Page 175 of Claimed By a King

A part of me wants to speak up and make someone else do it. Asking Slasher isn’t fair, it’s like making him choose between Alana and Gray. But I know this isn’t my call and one of those times where I have to let Gray do his Prez thing.

“Titch and I discussed the probability of the rat being one of the Cunts—”

“Oh my God,” Alana screeches. “You were in on it? You really think it’s me?”

Shaking his head, Slasher growls, “Of course not. But you know I can’t give you preferential treatment. Besides, what if someone had hacked into your phone without you knowing? We couldn’t leave any phone unchecked.”

Though the reasoning sounds fair to me, I also have enough self-awareness to know just how pissed I’d be if Gray had done that to me. Not that I have a phone to check, but that’s beside the fucking point.

Gray leans across the table and jabs a finger in Alana’s direction. “One more fucking outburst, and we’ll continue the meeting without you.” Straightening, he looks between everyone at the table, me included. “That goes for every single fucking person here. Understood?”

We all murmur our agreement, and he squeezes my thigh when I do. I think he’s thanking me for playing along. Or maybe it’s a reminder that it really does include me, whichit totally should. Now it’s up to me not to put him in the position of having to make me leave.

“Continue,” he says, looking at Slasher.

Slasher clears his throat. “When we asked for the phones, the Cunts wanted to know why. So Titch told them.”

Gray exhales audibly and pins Titch with a dark look. “What exactly did you tell them?”

Titch doesn’t look happy to answer the question. “I fucked up, Prez,” he admits. “I told them we needed to make sure they hadn’t turned on us. But I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, I did, but I also didn’t.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Gray growls. He closes his eyes for a moment, and when he reopens them, there’s a fucking war brewing in the dark depths. “I know it’s a testy subject for everyone. But after what Rhiannon did, can you blame us for being cautious?”

Though the question is clearly aimed at the women at the table, he doesn’t look at anyone in particular.

“Yes,” Rose shouts, slapping her mangled hand on the surface of the table. “Because the reason we’re in this fucked up situation is because of a King and not a Cunt.”

Gray darts to his feet so abruptly his chair falls over. “I lost my fucking princess because of a Cunt,” he roars. “So don’t fucking give me that shit, Rose. Not now. Not fucking ever.”

Despite the scene playing out in front of me, I can’t stop looking at Cara and Rocco. They’re unnaturally quiet. Still, almost. His arm is around her shoulders and she looks like breathing physically hurts her. There’s definitely something going on there.

“And who took her?” Alana challenges. “A former King. Let’s not fucking lose sight of the bigger picture. I won’t defend Rhiannon’s treacherous ass because she stole from me, too. She took my best fucking friend. But fair’s fair. So let’s place the blame where it rightfully belongs. It. Was. A. Fucking. King.”

Gray rakes his hands through his hair, making it look wilder than usual. “I know,” he sighs. “Okay? I fucking know it’s all because of our former brother. The Kings aren’tinnocent in this. Rocco and I failed at protecting the club, and—”

The scraping across the floor from Cara’s chair halts Gray from continuing. The former Mama stands, and the expression on her face makes it clear that she’s shaken to her core.

“If you want someone to blame, place the blame at my feet,” she croaks. “I failed at protecting my girls. I thought I was good for the club.” Her laugh is filled with self-deprecation. “But it turns out they didn’t trust me enough to tell me about Gunner. That’s on me and not them. I failed the Cunts and the club. I should have seen the signs.”

Now I know why her expression called to me. It’s the same guilt I’m trying my best not to allow to swallow me whole. But it’s hard. The death of Sasha, Izzy, Slayer, and so many more weigh heavily on me.

It might not have been my hand that ended their lives, but it was the actions of my dad that led us all here. I know his sins aren’t mine, but the consequences are. I refuse to let it be any other way. I’m not him, and I will help us all survive this.

Taking Gray’s hand, I tug on it, urging him to sit back down. Tempers are high, but I know in my heart that the only way to get through this is together.

Once Gray is sitting down again, I lean in and sweetly kiss his cheek. Then I stand up, waiting with bated breath until everyone looks at me.

“A lot of shit has happened,” I say, willing my voice not to waver. “Pretending there hasn’t been betrayal from all angles isn’t possible. But we need to stick together. I personally trust everyone in this room.”

I look at every single person at the table, needing them to see my sincerity.

“Rocco and Gray brought me into your lives to right my dad’s wrong after he stole your money, and I still think that something needs to be done—”

Rose scoffs. “No one fucking cares about the money.”

I give her a tight smile. “I wasn’t talking aboutthe money.”

“Oh,” she mumbles, looking ashamed to have interrupted me.

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