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“How many guys is he working with now?” I asked.

“Four,” Forrest said. “Paid muscle.”

“Shifters?” Hawk asked.

“I don’t know,” Forrest said. “But I know those checks will start bouncing soon.”

That was it. I had everything I needed. “All right. Here’s the deal, Forrest. I’m giving you twenty-four hours to resign and get the hell out of Lakeview. For good. I don’t care where you go or what you do, but you better not try to work as a cop again. And yes, I’ll be keeping tabs on that.”

Forrest paled. “Lakeview’s myhome?—”

“And you fucked it up,” I interjected. “Those are the terms. If you don’t agree, then I’ll send all the evidence we have straight to the state police, and you’ll spend the next decade in prison.”

Forrest said nothing, but his deep scowl made it clear he understood that he had no other options.

“One more thing. Your phone.” I held my hand out.

“What? What the hell do you need that for?”

“You think I’m going to let you walk out of here and call Sean? Don’t be stupid.” My dragon flickered behind my eyes. “Hand it over. Unlocked.”

Like a petulant teenager getting in trouble for disrupting class, Forrest unlocked his phone—I noted the passcode—then dropped it in my hand

“Now get out,” I said. “I’ll have guys on you the whole time. You may not see them, but they’ll be there. If you even think about contacting Sean, I’ll know. And you won’t be imprisoned. You’ll be dead.”

“Christ,” Forrest grumbled. He was trying to act tough and irritated, but I could sense the fear pulsing through him. “I’m done with that psycho. I’m done withallyou psychos. I won’tsay shit. Now I’ve gotta get a new fuckin’ phone.” He stood up so fast, the stool scraped across the hardwood floor.

He wasn’t lying. My dragon sensed nothing but honesty in his words and his fear outweighing his anger. Forrest knew he had gotten himself in too deep, and now he had lost. I watched with my arms crossed over my chest as Forrest turned and bolted out of the bar, with Rome following right behind him.

The clubhouse door slammed behind them. I exhaled with a groan and pinched the bridge of my nose. “What a pain in the ass.”

“Well, looks like we got him,” Hawk said. “That’s Sean’s last connection handled.”

“Now it’s just Sean,” I said. I pocketed Forrest’s phone and stood up. “I need to get back home. I’ll contact Sean tonight.”

“You want me to come over?” Hawk asked.

I shook my head. “No. I’ll speak to him alone.”

A brief expression of relief flickered over Hawk’s face. No one else in the clubhouse noticed it—I didn’t think anyone who hadn’t known him since he was a child would.

But I saw it, and I knew I had made the right decision. Hawk didn’t want to think about what Sean’s reaction to this would be. I knew it would be bad, and I didn’t want to subject Hawk to that. Not if I didn’t have to. I clapped Hawk on the shoulder, squeezed, and made my way home. I wasn’t going to wait to contact Sean. Just in case Forrest tried anything funny.

When I made it home, the house was quiet. It was dark outside, and I’d missed dinner, but with my sharp senses I could smell what Harley had cooked: roasted chicken, vegetables, and crusty garlic bread. She looked up from where she was reading on the couch and noted my expression with a smile. “There’s leftovers in the oven. How’d it go?”

I sat down on the couch next to her and leaned heavily into the cushions. Harley set her book aside, scooted close to me andleaned her head onto my shoulder. “That bad?” she asked when I said nothing.

“No, no, it was okay,” I said. Forrest’s phone was like a weight in my pocket. I was dreading contacting my brother, but I knew I had to. I had to do it tonight. “Forrest won’t be a problem anymore.”

She ran her hand over my chest. “You run him out of town? Or worse?”

I exhaled a surprised laugh. “You don’t seem too concerned either way.”

“I’m running out of patience, too.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Ran him out,” I said. I told her everything we had learned—about the girl who had planted the drugs, about Blakely, about Forrest’s dealings with Sean.

“So, he’ll never be a cop again?” Harley asked.