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I waited until I knew the creep wasn’t going to come back. Once I was satisfied, I shifted back to human. When I turned, I saw Audrey had done the same. She was naked, her clothes torn to shreds when she’d shifted, but she looked all right. Still, I couldn’t help the panic rippling through me as I worried whether she was hurt.

“Are you okay?” I asked. I scanned her up and down, taking note of every scratch and bruise I could find. She seemed okay, though. Perhaps a little shell-shocked.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Are you?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t stand it. Seeing her wasn’t enough. I needed to touch her, to feel that she wasn’t hurt. My hands went to her shoulders, fingers moving down her arms as I searched for injuries. She shivered at my touch, leaning into me instinctively.

Eventually, I was satisfied she wasn’t hurt. I sighed, relieved that she was okay. Just the thought of her being injured was too much. I wanted to keep her safe always, to protect her from everything.

Unable to express any of that, no matter how hard I tried, I pulled her into a hug, holding her tight, breathing in her scent. She stiffened in surprise, but only for a moment before she leaned into me, nuzzling her head against my chest.

“I’m all right,” she said, as if sensing my emotions. “He’s gone. Nothing bad happened.”

“It could have. I should go after him and tear him to shreds,” I snarled. I wished I had.

She rested her hand on my shoulder, dragging my attention back to her. “Don’t,” she said. “Please.”

Her pleading took me by surprise. Silently, I pulled her against me, resting my chin on her head. She leaned against me as I stroked her back.

After a moment, she stepped back. “I’m okay, Jackson,” she repeated.

I frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It isn’t like he did anything. All’s well that ends well.”

I glanced around, still making sure that the guy was gone for good. “That doesn’t mean it can’t disturb you, or that he can’t hurt you.”

“Really,” she said dismissively. “He was just a creep. That’s nowhere near the worst thing that’s happened to me.”

My head snapped around to her. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

She stiffened, her eyes widening as if she had said something she hadn’t meant to. “Oh, nothing,” she said, but without any conviction.

I let out a low snarl. “What are you keeping from me?”

Her jaw tightened. “It’s nothing you need to worry about,” she reassured me. Or, at least, she tried to. I didn’t buy it for a minute.

She must have picked up on that because she took a deep breath. “Can we not talk about this in the cold while we’re naked? I’d rather get home and change into some clothes I didn’t tear to shreds by shifting.”

“Oh,” I said. “Right.”

We shifted again and headed back. Once we did, Audrey dipped upstairs to her room, returning a few minutes later in sweatpants and a loose shirt. She somehow managed to make the baggy clothing look incredibly sexy. I pushed the thought from my head. I needed to focus on the more pressing matters.

“Feeling better?” I asked.

She nodded. “How did you know where I was, anyway?”

“It was late enough that I was starting to get worried about you. I came to find you and walk you home. I smelled your scent and the scent of that asshole and followed it,” I said. Then I gave her a knowing look. “You’re changing the subject, and you know it.”

Sighing, she closed her eyes and nodded. “I am,” she admitted.

“Out with it,” I growled.

She took a deep breath, tucking her hands in between her thighs as she looked down at the floor.

“Look, Reacher… wasn’t the nicest person,” she began.

I snorted. “Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”

She shook her head. “Look, please, just let me finish. Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll be able to say any of it.”

I stayed silent.

“And I’m not talking about what he just did to me,” she continued. “Which was bad enough. Plenty of verbal and mental abuse from both him and Dad. He was rough, too. The kind of guy that didn’t mind if he left bruises when he grabbed you. So you could guess he was an abusive asshole, but he would also challenge anyone who questioned him or his leadership to a fight to the death.” She swallowed hard. “He rigged the fights so he would always win. And if he got so much as a whiff of discontentment, he would arrange accidents for anyone he thought a threat to his rule.” She gave a half-smirk. “I don’t think he knows I know all that. I would overhear him talking to Dad. But he’s much, much worse than just being an abusive asshole.”

