8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

Ajay

A jay squared his shoulders, because several of the Lords were closing in on him and he knew this moment would make or break him within the MC. The door opened and the man who ran out was back with the biker he'd met once in prison. Ace, their Sergeant-at-Arms, and the look on the man's face was full of the blood he thirsted for. Ajay's blood.

Ajay's heart was running a marathon in his chest, his adrenaline was on its highest peak. He had no idea what to expect with the beatdown. To be honest, it may have been easier just to take a beating, but no... the Lords wanted to see the merit of his caliber. It was a test and he hoped he didn't fail.

"You may get hurt," Ajay warned.

"Worry about yourself, motherfucker," Ace snapped.

"Fine. Bring it," Ajay said and they did, but one at a time... at least for the moment. Dasan was the first to throw a punch which Ajay dodged, but his move landed him knee to gut with Dasan's counterattack as if the man had anticipated that he'd be able to evade his jab. Ajay coughed and had to steel himself from the pain and react to the next attack. Dasan was fast and his blows didn't lack impact, that was for sure. Ajay sidestepped him and caught Dasan on the jaw with a punch, then he followed it up with a left hook that sent Dasan staggering back. But when he tried to get in a third, Dasan kicked him in the crotch, knocking the wind out of his sails as blinding pain rocked his body from his groin. He doubled over, dropping to one knee, and gasped as he groaned.

The men of the Lords laughed and nodded in approval.

"Ahh fuck," Ajay gasped.

"I bet you think that was a dirty blow," Dasan said, then laughed.

"Un...expected," Ajay grunted, then straightened. His chest heaved as he controlled his breathing to switch his focus from the pain to the fight.

"We fight to win and every part of the body is fair fucking game," Dasan said, then swung, catching Ajay in the stomach with a right hook.

Ajay took the blow, then countered the next with a hip toss, swinging Dasan's body over his and slamming the President of the Lords to the floor, then he kicked Dasan in the stomach and face before the man could recover.

"Fuck!" Dasan growled and grunted from the pain. He spit blood out and then rubbed his jaw. Ace went to move in, but Dasan held his hand up. "I'm not done with him yet, Ace."

Ace snarled at Ajay, but stepped back.

Dasan climbed to his feet and grinned. "That was a good move, there, boy. I like that you have skill and balls. "

For a second, Ajay thought he'd fucked up by doing what he did, which was the only reason he didn't continue to lay down blows. Dasan was the fucking President of the Lords and he'd just slammed the man to the floor, then kicked him when he was down. But hearing the praise coming from the man renewed his vigor. He raised his fist, ready for round two.

Dasan nodded, then charged to the roars of the other men of the Lords. Ajay swung, Dasan shifted ever so slightly, then hooked his arm around Ajay's neck and brought him down. He wrapped his legs around Ajay's body, pinning his limbs right where he wanted them, and squeezed.

Ajay struggled in the hold and mentally kicked himself for not being able to break free. Fuck! The man's hold on him was as tight as a vice and he strained to break through the chokehold that had his vision blurry. Hell, he couldn't even tap out and soon his vision went from fading in and out to going black.

***

Ajay blinked and each time, his vision began to clear. He could see a ceiling overheard with fans going. He began to hear male voices surrounding him and immediately grew alert. He sat up slowly, then groaned as his mind was still fuzzy.

"Sleeping beauty is awake now," he heard someone say.

He turned in the direction of the voice and saw several men, all bikers in their cuts, walking toward him. "Fuck," he mumbled because it was all coming back to him. He was in the Lords' clubhouse and had just gotten his ass handed to him by their club's president, Niyol "Dasan" Murphy. He groaned as he rose to his feet, then sighed as he dabbed at the drying blood on his nose. He looked at the men who'd circled him and flexed his muscles because apparently, this club initiation wasn't over yet.

Ajay could see the hungry look in their eyes, some more than others. One in particular looked like he wanted to bathe in his blood, the one who'd let him in. Ajay recognized him from the file as Rio "Maverick" Murphy. He looked past the men to see Dasan sitting at the bar, a smirk on his face as he enjoyed a beer. This was going to be a challenge, because this time, it was a free for all.

Fine.

Ajay kicked first, catching one of the men in the face. They came at him from all directions and he punched and kicked using all of the martial arts skills he'd learned throughout his life. He took blows, gave blows, and found himself on the floor plenty of times. He grappled with Ace, bit one of the men in the legs, grabbed another's balls and twisted until they screamed. Took a blow to the face by Maverick, which forced him to let go as his mind took a swim.

He was on the floor now, punching someone until he was grabbed from behind in another chokehold. He elbowed the man but caught a punch to the face and stomach by the man he'd been punching, which he knew to be Michael "Nine Iron" Murphy. He was tossed to the floor and allowed to climb back to his feet, which took some time because he was exhausted and aching all over. Blood dripped from several wounds and he knew he was going to be decorated with purple bruises all over. He was hunched over, panting, but so were some of the men of the Lords. They had their own battle wounds to lick after this was over.

