Page 173

In Church.

After weeks of sitting at this same table with everything I wanted to say trapped behind my teeth, I just threw shit at Scar and heard my voice come back at me with everyone else’s.

Echo’s knee presses a little harder against mine.

Raze gives us all a second, then continues, “Malgrave’s dealt with. Hellwarden Council is handling whatever’s left on their end.”

“And the cavern?” Sentinel asks.

“Seam’s holding. Checked it again before we came in.”

The humor around the table dies.

Raze looks from one brother to the next. “Doesn’t mean we stop watching it.”

Scar nods. “Already added it to patrol rotation.”

“Good. Nobody rides that stretch alone for a while. Anything changes, anything feels off, I want to know before it has the chance to become another fucking hole to Hell.”

That gets a few grim nods.

My hand settles against the edge of the table while the low hum of my roar moves beneath my ribs.

Echo shifts beside me, and her knee brushes mine again.

I look at her. She catches me staring and lifts an eyebrow.

Yeah.

It’s time.

I push my chair back, and the legs scrape loudly across the floor. Conversations are cut off, heads turn, and Raze’s eyes land on me with one corner of his mouth pulling up.

The bastard knows.

I get to my feet. For weeks, standing up in Church meant grabbing my phone, signing something, or waiting for somebody else to give words to whatever I couldn’t.

Not tonight.

I clear my throat, and every brother around that table shuts up.

“Jesus,” Scar mutters. “He’s making a speech.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I tell him.

Scar grins, and hearing my own voice fill Church feels pretty-fucking-good.

“I’ve got something to say.” My voice still catches me off guard sometimes, rough and low and entirely mine again after weeks of silence.

Every face around the table turns toward me.

“Echo.”

Her eyes lift to mine. I reach down and hold out my hand. She looks at it for half a second before sliding hers into mine, and I pull her out of the chair until she’s standing beside me.

“You came into this club running from people who spent your whole life telling you you belonged to them.” My fingers tighten around hers. “So I’m not standing here and doing the same-fucking-thing.”

Echo goes very still.