Page 42 of Fear

Goliath stepped forward; his jaw tight. “And you didn’t think to mention that her boss is a shady motherfucker with a private army and access to dirty cash?”

“I thought you already knew.” Dash’s voice was firmer now, but there was a flicker of guilt behind his eyes.

“Fuck,” Goliath’s voice was steel. Quiet. Lethal. His chest was rising and falling fast, not from exertion—from fury. Sofia hadn’t told him about Rodes. Because she was protecting him. And now she was gone, and this bastard—this Jason Rodes might be the fucker that had taken her.

“I didn’t know she was scared of him,” Dash said, his voice firmer now, but laced with tension. “She never mentioned feeling unsafe. I figured maybe she just didn’t want the hassle of leaving a guy like Rodes. He’s powerful. Rich. The kind you don’t cross unless you’ve got backup.”

But before anyone could respond, Alaska stepped forward, her eyes locked on Dash with a fire that silenced the room. “That’s not true,” everyone turned. Her jaw was clenched, her voice tight. “She told me.”

Goliath froze.

Alaska continued, her voice growing sharper with every word. “She said he argued with her. That he had power in places he shouldn’t. She didn’t want to say much, but she told me enough—That she knew stuff about him that he wouldn’t like others to know.”

She looked directly at Goliath now. “And she said he threatened her if she ever talked.” The room fell into dead silence.

Then Goliath moved. Not fast. Not loud. Just a slow, deliberate step forward, the kind of step that came right before something exploded. His chest rose and fell with laboured breaths, his hands curled into tight fists, veins bulging beneath his skin.

Then he exploded.

With a roar that shook the walls, he swept the table clean with one massive swing of his arm—maps, weapons, and cups crashing to the floor in a violent scatter.

“HE THREATENED HER?!” His voice was a beast's snarl. “AND YOU—YOU KNEW?!”

Alaska stepped back, startled, but it wasn’t her he was looking at—he wasn’t seeing anything clearly anymore. Dash grabs Alaska’s upper arm pulling her behind him.

Goliath reached for the nearest chair and hurled it across the room, splintering it against the far wall.

“HE THREATENED HER?!” Goliath roars, his arms bulging with fury, his body vibrating in rage. Frost, King, and Dixon were on him in seconds.

“Goliath, stop!” Dixon roars.

“Get your head in the game!” King orders.

But it was too late. His wolf was breaking through, his eyes glowing gold, his breath heaving as the shift clawed at his skin.

“I’ll kill him.” His voice was low now, guttural, more growl than words. “I’ll tear out his spine with my bare fucking hands.”

King shoved him back hard, slamming both palms into his chest. “Not yet. We need a location. You go off half-cocked now, and we lose her forever.”

Goliath stood frozen for a moment, his entire body trembling with fury. His fists clenched at his sides, his mouth bleeding from where he’d bitten down too hard.

But finally, with a breath that sounded like it was torn from his soul, he stepped back.

“Find him,” Goliath turned to King. “We need every piece of intel we have on this son of a bitch. Where he sleeps. Who he pays. What he eats for breakfast,” he said, voice raw. “And when we do, you better all be ready—because I’m going to paint the fucking walls with his blood.”

His voice was cold, controlled, but beneath it was a storm. “I want to tear his entire fucking life apart.” Goliath’s entire body went still. Jason Rodes. Sofia’s boss. The man she hadn’t told him about.

She fucking knew. The second the pieces clicked into place; a roar ripped from Goliath’s throat. Tables crashed as he threw them aside, his vision flashing red. “You knew she was scared of him, and you didn’t tell me?”

Dash took a step forward, not backing down. “I didn’t know he’d fucking take her!” Goliath’s breathing was ragged, barely contained.

“If you had told me sooner, she wouldn’t be missing at all!”

Fang slammed a fist on the table, cutting through the tension. “Enough! We don’t have time for this shit.”

King turned to Frost and Dixon immediately. “Pull every file we have on Rodes. Bank accounts, properties, shell companies. I want to know where he eats, where he sleeps, and where he buries his trash.”

Frost nodded and vanished down the hallway toward the back office. Dixon was already at the laptop, fingers flying across the keys.

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