Page 64 of Scarred Resolve

Norman peed himself, and Heath didn’t feel all too bad about it.

“Now, answer my question. Who did you steal from?” he asked again, now just asking for the other supernaturals in the room.

“The vampire nest here in Portland and a few fae businesses,” Gerry said, looking around, sinking in his chair like he wanted to crawl under the table and die right there.

“Oh… You should hope the vampires get to you first,” Heath said, shrugging one shoulder. “They’re not allowed to keep you alive for longer than a week when you’re in their custody. The fae have magic that can make that week seem… much longer. Or you’ll just never be found again.” Heath started to stand, but Gerry reached out.

“Wait. Can’t you help us? Werewolves are out, and you can give us protection?—”

“I can’t,” Heath said simply, standing still as Gerry looked like he was going to faint as he grew more and more pale. He pulled his wrist out of the human’s grasp with ease and checked to see if his sleeve was stained.

“Don’t leave us here,” he pleaded in a pitiful whisper.

With only a sliver of guilt, Heath had to be honest with himself and the men who realized their fates were sealed due to their own stupidity.

I can’t save them. They’ll have to deal with whatever punishment is handed to them. Maybe they won’t be killed. They may be left destitute since they aren’t the ones who directly did it. If I try to save them, I make enemies I don’t need.

“Then leave. They probably won’t kill you the moment I step out. The werewolves in the room aren’t even here for you, andhow you missed them is honestly surprising. One of them is the Alpha himself. His picture is all over the city. He’s fairly well known. Now, the vampires and fae… They’re probably here to see who you’re meeting, but they’re here for you. Not me.”

“Why can’t you help us? And please, tell us the truth about Gordon and Marilyn. Please. Werewolves only offer money to people who?—”

“Gordon and Marilyn died in a bear attack. I can’t help you because I don’t know you and can’t defend your choices.” Heath turned away, walking away without his untouched coffee.

He looked back once, seeing that Gerry and Norman were going to survive the night, leaving to get in a taxi together.

That was nice of the others. It’s a good sign. They won’t kill them. They all just want their money back, and they’ll get it out of everything Gordon and Marilyn left behind.

Knowing that, Heath felt even less guilt about letting Gerry and Norman figure it out.

As he walked, he called Jabari.

“I assume you’re calling to clarify whatever that text was about,” Jabari said as someone else on the other end chuckled. It was feminine, and Heath couldn’t immediately recognize it, so he could only deduce it was Aisha.

“I am. Tell Aisha hello for me.”

“Aisha, Heath says hi.” There was a response, but Heath couldn’t discern the words well enough. “She says hi.”

That wasn’t all she said, but Heath wasn’t going to pry. Jabari had threatened his own father for his mate.

“Now, get to it. They weren’t bland humans with no connection. Their family was working with the vampires and fae and stole money from them.”

“From the sound of it, the victims were in charge and probably were the masterminds of the scheme. They were caught a few months ago, and the siblings had benefited and arevery concerned with their own fates. They’re also convinced that Gordon and Marilyn were murdered.”

As Heath walked and talked, he heard soft footsteps behind him, not quiet enough to be stealthy but not enough to seem like a threat coming for him.

“Damn bad timing, but it’s not likely our… incident in Alaska has much to do with it. Oh well, I’ll pass it along. I’ll text?—”

“I’m not done,” Heath said quickly, a little forced chuckle that he knew Jabari would pick up. “Go get your sister. I want to hear her thoughts on it.”

He was still being followed as he made his first turn. A car drove by, and with it, a small whip of wind brought a scent to his nose. He was being followed by a werewolf.

“She’ll say the same thing…” Jabari groaned. “Who’s coming for you?”

“Killing me could make someone look very good to Callahan,” Heath said softly. “Portland doesn’t have a wolf that could do it, but I’m being followed. Not covertly. He’s not trying to hide. They were in the café while I had a meeting, and so were some vampires and a fae behind the counter. The humans I was meeting were the only two in the room.”

“Shit, everyone was being watched.” Jabari was definitely grinding his teeth. “You should have said something about how going to Portland was dangerous for you. Oh, hey, Zuri.”

“Aisha told me Heath had called,” she said brightly, loud enough that she knew Heath was going to hear her. He was grateful for it. “Put it on speaker,” she ordered.

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