Page 107

A few seconds later, the man JC had sent outside returned with Rick.

He looked like a shell of his former self, his clothes wrinkled and matted, his hair messy.

His usually clean-shaven face now had a few days’ worth of stubble on it.

I’d only seen him that morning, but it looked as though it had been days.

When Rick spotted Lincoln, the horror on his face actually made me pity him.

“Dad, I’m sorry, I didn’t?—”

“Silence,” Lincoln hissed. “ Sit .”

Rick’s head sagged forward, and he shuffled over to take his seat beside his father.

“Now that everyone is here,” JC said, “we can begin.” He glanced at the other side of the room. “Alec? The door?”

Alec stood and closed the double doors of the conference room. He slid the bolt, and the metallic thwack had a strange air of finality to it.

JC glared at Lincoln. “You know why you’re here, don’t you?”

Lincoln leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, staring smugly back at JC. “I’m not sure. Though if I had to guess”—he threw another venomous glare at Nate and me—“someone has been spinning lies about my son again.”

“Lies?” JC echoed. “I’m sorry, Lincoln, but they aren’t lies.”

“Oh, really?” Lincoln shot back, regaining some of his visible contempt for JC. “What has this woman told you now? Her or that filthy fucking lone wolf that’s with her?”

JC declined to look in our direction. Instead, he kept his gaze on Lincoln.

“Lincoln Masters, do you or do you not admit to having run a drug operation in Detroit, Michigan prior to coming to Toronto?” JC asked placidly.

Lincoln blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“You heard me,” JC said. “Alec? Ollie? Hand out the files.”

The two men made their way around the room, passing out manila folders.

Nate and I already had copies. Each folder contained a printout of all the information Anita had compiled, as well as everything I’d dug up.

Also included were pictures I hadn’t realized JC had.

Photos taken from security camera footage of Rick entering The Chronicle building, and of the men who attacked Nate and me at the market.

Also included were the items my colleagues had put together for me.

Alec must have grabbed it from the archive room without me knowing.

There were crime-scene photos of the women Lenny Nash had killed, as well as a paper trail connecting Lenny to Lincoln’s holdings. The photos were horrifying, and many of the alphas around the room gasped and cursed in displeasure.

Lincoln grew visibly tense as he read through the items. Rick didn’t even bother opening his file, just stared dazedly at it.

“Cameron?” JC said, causing me to flinch in my chair. “Would you please explain some of what’s in here, as well as give your personal account of everything that you’ve seen and experienced over the last few weeks?”

Now was my time. Nodding, I stood and walked over to the table. I’d been terrified that I’d sound like a bumbling fool in front of all these powerful men, but to my surprise, the words came easily. Even to my own ears, I sounded professional and concise.

The only part that discomfited me was the looks from Rick and Lincoln. Lincoln stared daggers at me, like I was some disgusting thing that needed to be scraped off his shoe. Rick cast longing glances at me. It was pathetic and sad in a way I couldn’t even begin to describe.

When I was finished, I sighed and retook my seat with Nate, hoping I’d explained enough.

Nothing in the file or my words, by itself, was incriminating to Lincoln.

From my story, it was really just Rick. But everything together looked damning as hell for both Masters men if the other alphas could see the connections.

“We also have audio evidence,” JC said.

Upon arriving at the meeting, JC had asked me to email him the audio recordings I’d taken of Rick. He connected his phone to a Bluetooth speaker and hit play.

As the audio played out, I noticed several attendees’ reactions.

Some shook their heads sadly while others shot angry glares toward the two Masters men.

How many of these men had been close to aligning themselves with Lincoln?

How many had believed his lies? Now, faced with the truth, they saw the man’s true colors.

“This is nothing,” Lincoln spat, waving a hand at the speaker when the recordings were done.

“Bullshit. As shameful as it is to admit it, my son was high as hell on drugs at the time. He has issues, I know that. I’ll get him professional help, I promise that.

That being said, none of this is admissible. All circumstantial.”

“Is it?” JC asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Funny you should mention drugs, Lincoln. Detective Oliver Vickers also has some interesting items he’s discovered.”

