Page 53 of Rescue Me

“Help me?” I sneer, my throat tightening. “You think I need your help now? What about the goddamn forgery? Did you know about that?”

The question hangs in the air and Bennett doesn’t immediately respond. The silence is deafening, my heart pounding in my chest as I wait for the inevitable. I already know the answer.

“What do you mean?” Bennet asks, all the fight gone from his voice.

“I mean,” I push out, a growl on the edge of my words, “the contract. Reid never signed it. You knew that, didn’t you? You knew his signature was forged. You knew it wasn’t legitimate.”

“That… that’s not something you should be saying, Jackson,” he says finally, his voice tight, and for the first time, I hear a trace of fear in it. “You’re treading dangerous ground here. You need to think about your next steps carefully, Jackson. Because if you take this to the public, it’ll be the end of everything. For you, for your pack. For your family.”

“Cut the shit,” I snap again. “How long have you known? And don’t bother lying. You’re the one who handled the paperwork.”

Another pause, this one heavier. “It wasn’t my decision,” Bennett says finally. “Lyle insisted. Said it was necessary. The Wilhelms needed to maintain their image, and with Hailey being… difficult, the Camdens thought Reid would smooth things over. Lyle agreed.”

“Difficult?” I snarl, pacing faster. My free hand curls into a fist at my side. “You mean she’s a manipulative nightmare who wanted a servant, not a Beta.”

Bennett’s tone sharpens. “You needed someone to stabilize the household, Jackson. And Lyle made it clear that the contract was a formality. Reid wasn’t supposed to care. It’s not like he had better options.”

I laugh, the sound bitter and biting. “Better options? You mean we trapped him, forced him into this, and now it’s blowing up in our faces?”

“Watch your tone,” Bennett snaps. “You’re the one who let this escalate. I didn’t tell you to—”

“To beat him within an inch of his life?” I cut him off, my voice cold. “That’s what you’re trying not to say, isn’t it? That we went too far. That this whole thing was a disaster waiting to happen, and you just sat back and let it.”

“You’re in this mess because you couldn’t control your temper. Don’t pin that on me.”

The rage bubbles up, hot and sharp. “Don’t lecture me, Bennett. You’re supposed to fix this, not throw it back in my face.”

“I can only do so much,” he says, the irritation clear in his tone. “Reid’s gone, the investigation is underway, and unless you have a miracle tucked away, you’re out of options.”

A cold, sharp idea slices through the fog of anger in my head. I stop pacing, my grip on the phone tightening. “What if we flipped the narrative?” I say slowly. This is a terrible idea.

Bennett snorts. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Reid assaulted Hailey,” I say, the lie forming in my mouth like poison. “We found out after the fact and that’s why things got… heated. We weren’t punishing him for nothing. We were protecting our Omega.”

Silence. Then, “That’s a serious accusation.”

“Exactly,” I say, my voice firm. “Serious enough to make people think twice. He was unstable, dangerous, and we acted to defend our pack. It’s not about wanting him back. It’s about making sure he pays for what he did.”

“You’re digging a hole, Jackson,” Bennett warns, but I can hear the calculation in his tone. “If you go down this road, Hailey will have to corroborate the story. She’ll have to speak up, or you’ll have to speak on her behalf.”

“I’ll do it,” I say, more to myself than him. “We all know what’s at stake.”

“And what about Reid?” Bennett presses. “He’s already gone public with the abuse claims. If this turns into a back-and-forth, you might lose more than your Beta.”

“Reid doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” I snap. “He’s desperate, clinging to whatever scraps of dignity he can find. By the time we’re done, he’ll wish he never left.”

Bennett sighs. “I’ll file the charges. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, Jackson. This could go sideways fast.”

“It won’t,” I say, though the knot in my stomach tightens with every word. “Just do your job.”

The line goes dead, and I toss the phone onto the table, my hands shaking. The house feels too quiet again, the weight of my decision pressing down on me like a vice. This has to work. It has to. I won’t lose everything because of one fucking Beta.

Reid was smug earlier, his sharp little smile like a knife in my ribs. Let’s see how smug he is when this hits him. Let’s see how long he lasts when the world turns against him.

Chapter thirty-two

REID

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