He didn’t want to be here.
Jesse appeared in the doorway. “They’re done talkin’. You can head on in.”
Tom nodded. Setting down the mug, he took a deep breath and followed Jesse. He just had to see Bryce one last time, and then he’d be free. Or so he told himself, but the ache in his chest said otherwise.
Matt’s voice carried down the hallway, clear and unmistakable.
“Maybe you should ask yourself why you don’t want to see your mate in danger.”
Tom faltered, stopping just shy of the threshold.
Bryce’s voice was rough-edged. “Fuck it, Matt. He’s not my mate. Not in any way that counts.”
The words hit like a gut punch. His lungs wouldn’t work. He’d known, of course he’d known. But hearing it, so cold, final, and dismissive…
Jesse turned, his eyes wide with apology. Tom shook his head once.Don’t.
Then he pulled himself together, and walked in. By the time they looked up, he was composed. Distant. Professional.
Bryce surged to his feet, hand half-lifted, eyes wide with something like horror.
“Tom—”
“I need to tell you something important, Tom,” Matt said sharply, cutting Bryce off. “It’s not going to be easy to hear, but I want you just to listen and save any questions for afterward.”
Tom nodded, terse and tight. “Go ahead.”
Only the years in the job and the importance that they’d drilled into him of giving nothing away kept Tom’s face impassive as Matt spoke. He laid out a blunt succession of facts about the criminal alpha who’d been after Jesse, the fact he’d claimed to have a buyer who was a member of the National Council, and the massacre that had followed once Jesse’s existence became known in Washington.
Tom had to bite his lip to keep himself quiet when Urban told him Jesse’s pack had been slaughtered when he was a pup, and that, according to an eyewitness, Jax had been in the area at that time.
When Urban stopped speaking, Tom drew a deep breath. “You do realize what you’re saying?”
“I’m not accusing anyone of anything,” Matt said calmly. “All I’m doing is laying out the facts we’ve gathered. If they appear to lead to a certain conclusion, that’s not my doing.”
Matt Urban wasn’t a man to spin wild theories. And Bryce—well, Bryce didn’t lie. The only inference to draw was that they believed every word.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone when you found Cale’s pack? There should have been an investigation into what happened while there was still evidence to be found.”
“We didn’t want anyone to know we knew,” Bryce said.
Tom frowned, trying to follow his reasoning.
“We believe the killing was ordered to cover the buyer’s tracks. If we knew about the murders, we might also know about the reason for them and might even know the buyer’s identity, which would put us next in the firing line.” Matt’s lips quirked, but there was no humor in them.
“So you’ve got no evidence of any of this,” Tom said.
“Aside from the eyewitness testimony of my pack, you mean.” Matt’s voice was soft and deadly at the implied criticism of his pack.
“With respect, Matt, they witnessed the aftermath, not the event,” Tom said. “They don’t know who did it. Any evidence left will probably be gone by now, lost to animals and the elements.”
“But the perpetrators don’t know that, do they?” Bryce was leaning forward in his chair. “If they think there’s an investigation, maybe they’ll betray themselves.”
“Which brings us to why we’re telling you this,” Matt said. “We don’t know who we can safely tell, what alliances there might be between Council members. We’re hoping that you do and can approach them.”
The breath was driven from Tom’s lungs as he stared at Matt. “You want me—fuck,” he said. “You want me to stick my neck out. To sacrifice my whole damn career.”
“Not necessarily,” Matt said. “If whoever’s responsible gets found out and punished, then you’d get the credit for it.”
