“At least I’d know what I’m up against! Fuck, I can’t believe you kept this from me!”
He flinches. “We know what you’re up against. It’s our job to protect you, and we’re all doing what we can.”
“Everyone knows,” I realize.
“They do,” he concedes, hanging his head. “Ian and Luca wanted to tell you. Cassian, Marcus and I wanted to protect you from all the vile shit he said.”
“So, what? You put my privacy up for a vote? Do I get no say in my own fucking life?”
“Junes, you would havetorturedyourself over his messages. I saw what watching all his interviews did to you, and Marcus saw how you were obsessing over articles about him.”
“That still doesn’t give you the right.”
“It doesn’t,” Simon agrees. “But please know that everything I did, I did out of love. Intercepting these messages, it’s howIcan protect you. And, saints, I’ve beentryingto trace them back to Rad, to gather evidence against him. If we could catch him threatening you, Cass could take action against him.”
“But he’s covering his tracks?” I ask, rubbing my temples as I sit back down on the edge of the couch.
“He never keeps a burner phone for more than a few days, always pays for them in cash, and destroys them when he’s done with them. Well, I think Blair destroys them, because I’ve tried to find the pieces. And there’s never anything salvageable left. He’s thorough.”
I sink back into the sofa’s plush cushions and sigh in frustration. “Forward his texts to my new phone. I know you can do that in a way that will ensure he can’t trace me.”
“You can’t text him back.”
“I understand.”
“If I do this for you, can you please let the past messages go?”
I bristle, but finally nod. I’m angry with him, Cassian and Marcus, but Simon is right. I’d torture myself with Rad’s messages, reading them over and over, looking for any hidden threats. Reading Rad’s vitriolic rants will do me no good. “Fine. But we’re talking about this as a pack tonight.”
CHAPTER39
The mood is subdued by the time Cassian arrives back to the pack house that evening, and he can immediately tell that I’m not happy with him—or Simon.
“So, Junes found out about the texts,” Simon tells our mate quietly. “And saw his two latest messages.”
Cassian looks up and catches my eyes, shame in his own. “Fuck, Junes. I’m so sorry.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath because while I amfuriouswith the alpha standing helplessly just inside the doorway, heismy mate.
“Please don’t be mad at Simon,” Cassian begs. “It was my idea.”
“Oh, shut up,” Simon mutters. “No, it wasn’t, so don’t try to protect me. Honestly, Junes is so pissed you should probably protect yourself, anyway. You’re complicit.”
“You lied to me,” I grit out, my voice tight with anger. “You’ve watched me make myself sick trying to figure out the hidden messages in every interview and quote Rad’s given when he was sending merealmessages all along. And you knew. Saints, he’s threatening to ruin Ian now.”
As if summoned, Ian slumps up the stairs from the garage and sets his heavy book bag down with a sigh. “Rough day of research into—” He looks around, his eyes narrowing as he looks from my face to Simon’s, to Cassian’s. “What’s happened? What is it?”
“Andrew Radcliffe is threatening to ruin you. And you kept a secret from me,” I grouse.
“The texts,” he realizes.
“The texts,” I confirm. “Did you miss the part where an evil alpha who’s obsessed with me and who I spurned wants to destroy you? Ian, he’s known about us the whole time. And now he’s going to hurt you, and if I have to watch you?—”
I can’t bear to say it. I can’t bear the thought of Andrew Radcliffe torturing my alpha to death before my very eyes.
“Oh, my darling,” Ian says softly, slowly crossing the kitchen and hesitantly taking me into his arms. When I don’t resist, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, letting me breathe in his scent. One more thing Rad could take away from me. If I lost Ian, his scent would linger in my nest, on his raincoat, until finally, one day, it would fade away forever.
Hot tears well up in the corner of my eyes, and Ian strokes my back.
