Page 52 of Break Me

Hands lift. One after another.

My stomach drops.

Jon’s gaze goes to Knox last.

Knox stares at his own hands as if they belong to someone else. For a second, I think he won’t raise it. Then, slowly, he lifts his hand.

The room stays silent.

“All opposed?”

No hands.

Jon nods once. “Motion carries.”

My breath leaves me in a rough exhale.

Jon’s eyes lock on mine. “You keep your cut,” he says. “You keep your patch. You’re still one of us. But hear me,” he adds, voice turning lethal. “You don’t get to fracture this club again. You don’t get to make your brothers choose between blood and loyalty.”

He points a finger in my direction. “And you don’t ever put my daughter in the crossfire of club business.”

“I won’t.”

Jon holds my gaze like he’s weighing my soul. Then he says, quieter, “You’re benched until Knox says otherwise.”

Knox doesn't argue.

Jon pushes back from the table. “Church is over.”

Boots hit the concrete floor as men stand and file out without looking at me.

Knox is the last one to leave. He stops at the door, his hand tightening on the frame. For a second, I think he's going to turn around. Say something. Do something. Instead, he shoves through the door and disappears down the hallway.

I stay seated for half a heartbeat longer, staring at the table where I used to belong.

I’m still patched.

Still breathing.

Still a brother.

But I’ve never felt more alone in my life.

Raven

My feet wear a path back and forth outside. The clubhouse doors stay shut far too long. Every second stretches thin, my chest tight, my palms damp. When the doors finally open, men file out in ones and twos, voices low. No one looks at me at first.

Until Mouse steps out. He freezes like he didn’t expect me to be here still.

“Mouse,” I say, grabbing his arm before he can dodge past me. “What happened?”

“He’s still patched,” he says quietly. “But they benched him. Took his vote. Took his authority. He’s out of the sleeping hall.”

Each word lands heavier than the last.

“And Knox?” I ask.

Mouse’s jaw tightens. “Didn’t fight it. Didn’t stop it either.”