“- cruel. The sort of men that take pleasure in hurting people.” He’s gone quiet, and I clench my fist, reining in the fury that always threatens to spill over when we get too close to this topic. I’m half convinced that I might actually shift in the middle of the damn day with the force building in my chest.
“We do whatever we need to, Hunt,” I whisper, stomach flipping uncomfortably. “End game, remember?” I watch the beta take a seat at a small, wrought iron table outside of a cafe and slow my steps, scanning the area to see how close I can get without being seen. “You know, we could just ask Slade what sort of shit these guys are into and save ourselves a few days’ worth of work.”
“I’m not asking that son of a bitch for jack shit,” he snaps, back to his usual self with the deflection, and I roll my eyes as I circle around behind the cafe. “You’ve gone soft on the guy now that you got your dick we-”
All amusement instantly drains from my face as I go cold. “If you finish that sentence, I promise that you will regret it.”
Hunter releases a slew of self-deprecating curses. “Sorry, man, I’m just-” he growls, the sound of something being hit thudding over the line “- I’m tired. Really fucking tired, but even more so after last night.”
I pick up on a familiar voice and stiffen. “Got to go.” Hanging up without another word, I tuck my phone in my pocket, slinking closer. From this angle I can’t see them, but if I concentrate, I can tune out most of the chaos around me into white noise, honing in on their conversation.
“What do you mean, five weeks?” Jackson Stonewood’s voice drops to a scathing whisper and I strain my senses, unable to get any closer without being in their line of sight.
“This can’t be shocking,” Adrian says nonchalantly, as if the beta couldn’t tear him apart in the blink of an eye. “Until she’s under their protection, the boss doesn’t want to take the risk of Brent getting... overconfident again.”
What the fuck?
“That had nothing to do with her,” Jackson snarls. “She wasn’t supposed to be in the house.”
My eyes widen as it clicks. Brent, the Stonewood alpha. The attack on the Hawthorne house that left Sabrina’s leg a mess. Several days passed before we got shit squared away at home so that we could make the trip out here, and from what I’ve pieced together so far, it sounds like Sabrina was at her apartment when shit went down until Slade dragged her right into the battlefield rather than leave her alone and unprotected in a bid to save his sister. An impossible choice, and every option was the wrong one. I can’t swear that I’d have done any better if I was in his position.
“Regardless, it happened,” Adrian retorts. “And he isn’t happy. So you’ll wait, or he’ll find new buyers.”
A sharp smack of a hand slapping down on the table that groans under the pressure. “This is bullshit!”
“So’s life,” Adrian deadpans. “Deal with it.” I can envision his smug smirk and shrug as he adds, “Or don’t, doesn’t affect me one way or the other. You’ll get your shipment after the girl’s back where she belongs since it seems Brent can’t control his pack.”
The sound of a metal chair scraping against the concrete makes my ears bleed, but I force myself not to flinch away, unwilling to miss anything. A blessing and a curse, I get my wish.
“The Hawthornes are the only things keeping her here, yeah? So if they weren’t in the picture, you’d put her on a plane sooner?”
Adrian takes a minute to mull it over before carefully stating, “The girl cannot be injured, that’s non-negotiable. But theoretically... yes. Though fair warning, there are a few additional guests in the house these days that’ll make things more difficult.”
I have to bite my tongue to stay silent, to keep myself from going over there and beating the ever-loving shit out of that sniveling excuse of a man.
“Not a hair on her pretty little head,” Jackson purrs. “You have my word. The rest?”
An ominous chill slithers down my spine as Adrian agrees with far too much enthusiasm. “Are free game. Have at it.”
