Page 15 of Twisted Desire
Ten
It always had to be the cryptic bullshit with Calder. He could never just come out and say what needed to be said. It took Cam days to string together the bits and pieces of Ethan’s memories. But once she had, she understood exactly why Ethan had taken off—and it had nothing to do with her.
Suddenly her heart was lighter than it had been in weeks. The dread and angst that had filled her were swiftly replaced with hope. Hope that she could somehow help her mate.
Her first stop, armed with the new information, was at Callie and Wyatt’s house. Ethan may have gone to great lengths to protect his brother from his profession, but it was the stupidest thing he could have done.
As soon as she slid the vehicle into park, Cam jumped from the car and ran up the five short steps to knock on their front door.
“Cam, what are you doing here?” Callie looked surprised to see her standing there.
“Is Wyatt here? We need to talk.”
Callie opened the door and motioned for her to enter. “Sure, come on in.
“Is everything okay?” Wyatt stepped into the living room.
Christ! How was she supposed to tell Wyatt what Ethan had been up to for the past decade? Her plan had seemed better when she came up with it, but now, looking into Wyatt’s eyes. Now? Not so much.
“Did something happen?” Callie urged.
“I—uh, shouldn’t have come here.” Cam turned for the door.
“Wait, Cam. What’s wrong?” Callie stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the exit.
“I think Ethan is in trouble and needs our help.” She blurted out the first thing that formed on the tip of her tongue.
“What? Did you hear something?” Wyatt stomped over to where she stood.
“I—I talked to Calder and asked him to break our mating bond, but he refused. He told me that I needed to piece together Ethan’s memories to figure out why he left.”
“And?” Wyatt nudged her along.
“Fuck!” Cam shook her head in disbelief. She so did not want to be the one to tell Wyatt what she had to tell him. “You better sit down.”
His eyes began to take on an eerie glow the moment the words left her mouth.
“Keep your cool, Cam. He’s not challenging you. He’s simply worried about his brother.”Her wolf’s voice echoed in her mind. She couldn’t blame him for getting upset. She was, after all, the one who’d barged into their home and declared there was a problem.
Cam took the seat across from Wyatt and Callie before launching into what she knew.
“I saw some things in his memories that I’m worried about.” Cam paused for just a moment.
“Like what?” Callie asked. A look of concern washed over her face.
“He’s been hiring himself out as a mercenary to different packs.”
Cam had to admit, Wyatt didn’t look exactly shocked to hear the news.
“He’s worked for different packs as a contractor for years. I’m not sure how that landed him in some sort of trouble.” Wyatt steadfastly defended his brother.
“He’s been acting as their executioner.” The idea that he’d killed for money made her lunch churn in her stomach. The only reason his job hadn’t been a deal-breaker for her was because she knew, from his memories, those he’d killed had been the worst of the worst. True evil incarnate.
“I don’t believe it!” Wyatt jumped to his feet. “Don’t you think I would have known if my own brother was involved in something like that?”
Cam hated to be the one who had to hurt Wyatt by telling him the truth. “He kept every aspect of that part of his life hidden from you. He didn’t want you to know exactly what he did to earn money to take care of you, but I swear it’s true. I saw it in his memories when we completed the mating connection. The people—er wolves he killed had been condemned by the Council to die. Their lives were forfeit no matter who did the job. It wasn’t like he was taking innocent lives. That’s not what got him into trouble. It was the fact that one of the packs paid him in advance for a job he promised to do at a later date. The problem was he’d found out the woman who the pack had hired him to kill was an innocent. He had immediately refused to have any part of murdering an innocent woman, offering instead to give their money back.”
“Fuck!” Wyatt paced back and forth across the worn carpet.
“Exactly. Since he refused the job, but has been paid—well, that’s where things get dicey. Apparently, the pack who paid for his services put a contract out on Ethan. They are offering fifty-thousand for kill on sight.”
“What! How is that even legal?” Callie looked just as outraged as Wyatt.
“I don’t know how any of it is legal. They must be shielding their activities so the Council doesn’t find out. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.” Cam had tried brainstorming different ideas, but none of them proved credible. The whole situation was just…off. None of it made a damn bit of sense.
