Page 83 of Wolf Claimed
Gallagher retrained his gun on Maddox.
“Don’t do this, Maddox. Don’t lie to save me,” Alyssa pleaded.
“No one else knew those details,” Gallagher said.
Maddox took her gently by the shoulders. “Angel, I’m telling the truth. I killed Graves. I never meant for you to get blamed. I only stuck around this long to find out who planted your knife so I could clear your name. I don’t know who or why someone tried to frame you.”
“Jason,” she said, the answer suddenly clear. “Jealousy and spite. Opportunistic bastard.”
Maddox tore his eyes from her to glare at Jason.
“Why, Maddox?” she said. She didn’t care about Jason, only Maddox. “Why would you kill Graves?”
“It doesn’t matter now. All you need to know is that I wasn’t going to leave until we cleared your name.”
She shook her head, unable to process what he was saying. “You’re not a killer. I know you.”
“You don’t know me,” he said, gently wiping a tear that escaped down her cheek. “You know very little about me. Only what I needed you to know.”
“Turn around. Hands behind your back,” Gallagher ordered.
Maddox let Gallagher cuff him. Alyssa couldn’t believe this was happening. Maddox wasn’t a killer, she was sure of it.
“Wait, I want to speak with him alone,” Alyssa said as Gallagher began to lead Maddox away.
“Why?” Gallagher replied.
“I have questions. Personal ones. You just got your confession, Gallagher. You have no reason to suspect me of anything beyond trying to solve this murder. Let me have a few minutes with him. You owe me that much after everything you’ve done. I have a target on my back because of you.”
The agent shoved Maddox into his office. “You have five minutes, Monroe.”
As Alyssa entered the office, she felt Tiernan’s hand on her lower back. She appreciated his support.
“Only Monroe,” Gallagher said, putting a hand on Tiernan’s shoulder to stop him.
“The three of us,” Rafe growled until Gallagher backed away, letting the three of them enter with Maddox. She wondered if it was fear or respect that made the agent relent.
Rafe shut the door behind them and leaned against the door to keep anyone from entering. “We should be able to talk here. I doubt Gallagher bugs his own office and there are no shifters around to hear us.”
“And no windows,” Alyssa said, scanning the room. Solid concrete and brick.
“I’m not running,” Maddox said, those intense black eyes of his never leaving her.
“I wasn’t thinking that.”
“Yes, you were, angel. I know you.”
He did know her, but not enough to think she’d let him be taken away without a fight. She rifled through Gallagher’s desk.
“He wouldn’t have let us in here if he had anything he wanted to keep hidden from us,” Maddox added.
“That’s not what I’m looking for,” she said as she opened one desk drawer after the next. “Extra keys.”
“Like these?” Tiernan said, holding up a pair.
She plastered her mouth to his. “You didn’t tell me you’re part thief, but I love you for it,” she said as she grabbed the keys and unlocked Maddox’s cuffs.
“Part of being a scout,” Tiernan said, a look of pride on his face that she’d never seen before, and she suddenly realized why. He’d proved his worth to her. Had she never shown him how much she appreciated him before?
