Witnesses that all stand and watch when Gabriel and his brother strike as one. Seeing the twins in action is poetry in motion. Sadly, Roger misses it all and faints as soon as Gabriel bends his left wrist all the way back until it cracks. Valak stands there like a silent, avenging demon, breaking every one of Toby’s bones in his hands before spitting in his face and coming back to me.
“He won’t touch you again, Len,” he says, tipping his head at me. His brown eyes scan the area before coming back to me, and I truly like everything I see in those beautifully feral eyes of his.
Moving into his arms, I sneak in a quick cuddle while my hand reaches under his hoodie, to the short blade that sits against Valak’s left side. Looking up at him, I have to say I like the promises I see there.
And then I face one of my nightmares head on, and alone. I need to too, because in my head I’ve built him up as something so fucking big and frightening. He’s not anymore, that’s for sure. I also want him alive and suffering for as long as I was caged and suffering.
“I’m sorry,” Toby blabbers, tears tracking down his face, just like mine used to.
“No, you’re not. You’re upset you got caught,” I answer, imitating Noah’s detachment perfectly before using both hands on the knife handle and repaying in blood what he did to me. The wound on my side was inflicted out of the blue one day when I was being completely submissive. Today, I’m not being submissive.
Leaving him writhing in pain, I return to my pack, giving a small nod to Pack Bullard to come and get Toby and Roger.
35
LENNON
The last two people on my list—a police detective named Wendy Blight and a judge, are both as difficult to reach as I knew they would be.
Wendy was not a detective the first time I met her. She was a fresh-faced rookie who fell hard for easy money. She’d appear like clockwork every week to do a walk-through of the labs with Regalo. The first time I saw her, I fucking cried in relief. The second time, I turned my back on her.
“You want to put in a formal complaint against police corruption?”
“Yeah,” I answer the uniform sitting on the front desk of the station Wendy works from. “And that’s the fourth time you’ve asked, is there a problem?”
“She’s a decorated detective.”
“So you’ve said. Recently remarried, two kids from a previous marriage, her father recently died and she’s about to go on leave. Did I miss anything?”
“No need for that tone,” the man answers and stands to his feet, getting ready to tower over me.
“Okay, you know what, this is clearly above your pay grade. I’ll lodge with my lawyers, save us both this excruciating waste of time. Thanks for your time, Officer.”
I shove my hands in the back of my jeans so I don’t mistakenly give the finger to the idiot not helping me at all. Lincoln barely holds back the smile on his face.
“Put your damn cap on properly, Lincoln. Or I’ll have you arrested for indecent exposure!” I growl on my way past him. Lincoln MacGregor wearing a cap backwards should be freaking illegal. He’s going for incognito, but all I get is hot and flustered. I’ve been reprimanded at least a dozen times by my other pack mates for apparently losing focus and looking hypnotised. “I’m meant to be kick-ass, and you’ve got me bumbling like a fool!”
“Most beautiful bumbling fool I’ve ever seen though,” he whispers in my ear as we leave. Making my temperature skyrocket and ruining my thick padded undies.
I dig out my phone, and it barely rings before I’m speaking into it. “Kris, it’s Lennon. You were right, goddamn it!”
Kristopher King roars his delight in my ear. It’s one of those booming laughs that hurts your ears. The man should be in show business, instead, he’s my lawyer, who loves it when he’s right and I’m wrong. “I’ll send that email now shall I, Ms. Vale?”
“You may as well send one to Judge O’Harrigan at the same time,” I admit through gritted teeth, earning another raucous round of his laughter, nearly deafening me. “And I’m getting Gabe to leak both letters to the press now, so hopefully we make evening news.”
“Be careful,” he offers once he stops laughing.
I roll my eyes because honestly, nothing is getting past my guys. “I will, Kris. Any news?”
“I suspect this evening we should receive confirmation of charges from the Department of Prosecution. All going well, they’ll pursue an appointment with my office for early next week. You know neither of these avenues are going to be a quick process.”
“I know,” I reply, hopping in the back of Valak’s SUV to sit in the back next to him while I get chauffeured around by Noah. Gabe swings from his seat in the front to catch my eye. “Hang on, Kristopher, Gabe’s got an update. My phone will take a minute to pair with the Bluetooth.”
As soon as it connects, Gabe starts talking. “Lennon’s business and personal bank accounts have been frozen, and there’s a warrant out for her arrest.”
I roll my eyes at the moves we all knew were coming.
“Ahh, good to see these monkeys are nothing but predictable. I’ll respond immediately, and counter. And I’d suggest whoever is driving your getaway vehicle to start rolling in case the blustering fool at the cop shop decides to actually do his job. Chat soon, Lennon.”
