Page 24 of Secret Wolf Baby

“Why? Because she was Mira’s friend?” He shook his head. “I remember this Audrey girl from when she lived in the pack. She knew how to handle herself. She didn’t need rescuing, now or then.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, based on the way she had looked and how she had acted around Reacher and her father, but I kept my mouth shut as I tried to figure out the best way to go about this. I knew I was walking on the thinnest of ice.

I had never told Declan what had happened with Audrey when we were kids. I hadn’t known how, especially after she vanished right after. He didn’t know the entire story, and I didn’t feel particularly inclined to tell him all of it, either. Partially because it was private and not just my story to tell but also because of the lingering shame of how things had ended.

“You didn’t see her, Declan,” I argued, trying to avoid bringing up the past. “She was in a bad way. Just…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain the hollow look in her eyes, how she looked like she hadn’t eaten a good meal in months. How she seemed to flinch the second anyone so much as glanced at her. She was a shell of the woman I used to know. If it hadn’t been for the fact that my wolf had recognized her scent after all these years, and that I saw her face in my head whenever I thought about her, I didn’t think I would have recognized her.

But I didn’t know how to articulate any of that without revealing the entire story, and I wasn’t about to do that.

“In Jackson’s defense, it did seem like she needed to get out of here,” Will said from where he leaned against the back wall. “She seemed pretty skittish and afraid of both her father and Reacher. I got the impression they weren’t exactly the kindest to her.” He gave Declan a pointed look that conveyed precisely what he meant by that.

Declan’s shoulders eased. His gaze flicked between myself and Will. Will had always been the one of us most inclined to stick to the rules of the mission. The fact that he was on my side seemed to mollify Declan a bit.

“You still fucked up,” he said to me. “What you did was incredibly selfish and short-minded.”

“Heard you say that before,” I said, trying to make light of the situation. At Declan’s glower, I raised my hands. “Sorry. Bad timing.”

“Very,” he agreed. “And we still have a huge problem on our hands. Because based on everything I’ve heard in the last fifteen minutes, Reacher is bad news, and we need to do something about him before he gets even worse. But because of the way things went down, we have very little evidence and don’thave an easy way of getting it from here on out. Not without risking Audrey’s life. And that’s the least of our problems when it comes to this mission now.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard to find what we need,” I argued.

“The point still stands that you made an agreement with Reacher,” Declan said. “And he won’t take kindly to you breaking that deal. It could set off a bigger conflict. But we still need to investigate him. Only now, instead of going through the easy channels that would have made all our lives easier, we have to do this more covertly, and in a way that won’t make it seem like you’re breaking the bargain. The instant Reacher smells something’s off, he’ll come for Audrey and her daughter and cause all sorts of chaos that I don’t want to deal with.”

“I could sit this one out,” I suggested, though the idea disgusted me to my core. I wanted to be the one to nail Reacher after everything he had done to Audrey. Still, if that was the best way to get him behind bars, then that’s what I would do.

As soon as I said the words, Declan’s eyes blazed. “Oh, no. This is your mess, Jackson. You got us into it. I don’t care how noble your intentions were, but the point stands that we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation if it weren’t for your actions. So you’re going to be the one to fix it. You have to find a way to complete the mission to my satisfaction without breaking your agreement with Reacher. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Good news is we aren’t entirely in the dark,” Will chimed in. “I managed to put up some cameras while we were there.”

“Are they hidden well?” Declan asked.

Will gave him a look that said,Are you serious?

Declan raised his hands. “You’re right. Sorry for doubting.”

“I think there are some loopholes I can use,” I said. “Mostly, Reacher just wanted me out of his town. The implication was I would stop investigating them, but all I said was that I would leave. We can investigate from here and figure out what he’s planning without going back.”

Declan’s jaw worked as he contemplated this. “It might be okay. But he’s going to retaliate even if you follow the letter of the law and not the spirit. Still, that’s at least some leeway. I’d still recommend keeping a low profile while you look into it.”

“Was already planning on it,” I said.

Nodding, Declan said, “Good. Keep it that way. Now get out of here before I change my mind about killing you for that moronic stunt.”

We walked out of the office. Glancing over, I noticed Rose very pointedly not looking at us as she focused on something particularly fascinating on her computer. Trent strolled over to engage her in conversation. While he did that, I cracked my neck, relishing the sound of it popping, then headed down the hall, Will following after me.

“Honestly went a bit better than I expected,” I told him.

“I agree.” He cracked a rare grin. “I was expecting him to tear you a new one by the end of it.”

“So did I,” I muttered.

“No use dwelling on it now,” he pointed out, strolling down the hall. “We’ve got bigger problems than Declan’s temper on our hands at the moment.”

I appreciated that he didn’t mention that a large portion of that problem was my fault.

“Thanks, by the way,” I said. “For sticking up for me.”

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