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Chapter Twenty

L ina

I was taking sharp, shaky breaths. I didn’t know how long it had been since Matt had hung up, his desperate tone telling me that he’d let me know as soon as he had news about Em’s condition.

Nausea swirled through my stomach as I felt my world disintegrating around me.

But I was pulled out of the sinking feeling that was taking hold as my phone once more glowed.

I looked at it, expecting to see Matthew’s name again, but the screen was lit up with the name Magnus Blackthorn.

I stared at the buzzing phone in my hand as if it were a hornet, each thump of my heart accentuating my fear.

I swallowed hard, my palms clammy as I accepted the call, the chill of dread curdling in my stomach.

“Lina,” Magnus’s voice slithered through the receiver, smooth but laced with menace.

“Magnus.” I forced the word past my clenched throat, nerves juddering through me. I tried to grasp what was happening and how everything had gotten away from me.

“I warned you not to play tricks on me. I trust you’re aware I’ve taken the liberty of relocating your mother to ensure she’s safe…for no w.” His voice deepened, lowering like thunder rumbling beneath darkened clouds.

“So, what do you want? Do you want me to congratulate you and your son on playing me so well and uncovering all my plans?” I challenged. I didn’t actually believe Stephen had sold me out, given what he was hiding himself and what I had on him. But I needed to know whether Magnus suspected him.

“Oh, my son doesn’t deserve your praise,” he said.

“It was Blackthorn’s security team who unearthed your digital secrets.

We found a bug on the Blackthorn network, and my team traced it back to the company Hardwire.

My team bugged Hardwire’s network in turn, intercepting communications between them and a company that I believe you’re familiar with, Luna Remedies.

” A flurry of contradictory emotions charged through me.

I was shocked that I’d been unmasked as the owner behind the shadow company, but I was relieved that Magnus didn’t seem to realize Stephen was working against him.

I ferreted that thought away. As much as I’d said I didn’t need Stephen’s help and I could do this alone, I was beginning to see how wrong I’d been.

“What a busy woman you’ve been these last few years, eh, Betty White?” Magnus continued, his voice low and dangerously calm. “It’s a shame the real Miss White had to suffer for your schemes. And it would be even more of a shame if the real Betty was affected because of her mother’s tricks.”

My skin crawled as he reminded me of what he’d done to Emily and that he had my daughter. Suffocating fear wrapped itself around me, but I forced myself to breathe through it and try to understand what he was saying.

So, others besides Stephen had been tailing me. They’d investigated me and unraveled my secrets. Magnus knew I was the mastermind behind the shadow company that had been sabotaging Blackthorn Corporation these last five years. Before, Magnus had been dangerous, but now that he knew, he was lethal.

“If you want to see your mother and daughter alive, you’ll comply this time and give me what I want,” Magnus ordered.

Trying to buy for time, I asked, “What do you want?”

“I told you not to play games with me,” he warned.

The next moment, I heard a high-pitched scream of pain in the background.

“Mom!” I yelled, recognizing her even as her voice was edged in pain.

“I have it!” I shouted. “I have the lockbox.” My voice trembled, just like my hand, as I barely managed to keep the phone against my ear. It was shaking so terribly.

“That’s better. I would have thought you’d be more respectful after what you know I did to your friend. Any more tricks and it will be your daughter incentivizing you s—”

“No, please,” I begged, hating the way my voice shook, my chest twisting as I imagined all too vividly Betty crying out in pain instead.

Panic clawed at my insides, my wolf desperate to break free with the thought of her pup in harm’s way. My thoughts raced back to the last few days—Stephen’s warning about Magnus echoing too late in my ears.

“What happens to them is entirely up to you. Bring the lockbox to the location I will text you in the next hour. You’ve tested my patience for too long, Lina. If you want your daughter in one piece, you’ll bring the lockbox to my facility. Alone.”

The line went dead, leaving me with the hollow echo of his cruelty. The depth of my despair was suffocating.