I stared, my mouth dropping open in shock as the words sank in. “He did all that?” I asked, my voice strained as I tried to hold back all my rage.

“Yeah,” she admitted. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to add something else, then hesitated. She closed her mouth. “Maybe it’s best if you just leave it be,” she advised. “Leave Reacher alone and move on.”

After everything she had just told me? There was no way in hell I was going to leave him alone.

She must have read the look in my eyes because she shook her head emphatically. “Don’t, Jackson,” she said. “Listen to me on this one and just leave him be. It’ll be safer for you and all of us.”

I frowned as I studied her. Something told me that she still wasn’t telling me the whole truth, that she was keeping something from me. Except I knew that after everything she had just revealed, she was done telling me secrets for the evening. As much as I wanted to push, I didn’t. Declan had been right when he said I needed to let her take the initiative.

I reached out and took her hands gently, holding them in mine and rubbing my thumbs against the back of her hand. Her eyes lingered on our hands before lifting to meet mine. A mix of emotions swam behind them, and I couldn’t even begin to parse them out.

“I’m going to protect you and Claire,” I promised her. “No matter what. I’m not going to let Reacher or your father come anywhere near you ever again.”

She choked out a laugh as if we’d just shared a private joke. “You don’t know you can do that,” she said grimly.

“I swear,” I said, squeezing her hands. “You’re safe.”

***

The Gold Wolves listened, their ears pricked, their attention locked on me as I relayed the information I had gleaned from Audrey the previous night. The more I spoke, the deeper their expressions of rage grew, their shoulders tensing more with each word.

“Anyway, that’s everything she told me,” I finished.

“So we’re dealing with a massive asshole,” Nolan said.

“I feel like that’s a vast understatement,” Trent mused.

“Not surprising, though. Seems like he learned how to handle discontents after getting kicked out of his first pack,” Chris commented.

“Yeah, I kinda wanna tear him a new one after hearing all that,” Will said, his arms folded. “Especially after meeting Audrey. No wonder she’s so timid all the time. Can’t blame her after ten years of that.”

My jaw worked, but I stayed quiet, trying not to think about the fact that I was partially responsible for her returning to that awful situation in the first place. All the more reason to go after Reacher. I needed to do right by her after all the wrongs I’d done.

“Unfortunately, that’s not going to be good enough for us to go in there,” Declan said. “Not only would Reacher just ignore her testimony and say she’s biased, the word of a former pack member isn’t going to cut it.”

“What about all the others?” I asked. “The ones who reported him and got us looking into it in the first place?”

“We need actual evidence,” Declan said.

Chris frowned, stroking his chin as he considered. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the Blood Moon pack,” he said. “Thanks to the video surveillance Will managed to put up when you guys were there.”

Will gave a bored, two-fingered salute. “Always happy to do anything tech-related,” he said.

“Anyway, I’ve been keeping an eye on the pack, and I’ve noticed some weird shipments coming in at odd hours.”

“Weird how?” I asked.

“Large, heavy, military-style boxes. The kind civilians aren’t supposed to get.” Chris pulled out a tablet, giving it a few brief taps as he walked over to Declan and held it out.

Leaning over, I watched the video feed he’d pulled up. Sure enough, a handful of shifters crossed the screen, carrying what appeared to be heavy boxes.

“I think they’re weapons,” Chris said.

“Any proof of that, or is it just a hunch?” Declan asked.

“Hunch, but a solid one. I used to do these kinds of false-shipment missions for the army before I joined the Gold Wolves. We would use crates like those.”

“Hmm.” Declan scrutinized the image, his head tilted. “Do we have any other feeds that show us a better view? Maybe one that can show us what’s inside.”

“If there were, I’d be showing that instead,” Chris said. “This is as good as we’ve got.”

Declan nodded grimly, resigned but clearly unsatisfied. “We need to find out more somehow. Whatever he’s planning, it doesn’t look good.”