Page 4 of Deceived

“Aksel, you said he didn’t have ill intent before. What about now?” Anna asks.

I squeeze my knuckles tighter. Is she buying this?

Aksel hesitates, jaw tight. “There’s hatred when he speaks of Killian, but not when he’s just looking at you.”

I’m surprised he answered her so honestly. The glare he’s giving Ryan means he’s just as distrustful as me.

“That’s not enough to go on. There is too much at risk. He needs to be locked up here until we can be sure,” I say.

“Griffyn is right. The circumstances might say he was a prisoner but we can’t set him free,” Blaze backs me up.

Thank fuck.

Ryan lifts his chin. “Then I will be locked up until you can trust me. I’m not going anywhere. I want revenge on Killian.” But his eyes are locked on Anna and it’s clear he wants to stay for her too.

He can get in line.

“Do we have a space to contain him?” Anna asks.

Aksel stares at her before looking back at Ryan. “We should bring him in, to the council. It would show progress on our case and it’s protocol. He is a suspect until cleared by the elders.”

Anna’s body language turns confrontational. Her stance widens and she makes herself larger.

I know Aksel well enough to see he doesn’t love the idea. I don’t think he would even follow through on it. It’s the right thing to say, but even I don’t want to. It would get him out of here but then the results are out of our hands.

Felix eyes Ryan wearily before saying, “I don’t know if that’s the right move.”

“I’ll lock him in the basement then we can talk about it.” Blaze moves forward, hauls Ryan up, and carries him away. With those cuffs, he won’t be able to use magic. Blaze only needs to cuff him to something in the basement that can hold a human. Ryan will have lost his supernatural strength to the cuffs.

Anna opens her mouth, no doubt to rake Aksel over the coals but he holds a hand up to stop her.

“Wait for Blaze.”

I’m sure it’s only her respect for Blaze that makes her listen.

A few minutes later, Blaze returns and Anna starts immediately.

“We are not handing him over to your stupid, corrupt council. He could be innocent-”

Aksel cuts her off, “You want him to be innocent, which means you’re biased. It’s not up to you. This is a team decision, one you aren’t a part of.”

If she could burn him with her eyes, he would be ash right now.

“Aksel don’t,” Felix tries to intervene but Anna has some things to get off her chest.

“Just like I wasn’t part of the team when you went after Ryan? And how did that end up? You let him get away! We found him and you lost him! If I was there, he wouldn’t have had the advantage of speed. You are not leaving me out of things again.”

Guilt gnaws at my insides. We did lose him. We are an elite team who has never let a culprit get away before and yet, this vampire escaped our grasp.

We were distracted.

But Aksel is too stubborn to admit that to her.

“You don’t get to demand things from us. We are allowing you to follow us around on this mission-” Aksel seethes.

“Then I’ll leave. I don’t need you but if I’m gone, then I’m taking Ryan with me when I go.”

“I would love to see you try,” Aksel steps closer so they’re facing off mere inches apart.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com