Page 101 of A Second Chance for the Beta

Imogen stares at the picture before she sticks her finger onto it. “She is a teen!? She looks older!”

It’s silent around us, my breath hitching slightly. It can’t be true. It just can’t be… it… no way… They followed us on our way to the UK when we picked up Charlie.

They followedus.

Not Charlie.

And like Ella said, Charlie wasn’t with them in Sunset Hills. Richard also didn’t spy on our fake Charlie; he went right after Ella and me. Ella had a gut feeling that something was off, but…

But why?

“Are you telling me you are after the woman in the picture, not the child?” Liam asks sharply.

“I won’t tell you anything,” she says stubbornly. “I have a job to do. We have a code of honor and would rather die than to—”

“Stop fucking around,” Liam growls, his aura expanding once more. This time even stronger than before. It makes the guard and me wince but Imogen shivers in fear. “You are a mercenary. A code of honor? Don’t be ridiculous. If you give me what I want, I will ship you from here to the werewolf prison, where you can await your trial. If you don’t give me anything, I will strip you from your wolf, blast your name to all the surrounding packs, and have the hunting season started. How do you think they will react when they know that you potentially killed a pack member? They’ve been searching for you and your group for years.” He furrows his brows, his eyes turning black in anger. “You have one chance to answer, or I will tell my witch to give you a potion that will make you spill the truth, and then—”

“I am just working on a contract,” Imogen blurts out.

“Who is your client?”

“I don’t know,” she says.

Liam reaches out his hand to Stella, who hands him a little bottle.

“I really don’t,” she yells. “I never saw them. They’re a group of friends or something. Pack wolves. They want the beta female of Red Claw!”

Pack wolves?

“And precisely for her necklace?” Liam inquires. “Is this why you carried a drawing with it around?”

“They said to bring the necklace to them as proof that it’s really the beta,” she says.

“What about the vampire?” Liam asks.

“He just wanted information about this pack. He didn’t hire us for more.”

So, what Aloysius told Ella is true; at least that part of his story is. He isn’t responsible for these idiots following us around. He also isn’t responsible for the attack on Sunset Hills.

“Did you ever meet your client?” Liam demands to know.

“Just a third party,” she says. “Someone my client trusts. He is doing all the communication with me.”

“How does he contact you?”

“I have a burner phone,” she admits. “It’s sewed into the pocket of my bag.”

Liam turns towards me, and I nod. I go over to the table with Imogen’s bag and rummage through her things. She didn’t lie… her phone is indeed hidden between two pockets. I grab it and take it to Liam.

“PIN?”

She hesitates for a second, but when Liam glares at her, she gives him the code to unlock the phone. Liam asks her more about how they get in contact and what type of codes they use to communicate. It’s all very simple. The only issue is that the other guy is using a burner phone, too, which will make it hard to track him.

“Did he ever see Richard with you?” Liam asks finally, much to my surprise.

Imogen looks surprised too. “Yes,” she mutters. “He knew he was working for me.”

“Working for you,” Liam snorts. “That’s one way to put it.” He stands up, gesturing towards the guards. “Take her away.” He shakes his head while he watches her being dragged away by the guards. “I will call the Council and have them all brought to their prison. Her group has a lot to answer for. They can further question them, but I doubt they will have anything useful for us.”