Page 48 of Oakheart

Grant? He didn’t even mention Cash.

“That brother of yours has betrayed the pack,” he told Viktor instead, his lips pulled back into a snarl.

Viktor didn’t answer, didn’t excuse, simply lifted that one brow. Right, because we weren’t supposed to know what happened. Grant didn’t know we were all in contact. Thank fuck.

“He murdered Barry,” Adam said, looking shocked. “It had to be him. His scent was all over the place.”

“He murdered Barry and stole my property,” Grant corrected, because of course, taking Evie was what he was angry about. Because he thought Evie was a thing, not aperson. Because frankly, I wasn’t sure Grant was capable of understanding that anyone other than himself had feelings. That anyone mattered other than in how they could help him.

Viktor just stood there, waiting, like they hadn’t told him anything at all.

I wasn’t much one for prayer, but I took that second to send my thanks into the universe for giving me my best friend back. If I survived the next week, it would be because of Mama and all her knowledge, and Leo and his heart, and most of all, Viktor’s unshakeable perfect calm.

“Well? What do you fucking have to say for yourself?” Grant shouted, his sharp teeth bared, pushing up into Viktor’s face, trying to get a rise out of him.

“I cannot imagine why such a thing would have happened,” Viktor finally said, without even a hint of emotion in his voice. “Leonid is not a hothead, nor is he interested in objects. However, I am not my brother, to make excuses for him or tell you his mind. I do not have your answers.”

Grant narrowed his eyes and seemed to calm, if not lose, his anger. Instead, he was turning cold, to match Viktor. “He’s out of the pack. We’re going to hunt him down and kill him. Tear his fucking throat out.”

Viktor just continued to look at him, that single eyebrow raised, not a hint of what he was thinking on his face.

No one else said a word. Half the goons weren’t even breathing, because they might love a fight, but none of them wanted to take on Viktor, even if they’d have been quite happy to see him dead.

“Sometimes, we do what we must to protect our pack,” Viktor finally answered.

I wondered if any of them, even for a second, thought he meant anything but Leo killing that asshole Barry. Were they so unintelligent?

It seemed so, because Grant gave a scoff and turned away, muttering something about Viktor being “one cold-blooded bastard.”

He glanced at me as he turned. “Still glad you wasted so much capital on finding this one?”

“He’s my brother,” I answered, without a second’s hesitation. In the moment, anyone with half a brain would have known I meant not only Viktor, but Leo as well.

Grant? Just scoffed again and walked out of the room.

CHAPTER 25

Cash

I neededto get to Jax. If I could just talk to him, everything would be all right.

It had to be. It certainly couldn’t beworse, because the whole world was a dark swirling cloud of agony.

Beyond it there were voices, but nothing they said made any damn sense.

And then . . .

And then there was white all around me. Above me.

A painted ceiling reflecting the sun.

I frowned.

That wasn’t right. Going into the light was supposed to be, like, ajourney. This was a flat surface, and I was pretty sure I’d died, so what the fuck?

“Hey.”

There was a soft voice beside me, and I turned to see Jax Fyse there, the stubble on his chin perfectly trimmed, his dark hair combed so every strand laid just right.