The sharp bite to his tone kept crashing through my head, scratching at my fraying nerves and deepening the dread in my stomach. All I had in the way of leverage was the lockbox, but as soon as I delivered it, there was no reason for him to let us go.

I knew it was a trap, but I had no choice but to walk into it. He had my daughter and my mother. As I tore upstairs, I felt out of my mind with impatience. I needed to get to them.

Now.

I clutched my phone as I charged along the hall to my bedroom. My fingers itched as I thought of Stephen. Part of me ached to call him. He’d tried to warn me, but I’d shut him out. But Magnus had said to come alone.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn’t risk alerting him and putting Betty or my mother’s life in jeopardy .

I wrenched up the floorboards in the corner of my bedroom where I’d hidden the lockbox. Grabbing my car keys, I ran downstairs and out to my SUV, ignoring Ella’s shout behind me.

Each moment pulsated with the weight of losing my entire family. I couldn’t afford to fail.

Half an hour later, I arrived at Magnus’s facility, situated in a deserted neighborhood along the riverfront. I stepped out of my SUV, my footsteps mingling with the muted sounds of the river lapping against the concrete bank.

I approached the inconspicuous concrete building, taking note of the heavy garage door partially open. The chill in the air seemed to seep into my bones, gnawing at my resolve.

Warily, I crouched near the door, peering inside, the low light causing shadows to stretch ominously. The scent was damp and musty. The air was thick with tension. My body was rigid, and my heart raced in a frantic rhythm. Each breath I took was a struggle, my lungs tightening with dread.

As I crouched at the garage door, I dipped my head inside, taking in the dimly lit space. I felt exposed and vulnerable, but I forced myself to announce myself. “Magnus, I’m here. I’ve got the box!”

Shadows loomed and danced around me, playing tricks on my mind. My pulse spiked, and anguish threaded through my veins as I thought of Betty and my mother somewhere in this dank building beyond, my loved ones held hostage by the monster who had dominated our lives for so long.

“Here comes my beautiful bride.” Magnus’s voice rang out mockingly as he stepped into view. His presence was suffocating, every bit the predator prowling toward his prey. “I’m glad you’ve finally decided to follow my commands.”

“Where are they?” I demanded, forcing composure into my words, trying to preserve the fragile mask of bravery I clung to.

“Let them go. You have me here. I’ve brought what you wanted.

” Out of the periphery of my vision, I noticed a few of Magnus’s men standing at the far edges of the room, too.

I hadn’t expected Magnus to be alone, but he had a good handful of men with him.

Magnus tilted his head, a gleam in his eyes. “Yes, I have you and the lockbox, but you’re only one piece of the puzzle, my dear. It’s your mother who knows the code to get into it.

“She, too, has secrets to share, and you were going to be her incentive.” A twisted smile swept across his face. “I’d thought I’d have to threaten your life to make her tell me, but your daughter has been a lovely surprise.”

He gestured, and Carson, one of Magnus’s most trusted packmates, drew back the door behind him.

Cold air rushed out, carrying the faint scent of sweat and fear.

I could see my mother—pale, thinner, and more fragile than I’d ever seen her.

Her honey-blonde hair was now a pale silver and rattier than the glossy locks I remembered.

But, otherwise, her slim face and bright blue eyes were the same.

My heart seized as I saw her bound hands slung over my daughter.

Even tied up, she managed to hug Betty to her, attempting to shield her from harm.

“Betty! Mom!” I started forward.

But Magnus ordered, “Not so fast!” He lifted a finger. “Come forward Lina and lay the lockbox in the center of the floor,” he commanded.

Betty had looked up from where she was burrowed into my mom, and her bright blue eyes were wide and startled as she silently took me in.

I could see the puffiness around her eyes and the wetness of her cheeks.

She’d been crying. Protectiveness simmered through me, and the thought of Magnus or his men hurting her had rage pummeling me.

My wolf wanted to rip into them, but I wrestled her back down.

I ventured forward, setting the box in the middle of the room. I stepped away, backing up toward the garage door again.

