My eyes shot up from the screen.
“They’re going to kill him, Joey… They’re going to kill all of them.”
???
Scorched earth. Those were the words out of Rebecca’s mouth.
Like I’d guessed, James had called most of our comrades to come to his aid. The mission: Eradicate the Blackwood Pack.
Rebecca was the only hunter who answered my call. When she picked up on the first ring, her voice had been a frantic mess. “Thank God you’re okay,” she repeated for the third time. “James had me so scared. He’s calling in all his favors, Joey. He’s telling everyone that Blackwood has you in some sort of trap.”
I sighed, glancing at Hill who was on a phone call of his own. “I’ll keep calling them. They’ll see that I’m fine.”
“Oh, honey.” I visualized Rebecca shaking her head. “I was there when we found out about you two, remember? We wereallshaken up by it.”
“But you stayed,” I stressed, kicking a bar stool. “And we won. We did that together. We survived the fucking warehouse together.”
Rebecca sighed. “Yes, I stayed. But because it was the right thing to do… Getting you away from the werewolf is the right thing to do. I’m sorry, Joey,” she said, but she sounded anything but.
The beep of the ended call sent rage rippling through me. I gripped the back of the barstool and kicked it again.
“Did you try calling the Gamma?” Hill asked as he approached me.
I nodded, my nails biting into the leather. “She’s not answering. And Marcus’s phone is going straight to voicemail.”
Hill flinched but cleared his voice and continued. “Ready for more bad news?”
I pushed myself off the stool. “Here we fucking go…”
“Li’s ordered me not to get involved. I need to get the cloner and the list to the office, and um, this doesn’t concern the Bureau.”
My shoulders dropped, and I choked with anger. “This… This doesn’tconcern…?”
“We don’t have resources to spare for civilian disputes.”
“James wasn’t supposed to be here!” I screamed, throwing up my arms and forcing Hill to step back. “Your boss ordered him to babysit me, remember?” I yelled, jabbing a finger in his direction. “Like how she ordered me to stop the uprising?” I flung my arm behind me, gesturing to the laptop. “Well, there you go! Just what she wanted—and now what? You’re going to leave me? I have no one left!”
Hill grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. It should’ve been so easy to break free, but he kept his hold, and I was trapped in his embrace. “It looks like our jobs are more alike than you think,” he uttered. “Wedon’tget to keep people, Joanna.”
I crumpled in the man’s arms and sobbed. Tears filled with anger, fear, and everything in between flowed as if the dam had broken. I cried for Toya. I cried for James… I cried for Marcus. For the life I wanted but could never have.
Hill stopped patting my back but held me for a moment longer. “Everyone thinks I don’t curse because of Li,” he said lowly. “But in reality, I’ve worked by her side for so long thatI’verubbed off onher.” He chuckled. “Sometimes, if we’re lucky, the job finds ways to surprise us.” He dropped his hands, sickening pity shining in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He took a step back, studying me one last time. Then he hurried to the kitchenette and grabbed his jacket from the barstool. With a nod, he snatched the cloner off the counter and rushed for the door.
Alone in my loft once more, the silence felt unbearable as my thoughts ran wild.We don’t get to keep people. But if we’re lucky, the job finds ways to surprise us.
Maya had never lied to me. We didn’t like each other initially, but we built our alliance on mutual respect. Lucas, Jerome, Grace… did they deserve to die because of the mess their alpha and I had gotten them into? And Marcus, even with all his faults, had protected me at every opportunity.
Were those the traits of monsters?
James taught me everything I knew about being a hunter. Without him, I would’ve mourned alone. I was lost until he gave me the outlet to channel my anger… And the man loved me as a daughter. Malik and Rebecca—we risked our lives side-by-side for years, saving hundreds of humans from the shapeshifters.
So, were their fearsthatunfounded?
I spun slowly on my heels. And as I scanned the empty loft, I bit back another cry, finally realizing why everything hurt so damn much…
I wanted to keep them all.
