Sabrina’s face twisted, clearly unhappy at being dismissed so abruptly. “Fine,” she huffed, shooting Ty a glare that would’vemade anyone else quiver in their boots. “But I’ll be waiting for Liza in the entertainment room. And if you think you can keep me away from her when she needs me, you’re very much mistaken. You may be the alpha of the pack, Tyson Keller, but I’m not pack. She so much as sighs the wrong way and I’ll come running.”
“Understood.” Ty rubbed his forehead and shut his eyes, staving off a headache.
Sabrina spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving us to stare at each other in silence.
As we stood there, trying to process everything that had just happened, my anger simmered barely below the surface. It wasn’t raging to the point I’d pick Isaiah’s assistant up and chuck him across the damn house, but it was there, and it was palpable. How dare Maximus put my life and the lives of those I cared about in danger for his own gain? What kind of alpha did that? He was a fucking monster and deserved whatever punishment Ty deemed fit, and if Ty couldn’t think of one, I was certain I could think of two or three.
“We need to ensure he never does anything like this again. We can’t let him hurt anyone else.”
Ty moved to my side and wrapped his arms around me. “I promise you I’ll handle Maximus and make sure he pays for what he’s done.”
“Good.” A sharp pain shot through my jaw as I gritted my teeth a little too hard. We watched the security detail open the basement door to take Maximus down to the cells. “Because if he thinks he can get away with this, he’ll just keep taking advantage of others for his own advantage.”
In a split second, Maximus twisted and lunged forward, breaking his hands free and escaping Nico and Graeme’s grasp with unnerving ferocity and speed. He was on Ty before anyone had time to react, his nails slashing across Ty’s face. I gasped andcovered my mouth, pressing my back against the wall to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their brutal struggle.
“Get off me, you bastard,” Ty snarled as Maximus thrashed and scratched at him.
Ty’s growl cut through the chaos, his primal instincts taking over. He swiftly retaliated, flipping Maximus onto his back and straddling him with so much force I wondered how Maximus’s ribs couldn’t be broken. The rapid fire of Ty’s punches rained down on Maximus, each strike carrying a visceral intensity. My stomach churned as I watched the brutal exchange.
Blood spurted with each hard punch, and Maximus’s pained moans echoed in the air. My hands shook as I wiped away tears that had escaped without my notice. The sight of Ty’s unbridled rage shocked me to my core, his every blow laced with a raw fury I’d never seen before.
“Stop! Ty, stop!” I cried out, but my voice was barely audible over the sounds of the brawl.
Nico and Isaiah’s assistant rushed to Ty’s side, attempting to intervene, but it was too chaotic. Ty’s punches came in quick succession. His words were incoherent, alternating between enraged shouts and curses. He growled with each strike, his rage consuming him.
“Ty, that’s enough! You’re going to kill him,” Nico’s voice rose above the chaos, his words desperate and urgent, warning Ty that he was on the brink of crossing a line he couldn’t come back from. He kept moving toward Ty, wanting to stop him, but he couldn’t. Ty’s swings were so wild and unpredictable, Nico would surely get knocked out if he tried to intervene.
Sabrina came to the door, and I saw her face pale. Her eyes caught mine. I shook my head and held up a hand. She needed to stay back.
Nico made one final plea, yelling above the chaotic screams. “If you kill him, you’ll never get to the bottom of everything andsave Liza from those who want to kidnap her! You’re about to murder your key witness!”
Nico’s plea seemed to penetrate Ty’s uncontrolled anger. His blows gradually slowed, the momentum of his assault weakening. He stared down at Maximus’s battered face, his chest heaving with exertion, and the realization seemed to dawn on him.
Nico and Isaiah’s assistant lunged forward, separating Ty from Maximus’s broken form. The aftermath was a chaotic scene of gasping breaths and the harsh rasp of Ty’s labored breathing. My cheeks were wet with tears, my body trembling.
Maximus was alive, but the floor looked like a fucking murder scene.
A knock at the door came so suddenly that it startled us all. Ty let out a frustrated laugh. He threw his bloodied hands in the air. “What the hell else could be going on?”
Nico and Isaiah’s assistant scooped Maximus from the floor and ran at superhuman speed to the basement door, disappearing into the dark and closing the door behind them.
“Police. Open up!”
Ty’s eyes widened as we both surveyed the blood. There was no time to hide it, so Ty motioned for me to stand in front of it. “We’ll try to block their view. It’s the best we can do.”
He flung the door open to reveal two stern-faced police officers on the other side. They both stood with their hands on their hips and looked far too official for us to imagine they were simply making rounds in the neighborhood.
They took in Ty’s appearance, obviously stunned to see the alpha of the Keller pack opening his own door and looking like he’d just been run over by a Mack truck.
One of them raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, sir?”
Ty faked a laugh. “I guess you’re wondering why I look like this.” Ty gestured up and down his body. “I had a bit of a mishapin the woods this afternoon. Let’s just say I’m too old to climb trees and assist our gardener. I’m not as nimble as I once was.”
The police officers shared a glance and then turned their attention back to Ty. They didn’t ask any questions, obviously suspicious and allowing Ty to lead the conversation.
“Thank you both for taking the time to swing by. We don’t need any help with the kidnapping attempt. We’ve got it under control. But if I think of a way you can be of assistance, I’ll contact you.” Ty gripped the door handle, ready to close it in their faces.
One of the cops looked Ty up and down as if he had two heads. “Kidnappings?” The officer glanced at his partner again before continuing. “Sorry, Mr. Keller, that’s not why we’re here. We’ve come to discuss a situation at one of your factories. We executed a search and found a substantial quantity of drugs.”