“Now, Miriam,” Magnus continued. “If you wish for your granddaughter to remain unharmed—you’ll tell me the password to the lockbox.”

Panic coursed through me as I locked eyes with my mother, who looked as though the weight of the world rested upon her shoulders.

But a flicker of anger stole across my mother’s pale face. She said, “It’ll take far more than destroying the evidence in there to remove my friend’s blood from your hands. But I think you know that. Charlotte’s still very much with you, isn’t she?” My mother taunted Magnus.

Charlotte.

Stephen’s mother, Charlotte Blackthorn. So that’s what the lockbox contained: evidence of Charlotte Blackthorn’s murder, the true alpha of the Blackthorn pack.

I thought of how my mom had looked shaken that day she met me in Central Park and the mysterious directions she’d given me to the lockbox, which was housed in our warehouse by the docks.

My heart raced as I realized the truth—this box held more than secrets; it contained the remains of Magnus’s past that would enable the Council of Blackthorn elders to condemn him.

My heart clenched as I wished once more that Stephen was here.

He deserved to know that evidence existed that could prove Magnus’s crime against his mother.

“Miriam, you should choose your words with greater care,” Magnus replied, his demeanor colder than before.

“The password or your granddaughter will pay the price.” He nodded to Finn, one of Magnus’s most trusted men, who stood close to my mother and Betty.

Tall and muscular, with sharp features, he advanced toward them.

“Mom…” I begged, my heart squeezing as I watched my mother wrestle with the choice Magnus demanded of her. I had put her in this situation, and guilt gnawed at my insides. But Betty mustn’t suffer at the hands of this odious man.

My mother’s expression was a mixture of resignation and love. “The password is 210704.”

My heart pounded. They were our lucky numbers: my birthday, which fell on Midsummer’s in June, and then the fourth of July.

My birthday had always kicked off our summer celebration, which culminated with the fourth of July.

My mom and I had always found the time to celebrate—going out on the Hudson River in our boat to watch the fireworks or taking a special trip away.

Those wonderful memories now seemed to spill into the present, such a startling contrast to this dank facility that we now found ourselves trapped in.

Magnus went to the lockbox, while my mother stood up, attempting to use Magnus’s inattention to move toward me. But Finn held her back, and Carson stood guard at the door, ready to shut them back in if they tried anything.

A cold smile spread across Magnus’s face as he leaned down to the box, aligning the numbers on the combination dial as a satisfied click filled the space.

With deft hands, Magnus opened the box, retrieving a USB drive encased within. The innocuous bit of plastic looked so underwhelming and not the priceless treasure it was.

But Magnus raised it high, a sinister gleam in his eyes. “Finally—the last gift from my late wife will be laid to rest.”

His odious brown stare shot to me as he threw the USB on the floor, crushing it under his foot and grinding it into the concrete. Shards of metal and plastic scattered across the floor as a sinister grin swept over his face. “Your game ends here.”

Magnus’s cruel gaze swept toward my mother and Betty as he nodded to Finn and then to Carson, still holding the door. “Keep them back,” he ordered, “We’ll deal with them after.” Then his stare went to me, a dark shadow falling over me as he came toward me.

“It’s time to clean house, and I’m going to enjoy dealing with you myself, Lina.” The dark promise in his voice had my skin crawling, and my legs instinctively backed up toward the open garage door.

Feeling cornered, my wolf rose up, bristling under my skin as I prepared to shift.

She was fierce, but even so, I knew she was likely no match for an alpha.

The thought of Magnus’ great grey wolf that I’d once seen in Blackthorn Hall had horror pounding through me, and I thought of the area outside the building.

At least outside, I could hope my speed might tire his bulkier wolf, but as I backed up, telling myself that this was my one chance to save my daughter and my mother, instead of finding the door, I hit into someone: a warm, hard chest.

Fuck.

I recoiled, trying to wrestle out of the male shifter’s grip. One of Magnus’s men had somehow snuck up behind me, but their hands came around my wrists, gripping them tight and holding me rigid against them.