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“I’m so proud of you for facing him and being the goddess warrior for yourself like you are for others, my sweet kimchi,” he whispered as he sat next to me and half pulled me on his lap.

It was exactly what I needed to hear, and I moved to get the rest of the way onto his lap and cried against his shoulder as he comforted me. I didn’t care who was there or what else was going on. I cried to release my emotions of that level of crazy and I cried for the girl I’d been who had never been able to let it out and feel this safe.

Finally, I did, which was a miracle in itself.

“I don’t get it,” Alan muttered. “Kimchi isn’t sweet. It’s either spicy or vinegar.”

“You are so unromantic that you need classes, you dolt,” Renee grumbled.

“Okay, who are we burying?” Carla demanded as she came bursting into my office. “And are you okay? I heard it was your daughter who died but then not?”

“No, not mine. The girl did die?” Renee rasped.

“No, not dead,” another voice corrected. “Critical but alive. We actually need Dr. Clark since she’s a shifter and hoped he could help.”

Sean. It was Sean talking.

“Go, I’ll be fine,” I told him as I tried to move off of him.

“I fucking won’t be,” Ha-joon rasped. “Ellie, the fear coming off of you when I ran up and…”

“I know.” I gave him a soft kiss and tried to mop up my face. I saw in his eyes what part of it was. “I’ll wait for you. They need to read the contract. I won’t hide this part from you, I promise.”

“Please,” Renee added. “She’s my daughter’s best friend.”

“Yeah, of course I’d help any nipper,” Ha-joon whispered. He kissed my forehead and stood, focused on Carla. “Do not leave her side. Wolf to wolf, protect her and eat any who come for her.”

“You have my word, pup. I got her.” She shook her head when he was gone and smirked at me. “Oh boy, you’re in trouble girl. That man—”

“Not the fucking time, Carla,” Renee snapped. She apologized when we all looked at her. “Sorry. Again. I thought my daughter was dying and people play telephone like children around here with messages. Sorry.”

“You plan to press charges, right?” Gerald checked when he was done reading. He nodded when I snorted. “Yeah, glad to hear it because I heard you said you were the head of Amanda’s Hope and the foundation would take a hit if you didn’t as the head. This could get ugly, and I don’t know the family—”

I burst out laughing. I’d never asked. I hadn’t evenaskedwho they were or bothered to—I’d been so lost in my head and the madness brought before meagainthat I’d just snapped.

It took me a bit to calm down and I was half hugging Carla and holding Alan’s hand when I could focus again.

“What’s the immediate concern?” Alan asked him as Ha-joon walked back in.

“The girl is critical but almost stable and I’ll check back,” Ha-joon told Renee. “She can’t shift yet, but I basically got her animal to stop trying to shift so they can try for surgery once her stats are calm for a bit longer. I’ll help her shift after surgery should she need it.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Normally, I’d be relieved, but I was too numb right then. I was just glad when he took Carla’s place and hugged me to him.

“First, it’s clear Kenneth Reed got to Ellie’s financial advisor or someone at the company who holds your portfolio,” Gerald said. “There’s no way he’d know your holdings otherwise, and the list in this contract is extensive and—”

“It might not be him but the attorney you replaced,” Alan muttered. “We had to submit a lot of our personal everything about five years back when there was a complaint of conflicts and—something ethics.”

“That’s true,” I mumbled, bobbing my head. “But yes, someone leaked something for Kenneth to know any of that. I have not been in contact with him in fifty years. The last time he tried to sell me…”

“I handled it,” Alan admitted. “I was the threat then. I got the family to want to call it off and made it clear that if they tried to push it they would live a life of regret. All while gathering the evidence of Kenneth’s harassment of Ellie to get the federal order of protection. Her name was already long changed to Reed-Miller and it took a while to all put together.”

“He didn’t leave right away after the mating talks were over,” I said, noting Ha-joon flinched at something Alan said but didn’t have it in me to figure out what. “But you figured out how to make him leave.”

Alan cleared his throat. “I would prefer not to admit to my crimes. The statute is up by now.”

I figured it was something like that.