Page 26 of Scorched King

The longer I sat thinking about this the more my patience slipped. Luckily, Cash and Cain as well as the rest of the patched in members all made their way into our meeting room. Prospects weren’t allowed in these meetings until they became full-fledged members—which was exactly why I knew they weren’t involved. They were not given the kind of access to our facility that could have allowed them to get past Tel’s security.

No.We’d disproven that theory week one and were stuck with the knowledge that one of the men now sitting around this table, all men who’d sworn their loyalty to me and this club, is our traitor. There was no getting around that. I only hoped we got this figured out and settled before it was too late.

“All right. Now that everyone’s here let’s get started. We have a problem. A big one. But before I get into the details, you need to know that the club will not tolerate anyone taking this information and going rogue. I shouldn’t have to say this, but the situation is fucked. Every one of you is going to be pissed and want to take action. But no one—and I mean no one—goes off book with this. We are a team. Got it?”

“Sure, boss.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“What the hell?”

Grumbling erupted around the table, and I fought the urge to pound the gavel. But I generally reserved that for formal voting and at this point we didn’t have anything to vote on.

“I know. It sounds a little too cloak and dagger to me as well. But it is serious, and before I got into it, I just wanted to set the club expectations. Nod if you are clear that no matter what you learn today it doesn’t leave this room—which is already standard. But I also won’t tolerate any retaliation.”

I glanced around the table as one by one every man nodded his head. I watched for any clear signs of stress that might give me a hint, but there was nothing beyond some normal discontent that comes with having to agree to something without all the details.

“All right. I won’t waste time recapping the shit that went down with Mazzeo since I’m sure no one here has forgotten any of it. But there is an element of the case that I’ve been reluctant to talk about for reasons that are about to become obvious. We have reason to believe that Mazzeo didn’t work alone. Someone helped him infiltrate the compound. To put it bluntly?—”

“We have a fucking rat,” Axel interjected, his face a twisted mask of barely restrained fury.

“What?” A chorus of fucking questions and general disbelief went off in the room like a fucking bomb. What I was suggesting was serious, and every man at this table knew that.

“Look. I know it sounds fucked. Believe me. I’ve had weeks to come to terms with it and I’m still wrestling with it. To think that any one of us would turn on our club is fucking unbelievable.”

“Are you sure?” Zook asked quietly. From outward appearances he appeared calm, but I knew him better than anyone and he was anything but calm. For a man who loved big machine artillery, he was generally the quietest of us all. But that also made him one of the deadliest. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry about him going off half cocked. He was methodical and when he wentafter someone it would only be after it had been thought out well.

Which, of course, made him a great candidate for a rat in hiding. He had the skillset that would make it possible. But that meant little. He wasn’t the only one. And based on the chatter around the fucking table, every man here was feeling as betrayed as I felt. I just hoped by the time this investigation was all over, I still had a club worth saving.

“Look, I’m not telling you this so that you can all start looking at each other with side eyes or to start shit with each other.”

“Then why did you tell us this? Because this is bullshit if I can’t even trust my club brothers.” I understood Cash’s complaints. We were all feeling it.

“Because we thought you had a right to know. I don’t like looking at each one of you behind your backs and running an investigation without full disclosure.”

“This is bullshit,” Bear grumbled, his face twisted in anger. “I don’t need anyone questioning my loyalty. This club is my life and I’ve sacrificed plenty for it.”

Everyone nodded their agreement and inside I wholeheartedly agreed. But I wasn’t going to announce to the whole table who was under investigation and who wasn’t. It was better to let them not know who I’ve been able to eliminate thus far. For now.

“It is fucking bullshit!” I yelled across the table, effectively shutting them all up. “If you think I am enjoying this for one god damned second you can all go fuck yourselves. But you have the right to know what’s going on so there it is. It’s a shit storm and I’m already sick of it.”

“So, Prez, what are we going to do about it? How the hell are we going to find a traitor standing right in front of us?”

“Good question. First, that’s part of the reason you are all gathered here. I’ve decided to make a one time offer.” A hush fell across the room. “If I get a confession before midnight tonight, the rat can live.” As to what conditions he would live under was still up for debate. I wasn’t letting his ass off scot free. Fuck no. There would be retribution and it was going to hurt like a mother fucker.

“Seriously? You’re just going to let him go?” Zook looked at me with disbelief and enough anger to almost take me aback.

I smirked. “Let’s be real. He got people killed and more hurt. There will be retribution for that, but I will let him live. That’s the only promise I can make. But I had a hand in recruiting each and every one of you and I fully believe that each one of you will do the right thing. Especially when confronted. If I have to go about this the hard way, then even death won’t be good enough.”

“You’re goddamned right because we aren’t a bunch of pussies,” Cain growled from his seat.

So far every man at this table had expressed his outrage at the idea of a rat amongst our ranks and I’d not picked up an ounce of deceit from any of them. No shifty eyes, no squirming in their seats. My rat had a stone-cold heart and the acting skills to pull it off.

Thus far I had remained in my seat, but I was getting as antsy and frustrated as the rest of them. So I stood, placing my hands on the table and leaned forward.

“One last thing before we break up this fun party.” I smirked. “The rat is running out of time either way. We’ve got a witness on the hook who wants to talk.”

The room exploded as I shoved off the desk, picked up the gavel and slammed it against the scarred wooden table with the Sins of Wrath logo burned into it.

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