JC waved to Ollie, who stood and walked over to join the alpha. Ollie nodded at Lincoln and smiled, but I could see the sarcasm in his eyes.

“Mr. Masters, as JC said, my name is Oliver Vickers, detective for the Toronto Police Department.” He glanced around at the other alphas. “I’d like to talk about some interesting information I have.”

Sitting there, holding Nate’s hand, I listened as Ollie talked about the way drug traffic and overdoses increased almost every year from the time Lincoln arrived in Toronto.

The other alphas stared at Ollie as he gave year-by-year data.

Lincoln, for his part, still smirked as though everything Ollie was saying was pointless.

“Very interesting, ” Lincoln said, cutting Ollie off, “but this is still circumstantial. There is zero proof this leads back to me.”

Ollie’s grin widened as he gestured to Nate.

“You see, my friend here managed to find a pretty interesting garage in Detroit. One that held a fairly impressive amount of drugs. They were hidden in gas canisters. I did a bit of digging, and it appears that the garage is owned by one of the subsidiaries of The Masters Foundation.”

“Still means nothing,” Lincoln said, though he appeared more nervous than a moment before.

“One of my employees could be involved in something, but it doesn’t come back to me.

Hell, if someone who works for me is doing anything illegal, I’ll be the first to help bring them to justice,” he added, looking around the room for an ally. No one would even look at him.

“That’s true,” Ollie said, “but we have your signature on the lease. Your personal signature. Also, I managed to find a shipping invoice. It lists a pallet of gas canisters being shipped from that garage to Toronto. The invoice confirmation came directly from your personal email address.”

Lincoln’s mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to breathe out of water. He was a rat caught in a cage. Then, in a fit of anger, he snarled and backhanded Rick. The crack of his knuckles on Rick’s cheek sounded like a gunshot in the room.

“You stupid piece of shit,” Lincoln growled. “You couldn’t find a better cunt to shove your dick in? Do you see what that bitch has done to us?”

He stood, towering above his son. For a moment, I could see what Rick had endured in his childhood.

This evil man was trying to force his will upon Rick, trying to mold him into the man he wanted him to be rather than the man he was born to be.

It was no wonder Rick had ended up unhinged and broken. Lincoln was terrifying.

“You hit him again,” JC growled, his voice low and dangerous, “and I’ll do more than backhand your ass, Lincoln. Sit back down.”

The men who’d brought in Rick stepped forward, glowering at Lincoln, all of them looking like they’d enjoy nothing better than to rip him limb from limb. Lincoln snapped his eyes around to look at them, and more panic showed on his face as he slowly sat back down.

“You see, Lincoln,” JC went on, a more diplomatic tone to his voice, “Ollie’s discovery, Cameron’s research, and Nate’s detective work might not hold up in court.

” He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table and glaring at Lincoln.

“But this is no court. We are shifters, and I am the alpha. All I need is enough proof, and for me ”—he jammed a thumb into his chest—“this is enough.” He stood straight, raising his hands to gesture to the others. “What does the council say?”

Slowly, the men around the table glanced at Lincoln and Rick, then back to JC. One by one, they held their fists up, thumbs pointed down. As the voting came in, Lincoln’s eyes widened in horror and shock, his head shaking slowly back and forth. When the final vote was cast, JC looked at Lincoln.

“Looks like you lose,” he said. “You have been stricken from the Toronto-Ottawa pack. You will, from this moment on, be known as a lone wolf, shunned and unwelcome.” He held up a finger. “And not because you are a lone wolf, but because of your crimes.”

“ NO!” Lincoln exploded, rising from his chair. “You can’t do this. I won’t allow it.”

JC flicked his eyes to one of his men, who put his hands on Lincoln’s shoulders and physically shoved him back down into the chair. Rick’s face had twisted into an agonized mask of horror and sadness. Despite everything, I hated how awful he looked. The drugs had begun to take their toll on him.

Before I could stop myself, I stood. “JC, may I speak again?” I blurted.

He stopped, his words cut off by my interruption. But if he was upset, he didn’t show it. All he did was nod.

“Go ahead, Cameron,” he said.