Page 87 of Forgotten Promise

When John calmly explained that he wasn’t a Honolulu police officer, and that he therefore had no legal obligation to let Mark call a lawyer, the man’s tune had changed rather quickly. Having Makani standing there, periodically making vaguely threatening statements like “my family will take care of this, we don’t need to involve anyone else” had helped. It hadn’t taken long to get Mark talking.

Tate, one of the Warrior Scholars, had taken Mark’s keys and gone to retrieve the gold bars that Mark had stashed in his father’s garage.

The question of exactly what would happen to Mark and Liam was one John was leaving to Tate, Levi, and Makani, though he’d threatened to arrest them for murder if they went so far as to kill the men. John knew the Trinity Masters hadn’t kept their secrets and maintained their power by being all sweetness and light, but there was a point of no return, and for John, murder was it.

Levi had cheerfully informed John that there were plenty of ways to deal with someone without killing them, but that hadn’t actually made John feel better.

What had made him feel marginally better was when Tate said it would be some variation of blackmail for Liam, and Mark would end up in prison for something else—probably drugs. John might have stayed to get details, but the need to see Kailani and Benjamin was biting at him, so he abandoned Mark and Liam to their fates.

He’d expected to find Kailani and Benjamin waiting for him, but instead, the only people still present in the meeting room were Selene, Rose, and Lachlan, who were all sitting grouped together at one end of the long table looking at something in a notebook, speaking in hushed tones, while Luca and Oscar remained at the other end. Neither man was talking; rather, they were looking down the table at Selene.

Luca gave John a pleasant smile as he passed by them, but Oscar merely grunted.

Selene glanced up as he approached. “You’ve questioned the thief.”

“I did. Got a confession.” John gave a report as if Selene were his captain or an ADA, walking her through the timeline of the crime, along with their evidence.

“So it was just a robbery,” she mused, her words not necessarily a question, but he answered as if they were.

“Yeah. An old-fashioned heist that came at the worst possible time as far as the Trinity Masters is concerned.”

“It certainly did.” Selene looked over at Lachlan. “My warlord tells me someone has gone to recover the gold bars, so it seems that’s one problem solved.”

Warlord?

John exchanged a glance with Lachlan, but either the man was cool with the nickname or had a rock-solid poker face.

“Levi and Tate will take care of the punishment part of crime and punishment,” Lachlan told her.

“If you think about it, there are so many good options for body disposal here. What about sharks?”

“Selene, baby, this is when you start to sound like a supervillain,” Oscar said slowly.

“Oh, like I’m the only one who was thinking we could dump the bodies into an active volcano.”

“You were, Grand Master.” Lachlan’s face showed not a hint of emotion.

Selene pointed her finger at him. “I expect more creativity from my warlord.” She turned back to the table. “It’s a missed opportunity, and I’m disappointed in all of you.”

Oscar scrubbed his hands over his face while Luca patted his back.

“Quick question,” John said, ready to get out of there and see Kailani and Benjamin. “Where’s my trinity?”

Selene frowned momentarily then raised a brow. “You don’t have a trinity.”

John’s heart stopped. “What?”

Selene tapped her finger on the table. “Your binding, your trinity, has been dissolved.”

John scowled, his temper flaring. “What the fuck did you do?”

Lachlan’s attention shifted to John, and it felt like he’d just been sighted down the barrel of a rifle.

A chair slid across the floor behind him, loudly.

“Watch your fucking mouth when you talk to her,” Oscar snapped.

“Why would you do that?” John asked, struggling to sound calm. His tone was still rough enough that Oscar growled in warning.

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