Page 145 of The Heat of Us

“How?” she whispered.

“Nesting, scents. Reminders of who she was and who we are.” It sounded stupid when I said it, but I had to believe it would work. My voice dropped to a whisper. “Anything that makes her feel loved and safe.”

Juno teared up all over again and squeezed Julian’s hand so hard he yelped. “I can’t hug you and I won’t hug you,” she said fiercely. “But I am hugging you. So hard.”

“Thanks, twatwaffle.”

“Always, you baboon’s ass.”

I extricated the suspicious USB from my pocket. “Julian, we think this might be a tracker. Is there any way you can check?” It was probably a long shot, but he was the most tech-savvy of all of us so I had to ask.

Julian examined it, his brows knitting together. “It does look kinda…” He wedged a fingernail in the recessed seam along the edge, cautiously trying to crack it open.

“Careful, you don’t want to—”

“It’ll be ok, Ben,” he assured me in that gentle voice of his. “I won’t damage it. Almost there.”

It opened with a hushed crack moments later. I couldn’t tell if the components were normal or not but Julian inhaled sharply. “See this bit?” He outlined the green computer chip with his finger. It barely took up the shell. “That’s all it would be if it was just a USB. The rest is…”

Julian caught my furious expression. “Leave it with me. If I can’t figure it out, Isaac will help me find someone who can.”

My mind was a cacophony of noise and chaos, being tugged in all different directions. This was yet another one, confirmation that this had been a premeditated crime. One of several crimes committed. God, I didn’t even have the capacity to handle it but it was important too. The thought of the wreckage of the house being quietly cleaned up and the pair of them getting away with it while the trail went cold was unacceptable. I could only hope the police had attended the scene.

Compartmentalise. Delegate. Focus.

What was important here? The answer was obvious.

Let others handle what I couldn’t.

I turned to Isaac. “May I speak to you?” A glance at Juno. “Alone?”

Isaac nodded, extricating himself from Juno’s embrace.

“He’s going to tell me regardless, you know!” Juno called after us and I had to stop myself from mimicking her in front of her alpha.

Isaac kept his cards close to his chest. But I had seen how quickly he had mobilised everything at his disposal to keep Juno safe when Pack Zhao were threatening her last year. He had a lot more resources than I did.

I wondered how far he could make it go.

It struck me when we stood in the corridor together that Isaac did not seem frightening anymore. Nor did he seem to be bothered that we were…equal.

“I don’t know how to make her mum pay for what she’s done,” I said plainly.

Isaac did not miss a beat. “How nuclear do you want to go?”

I thought for a moment. “Complete social ostracisation sounds pretty good to me. But don’t do anything until Hazel’s back and she can pull the trigger.”

“Done,” Isaac said immediately. “The tracker changes things as I’m sure you’re aware. I assume you haven’t had time to speak to the police since your initial call?”

The memory of the alpha’s bones crunching under my hands played on a loop in my head. Remy’s bloody knuckles and the black and blue he’d dealt. I searched for an ounce of regret and found absolutely none.

“No, but…there may have been some physical altercations in the process of getting Hazel back,” I said vaguely.

Isaac was unphased. “Protecting your endangered omega constitutes self-defence. I’ll take care of it. You do the important thing — look after Hazel.”

“Thank you,” I said gratefully.

“Juno loves Hazel too. I would have done it regardless,” he said, a ghost of a smile on his face. “I had doubts about you at first, but you’re a good prime for them. You get it, don’t you?”

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