Page 102 of Wolf It Down, Knot Me Up

“And,” Ethan says, “I told the mayor to end this, to stop it when he went too far.”

“God, Ethan, we both trusted you as if you were family,” Lucy shoots back, head high, and fuck, but my chest burns with how damn proud I am of her. She’s been to hell and back today and isn’t collapsing into a ball.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats. “I’ll do anything to make it up to you. Testify against the mayor, reveal everything even if it incriminates me, because I’ll be forever in your debt. Please, Lucy.” His words are slurred, but he’s holding it together, surprisingly. He was completely wasted back at the bar.

But she shakes her head and glances away from him. We fall into silence, passing nurses as we head down the long hallway. We round a corner toward Eve’s room. And ten feet away, the mayor’s sitting on a chair against the wall, reading something on his cell phone.

Anger rises through me at seeing him, every hair on my body standing on end. The fury to smash his face into the ground for everything he’s done to Lucy and her grandmother burns inside me.

He’s in a tailored suit, hair perfectly brushed off his face, an expensive watch on his wrist, and there’s a leather bag under his seat. If I weren’t attempting to cool my ire, I’d shove him through the nearest window.

Behind me, Roman growls, “That asshole.”

The mayor lifts his gaze, spots us, and instantly shoves himself to his feet, eyes huge, pushing his phone into his pocket. He makes a groaning sound as though he can’t find his words. He clears his throat. “You’re all in a rush to go someplace.”

We’ve stopped near him, the four of us crowding close, so he’s not going anywhere. “We know everything,” Lucy states, stepping forward. “You piece of shit, you thought you could scare us into selling the lodge? You’re a fucking monster!”

His face reddens, then he straightens his posture, that fake politician mask slipping over his expression. “I have no idea what I’m being accused of. My interest is only for the town, for everyone here.”

I grunt out loud. “Too late for that.”

“You can stop pretending,” Roman adds. “Ethan told us everything. And we have Bryan confessing that you hired him to terrify Lucy and Eve into selling.”

I grin, saying nothing about him stretching the truth.

The mayor exhales loudly, his nostrils flaring, and the longer I stare at him, the more I want to beat him up. “These are serious accusations, and you’re looking at the wrong man. Ethan here set up the whole thing, threatened me…” His hand presses to his chest dramatically. “Said he needed the lodge for himself and if I didn’t help, he’d kill my wife.”

Ethan chokes on his breath. “Like fuck I did!” He lunges at the mayor, bellowing, “You fucking liar!”

Roman and I launch after him, dragging him off the mayor, who collapses into the chair, feigning terror. “You see that? I’m so thankful the truth can finally come out, and he’ll be put behind bars.”

We pry Ethan back, who’s heaving for breath, glaring at the mayor. “You asshole. I told you already that I wanted nothing to do with your plan or hurting anyone. Don’t you fucking stand there and try to hang this on me.”

The mayor’s lips thin as he straightens in the chair before rising to his feet, suddenly calm. “You will hear from my lawyer, because for all I know, you three convicts were in on it with Ethan!”

“Oh, shut up,” Lucy snaps, then marches closer, hand raised, and slaps him right across the face.

“Ouch,” Roman calls out, laughing.

“You absolute liar,” she says as the mayor glares at her, rubbing the side of his face. “Be a decent human and own your actions.”

“This is absurd.” He darts his gaze past us, clearly looking for a way out. “I won’t be slandered by criminals and an overdramatic Omega.” He glances at the nurse and other staff watching us, who are doing nothing to aid him.

He keeps on ranting about lawyers, hands flapping about, so I slide around to his far side, quickly snatching his bag from under the chair.

“That’s private property,” he growls, reaching for it, but I spin away from it, opening it. Roman drags him off me. I slip out the only document in there, and quickly scan it, then twist back around to everyone.

“So why does an innocent man have condemning evidence in his bag? This is the contract to sign over the lodge, already signed by you, and you just needed Eve’s autograph, right? That’s why you’re here—waiting for Lucy to call her, saying she’s too scared to remain at the lodge and to sell it.”

He just stands there, staring at me, not saying a word.

“The police are on their way,” Roman explains. “Until then, you’re not leaving.”

“Fuck that. You have no authority over me.” He moves, shoving a swinging arm at Ethan, sending him crashing into a wall, but Roman’s right there in his face, bigger, taller, terrifying.

“Sit the fuck down,” Roman snarls in his face. “Or I’ll make you do it. And I’m pretty certain one of these lovely hospital staff will supply me with something to tie you up with if you don’t cooperate.”

I glance around to a young nurse who’s already holding rope, smiling my way, and I have no idea where she got it from, but I’m laughing. Roman shoves the mayor back into his seat, and I hand the contract to Roman to review. I grab Lucy and draw her against me, eager for this shit to be over.