“Did you two ignorant fuckers forget your punishment last time?” I ask, my voice low and dangerous. “You must love gate duty, because you’re beggin’ for more of it this mornin’?”
Johnny straightens himself up and looks me in the eyes. “Some things are worth fighting for, sir.”
Graham shoves off the wall and turns to me. “That’s about the only thing we agree on, sir.”
I can’t keep the expression of disgust off my face. “Are you two shittin’ me right now? I can’t believe you’re ragin’ at each other and disturbin’ patched brothers while they’re tryin’ to eat their goddamn breakfast over a fuckin’ club whore who doesn’t give a shit about either of you. Do you have any idea how damn messed up that is?”
Graham, the stupider of the two, opens his mouth to speak.
I cut him off. “Neither of you are gonna get patched anytime soon. Do you know why that is?”
Johnny at least looks remorseful. “Because we’re fighting and disturbing the brothers?”
“No, an honest fight between brothers ain’t nothin’ around this club. It’s because fightin’ over a fuckin’ club whore is basic behavior. It clearly communicates to every brother in this club that you ain’t smart enough to keep from being manipulated by whores. And men that can be manipulated by whores can’t be trusted to have a brother’s back. Have you ever seen brothers in the club fightin’ over club whores?”
Johnny’s lips press into a firm line, and he shakes his head. “No, sir.”
“I’m of a mind to rip those fuckin’ prospect cuts off your backs and send you both on your way. Is that what you want?”
Both of them answer in unison, “No, sir.”
“If you two want to keep your colors, you need to start rememberin’ what they stand for.”
They both go still, because they know that tone. “Since the two of you want to act like idiots, I’ve got idiot work for you to do.”
Relief floods their faces and they begin nodding.
“You’re gonna buy manure,” I tell them. “The real deal. I want you to spread it across the back lawn, every inch of it. There is a little over three acres, and I want it all covered evenly. I want you to get started now and finish it by tomorrow evening. If you don’t, you both need to turn in your cuts. Does that sound fair?”
They both nod like bobblehead dolls. Johnny states quickly, “Yes, sir. We’ll get right on it.”
When they start to walk away, I say, “Hold up. I ain’t finished. You’re banned from the clubhouse for one week. You find another place to live, bring your own food, and you don’t even accept a cup of coffee while you’re here. I only want to see your faces when you’re spreadin’ shit and when you come here for your assigned shifts. This shit with club whores getting between you stops now or you’re both out.”
They both nod, clearly smart enough to recognize a good deal when it’s being offered.
When I head back to my breakfast, a couple of brothers give me a chin jerk. They know prospects need tough love if they’re ever going to fit to wear our colors. Truth be told, we’ve all been through similar shit as prospects. Most of us had to learn the hard way. These prospects are no different.
When I sit back down to my now cold breakfast, Tessa’s already handling Silver. That’s her job at this club. The queen supervises all the club girls. It’s been that way since my parents founded this club.
Tessa doesn’t raise her voice, her tone says everything. “I’m really disappointed with you, Silver. I thought you were trying to change, you were really making an effort.”
“It’s not my fault they both want me. I even told them to stop fighting over me. Everyone in the room heard me.”
“I don’t care what you said afterwards. You could have just stopped hanging out with one or both of them. You didn’t because you get some kind of sick kick out of getting guys to fight over you.”
“Still, that’s on them, not me.”
“You don’t set the rules here, Silver. I do, and I’ve told you time and time again to stop with all your games.”
“I’ll try, but those two are just attracted to the silver,” she says with a flourish of one hand down her trademark silver clothing.
Tessa replies calmly, “Then we’re gonna solve that problem by banning the silver for a full month. Nothing shiny for thirty days.”
Some of the brothers laugh. Even Queenie hides a smile behind her coffee.
A big smirk jumps onto Silver’s face. “It doesn’t matter. Those two will still have a thing for me.” Glancing at me, she adds triumphantly, “Just you wait and see.”
“Since you like talking back so much, let’s add another punishment. I can see you’re just as obsessed with those prospects as they are with you. So, you can join them in spreadin’ shit on the lawn. A third each.”
