Chapter8
845 Words
The clubhouse was louder than usual when Rae walked back inside — voices raised, boots stomping, chairs scraping. The kind of noise that meant tempers were high and patience was low. She could feel the tension before she even crossed the threshold.
The moment she stepped into the main room, the noise dipped.
Not because she was feared.
Because she was unknown.
And unknown things made men nervous.
Rae didn’t slow. She moved through the room with the same quiet, controlled confidence she’d carried since she returned — the kind that made predators hesitate. The kind that made cowards angry.
Brick sat at a table with three other patched members, his arm wrapped in a makeshift sling. He glared at her with a hatred that was almost childish.
Almost.
“You think you’re hot s**t, don’t you?” Brick muttered loud enough for the room to hear.
Rae didn’t look at him. “I think you’re still talking.”
A few men snorted. Brick’s face reddened.
Tank stepped out of the office, eyes sweeping the room. “Everyone shut it. We’ve got business.”
Rae leaned against the wall, arms crossed, ledger tucked under her arm. She didn’t sit. She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.
Tank pointed at her. “Callahan. You got something to say about the Reapers?”
Rae pushed off the wall and stepped forward. “They’re watching us. They’re moving on our territory. And they’re not afraid of you.”
A ripple of anger moved through the room.
Tank’s jaw tightened. “You got proof?”
Rae pulled the black cloth from her pocket — the one tied to her bike — and tossed it onto the table. The Reapers’ symbol stared up at them like a challenge.
“That’s proof,” she said.
Brick scoffed. “Could’ve planted it yourself.”
Rae turned her head slowly. “If I wanted to start a war, Brick, you’d already be bleeding.”
Brick stood so fast his chair toppled. “Say that again.”
Rae didn’t blink. “Bleeding.”
Brick lunged.
He didn’t make it two steps.
Jax intercepted him, slamming him back against the wall with one hand. “Sit down before you embarrass yourself again.”
Brick struggled, but Jax didn’t budge. The room watched, silent.
Rae didn’t move. Didn’t react. Didn’t even shift her weight.
She simply waited.
Tank slammed the gavel on the table. “Enough! We’re not doing this again.”
Jax released Brick, who stumbled back into his chair, humiliated.
Tank turned to Rae. “You said they attacked you.”
“They did.”
“You kill any of them?”
“One’s arm is broken. One’s unconscious. One ran.”
Tank stared at her. “You took on three Reapers alone.”
Rae didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
The room already knew.
Tank exhaled slowly. “This changes things.”
Brick muttered, “Changes nothing. She’s still a liability.”
Rae stepped closer to the table, voice low and steady. “A liability doesn’t walk away from three armed men.”
Brick opened his mouth, but Tank cut him off. “She’s right.”
The room went still.
Tank looked at Rae with something new in his eyes — not respect, not trust, but recognition.
“You’re not the girl who left,” he said.
“No,” Rae replied. “I’m not.”
Tank nodded once. “Then we need to decide what to do with you.”
Brick slammed his fist on the table. “Kick her out!”
Jax’s voice cut through the noise. “We do that, she dies.”
Rae didn’t look at him, but she felt the weight of his words.
Tank rubbed his beard. “We vote. Again.”
The room tensed.
Rae stood still.
Tank raised his hand. “All in favor of Rae staying until the Reaper threat is handled?”
Hands went up.
More than before.
Brick’s did not.
Tank nodded. “Majority rules. She stays.”
Brick shot to his feet. “This is bullshit!”
Tank slammed the gavel. “Sit down!”
Brick didn’t.
He reached for something under the table.
Rae moved before anyone else.
She grabbed Brick’s wrist, twisted, and slammed his hand onto the table. A knife clattered to the floor.
The room froze.
Rae leaned in, voice quiet enough that only Brick could hear.
“Try that again,” she said, “and I’ll break more than your arm.”
Brick’s breath shook.
Rae released him and stepped back.
Tank stared at her, stunned.
Jax stared at her like he didn’t know whether to be impressed or terrified.
Rae picked up the ledger.
“I’m not here to be protected,” she said. “I’m here to finish what my father started.”
She walked out, leaving the room in stunned silence.
Behind her, Brick whispered to Tank:
“She’s gonna tear this club apart.”
Tank didn’t disagree.
He just watched the door swing shut and muttered:
“She already is.”
- Writer
