“Are you tracking my rides now?” He grinds out.
“I track threats,” I say evenly.
Angel interrupts before the room turns into a brawl. “That’s enough.”
Razor leans back again, saying, “I’m not accusing anyone.” But his eyes flick toward me. “I’m suggesting we tighten security. Look at the information we have in front of us.”
I let out a harsh breath. “You don’t tighten security by throwing suspicion at my wife.”
“How much do you really know about your wife’s past, Clutch?” He jabs.
The words explode through the room and I'm over the table before I realize I moved. My fists hit the wood in front of him hard enough to rattle the room.
“You want to repeat that?” I demand.
Razor doesn’t flinch as I lean into his space.
Angel’s voice cuts through the tension. “We do not turn on each other.”
His stare moves between us.
“You want to fight someone, take it outside the gates. We have plenty of enemies out there.”
Silence falls again. But, I can already feel it, the divide in this room.
I look at Angel. “Do you trust me?”
His answer is immediate. “With my life.”
I nod once, saying, “Then you know I wouldn’t bring someone into this house who’d compromise it.”
Angel studies me, then he nods slowly. “I know that.”
I look back at Razor.
“I trustmy wife.”
The words hang in the room, clear and final. So there is no misinterpreting them. But even as I sit back down, I can feel it, the room isn’t united anymore. Because the seed he planted is already taking root.
Angel exhales slowly. “We’re not fracturing this club over speculation.” His eyes sweep the room as he continues. “We tighten ranks.”
He pauses, then adds. “Which is why we’re reminding everyone what this house stands for.”
The silence stretches, until he says. “Mandatory gathering tomorrow night.”
A few brothers glance up.
“Everyoneattends.” His voice leaves no room for misunderstanding.
No exceptions.
I already know what it is. A show of unity.
But as the meeting breaks and men start moving again, something settles uneasily in my gut. Because unity only works…When everyone believes it.
CHAPTER 9
CLUTCH - PROTECT OUR OWN