“You want to tell me what’s really going on?”
“He’s angry most of the time. He hates himself a little I think.”
Ugly shakes his head, but he doesn’t do it in a way that makes me think he’s saddened by the news. The look in his eyes says that I damn well know that’s not what he was asking.
“What else is going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Slick. You’re visibly upset.”
“My emotions are personal, and I’m not discussing them with anyone.”
I walk away before he can argue further, thankful at the sight of Kincaid standing outside the conference room door.
“Safe trip?”
“Uneventful,” I answer.
“Team!” Kincaid yells over my shoulder to get everyone’s attention.
They all start to walk toward us, and for the first time in a long time, I have the urgency to run away. Getting fired is one thing. Having it happen in front of everyone is quite possibly the worst thing in the world.
It seems like business as usual as I shuffle into the room alongside everyone else. We take our seats, but I’m not in the mood for chatting while others around me carry on conversations, waiting for everyone to arrive.
Some members have moved out of the clubhouse with their significant others into houses Cerberus built on the property and they are the last to enter.
No one looks at me suspiciously like they have any idea what’s about to happen, but I don’t allow it to give me hope.
I’m working through the apologies I owe my team in my head as the room grows silent when Kincaid steps up to the front of the room.
“As you all know, we’ve been working on some changes to Cerberus,” Kincaid begins. “In light of the life-altering injury Aro suffered, we needed to put some things in place in order to make sure everyone makes it home safely.”
A murmur runs through the room, but I’m too lost in my own head to decipher everyone’s mood about his declaration.
“We will now be implementing an evaluation on every member prior to each mission,” Shadow adds.
The murmur grows.
“Everyone?” Tug asks.
Shadow nods.
“That will take forever,” Legend complains.
“There’s too much bad shit happening in the world for that,” Ugly adds.
“We can’t control everything,” Kincaid says, not looking at all surprised by the uproar the new protocols are getting. “What I can control is the safety of my team, and that includes not only in the field but the aftermath of what we witness day in and day out.”
There isn’t anyone in the room willing to argue those points with him.
“The first round of evaluations will take the longest, but after that, we’ll be able to streamline them to cut some time off.” Shadow looks around the room after speaking before continuing. “In an effort to keep momentum on eliminating sex traffickers, we’ll be adding more members to each team.”
Kincaid takes a deep frustrated breath when everyone begins to talk at once.
“Shit,” Ugly growls. “Is this how you assholes reacted when Harley, Slick, Aro, Spade, Boomer, and myself were announced?”
This makes several guys laugh.
“How?” Spade speaks up over the grumbling others. “The clubhouse is already full.”
Kid steps forward, speaking for the first time since we all entered the room. “We will be expanding the clubhouse. That was another thing. We were working on the logistics. The living room will be added on to as well as a second story of bedrooms.”
More chatter surrounds me. The news of expanding rather than being told my room is being made available for someone else brings me a little hope that maybe I won’t get booted from the club.
“That being said,” Kid says louder to regain everyone’s attention. “We’re not trying to force you into a situation that you don’t want but if you’re coupled with someone and considering having a house built on the property, get with me after the meeting so we can start working on those plans.”
“Does that include me?” Harley asks, making both Kid’s and Kincaid’s brows draw together.
“Of course it does.”
“Even though Ali and I have the house across town?”
“Yes,” Kincaid confirms. “Cerberus has purchased the twenty acres to the west. The problem we’re running into is finding enough contractors to work on more than three houses at a time.”
“Your high standards may need—”
“My standards will never change,” Kincaid says, interrupting his older brother Dominic.
A chuckle runs through the room.
“When will the new people get here?” Hound asks. I’m surprised that as a team lead he hasn’t already been apprised of these things.
“We have awhile yet,” Shadow answers. “We have a stringent application process.”
Several more people laugh, including myself. The hoops we all had to jump through to have permission for the first in-person interview is enough to make most people quit, which I think is the whole point. They don’t want people joining Cerberus on a whim. The organization is too important for that.