Page 29 of Rescue Me

I hold his gaze, my voice firm. “I don’t care. I wasn’t leaving him there.”

Grayson chuckles, his eyes flicking between me and Rourke. “She’s got that look,” he says. “You know the one.”

Rourke shakes his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite the seriousness of the situation. “You’re kidding.”

“What?” I snap, my patience wearing thin.

Rourke leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “He’s your mate, isn’t he?”

I stiffen, the question hitting me like a punch to the gut. My lips press into a thin line as I glare at him, daring him to say more. “What if he is?”

Rourke lets out a low laugh, shaking his head. “I should’ve known. You’re acting exactly how I did when I met mine.”

Grayson whistles, the sound low and drawn out. “That explains the fire in your eyes. Not that you don’t usually have it, but this is different.”

I growl, the sound rumbling in my chest. “This isn’t about me. This is about Reid and what those bastards have done to him.”

Rourke’s expression sobers and he nods. “Fair. But you know this complicates things.”

“I don’t care about complications. Rourke, I know you pulled every goddamn connection in the book but Reid’s my Beta. I’m not leaving him here. The Wilhelms will come for him if they think I’ve taken him. I’m not giving them the chance.”

Grayson leans forward, his grin fading. “Take him home, Zana. We’ll start an investigation on our end. It’s about time someone put those assholes under a microscope.”

I blink, surprised by the lack of resistance. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” Grayson says. “We’ve been trying to get something on the Wilhelms for years. If Reid’s willing to talk—and even if he’s not, his condition speaks for itself—we might finally have the leverage we need.”

Rourke nods, placing a firm hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “But you need to be careful. They’ll push back, hard. They won’t let this go without a fight. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. But you’re also putting yourself in the line of fire. Make sure you’re ready for what comes next.”

Grayson stands up, letting a heavy sign fall from his lips. “You’re lucky you got him out when you did,” he says, folding his arms across his chest. “A few more weeks of whatever they were pulling and I don’t know if there’d be anything left to save.”

Lucky isn’t the word I’d use. Nothing about this feels like luck. It feels like scraping Reid out of the gutter while the world watched and did nothing. I don’t bother answering him, my fingers brushing over the back of Reid’s hand instead. His skin twitches under my touch, the smallest reaction, but I’ll take it.

Grayson clears his throat, his tone shifting to something more formal. “The investigation gives us a week. That’s standard procedure when a pack Beta is removed under suspicion of abuse or neglect. But,” he pauses, narrowing his gaze at me, “that’s it. A week. He’s still under contract with the Wilhelms. You can’t push this into something personal.”

I laugh under my breath, sharp and humorless. “Right, because everything about this situation screams professionalism.”

“I’m serious, Zana. Anything that looks like tampering with their contract could backfire. Big time. If the Wilhelms file a report before the week’s up, it won’t matter what Reid wants—or what you want. He’ll go back.”

As much as I hate that, it’s the law and not even I can work around that. Still, I’m stubborn and Reid isn’t going to be stolen from me without a fight. “Let them try. Let them show up on my doorstep. They won’t touch him again.”

Grayson sighs, running a hand over his face. “Look, I get it. I do. But this has to stay clean or it’s over before it even starts. Whatever happens in your house stays in that fucking house. You know how these things go.”

I glare at him, the weight of his words settling on my shoulders like chains. He’s right, of course. He always is. But that doesn’t make it easier to hear. “What about him?” I ask, nodding toward Reid. “What happens to him if the Wilhelms decide to fight this?”

“That’s up to the courts,” Grayson mutters, sounding slightly defeated. “But if no one files anything during the investigation period... well, the Wilhelms have been known to cut their losses when things get messy.”

I grit my teeth, my hand tightening around Reid’s. “So, I just have to keep him alive and out of sight for a week? That’s the plan?”

Grayson shrugs, his lips twitching into a faint, knowing smile. “If he doesn’t want to go back, I don’t see anyone dragging him there. And from the looks of it, he doesn’t exactly seem eager to return.”

I glance at Reid again, watching the way his chest rises and falls with each labored breath. Grayson’s right. There’s no way he wants to go back, not after what they’ve done. But getting him to believe he can stay with me and Ethan—that’s a different fight entirely.

We sit in comfortable silence, the three of us watching Reid rest, the faint beeping of machines hanging in the background. Rourke stands and gestures to Grayson to leave before he squeezes my shoulder again. “Zana, I’d put my neck out for you any day. And while I wish you would have told me he was your mate, I would have done the same thing. Even if it’s messy, even if it’s risky—it’s right. A Beta should never be subjected to that kind of treatment and it’s going to hurt even more because he’s yours. However, don’t let your desire cloud your judgment.”

“That’s—”

Rourke chuckles. “Zana, I’m saying that you will protect your mates at all costs but make smart choices. The Wilhelms do not play fair. This will give us an in to start an investigation but don’t play into their hand. Be smart, Zana. I’ll make sure everything else goes as smoothly as it can.” Then he walks out, leaving me to the sterile cold of the hospital room.

---