Page 78 of Tempting Fate

Sam lets go of me too, and for a moment, I feel like I’m adrift, thrown out to float away. The feeling passes quickly. Deacon peers into my face.

“You’ve overcome a lot in the past few months,” he says, and when I frown, he shrugs one shoulder. “One of my betas came to assist Kieran. He was not pleased by what he heard.”

One of his betas? Another wolf. That day is kind of hazy, and I try not to think about it too much.

I’m gripped with a sudden urge to know. “Did you kill Tim? Or did you run him out of the city like you’re doing with Em?”

“Jamie,” Kieran mutters, and Patch’s gaze burns the side of my face.

Deacon sighs. “Do you want to know the truth? Truly.” I open my mouth, but he shakes his head. “You are not a coward for not wanting to know. You might be letting him burden you all over again.”

“No,” I say finally. “I don’t. But I do want to speak to them. If you didn’t bring me here to let me do that, you’ve brought me here just to hurt all of us. That doesn’t sound like what I’ve heard of you.”

Deacon studies me again, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but I stare back at him anyway. It’s difficult not to look away, but I’m not budging on this. Axel is angry, and parts of his anger are ugly, but I think I understand that. Patch and Em have threatened all the wolves, and that’s a hard thing to deal with.

But Deacon is supposed to be above the rest of them. Better than the rest of them.

“Everyone out,” he says after a moment. “You have five minutes. We will know if anyone leaves the room.”

I nod. I’m not planning on helping them… escape, or whatever. Sam brushes against me as he leaves, the last of all of them, and I hope he can make it so no one can listen in on our conversation.

Five minutes. I don’t even know all that I want to ask in five minutes.

I don’t hesitate, though, once the door is shut. I rush around and crouch between them. Patch stares at me like he’s never seen me before, but Em… Em still won’t look at me. I reach for his hands and try not to flinch when he pulls them back towards his body.

“I don’t understand,” I say. “Tell me what happened.”