Page 87 of Dark Sold Mate

Anger swelled up in her chest. He used Carter and manipulated him into committing crimes. And now, when the plan had failed, his father was neither moved to compassion nor to care, but was only angry.

“Father, please. I did my best. I would have loved it to have gone well, but I tried—,”

“Your best wasn't good enough!” The father caught Carter by the arm roughly. “You do not know what you have done. My clients are not tolerant. They don't forgive mistakes. And this? What you've done is a huge mistake.”

Elle gently placed her hand on Silas's arm, feeling his tense muscles and anger radiating from him. She knew that he wanted to interfere and spare Carter the abuse of his father. But they must hear more and collect all the information that they can before they present themselves.

“Patience,” she rubbed his arm. “Wait just a little longer.

Silas exhaled slowly, giving her a tight smile.

“I—I can fix it,” Carter stuttered. “I can go back, I can—”

“You can never see them again. They've seen you. They know your face. You're burned, you stupid boy. Useless to us now.”

Elle recoiled at the insensitivity of the dismissal. This man had exploited his own son, who’d risked his life, and now he was disposing of him like garbage because the plan failed to work out perfectly.

“But what about Mom's medicine? You said that I would have plenty of money to take care of her treatment in case I did. You promised.”

“That was before you were caught,” the father said coldly. “You could have ruined the whole operation, and you even got yourself in trouble. So now I have to clean your mess and—” he stiffened and turned around, flaring his nostrils.

He'd picked up their scent.

“They’re here!” His eyes widened with fear. “You brought them here, you idiot!” He raised his hand and slapped his son yet again. Carter fell flat on the ground and spat a mouthful of blood.

Silas exploded. Elle knew Silas was a fast man. She’d observed his shifter speed and strength during training. But this was different. This was an Alpha responding to what he saw as a threat, and he moved even faster.

In another half a moment, he was across the clearing and standing between Carter and his father. “That's enough,” his voice had that Alpha authority that could not be ignored even here.

The father staggered back, with shock written on his face. Clearly, he did not expect this.

Rael, Javi, and August came out of hiding too and encircled the father and son, leaving no escape routes.

August walked to Carter and picked the boy up. He examined him and checked his bruised lip. He was more gentle and careful than Carter's father was.

“You are going with us,” Silas addressed Carter's father, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You will tell us all about this job you took on. Who employed you, what they have in mind, and where they are working from. Everything.”

His eyes darted around the clearing, evaluating his chances, seeking the possibility of a way out, which was nonexistent. Elle saw when reality kicked in for him—he realized he was in the midst of trained fighters who could kill him in less than a second.

“Fine,” he said tightly. “I'll talk. Just... don't hurt my boy.”

It would have been touching had the sudden display of paternal concern not followed immediately after he had just hit Carter. Elle was overwhelmed with disgust at this man who exploited his son and then suddenly developed parental care when it was convenient.

“A little late to care about that, don't you think?” Javi growled.

Rael pulled out some zip ties from his bag and walked toward the man.

But as he came closer, Elle heard it—the noise that made her blood run cold.

Footsteps. Many footsteps. Moving fast through the forest, from multiple directions.

“We've got company,” Rael said, his body going tense, his head whipping around to track the approaching sounds.

Shifters came out of the treeline on every side, at least twelve of them, perhaps more. They were organized and looked trained. This wasn't a chance encounter.

The leader came forward—a huge bear shifter, with marks crisscrossing his face. “We shall be taking the boy now.”

Elle felt her stomach drop. They'd found Carter. They'd caught his father. They were on the verge of receiving answers. And now, they were in a standstill with shifters who want to ruin that.