Page 100 of Scream For Me
No one objects, but I can feel it coming. The air has changed. Every single man in this room understands that something has shifted—and it’s not in their favor.
“Speak,” Elias says, his deep voice breaking the stillness.
Most of the men in the room avert their eyes, suddenly losing the nerve to speak. One man, however, steels his spine and doesn’t shy away from Elias’s stare.
“Who is this?” he asks. His tone is calm, but I don’t miss the way his fist is curled on the table.
I glance over to Elias, and his face lets me know that he doesn’t miss it either. Cain folds his arms and leans back in his chair, watching the exchange with a smirk on his face.
“Is there a problem, Michael?” Elias asks.
Michael’s face grows red, and his knuckles turn white. “These meetings are Circle members only. I’m not permitted to bring my sergeant-at-arms. I assumed the rules applied to everyone.”
Elias rubs his jaw with a smirk before finally looking at him. “They do.”
The room stills, and I don’t look away. If he wants to question my place, he can do it while looking me in the eye.
“But yet here she is,” Michael says, gesturing towards me before leaning back in his chair.
“I welcome questions at this table, Michael, as you well know. But did you ever hear the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’?” Elias pauses, his voice menacingly low as Michael fidgets uncomfortably in his seat. “Tell me, Michael. Are you the cat? Or the mouse?”
Michael lets out a short breath before he inclines his head. “Understood, boss. My mistake.”
Elias’s stare lingers on Michael for a moment longer before scanning the rest of the table. Michael’s shoulders relax a fraction. Around the table, the rest of the men shift in their seats, and the air in the room grows thick with tension.
“Does anyone have something of value to bring to the table?” Elias looks at each person in turn. None of them meet his stare.
The silence stretches for a few seconds too long. One man flips his pen between his fingers before realizing he’s being watched and quickly sets it down.
“Ivan?” Elias’s eyes narrow on a man wearing a white tank top under a blue suit jacket. “You’re being awfully quiet. Do you have anything for me?”
Ivan adjusts himself at the table. “No, sir. We’re still looking into everything.” Ivan’s voice is careful. It’s the kind of answer you give someone when you’re trying not to say the wrong thing.
“Boss, check this out,” Gareth says from Elias’s left. “Just before this meeting, we caught a partial match of the cut on the security footage of Elizabeth’s apartment.”
He digs deep into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. He smooths it out on the table, and my heart stops. The entire world narrows to the grainy photo on the table. The edges of my vision blur, the white walls fading away to darkness as my pulse roars in my ears.
My body feels cold and hot all at once. I’m frozen, yet my skin is fucking vibrating. I can’t look away. That single piece of paper sits on the table like a loaded gun.
I reach for it, ignoring Elias’s hand tightening around my knee in warning. The men around me are statues. No one shifts. No one speaks as I hold the photo up.
“This is the Iron Angels,” I say, my voice surprisingly strong despite the monsoon raging inside me.
A scoff comes from the other side of the room. One of the two men wearing biker cuts raises his eyebrows, giving me a look of pure disgust.
“Impossible,” he says with a sneer. “The Iron Angels dissolved years ago.”
“They did. But the Iron Angels never went away. They just disappeared. They still operate in secret. They joined other clubs so no one would dig too deep. It obviously worked.” Anger boils beneath my skin. I’m used to having to explain myself, but something about it being in a room of powerful men hits differently.
“Do these other clubs know? Because I fucking doubt they would be cool with split loyalty.”
“Do you think the Iron Angels give a fucking shit? No,” I say, the power in my voice shocking me slightly, but I don’t stop. “I don’t know if they’re all in on it or if they operate in secret. Butthey’re still. Fucking. Here.” I punctuate the last three words, blood rushing to my ears.
Elias looks at me, a brief flicker of pride passing over his features before the mask slides back into place.
Gareth taps furiously on his phone before speaking. “It’s true. It’s the same patch.” He pulls out a photo on his phone of the full patch.
I avert my eyes. I swore I’d kill myself before I ever looked at those fucking colors again.
