Page 25 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
“Wait, we’re having church?” I asked.
Finn furrowed his brow. “Didn’t you see Brooks rounding us up?”
I shrugged. “I was lucky if I slept three hours last night. No, I didn’t see Brooks rounding you guys up.”
Brooks drew in a deep breath. “Well, what we have to do now is figure out our next steps. We have captives in the basement that I’m assuming none of the girls know about?”
We all shook our heads before he continued.
“Perfect. That means we have to keep it that way, then. I’m not sure the girls would take well to living on top of a few battered men.”
Porter chuckled. “You’d be surprised about Astrid. She’s about as ruthless as you are sometimes.”
Brooks grinned. “Trust me, I know. She tortured me just about as much as I tortured her growing up.”
I snickered. “So, should we vote?”
“On what?” Archer asked.
I shrugged. “On whether to keep using those guys for information or simply holding them here until we can get the girls out? Something like that?”
Brooks pointed at me. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”
Cole sighed. “All right, then let’s put it to a vote.”
Brooks looked around at all of us. “All in favor of keeping them hostage for information until they are no longer useful, raise your hands.”
My hand went up, along with Porter and Brooks, but none of the other guys voted.
“All in favor of cutting them loose and killing them? Raise your hands,” Brooks said.
And when the other three guys raised their hands, I rolled my eyes.
“Fabulous,” I murmured.
“Has this group ever had a tie?” Porter asked.
I threw my hands up into the air. “Fine, all right. Let’s say we let these guys go. You know they’re just going to go back and tell Chops more information than he already has.”
Brooks nodded. “Which is why the vote was to release them long enough to kill them.”
Cole chuckled. “I’m sure the girls would love living upstairs from the scene of a bunch of murders.”
The argument that kicked up swirled around me as I closed my eyes. All of the guys had great points, but none of them helped in a situation like this. We were better off keeping the guys for valuable intel, even if we did have to beat it out of them.
Besides, it wasn’t as if the basement door was anywhere inside. Someone had to go outside and take the cellar doors out back into the basement. So, that lowered the chances of the girls finding out since they weren’t allowed to go outside in the first fucking place.
But Brooks’ bellowed over our heads, silencing everyone in their tracks.
“Enough!”
Everyone looked at our president as he sighed heavily. “We’ll hold another vote in a few days once everyone’s had time to think about what they want to do. But it seems as if the vote is whether or not to keep them for intel, or kill them to keep them hidden from the girls. So, however you vote in a few days, make sure you understand that if we have another tie, the decision will fall into Tanner’s lap.”
I blinked. “Wait, why me?”
Brooks peered over at me. “Because we’re in this mess right now due to protecting Summer. And while I’m never one to place blame, nor do I get mad at victims, she’s the reason why we’re here. Her, you, and your daughter. So, you get the last say in how this pans out if we can’t come to a majority agreement.”
I let that weigh heavily upon my mind before I nodded. “All right, I’ll be prepared.”
And after Brooks dismissed church, I walked over to a chair in the corner and eased myself into it.
Before Finn came up to me. “Hey there, my dude. You okay?”
I shrugged. “Had better days.”
He perched on the bed in front of me. “Have I ever thanked you for sponsoring me yet?”
I grinned. “I told you that you didn’t have to. You showed promise when I first found you. It was an honor to be at your prospecting ceremony.”
He smiled brightly. “Well, I want a way to become more involved. I want to be a fully-patched member. And while I know that’s the last thing on everyone’s minds right now, it’s not with mine. I want you guys to be my brothers, for real.”
I leaned forward. “You became our brother the second you put on that prospect coat. Full membership doesn’t give you brotherhood. You already have that.”
“I know, I know. But I want more out of this group. This crew is my life. You guys are my only shred of family. I want to be more than what I am.”
“And in time, you’ll get there. You just have to prove yourself to the club.”
He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
I chuckled as I stood to my feet. “Finn, we all had our moment. That one moment where we all stood out while we were all prospects and our president finally made the decision to fully patch us. Just be there when we need you the most, and your moment will come. I can promise you that.”
