Page 33 of Hurting Hunter
Max moved closer to the screen, as if proximity could change the facts laid bare before them.
Brick's voice cut through the chaos. "For fuck's sake, settle down!" he bellowed.
Although the tumult subsided, a low murmur of dismay continued to ripple through the group.
As the room regained some order, Hunter pulled out his phone. Tapping on the screen, he tried to track down Slate, only to find his efforts thwarted. Slate's phone was off, his whereabouts unknown, and the sinking realization that he had deliberately disappeared was like a cold weight in Hunter’s stomach.
“Why would Slate do this to us?” Max, one of the newer members, muttered, his voice laden with a mix of anger and disbelief.
The question hung in the air and remained unanswered.
Chapter 23
The meeting room erupted into a cacophony of overlapping voices, each member trying to process the startling revelations about Slate. In the midst of this chaos, Brick's commanding voice once again thundered for silence, cutting through the noise like a knife. The room fell silent, all eyes turning toward him as he leaned forward, his hands firmly planted on the table.
Brick fixed Rex with a steely gaze, his voice carrying an edge of authority that demanded an answer. "Not that I’m not grateful we know this, but why the hell were you tailing Slate?" His tone was sharp.
Rex’s cheeks reddened, but he straightened. Everybody’s attention narrowed onto him. Clearing his throat, he replied, "I’ve been following Slate for weeks," he began.
“Why?” demanded Brick.
" I stumbled upon something... something I couldn’t ignore.” Rex stroked his hand through his short hair. “I noticed Slate texting a few times during meetings, and it wasn’t his usual iPhone but some kind of cheap… like, prepaid… thingy."
As murmurs began to rise again, Brick raised his hand, signaling for silence. "Let him continue," he ordered curtly, nodding toward Rex.
Rex took a deep breath. "After seeing Slate with that other phone, I started keeping a closer eye on him," he explained. "It didn’t sit right with me, him having a burner phone."
His gaze swept across the room, meeting the eyes of the members. "I hoped I was wrong about him. That’s why I kept it to myself at first."
The room's atmosphere thickened with tension as Rex continued, "I began following him discreetly, trying to catch something concrete before I brought it to anyone’s attention. I couldn’t just accuse a founding member based on a hunch and a burner phone."
Rex clicked the remote, bringing up a series of images on the screen—snapshots of Slate in secretive exchanges, timestamps validating Rex’s surveillance over the past few weeks. "Today, I finally got the proof." He finished playing the video again, and his shoulders drooped.
As the footage looped, Rex turned toward Hunter, a puzzled look etched across his face. "Were you following Slate as well?"
"No, I was following you," Hunter replied.
"Me? Why?" Rex’s voice cracked as disbelief and dawning understanding colored his tone. His eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. "You thought I was the mole? You suspected me?" The hurt was evident in his voice.
Hunter, feeling the weight of the accusation he had silently leveled at Rex, nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did. You being new and always having cash... it didn’t add up," he explained, hoping his honesty would smooth over the raw edges of his suspicion.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, the members exchanging glances, each man wrestling with the implications of such mistrust within their ranks. Rex stood in a tense posture and the tightness around his eyes showed his hurt. “Always having cash… really? Why the fuck didn’t you ask?” His gaze swept over the group and seemed to notice the down casted gazes and shuffling feet. “You all… Well, fuck. I…”
“Come on, man,” Max offered, “You work in a bar. That can’t pay enough for your lifestyle.”
Rex fell silence for a couple of tense moment before raking his hand through his hair. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I work at a strip bar."
For a moment, the room remained silent, processing the unexpected twist. Then, without warning, Hunter burst into laughter. It was loud and hearty, filled with genuine amusement, breaking the tension like a sudden burst of sunshine through clouds.
Rex’s initial shock at the laughter gave way to a sheepish grin. As Hunter’s laughter echoed around the room, it sparked a chain reaction, with chuckles and smiles breaking out among the brothers.
Brick, unable to keep a straight face any longer, joined in with a deep, rumbling laugh. "Well, that’s one way to earn extra cash."
The mood in the room lightened considerably.
Hunter, finally catching his breath, clapped Rex on the shoulder. "Sorry, man," he said, his smile wide and genuine. "Looks like we owe you a big apology—and maybe a night out at your workplace."
The room erupted into laughter once again, the bonds of brotherhood strengthened through the trials of suspicion and the relief of truth revealed. They would have to deal with Slate’s betrayal, but in the end their brotherhood would survive this.
