Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(78)

T-Rex met Jagger’s gaze head on, and there was no mistaking the challenge. “Then I won’t be at any meeting, and if you or Gunner want to kick my ass for missing the meeting, I’ll tell you right now I got enough ass-kickings in that dungeon to last me a lifetime. The marks on my body go through to my soul. So don’t waste your f*cking time.”

A wave of panic flooded Tank’s system. What was going on? T-Rex didn’t cause trouble. He didn’t challenge the rules. He was a mediator, and the person everyone went to when they had an irreconcilable dispute. He diffused tension; he didn’t create it. Had he made a mistake bringing T-Rex here so soon? Should he have given his brother more time?

“You go with them to the meeting,” Naiya said gently. “I’ll be fine. I’ll wait out here.”

“You’re coming with me. Wherever I go.” T-Rex didn’t even look at her. He didn’t look at Gunner. Nor did he look at Tank. He fixed his unwavering gaze on Jagger and stood his ground.

Sweat beaded on Tank’s brow. This wasn’t the T-Rex he knew. He respected Jagger. Admired him. Hell, the night T-Rex thought Jagger had been caught by the Jacks, he’d been so distraught he hadn’t even seen Jagger sitting at the boardroom table. But his quick thinking had saved Arianne’s life.

Tank caught movement behind T-Rex and Naiya, but he paid it no mind. The other brothers would have to wait. Right now he had to sort out this misunderstanding. Get things back on track.

“Viper is after Naiya.” Tank addressed his comments to Jagger and Gun. “The Jacks have been chasing after them. He’s concerned about her safety so he doesn’t want her out of his sight.”

Jagger’s shoulders dropped the tiniest bit. At least Tank hoped they dropped. And was that a slight softening of Gunner’s face? They just had to understand that T-Rex needed more time. He’d been away from the brothers, tortured, lost. And all he had was Naiya. She had brought him home. Of course T-Rex was protective of her and would want to keep her close. But soon he would realize he had Tank and the brothers to stand by his side. Everything would go back to normal.

“It’s okay, Gun.” Jagger made a placating gesture with his hand. “T-Rex only just walked in the door. We shouldn’t expect him to just jump into the politics again. Hell, I wouldn’t mind a break from the politics myself. Let’s give him some time to meet with all the brothers, find his feet again. We’ll keep his seat at the table. He can join us when he feels ready.”

Tank’s heart swelled with pride. This is why everyone loved Jagger, why he was such a good leader. He always knew the right thing to say, the right thing to do. He understood. T-Rex wasn’t ready yet.

But he would be.

*

Dammit. What were they thinking?

Naiya dried her hands in the tiny washroom behind the clubhouse kitchen. She was certain the hand towel was supposed to be white, and not dark gray, and likely had never seen the inside of a washing machine, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Holt was waiting for her outside. After that fiasco of a reunion he’d declared their visit over and he was impatient to leave.

Poor Holt. He hadn’t wanted to come to the clubhouse, and now she knew why. Although his brothers had been genuinely pleased to see him, there had been an unmistakable tension in the air. What had Jagger been thinking when he suggested Holt sit in on their meeting the day he returned? And would Gunner really have threatened to kick his ass after what he’d been through? And the whole damn fiasco with the cut? Sensitivity was clearly not a requirement for the Sinner’s Tribe MC. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Holt needed support and understanding. Instead he got … bikers. Acting as bikers did.

Tank, Jagger, and Zane, the dark, brooding VP, were talking in the hallway outside the restroom, but their conversation stopped when she tried to slip past to get to the front door.

“Did he tell you what happened to him?” Tank asked.

“I saw what happened to him.” Naiya bit out her words. “I was in the dungeon. They had him chained to the wall. He could barely walk or talk. He was starved and dehydrated, and his lips were cracked from thirst. After we got out, I called my friend Ally to come and look after him. She’s a nurse. She’d never seen anyone treated so badly. You name a weapon, and he’d been beaten with it: whips, chains, canes, blades. There wasn’t a part of him unmarked. She thought he’d had bones broken that had healed on their own. He had infected wounds, and some that needed stitches.” She drew in a ragged breath. “But that was just outside. Inside … I don’t know because I didn’t know him before, but he’s changed since we first escaped. He’s … harder now.”

“Tank says he has his cut, but he won’t wear it,” Jagger said, clearly inviting her to explain.

“No.” Naiya pressed her lips together. Although she was willing to share the details about Holt’s injuries so the Sinners would understand some of what he’d been through, she didn’t feel it was her right to share Holt’s reasons for not wearing the cut. She didn’t owe anything to the Sinners, and after the way they’d treated him, she was even less inclined to be forthcoming.

Jagger lifted an eyebrow in censure, and Tank rushed in with an explanation she didn’t need.

“Until he puts on the cut, he’s not really back.”