Laken whipped around, his face reddened with anger—desperation. “Because there are people out there that want your sanctuary, Reece! They want your creatures, they want Indo.”
That was not what I’d expected. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Poachers. They have their eye on this place and have for a while, but owing money makes you a very easy target.” Laken held his hands on the back of his head, the muscles in his neck swelling.
“How could you possibly know that?”
Lakenrarelycried, but I could tell he came close, and it made me feel sick. What could be so bad? “Because I’m a Wraith.”
“A Wraith?” I repeated, cocking my head. Was this a joke? “Like the ghost?”
Laken swallowed, his glare darkening as he wrung his hands. “Like the assassins.”
I shouldn’t have made that axe-murderer joke that night we played darts.
A Wraith. Everyone had heard of the Wraiths, sure, but nobody knew them. Notorious and viciously known for their work, they killed and thieved in the midnight hours, unseen and unheard, never leaving a trace. They did people’s dirty work for whoever paid more.
“An assassin,” I repeated as though that would help me process easier. “You’re a—” Murderer, but I couldn’t make myself say it. “You—” Kill people, but again, the words wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t put it together. It didn’t make sense. Laken Augustus? How did he, no… Staggering back, I finally had something Icouldsay. “Why? Why would you do such a thing?”
Laken’s gaze hardened into something more like a scowl. “What is it to you, Reece?” He stepped closer. “You’ve made it clear we aren’t friends. There is nowe, right?”
Clenching my jaw, I let out a breath but said nothing. He’d give me no explanation, then. There was a reason there, or else he wouldn’t have put his guard back up. I just didn’t know it yet. Self-righteous, pompous little—
“That’s what I thought.” Laken retreated, putting some much-needed space between us.
But I wasn’t finished, and he wasn’t off the hook. “So then what the fuck does this have to do with me?”
He swallowed, drooping his shoulders as if a weight had been lifted. “That”—he hesitated—“I can explain.”
“I’d sure fucking hope so.” I was seething. Enraged.Spiraling. Confused. My hands trembled. “I suggest you start.”
Taking a deep, deep breath, his cheek fluttered, and he spilled his beans. “A year ago, McCarthen’s came up in whispers from poachers.”Oh my Gods.My lungs stopped working. Then he began again. “Out of precaution, I bought—”
“The Giblins’ place.” I laughed and staggered back. It all started coming together like pieces of a puzzle. This wasrich. How pathetic, how ridiculously easily I’d believed him.
“Right,” Laken carefully replied. “Then a month ago, it came up again. Except this time, they were ready to move.”
“And so you came back.”
“So I came back.” The dagger he kept on him, his persistence in helping, the way he moved with skill, his scar from a “bar fight,” the coincidence of it all.
“Did my father know?” I tried not to scream. “Is that why you were watching over the place?” Raking my hands through my hair, I walked in a circle as my eyes watered. “How much of that bullshit was real, Laken? Everything you told me!” He opened his mouth to speak, but I wasn’t done. “How fucking long before you told me my sanctuary was on a poaching hit list?”
I felt sick. Ill. Ready to fall out and fall over. My home, my creatures, Indo, Phoebe, Archie, all of them were in danger.
“Once the debt was paid, you would’ve been off their list. I didn’t think it’d come to this; I was and still am watching over…” he continued, but I stopped listening.
“The debt? Why do they care about the debt?”
“These poachers will sit it out and wait until the creatures go to auction.”There’s always interest in magical creatures.The commissioner’s words replayed in my mind. “They don’t want to raise flags by stealing a dragon right out of your backyard. They’re smart, they’re patient.”
The world around me came to a halt and collapsed in on itself. Truly, it all made sense. My lip quivered, yet I refused to look away from him. “So that’s what this was then. You wanted to help pay my debt so they’d leave it alone. It was never about me.” My words were a mere whisper as I realized this.
Laken’s eyes darkened, a desperate sigh slipping from his lips as he shook his head. “It was always about you.”
“I was your job!” Every muscle in my throat and hands strained.
“You were my life!” Laken argued with everything inside of him.
