ALEX
The parlor buzzed with quiet, simmering tension. Everyone was there, seated or standing in clusters around the room, their voices hushed but laced with long-held grievances. I perched on the edge of a leather chair, my hands tightly folded in my lap, feeling the weight of unspoken words pressing down on us all.
The Alcatraz brothers loomed nearby, their arms crossed as they leaned against the wall near the door, gazes scanning the room like dark sentinels.
They seemed to absorb the tension, making it their own. Reed seemed to have a smirk that he managed to keep on his face in such a way that it seemed like it wasn't even there. It seemed like he was watching me all the while. The way a tiger would watch its prey. He knew I was avoiding his eyes and he didn't care to stop.
Rhys
