firmness of his knots, then Saint gave Sinn’s shoulder a squeeze and stepped back, while Night kissed the top of his head before stepping out of the circle.

“Good luck,” Scout told Teddy, about the only one in the whole assembly of bodies who didn’t know that Teddy was ill prepared for what was about to take place.

“Okay kid, step away,” Mark instructed.

Once the shadow of Scout had moved out of the circle, Mark backed away as well.

“Have at ‘em,” Mark declared, a cheer immediately going up as Sinn yanked the rope, jerking Teddy off balance. While Teddy struggled to regain his footing, Sinn closed the distance and yanked again, pulling Teddy right into a stiff punch to thejaw. When Teddy’s head rocked back, Sinn unleashed with the body shots, doubling him over before driving a knee into his midsection. He heard Teddy gag, not that it mattered, in the red haze of fury that descended over him, Sinn aimed a knee at his face, then wrapped the rope around his neck, using it to help throw Teddy to the ground.

There was no going anywhere at that point. Sinn straddled him and rained several punches down before something bounced off his shoulder as Scout hollered that Teddy was done. Breathing hard, Sinn stayed where he was, still sitting on Teddy, who had his arms crossed over his face, choked sobs coming from him as he squirmed, trying to get out from underneath Sinn.

“He’s done, for fuck’s sake get off him!” Scout yelled, already half in the circle. He was intercepted by several people who stopped him from coming closer, not that Sinn would have struck him after the bandana covered rock had been thrown.

“Yeah, he’s done, not that he did much of anything but bleed,” Mark said, tapping Sinn on the shoulder. It was only then that he got up and brushed his hair back from his face.

He hadn’t even broken as sweat.

“You’re soft kid,” Mark told Scout, who’d finally been allowed past the Jokers who’d held him back.

As Sinn stared at Teddy’s shadow writhing on the ground and Scout’s shadow kneeling beside him, trying to attend to him, Saint and Night stepped up beside him, one of their hands dancing up his spine to lightly tug the collar around his neck.

Saint then. The man was fond of that not-so-subtle reminder to everyone that Sinn was his.

“I suspected as much,” Mark continued, when Scout’s only comment was to ask Teddy if he could stand. “You’re welcome to stick around as long as you’re useful, but you’re gonna haveto work twice as hard now if you ever wanna think about prospecting.”

“Oh…” Scout muttered, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

Damn. Add one more casualty to the list Teddy was racking up. Sinn could tell Scout was young, new to club life and trying to understand the way things worked. That he gave a shit wouldn’t be forgotten, it was just that in this moment his compassion was for the person everyone else knew was in the wrong.

“Teddy, scrape your ass up off the ground and quit sniveling. I’ve heard enough of it out of you, you didn’t even try. Your only saving grace is that Scout waited to throw in the towel until there was no hope of you rebounding. You’ll continue bunking with him for the foreseeable future,” Mark declared.

“I-I can stay?”

“As long as you’re useful, the same as I told Scout,” Mark said. “Once I figure out your new work schedule, I’ll let you know. Expect to get messy. The bunkhouse hasn’t been cleaned in over a week and the grease traps in the kitchen all need to be emptied and scrubbed. The bathrooms need attention as well. You’ll be too busy to cause trouble, that’s for certain.”

“N-new…” Teddy stammered, swiping at his face as Scout helped him unsteadily to his feet.

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