Page 97 of Shadow

Pence shook his head. “No. It has nothing to do with your PTSD.”

“Then enlighten me, Obi-Won. What is it?”

“He always been this snarky?” Ashe asked.

“You’ve met his sisters, right?” Lips countered, smirking.

“Just get on with it,” Monk growled. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Trigger said, before taking a bite of a burger he had in his hand.

“What the hell, man!” Monk shouted.

“What? I was hungry and the hot talkative one let me sneak something. Can’t blame me if she thought I was nicer looking than you.”

“That hot talkative one is sixteen, Trigger,” Lips muttered, as I growled and pointed. “What he said.”

Trigger backed up. “Got it. Off limits.”

“Anyway,” Kansas said, clearing his throat. “I’m not giving you a choice anymore, Shadow.”

“About what?” I asked, when Whisper walked forward with a box. The same box Kansas put in front of me the night I was at his house. I knew what was in that box. Looking at Kansas, I stepped back.

“No.”

“Not giving you a choice, brother.”

“I always have a choice.”

“Not anymore. Ghost called me this morning. He burned your cut.”

Shaking my head, I gulped. “He wouldn’t.”

“He did.”

“Come on Shadow, it won’t be that bad,” Widow smiled, taking the lid off the box, reaching for the Diamondback cut in it.

“It will only hurt for a little bit,” Monk grinned, punching his meaty fist into his palm as the other brothers all chuckled.

The second Widow handed me the leather cut, Kansas ordered me to put it on.

I stared at him as the entire club stepped forward.

That’s when I took the cut and did as he said.

The second it was on, I received what I had been waiting for.

I finally got my beat down.

None of the brothers pulled their punches, and when Kansas was the last one standing before me, that motherfucker let his fist fly. It was only when someone threw a bucket of water on me that I saw all of the brothers smiling down at me.

It was fucking creepy.

While Joan wasn’t happy with what she called a barbaric ritual, she fussed over me the rest of the day, much to the brothers’ moans and groans.

In the end, I guess everything turned out as it was supposed to.

Well, that was what my sister Faith believed.

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