“Yeah, would have. I’m stripping your title today.” Without any instruction from me, Modeus rips her sergeant patch off her cut so fast, the vampire doesn’t even react until after it’s already gone from her vest.
“On what grounds?” She steps forward as if to challenge me.
“Egan.” I say his name when he puts himself between Thana and me. He looks back over his shoulder at me, ignoring the very pissed off vampire in front of him. “I’ve got it,” I assure him softly. He searches my face for a long second but then steps to the side. He doesn’t need words to tell me it’s the last thing he wanted to do. “For failing your duties,” I continue, addressing Thana once more.
“How did I fail? It’s clear you know him. He wasn’t going to attack you.” She gestures to Egan, as if there’s any question about whom she’s talking about.
“You had no way of knowing that and you did nothing. Tell me, Thana, what is the duty of the sergeant at arms?”
Her shoulders heave as she takes in a deep breath. “To uphold the laws of the club, enforce the laws, and protect its members,” she recites. We all know there’s more to it than that, but she summed up the gist of it. “That’s why I went to find him in the first place. I was doing my job.”
“Yet you did nothing when he approached me.” I lift my brows in challenge.
“Neither did you,” she deflects while shifting her eyes to the other members in the club.
“Because I knew he wasn’t going to attack me. You did not,” I reason, speaking slower this time, so my words sink in. “I have every right to kick you out of the club entirely, as well as every enforcer who stood by your side, but I’m willing to let you stay as prospects.” I deliver the last bit of news while letting my eyes land on the three riders who chose her side.
“As prospects?” she sneers, as if it’s the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. “Reaper?” She turns to the appointed vice president as if to appeal to him. “This is crazy.Sheis crazy.”
“Shecould kill you where you stand for even opening your mouth and be within her rights.Sheis the president.Shemakes the laws that you follow.”
I can’t say I’m surprised by Salvador’s comment, since he’s speaking facts, but I am a little in shock at the vehemence of his statement. It actually crossed my mind that he wouldn’t back me in this, but the rigidness of his jaw and his tone would have me assuming he’s nearly as pissed off as I am.
Thana takes a deep breath, and all the emotion melts from her face until she’s standing stock-still, and only her predator is peeking out from her deep brown eyes. Modeus reacts by taking a slow step closer to her while making eye contact with Egan. They seem to communicate with just a glance.
“My offer to remain in the club as a prospect is good for twenty-four hours. You can stay and earn back the trust of the club, or you can use that time to gather your shit and get out of my territory. Those are your only two options, unless you prefer to lose your colors the way Perry did.” The dead shifter is probably stinking up my square, which reminds me it needs to be cleaned up.
“You’ll be taken out back to the sheds with all the other probies until you decide. Let a member know when you make your decision. If you need to gather your personal shit for the ride out of town, someone will escort you tomyproperty to do so. Any questions?”
One of the riders who stood with Thana earlier today cuts his eyes over to her with a sneer of pure hatred before escorting himself to the door, where he removes his cut and drapes it carefully over a nearby table. He knows probies aren’t permitted inside unless invited, nor are they allowed to wear my patches. Thana should make sure the shifter doesn’t put a knife through her spine at some point. I think she lost every thread of loyalty he possessed for her. She just cost him his position as an enforcer and every perk that came with it.
“You set me up,” Thana accuses calmly.
I lean back in the chair, fully relaxed, and let her see the truth I’m about to tell her. “No, I didn’t. You set yourself up to fail. I would have given you the two weeks and then replaced you. You would have still been an enforcer, and you wouldn’t have lost your standing. It would have been a simple changing of the guards with new leadership.”
“Bullshit,” she snaps, and her icy exterior cracks just a little. “You despise me.”
That makes me release a genuine laugh. “Thana, you have never been significant enough for me to despise.” My words will probably piss her off more, but she does a good job of not showing it.
“Samuel can take you to get your things now, or you can join the others out back,” I offer. She needs to understand she has never been, and will never be, a threat to me, and that is why I’ll permit her to stay.
“Come on, Thana,” one of her other followers encourages. “We can earn our positions back.”
I don’t think she’s even made her mind up yet, but she allows the other vampire to coax her into leaving, and all three of them place their vests with the first one. Thana actually runs her hand over the spot where her sergeant patch used to be.
Samuel steps to the front. “Want me to go watch them?” the enforcer offers. His name was the first one that came to mind when I thought about Thana being escorted to her home to collect her personal shit. I need to start building my own trust with the members, so I nod quickly. “Give them some breathing room, but none of them leave without a tail, and watch out for the first one, the shifter. He might look for his own revenge.”
“You got it,” he agrees, and then he’s gone.
I look around at all the familiar faces. Some of them look a little worried, which is understandable. A lot of shit has happened in the past few days, and they don’t even know I now have two brand-new mates. I should probably explain that, otherwise, they might want to know why I allowed Egan to be here for club business.
“Another matter of importance. This is Egan. He doesn’t speak, so it’s not a matter of him ignoring you. He will be the new sergeant after some training.” The fallen turns his head slowly to eye me, and it conveys his thoughts perfectly. He thinks I’m crazy to even imply he would need training. I have a good explanation though. I don’t want to appoint him into the position if I don’t plan on sticking around, but even now, the thought of leaving isn’t nearly as tempting as it was yesterday.
When I look away from Egan, I see the questions on everyone’s faces. He’s not an Obsidian, so how can I just appoint him without the traditional probationary period or him proving he can handle the position?
“He’s my mate, along with Modeus.” I meet the demon’s eyes when I say his name, and his shoulders snap back as a surge of desire hits me hard and fast. I even hear a huffing sound come from Egan, proving he’s not immune. If the amount of dick adjusting and flushed cheeks I’m seeing is any indication, no one seems to be exempt from the demon’s hunger.
The way Modeus’ chest expands as he takes a deep breath and averts his gaze from mine makes me think it was a completely unintentional response. I don’t like that he feels the need to look away from me, as if he’s ashamed or worried about my reaction, so I rise from my seat. When I’m near enough so I can touch him, I weave my fingers through his. Earlier, when I thought I was going to climb out of my skin with my need to be with him, the simple touch helped immensely, so maybe this will ease him.
