Sylas took a deep breath and tried to control his sobs. “Castro was pretty fixated on your mate. He mentioned her several times and even went as far as to say that he wouldn’t stop until he got what was his.”
We all knew exactly what that meant. Castro wasn’t going to leave us alone until he had me all to himself. There was no telling what he’d do to get his hands on me and pull me into thesick reality he’d created in his mind where we ruled over some nonexistent pack together, forever.
The reality of it all frightened me more than anything.
39
TY
Dad took out his phone and texted someone while Sylas buried his face in his hands. The guy deserved all the shame and humiliation he felt, and I hoped it resonated in his soul.
But honestly, he had what some might call a disease, and it might not have been his fault. He’d made decisions based on the shitshow that was his life, so what more could the poor bastard say? He’d sold out, given up everything he’d worked for, and all he’d gotten in return was a trip to the police station and a debt to his alpha that would take the rest of his life to repay. He was at the lowest point of his life with his career completely washed down the drain, and Castro was behind it all. Well, except for the parts that Sylas had decided for himself. Hopefully, he would be man enough to own up to his part and not try to blame Castro for his decisions.
Within a few minutes, the Keller family lawyer, dressed in a very official-looking suit, entered the room. “Good afternoon.” He nodded toward us and took a seat across from Dad and me. “Sylas, Mr. Keller has filled me in on your situation.”
Sylas sat up straight, a look of complete defeat in his eyes. He stared at the table, not allowing himself to make eye contact with our lawyer.
Phil was a tall guy with slicked back hair and a gray, striped suit. His briefcase was monogrammed, and he smelled like money. No way could Sylas afford him without us.
Phil folded his hands in front of him. “I’m here to talk to you about your rights. As I’m sure you know, you have the right to seek out legal counsel if you don’t already have an attorney. In this situation, it would be advised that you speak to someone who can walk you through your options.”
At that last word, Sylas scoffed, threw his head back and laughed for a second before he looked again at Phil. “Options? I may not have a law degree, but I’m fully aware of the damage I’ve caused to our pack and to the Kellers.” At least his remorse was genuine. He wasn’t a good enough or sober enough actor to fake that. “I’ve admitted my wrongs and I’m prepared to face my punishment, whatever that may be.”
I glanced over my shoulder, imagining what Liza was thinking as she watched the conversation with Sylas from the two-way mirror. If I had to guess, based on what I knew and had learned about her since we started seeing each other, she probably felt sorry for him. Sure, he’d caused some serious damage to her by assisting Castro in his escape, and he had put her in an unimaginable amount of danger, but he was obviously regretful. Although, I wondered if he would still be so regretful if we hadn’t found him.
Justice would be served, and Sylas was right. There was no way he would avoid jail time, no matter how open and honest he’d been in his confession. He’d committed fraud for financial gain. It was a felony.
The lawyer leaned forward and placed a hand on Sylas’s shoulder. “I understand you feel guilty about what happened,but you still have rights. You have the right to defend yourself in court and plead your case. You don’t have to face this alone.”
Sylas shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “I don’t want to fight it. I just want to accept the consequences of my actions.”
Dad cleared his throat. “What kind of punishment is Sylas going to be looking at? Would it be possible to lessen it in exchange for cooperation?”
The lawyer nodded, his expression serious. “It’s possible. Sylas’s cooperation will definitely be taken into consideration during the trial and sentencing. Especially if Castro can be apprehended before Sylas makes it to trial.” That was also assuming Sylas didn’t plead guilty immediately. “However, it’s impossible to say exactly what the punishment will be. It depends on the judge and the specifics of the charges filed against him.”
Sylas wiped his eyes with his sleeve as we stood to leave.
Once we were in the hallway, I turned to face Dad, lowering my voice. “Where will they take him?”
He shrugged. “The jail. They’ll lock him up until we can be available for a formal trial or sentencing.” Dad looked back at the door. “It’s a shame, but he’ll be punished for his crimes against the pack. I might be persuaded to make a case for his cooperation.”
“Don’t forget we had to hunt him down and drag him back.” I scoffed. I was not feeling as merciful as my father. I could forgive Sylas, but he had to do his time for his crimes. Period. “I doubt he would’ve shown up on our doorstep voluntarily vomiting the same information we just received in there.”
“True.” Dad glanced at his watch. “I’m just grateful we got him here without throwing up red flags. With any luck, we’ve managed to keep this business with Castro out of the public eye.”
“For now, at least.” I didn’t want to sound negative, but I also knew the importance of being realistic. “The last thing we wantis for people to be worried about a psychopath on the loose and targeting the town.”
“Good point. We’ll have a better chance of cornering Castro if our pack members aren’t running around as if the sky were falling.” Dad walked a few steps in front of me, and I poked my head into the observation room. Liza stood in front of the two-way glass, arms crossed, listening to the lawyer’s conversation with Sylas.
“That was hard to watch.” She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Can we get out of here now?”
I nodded, and we met Dad at the black SUV that had just pulled into the lot at the front of the building to drive us back to the estate.
It was a little too quiet in the car, so I turned to Liza, lowered my voice, and patted her knee. “What’s on your mind?”
She sighed heavily and leaned her head against the headrest. “I wish I could understand how a psychopath’s brain is wired.”
“That seems a little dark.” I gave her my cheeriest smile, trying to lighten the mood because I could see exactly where her mind was heading.
