I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing in an attempt to keep myself from having another meltdown like the one last night.
Ty opened the door slowly, knocking as he entered. His eyes were huge, and I saw the fear he was trying to hide. It broke my heart to see him so apprehensive about approaching me. My anger wasn’t directed toward him. If I was honest with myself, it wasn’t directed at Dominic, either. As upset as I was last night,I still recognized the pain and sincerity in his voice when he’d spoke the truth.
He hadn’t known. Nico had kept it from him.
Nico had been so focused on doing whathethought was right that he hadn’t even considered anything else other than eliminating an assumed threat. That threat just happened to be my parents.
Ty placed a mug of steaming coffee on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch me. “How are you feeling?”
I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees. “Drained.”
“Your pheromones were exploding off you last night, so I’m not surprised that you’re so tired.”
“What happened?” I remembered Ty holding me while I cried, but after that, it was all a blur.
“Your adrenaline finally wore off, and you passed out.” Ty gently rested his hand on my knee. “I carried you back to one of the SUVs and brought you home. You didn’t wake up the entire time, even when I dressed you.”
I glanced down at the silk pajamas I had on. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He grabbed the coffee mug and handed it to me. “This might help wake you up.”
I took a long sip, savoring the hot liquid as it warmed my insides. “How’s your dad doing?”
Ty’s eyebrows nearly rose to his hairline at my question. “He’s worried about you.”
“And Nico?” I asked, not sure if I really cared how he was faring.
“He and Dad shared words about Nico keeping the truth of your parents from him. Dad was pissed he was left in the dark, yet Castro, of all people, knew about it.”
“How did Castro know about it?” I asked, taking another sip of my coffee. The caffeine was finally kicking in, and my brain was starting to work again.
Ty shifted on the bed, pulling his leg underneath his body. “Apparently, Castro found an encrypted transcript of a recorded briefing where Nico described the incident. Castro mistook Nico’s voice for Dad’s. Back then, Nico kept a record of all his undercover missions as a safety net should anyone try to betray him—that included Dad.”
My phone buzzed, and I realized I hadn’t checked it since the night before in the library. I scanned a few emails from clients, promising myself I’d reply after chatting with Ty. I tossed the phone beside me on the bed and turned my attention back to him. “So, how did Castro get his hands on the recordings?”
“The files were on a secure server, which brings up a whole other can of worms. Castro most probably hasallof Nico’s secret missions and dirty work. Most of them are connected to Dad and consist mainly of dirty dealings they had a hand in until they went clean.”
I shook my head. “This is bad.”
Ty nodded. “Castro wasn’t happy about his plan backfiring, so we think he’s still going to release something to the public.”
I sighed. “This is such a shit show.”
“I agree, but we can’t give up.” Ty moved as if to cup my face, but drew his hand back as if frightened of my reaction to being touched. “I may not be able to get you justice for your parents, but I’ll do my best to heal the hurt my family has caused you.”
I stared into his eyes. My mate was devastated. I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. He relaxed under my touch as I kissed his neck and whispered, “Thank you.”
His hands inched to my shoulders as he gently pushed me away so he could see my face. “I don’t want to lose you, but Ican understand if you can’t look past this. If you want out of the mating just tell me. Once Castro is taken care of, I’ll accept your rejection. If that’s what you decide.”
53
TY
Ispent the next few days at Liza’s home, refusing to leave her side.
After everything that happened at the library, and the overload of emotions she’d experienced, I didn’t want to leave her alone for too long.
I drank my morning coffee with closed eyes. Visions of Liza lying next to the eviscerated buck, covered in the condemned beast’s blood kept flashing through my mind. She’d been unresponsive when I’d got to her. Her normally expressive eyes had stared out at everything and nothing, completely blank. A true thousand-yard stare. She’d been so unresponsive I’d feared she was lost completely. The possibility of her not returning to me…
