“Those are my feelings. They aren’t gonna change, Unc—Prez.” Fanatic folded his arms and held Chance’s gaze.
“Fanatic doesn’t stand alone. There’s something wrong with Runner. I’ve been seeing things that I’m not happy about,” Rooster said. “That motherfucker judges those who are not one hundred per cent healthy. He sneers at Fanatic and has called him a cripple or gimp on multiple occasions. Asshole also disrespects me, around my leg. Pretends he’s showing concern, but underneath is ridicule and disgust. Runner has no tolerance for anyone disabled.”
Chance directed a thoughtful gaze at Rooster. “And you stood for that shit?”
“Fuck no, I put the motherfucker on his ass several times and now Runner avoids me. He’ll never receive my vote, just as he won’t get Fanatic’s. Club might as well cut him loose,” Rooster stated.
“Still, I wanna know what happened to Jinx,” Chance declared and fixed a gimlet eye on Jinx. Jinx paled as Tati checked his stitches. Poor kid.
“Prez, I walked in on Runner pushing Jinx around,” I explained everything quickly. When I finished, Chance turned to Jinx.
“Why was Runner shoving you?”
Jinx ducked his head, and I could sense he felt awkward.
“This won’t label you a tattletale,” Fanatic said, guessing what was bothering Jinx. “If we don’t have harmony among the brothers, then the club can implode. Tell Chance.”
“Runner was accusing me of being a snitch over Olivia and the paint incident. Told him I wasn’t the right person, and Runner demanded to know who squealed. I refused to say, and Runner got angry,” Jinx finally admitted.
“Who threw the first punch?” Chance asked.
“I did,” Jinx stated.
“Why?”
“Because Runner threatened Harlequin, which was out of line,” Jinx replied, and I laughed.
“No, it wasn’t. Prez, you know I was the one who tattled, so no way should Jinx have taken Runner’s punishment for his laziness,” I said.
“Agreed. Jinx, I get you don’t wish to be labelled, but shit like this escalates, as we’ve just seen. You shouldn’t run and tittle-tattle, but you gotta start learning when to speak up and when not to. This isn’t the first instance of bullying from Runner, but it’ll be the last time he does it here,” Chance said firmly.
“Prez, I don’t want—”
“What you want, prospect, doesn’t come into the decision. At the end of the day, Runner pulled a weapon on a member of this club and injured them. That’s an instant beatdown and boot from the club. Runner’s lucky; in the old days, each brother would have stabbed him. If he survived, he’d have learned a harsh lesson,” Chance stated.
Inwardly, I winced. All of us knew the story of how Hellfire had become corrupt under Zeus, who stole the presidency. Chance and some of those present had fought for years to get Hellfire legit again, and Chance refused to let anything tarnish his beloved club once more. Runnerwaslucky he hadn’t been here back then.
“Tati, how’s the boy’s wound?”
“It was a clean slash and not too deep. It will be sore for a while. Jinx needs to take it easy. No heavy lifting for a week,” Tati ordered, climbing to her feet.
“Thanks, babe,” Chance said. “Harlequin, help Jinx to his room and hit the sack. You’re not required anymore.”
“Okay,” I replied and helped Jinx up. I needed sleep.
???
Runner was gone when I woke up. Chance had declared while I’d been asleep that Runner had crossed all boundaries and there was no coming back. Runner had been banned from all Hellfire properties and businesses. I wasn’t surprised. Jinx looked uncomfortable as he sat in an armchair, as a couple of the brothers talked to him.
“What you did today, Harlequin, has the makings of a good brother,” Bear stated. I turned and faced our VP.
“Thanks. Although Jinx took care of business on his own,” I replied.
“Eventually. Actually, I was surprised Jinx lashed out. He’s known to be calm.”
“Everyone has a limit. Something Runner said set Jinx off.”
“Think he’s hiding shit?”
