Page 84 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

Chris folded his hands together. “I don’t have enough evidence to tell you exactly what’s happening. I do have enough to say her mother appears connected to people with significant influence. People with money and power. The kind of men who get away with awful things. There’s at least one public official involved in all this.”

He reached into another folder before pulling out a glossy photograph and sliding it over to us.

I stared down at the picture trying to make sense of what he was showing us. The woman smiling back at us looked nothing like the one who terrorized Dhara. Her hair was professionally styled, makeup airbrushed to perfection. She even wore an elegant gown that made her look like she had serious money.

She looked like she belonged at some exclusive gala, not in the rundown little house controlling every dollar her daughter earned.

“Then why the hell is she taking every cent Dhara makes?” Lachlan growled as he tossed it Conrad’s way.

“Control,” I answered quietly, equally as disgusted.

“Does this help us?” Conrad leaned forward, practically daring Chris to give us something. “Can we finally call the police?”

“I think you missed the part where he said the police chief may be involved,” Lachlan snapped, standing up and gripping his hair. “How the fuck are we supposed to compete with that?”

“That’s exactly why I’m being careful,” Chris reminded us. He was still every bit the calm and cool alpha. “You’re here because of a custody case. I didn’t expect to uncover something this large.”

“So, what happens now?” I asked.

“We keep following the evidence.”

His answer wasn’t what I wanted. I nearly flew out of my chair and raged, my delta pushing against the rut blockers and ready to lose our collective mind.

“I’m not risking the custody case by making accusations we can’t prove,” he said, a bit more gentle this time. His phone rang and he glanced at the screen before standing abruptly. “I need to take this. Everything I’ve gathered is in those folders. Look through it.”

He stepped into the hallway before any of us could stop him. I pulled the nearest folder closer. He hadn’t been exaggerating. This thing went deep.

Photographs, financial records, names, dates, ledgers, connections. It was a web of chaos we never expected.

More pictures revealed Dhara’s mother at the heart of it all. Posing with senators and high-profile businessmen. She had two separate lives and they couldn’t be more different.

Whatever she’d gotten herself involved in, it was far bigger than any of us had imagined.

“Why keep us?” I finally asked, throwing a hand toward the scattered photographs. “She has all this money and influence, yet she’s living in the heart of South Lake instead of a penthouse apartment in the city.”

“An alibi,” Lachlan mused as he tapped the closest photograph. “She has built in witnesses. People see her around town and know her name. She’s the struggling single mother who’s a hot mess but pretends she’s trying her best. No one would give her a second look for any of this.”

He was right. It was the perfect cover. She’d planted herself in this town just enough that everyone thought they knew her. They gossiped and judged, but most importantly they underestimated her.

“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand down my face as I let the reality of it all settle.

“She’s a narcissist,” Lachlan muttered. “A cruel one who made the right connections.”

“So, what the fuck do we do now?” Conrad demanded. “We can’t leave them there. Waiting for her to screw up isn’t enough anymore.”

“They’ve already got enough,” Lachlan argued. “The drugs alone should be enough. Even if they bury her to save their own asses.”

“They are,” I agreed. “The bigger problem now is the police chief. If he’s protecting her, he’ll control the search. Evidence might disappear and you know he’ll assign loyal officers to help him cover their tracks. Then we’re right back where we started.”

I hated to admit it out loud, but we all knew I was right. We’d uncovered more corruption than our small town could handle. But, I was going to make damn sure it was ripped out by the roots.

Chris could take my entire yearly earnings if it meant putting these assholes away. I’d happily fund every lawsuit if it meant cleaning this town up.

Fuck, I just wanted my omega. I was done standing outside her bedroom window and hoping we’d have her soon. If her mother found us… let her.

I just wanted to hold my omega. It had been too long without her already.

My phone rang before I could say ‘fuck it’ and leave. The ringtone I’d assigned specifically to Gavin.