Ace charged, ramming Ajay in the middle, and he brought his double fists down on Ace's back just as he kneed the man in the stomach, which knocked the air out of the SA. He lifted Ace, then headbutted the man, causing blood to gush from Ace's nose.

"Motherfucker!" Ace roared as he stumbled back and fell on his ass.

Maverick came through, delivering three kicks to Ajay, nailing him in the face, chest, and the back of his leg, which brought Ajay down to his knees. Maverick raised his fist high, ready to deliver the blow he knew would send Ajay into dreamland.

"Enough," Dasan called out.

Maverick's fist stopped inches from Ajay's bruised and battered face. He looked up at his dad. "Just when I was about to put his fucking lights out, Dad?" He lowered his fist and took a few steps back.

Dasan chuckled and climbed off the stool to approach them. He looked down at Ajay and smiled. "You took your punishment and true Hell Week challenge like a fucking man, Ajay."

"Tha—thank... you, sir," Ajay said between pants. All he wanted to do was lie down somewhere and sleep after the fight he'd just had.

Dasan reached down, grabbed Ajay's arm, and helped the man to his feet. He then turned to face the others. "From this fucking moment on, whatever beef you had with Ajay, it's squashed. Bury that shit, you understand me?"

All of the men agreed in their confirmation.

Satisfied, Dasan nodded. "But for you, Ajay, your prospect year starts now. We're not counting that shit you did in prison, because you weren't being honest."

A part of Ajay wanted to sulk at that. To have to start over was disappointing, to say the least, but he understood. He nodded. "Yes, sir," he said without a fuss.

Dasan was watching him for any sign that he was going to balk at that and was pleased the man was taking his medicine. "From now on, you're an official prospect of the Lords of Chaos. Prove you have this club's back and we'll go to hell and back for you. We are brothers through blood and loyalty. You're Tiny Tim's old boy and today, you proved that you want to be a Lord. Keep it up."

Ajay nodded weakly, his legs felt like wet spaghetti, and he could barely stand. Now that the fighting was over, his adrenaline had drained away. He found himself leaning on Dasan for support and the president laughed.

"Shotgun, he's all yours," Dasan said.

The Lord's doctor stepped forward and wrapped Ajay's arm around his shoulder, taking him from Dasan. He couldn't take him to the clinic because it was still under renovation but was coming along nicely. Instead, he took him over to the sofa and laid the man down. He had a busted lip and a bruise already forming on his cheek because Ajay had caught him with a high kick that had him seeing stars. He was impressed with the man that he was able to hold his own against the Lords. "I'll be back, gotta get my kit," he told him, then walked away.

Ajay closed his eyes and smiled because he'd been accepted by the Lords. He'd earned the members' respect and that was worth its fucking weight in gold. TT would be proud of him... Dragon too. He couldn't wait to see his man and tell him how his real Hell Week Initiation had gone. For now, he just wanted to rest and be patched up.

Ace, Maverick, and their brother he knew was Fabian "Burger" Murphy joined him in the lounge area. each man sitting down on the chairs. Nine moved Ajay's legs out of the way and sat down on the end of the sofa. Ajay raised his head to frown at the man, but Nine was grinning at him, so he just rolled his eyes and lay his head back down.

"You proved you're not a punk ass cop back there," Ace said.

"According to Dragon, he's a natural-born killer," Maverick said.

Is that what Dragon told them? Ajay wondered, and he thought about the conversation he and TT had the day before. What Dragon had seen in him, what he had realized about himself when he'd killed the CO. Perhaps, he was never meant to be a cop. He was always meant to be someone who did whatever he wanted. A man who lived by the rules that gave him the life he wanted.

"So, are we good?" Ajay asked the men.

"You're lying there looking like ground beef," Ace said, then laughed. "Yeah, we're good."

"I was about to knock your ass into the next century when Dad stopped me. But like Dad said, you were a man and I trust my brother Dragon's word when he said you would make a good Lord. Your love for our brother TT saved you in the beginning. But Dragon's opinion of you is held in high regard amongst the men." Maverick leaned over and patted Ajay's shoulder. "You're good. But we're not going to take it easy on you for the year."

"The pool needs to be cleaned out and the lawn mowed, so when you get back on your feet, get to it," Nine said.

They looked up when Shotgun returned with his medical kit. "I'll patch him up first, because he took the worst of it. Then I'll get to the rest of you."

"Don't worry about me," Ace said, then rose and walked away.

Ajay wasn't going to refuse the medical treatment because he knew he needed it. But all of the pain he felt was worth it as far as he was concerned. Still, that fight was less painful than the conversation he'd had with his husband. He was now one step closer to spending the rest of his life with Tim "Tiny Tim" Davis.