Page 52
Chapter fifty-two
PUMA
That filthy bastard is going to answer to me. It doesn’t matter that there are officers on route. It doesn’t matter that this shit could land me in jail. My fist is going in that piece of shit’s face. I hear bones crack beneath the pressure when I connect with Marion’s cheek, the guy stumbling back into a wall. Gray is right behind me, both of us seething with anger and rightfully so.
Not only did Marion steal our Beta, he tried to ruin her. I heard enough on the phone. Her screams. The terror through the bond. The moment she nearly resigned to her fate. God, Marion is dead. My fist connects with his nose this time, head thudding against the wall. “You fucking touched my Beta,” I growl out, my hand going around his throat. “You put your fucking hands on my mate and thought it was just going to be that easy?”
I nearly had a fucking heart attack when the connection to her phone dropped. There were three possible streets for him to have gone down, each several houses long. I was going to go fucking crazy until Gray spotted her car up top the hill. And now, Marion is in front of me sputtering for an answer. “You weren’t supposed to—”
Gray lets out a cackle, throwing his own punch at Marion, the Alpha groaning in pain. I’m going to do so much worse to him the moment Hawk takes Violet outside. I can’t even bear to look at her right now, knowing that I’ll see that fear in her eyes—fear that we almost didn’t make it and that’s on me. “What was the fucking reason, you piece of shit? You got yourself in too deep and then thought you’d put your hands on what’s mine?”
I punch him again, this time in the stomach. His eyes roll into the back of his head as he tries to push away from us. It doesn’t work. He’s scrambling for an explanation but I already heard everything over the phone. He already spilled his guts, already mentioned that not only was he dealing in fakes, that he’s hardly the main character of our nightmare.
Each word out of his mouth pisses me off a little more, my control waning as I let my anger out on the man who almost took something from me. It takes me too long to realize why I’m so fucking pissed. Because I almost lost what was mine again . This time I was lucky but next time I might not be and that terrifies me.
Someone clears their throat behind, a sense of authority following it, enough to pull me back to reality. I twist around to a detective I recognize—Detective Grayson from the main station in Ansdale. He’s usually the one I deal with when it comes to possible issues in the art world, one of his brows raised as he stares at me. “Seems like you’ve done a number on one of our suspects, Mr. Ashford.”
We’re both on a first name basis but he’s using my last name as a sign of respect. “He nearly—”
The detective holds up his hand, shaking his head. “Don’t need to explain to me. However, my partner will be here in a second so maybe… wrap it up?” He wiggles his brows as I turn to the heap of trash at my feet. I’m not sure when that happened but I’m more pissed that he’s still alive. “He looks like he can still talk, which is great for us. Why don’t you go home and I’ll give you a call when things settle a bit.”
He’s giving me an out and I take it, despite what my instincts are yelling at me to do. I throw him a nod of thanks before slipping past him and heading toward the car, knowing full well that we’re against protocol. The other detective frowns at my departure, Detective Grayson calling him inside. “Leave him be. They just came to retrieve their mate. The guy we’re worried about is in here.”
Violet is curled up in Hawk’s arms in the backseat by the time I get there, his jacket wrapped around her shoulders. There’s blood dribbling from her nose and a bruise forming below her right eye. My heart drops into my stomach at the fragile sight before me—Violet still trying to be strong despite the emotions running through her.
“Dove—” My voice cracks on the word, my beautiful tortured Beta scrambling to climb into my arms. I hold her tight against my chest, her legs wrapped around my waist as she cries into my shoulder. “Fuck, I wasn’t sure we’d get here in time. Are you okay? Do we need to call—”
“No.”
That one word is all it takes. We’ll go home and then I’m not letting her out of my sight. Not that I think she’ll want to leave any time soon. She tucks her face into the crook of my neck, clinging to me like I’m her lifeline and despite the questions I want to ask, I just climb into the back beside Hawk. Gray hops in the front seat, barely waiting before he’s tearing down the road back home.
Violet is trembling against me, her tears slipping down my shoulder and it takes everything in me not to demand Gray to turn the car around so I can finish the fucking job. Hawk isn’t that much better as he slips a gentle hand into her hair, pressing light kisses to her temple. She’s quiet the entire way home, passed out by the time I’m climbing out of the car and handing her to Gray.
As much as I don’t want to let her go, I know for a fact that we all need to be around her right now. And the moment we step into the house, Sofie is going to attach herself to Violet’s side. The tension thickens as Gray walks her into my bedroom and I check in on Sofie and Lance. He’s got his arms strapped around her, Sofie crying to go see her Beta. She’s distressed, her scent sharp and twisted as she claws at Lance’s arms. God, this is going to be a fucking shit show.
“Sofie, look at me.” I push some of my Alpha bark into my words, waiting for her to still, her tear-stricken eyes meeting mine. “They’re just going to give her a shower, alright? Then they’ll be right back.”
“What happened? Who hurt her? Why—this wasn’t supposed to—she feels—” Sofie doesn’t finish any of those words, grabbing her chest as if it’s a physical pain.
The worst part is that I have no idea and there isn’t much I can do to say to soften the anguish we’re all feeling. “She’s going to need you, Sofie. She’s going to need all of us for a little bit. I’m going to ask you to do probably the hardest thing you’ve ever done and be strong for her.”
Sofie doesn’t even hesitate as she nods, relaxing within Lance’s arms.
Table of Contents
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- Page 52 (Reading here)
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