Hale’s eyes widen in alarm. “You think Delaney killed your mother?”
“She has the motive.” My throat suddenly feels tight, and a strange prickling erupts behind my eyes. “She wanted what my mother had.”
Hale and Gerry exchange another one of those looks—the type that makes me feel as if I missed an entire conversation.
“Delaney is a lot of things, but I know she loved your mom,” Hale says, his tone gentle.
“But—” Gerry begins.
He never finishes his sentence.
The three of us step into a clearing, where the others are waiting for us.
Jake, chatting with Silas.
Kyle and Travan.
Ethan, Emery, and Reid.
And standing slightly apart from the others, his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face, is Ashton.
The very last man I want to see.
Fuck. My. Life.
Forty-Two
IZZY
Seeing him is a punch to the gut.
Rage, disappointment, and a smidgen of pesky, traitorous desire all cloud my brain.
Ashton and I are…complicated. We hate each other yet are fated to be together. He initially believed I was a spy sent by his own father to dig up information on him and his pack. When he discovered the truth, instead of being apologetic, he continued to push me away every chance he got. We worked together to save the shifters during the attack, but…
But then he didn’t check in on me after I returned from the witches.
He didn’t even ask about me.
That hurts more than anything else he has done.
Em, Ethan, and Reid made it sound like Ashton was trying to be some goddamn martyr by solving the case himself. Well, good luck with that.
“What is she doing here?” Ashton’s lips curl in a scowl, and I decide right then and there I’m going to punch him one day.
With a brick.
Travan moves as silently as the breeze. One second, he’s standing beside Kyle, and the next, he has Ashton pinned to a tree by his neck.
“You want to rephrase that question, pup?” Travan asks cheerfully, a manic grin on his face.
Ashton begins to sputter, his skin turning an alluring shade of blue, when Silas steps forward and physically pulls Travan back. The unhinged psycho releases Ashton with a pout.
Ashton gasps for breath, clutching at his throat, while Travan and Silas stand over him dispassionately. It appears as if Silas’s benevolence only extended so far. He makes no move to help the shifter stand.
“You’re such an ass. You know that, right?” Emery snaps, scowling.
At some point during the confrontation, he moved to stand closer to me. His shoulder now brushes my own, sending pinpricks of awareness racing up and down my spine.
