Batiste by Victoria Danann

Author:Victoria Danann [Danann, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: dba 7th House Publishing, Imprint of Andromeda LLC
Published: 2018-06-23T16:00:00+00:00

Everyone was seated when Batiste entered the meeting room. Army, who’d been waiting for him, closed the door. Not that it mattered. Everyone who wasn’t on the property when the call went up had hightailed it to the camp and was in that room. Everyone except Coon. Of course the windows were open to screens so closing the door was more symbolic than anything.

The room was the size of a typical conference room and had an old conference table that Brer Batiste had rescued from a used office furniture consignment outfit in Houston. The top had been leaning against the wall in their back junk room. It wasn’t fancy. It had visible gouges, nicks, scratches, and places where the top was either stained or discolored by some bleaching agent.

Batiste had always thought it was a perfect match for the Devils. It wasn’t fancy. It was plain and had visible flaws but was substantial in every way that counted.

Sometimes meetings were rowdy, but not that day. It was as still and quiet in the room as it would be if no humans were present. The only sound was birdsong from outside. All of them looked grim but expectant, as they waited to hear what Batiste would say.

It was a rarity for a non-member to be privy to a voting meeting of a motorcycle club so, in the interest of manners and respect, Dev stood, leaning against the far back wall, with his arms crossed and plans to stay out of the discussion no matter what turn it might take.

“The way I see it we have three issues,” Batiste began as he took his place at the head of the table. Normally he would sit, but for whatever reason he remained standing to say what was on his mind. “The first and most important is getting Angelique back. The second is what to do about Stars and Bars after we get her back. The third is what to do about Coon.

“Let’s go last to first. Coon. Here’s what we know. It’s not just that he can’t be trusted. It’s that he betrayed us. I’m strugglin’ with what to do ‘bout that. We can’t keep him, knowin’ what we know. And we can’t just let him walk outta here knowin’ what he knows ‘bout us either.

“I’ll let that rest on your minds a bit while we talk ‘bout number two. There’re lots of reasons why it goes against custom to threaten families and grab women. One of those reasons is ‘cause, once that starts, how does it ever have an acceptable outcome? For anybody?

“It doan. Reasonable people can work that out. Stars and Bars? They’re not reasonable. They’re lookin’ for war. If it was just money they wanted, they would’ve left Scar and Low alive. We have ways of dealin’ with that kind of behavior, as you know, but this? Threatenin’ families? It’s what you call a slippery slope.”

Several of the members murmured agreement and nodded to each other.

“Sons over in Austin feel the same.

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