Page 28 of Iron Heart

Bama will pay for that remark later. But now ain’t the time.

I lower myself back down.

“Dom knows what the Lords of Carnage are,” I bite out each word. “He knows that my association with the club would never give him a free pass if he screwed us over.” I look around the room. “And you all know me. You know I wouldn’t expect any special treatment for him from the club if he did.”

No one talks for a few seconds as people consider what I said. My words hang in the air.

“Let’s put this up for a vote,” Axel finally announces, breaking the silence. “Dante’s brother Dominic, or Greg Davakis?”

In the end, Dom wins by two votes.

Across the table, Bama gives me a glare of stone-cold anger.

Axel bangs the gavel to end the meeting. “Dante,” he calls to me. “Bring Dominic around to the clubhouse ASAP, to talk to Rourke and me.” He looks over at Rourke, who nods.

“Will do,” I reply. I’m glad for the vote of confidence in my brother. Because I know it’s a vote of confidence in me.

Don’t you fuck this up, Dominic,I warn my brother in my head as I stand to leave.Don’t make me regret this, you motherfucker.

Back out in the main room of the clubhouse, Bama is on his way to the bar when I grab him by the shoulder. The fucker is ready for me, though, because when I spin him around, he lifts a fist aimed for my face. I duck just in time, and lean in just enough to land a solid punch to his gut. He staggers back, knocking over a stool that goes clattering to the ground.

Mensa, doing a shift behind the bar, does a fuckin’ war whoop like the entertainment just arrived at his goddamned birthday party.

I hear a couple shouts behind me, but I ignore them. This shit is between Bama and me.

“You fuckin’ talk about my mother’scunt!” I roar. “I will break you the fuck in half!”

“I wasn’t talkin’ about your mother havin’ a cunt,” he gasps out. “I was talkin’ about herbein’a cunt.”

“Oh, Jesus fuck,” Mal mutters.

With a yell, I fly at him. I’ve got momentum behind me as I throw a punch at his jaw, knocking his head to the side. It would lay out a normal man, but Bama is a big fucker, and tough as nails even though he’s a goddamn asshole. He reaches out and grabs at the counter to steady himself. His eyes flash at me, and I’m getting ready to barrel into him again when a movement of his hand catches my attention.

I pivot just in time to see Bama’s hand close over a beer bottle at the edge of the bar.

For a few seconds, everything happens in bursts. I hear the crash of the bottle breaking. Bama comes at me just as I lower myself and plow into his stomach. We’re on the ground, rolling around on shattered glass as I fight to keep the sharp neck he’s using as a shiv away from my fuckin’ face.

I finally get Bama on his back, and maneuver my grip up his forearm on the side with the shiv. Noticing broken glass under his arm, I throw my weight onto the arm and grind it into the floor. Bama grits his teeth and groans, trying not to loosen his grasp on the bottle.

“Let it go, motherfucker,” I snarl.

“Fuck you!” he shoots back.

I’m rearing back to head-butt him in the face when I feel myself being lifted away and up. A pair of boots comes down to pin down Bama’s arms to the floor, but at the last second manages to break free and take a swipe at me. The jagged edge of the bottle barely grazes my face, just under my cheek bone.

“Goddamnit, Bama!” Axel yells. “Stand down!”

Behind me, Matthias and Ranger haul me up to a stand. Mal and Rourke grab Ranger. Rourke knocks his fist against the bar until he lets go of the bottle.

As soon as Bama’s on his feet, he pulls forward, trying to lunge at me. Mal and Rourke hold him back.

“Stand the fuck down, I said!” Axel roars. “This ends now! You got me?”

Bama’s eyes are flaming. “You better hope your brother doesn’t fuck this up,” he seethes at me.

“You better hope your mouth stays the fuck shut around me,” I bite out. “Unless you want it fuckin’wiredshut for you.”

“We’re done here.” Axel shoots a long, angry look at Bama, then at me. Then, with a nod, he tells our brothers to release us. Bama shakes them off, mutters something under his breath and stalks away.