As far as punishments went,Steel felt this one was rather inventive. Despite a brother’s punishment being ‘club business’, several of the ol’ ladies were present. Steel allowed Jenna to attend so long as she was in Pumpkin’s old wheelchair. Unlike the brothers who were ready with popcorn and a rather large betting pool, the ol’ ladies present seemed determined to ensure Keys didn’t gettoohurt.
Steel had already spoken to Jenna about not interfering. Keys made a mistake, and if it were any other brother, they wouldn’t be so keen on letting it slide. Ghost was right, though. They had to stop looking at Keys like he was the gangly teenager he’d been when Ghost had brought him to Mount Grove over four years ago. He wasn’t. He might bequirkyand had a bigger sweet tooth than Santa Claus, but he was in his twenties. The club as a whole, Steel included, needed to stop treating him like the kid they called him.
For years, the garage building on the property had been underutilized. It was a place for the club to store their motorcycles during bad weather and the winter months. Grumpy was really the only one who used it when he was fine tuning their bikes or working on a project he didn’t want to keep at his auto body shop.
When things around town grew more dire, the club had started training like they had when they were in the military. Some of the club had been out of service for a time and needed refreshers, while others wanted to share different techniques. Watching Ranger, a former Army Ranger, and Ghost, a former SEAL, go head to head was interesting and also quite educational.
The garage was then split in two. Half was saved for its original use, and the other half was converted into a gym. Starbucks now used it as his ‘home office’ when he made his thirst trap and exercise videos for that ticking app Steel’s kids were addicted to.
Along the far wall was weightlifting equipment, treadmills, and a stair climber. In the center was a sparring mat. Normally the surrounding floor was clear, but now there were folding chairs and beach chairs circling the mat.
It looked like an underground cage fighting ring—minus the cage.
Keys stood at the edge next to Angel and Ranger, who were trying to give him some encouragement. He was wearing sweat shorts with sneakers, a red, white, and blue sweat headband and wristbands, and a tank top. The garage was fully insulated with an HVAC unit, plus there was a lot of body heat currently inside.
Steel didn’t know specifically where the club kids were, though he assumed Bulldog’s house. However, he had not been surprised to see Ollie, Bree, and Aaron try to sneak in with the others. Aaron, he might have let in if he was in Ghost’s shoes. After all, the young man was going to face worse in a few months when he went through basic combat training. However, Ollie and Bree were far too young for this. In the end, both sets of the teens’ parents turned them away, and Ghost backed them up.
Despite the heat in the place, Keys was extremely pale as he stared across the mat at Scar. In his black boots, pants, and long sleeve shirt, it made the bandage on Scar’s head stand out. Bulldog was standing at Scar’s shoulder with his back to Keys, likely reminding Scar not to kill Keys.
Steel understood the point of Ghost’s punishment, but he also wasn’t entirely sure Scar was the right person to administer it. Steel had stared into the man’s eyes as he choked him up against his living room wall the other day. There was no doubtin Steel’s mind that, if Scar truly believed Steel was the one responsible for endangering Tally, he’d be dead.
Keys had made a mistake. A big one. It wasn’t on purpose or with the intent to harm, but that had been the result. His actions, or inactions, had led to Griffin Shaw being able to get under the club’s security net, which led to Tally ice skating on a salted frozen pond. The point was to make Keys walk away with bruises that made him think about his actions, not for him to be buried in the Mount Grove Cemetery next to Scar’s empty grave.
Ghost put his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle. The chatter stopped. The President looked to Keys. “One hour,” he reminded the Tech. “And be grateful I didn’t make it two.” Turning his head to the left, he said to Scar, “Bruised and bleeding is fine. Dead is not.”
In the silence that followed, Keys swallowed audibly. Ranger clasped him on the shoulder and said, “You got this. Remember, you’re fast. Keep him on his toes.”
“Fast, right,” Keys mumbled. He begrudgingly stepped forward. “Um, be-before we start, I just want to say how sorry I am, Scar. Really. I figured out what happened, and I fixed it. I just… Pleasedon’tbreakmyfingers!” Keys pleaded in a single, hurried word. “I need them to, you know, work. And just… If you have to break something, please be my legs.”
Jenna looked to Steel. “He’s not really going to break Keys’ bones, is he?”
Steel shrugged. “That’s up to Scar.”
Jenna frowned, biting her lip. Steel wondered if it was a mistake to bring her. But the ol’ ladies had asked, or rather demanded, to be in attendance.
Scar remained where he was, just staring at Keys.
Keys’ eyes went wide. “Fine, break my fingers if you must, but just, you know, leave them attached to me so I can heal and use them again in the future. Please!”
Scar raised an eyebrow, but didn’t move forward to join Keys in the middle of the mat.
Keys looked around as if hoping for backup. “Are, um, are we going to fight?”
Scar just stood there, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.
Keys turned to Ghost. “Do I just stand here for an hour?”
“You could attackhim,” Ghost suggested, to which Keys looked like he was going to throw up.
“I think I’d rather just stand here for an hour,” Keys said honestly.
Steel wasn’t the only one in the audience who snorted. Ghost walked behind Keys and gave him a mighty shove in Scar’s direction.
Keys was visibly shaking as he approached the silent brother. “Um. Just for the record, I’m against this.”
Then he put his fists up. His stance showed he’d had training, but his nerves were making him forget the basics. His feet were slightly off and his fists a little too high.
Steel was pretty sure he heard Keys say something like, “Jesus take the wheel,” before he sent a hook towards Scar’s jaw. Likely hoping to knock the man out in a single punch so he was saved for the next fifty-five minutes.
