17. Emma

SEVENTEEN

Emma

Daniel joined us outside, and we all stared as Jamur continued to hurry after the blonde. But then, he rushed forward and grabbed her by the arm. We couldn’t hear their exchange of words, but he started dragging her off the sidewalk and into the parking lot, heading for, no doubt, his car.

Uh oh. This is not going to end well.

Beside me, Daniel tensed. I knew what was coming. He would never let a man put his hands on a woman. If I didn’t step in, things were going to get violent really fast.

"What’s going on?” Henry asked, as the rest of our group piled out of the door.

"Just stay here,” I told them.

"Like hell,” Daniel growled.

I ignored all of them. This needed to be handled. Now . I could deal with all of them later.

"Hey!" I called out, jogging after Jamur and the blonde, while sensing the others just behind me. "Where are you taking her?" He’d already muscled the woman to his car by the time we caught up.

He didn't even turn his head, just unlocked the car and nudged her into the passenger seat. Her eyes were frantic, worried, but she wasn’t fighting him very hard. If anything, she seemed to not know what to do with herself.

Luckily for her, we knew exactly what to do.

"Stop!” I told him.

"Shut up and leave us alone.” Jamur’s voice was rushed and angry.

"Don’t speak to her like that," Daniel said, his voice low and edged with a growl that wasn't quite human.

The man finally turned around, a smirk playing on his lips… a smirk that faltered when he saw Daniel, but he tried his best to hide his nervousness at my big bear shifter "What's it to you?"

"Everything." The heat of anger flushed across my face. "And leave the girl alone. She doesn't look like she wants to go with you."

"Mind your own business," he shot back, but uncertainty flickered in his eyes as he glanced between Daniel and me, then to everyone else who had gathered just behind us.

"Let her out." Daniel stepped forward, a physical embodiment of a threat.

"Or what?" The man's attempt at bravado was betrayed by the slight quiver in his words.

"Or this becomes our business." I squared my shoulders. The girl inside the car looked scared, her eyes darting back and forth between us.

"Fine." He stepped back from the door. "She’s not worth the trouble anyway."

As the girl came out, her face etched with relief, Daniel and I shared a look. We knew this was far from over.

"Uh, sweetheart?” I said.

"Daisy,” she said.

"Daisy,” I repeated. "Do you think there’s someone who might be able to give you a ride? Maybe Broth?”

Her eyes filled up with tears. "I believed Jamur about Broth cheating, and now I think I was wrong. He’ll never be able to forgive me.”

I remembered the biker. "Actually, I think he might know the kind of guy Jamur is and be willing to forgive you for being tricked.”

She nodded and pulled out her phone, sending a text.

Within seconds, it beeped.

She smiled. "He’s coming to get me.”

"There. See?”

"Thank you,” she said. "I’m going to wait inside.”

Jamur followed the whole exchange. His head swinging from Daisy to me. The look on his face was complete disbelief. Like I’d just messed up a plan he’d taken years to hatch.

And maybe I did.

"Wait a second," he said, his eyes narrowing as his gaze focused on me and Beth. "I've seen you two before."

"From the hospital, remember?" I shot back, hands on my hips. "We were checking in on Nam Durgin after his attack. You were there. Causing a scene."

He scoffed, turning away dismissively. "A lot of people go in and out of that place. Don't mean nothing."

"It means something to us." Beth stepped closer so that he couldn't ignore her presence. "You're at the top of our list for suspects involved in Nam's attack."

"Me?" He laughed, a hollow sound. "Why would I have anything to do with that?"

"Cut the act," Beth said. "We know about your interest in the Durgins' land. Makes you a pretty convenient suspect."

"Is that right?" He leaned against his car, arms crossed. "And what exactly do you plan to do about it?"

"Whatever it takes," Beth replied without missing a beat. "Nam didn't deserve what happened to him, and we're not going to let it slide."

"Good luck with that." His tone was casual, but his gaze flickered to Beth, a hint of respect—or was it caution?—briefly crossing his features.

"Trust me," Beth said, her voice low, "we won't need luck."

His laughter cut through the tension like a knife. "A werewolf did him in, not me. And as you can see, I'm no werewolf."

I tried not to react. How did he know about werewolves? Wasn’t he human?

"Really?" Beth's voice was laced with skepticism. "You expect us to believe it’s as simple as that?"

"Believe it or not, sweetheart," he said with a smirk. His eyes flicked to me then back to Beth. "Surprised I know about the supernatural?"

Beth didn't flinch. "Should we be?"

"Most humans are clueless." He shrugged. "But I'm not most humans."

"Clearly." I stepped forward. "What's your angle then?"

"Deals," he said. "My family's been in this game for generations."

"Game?" Carol stepped up beside me. "You call this a game?"

"Life's a game, darlin'," he drawled, lazily pushing off from his car. "And my family plays it well. All sorts of beings, vampires, shifters, you name 'em, we've dealt with 'em."

"How cozy," I muttered, but my mind raced. His casual mention of the supernatural world was unsettling.

"Cozy enough to know why the lands are so precious," he continued, catching my gaze. "It's not just about real estate or power."

"Then what?" I asked, although a part of me wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Unicorns," he said simply.

"Unicorns?" Beth repeated, sounding like she had no idea what he was talking about. She was a halfway decent actress.

"Exactly." He brushed a hand through his hair. "The committee wants to protect those lands because they're exploiting unicorns. Can you imagine? Those rare creatures being used for their own shady purposes."

Somehow, I couldn’t imagine Nam exploiting unicorns. I didn’t know about the other community members, but I felt sure he wouldn’t be involved in a plot that would hurt innocent creatures. This guy was trying to throw us off the real trail. He had to be.

"Exploiting how?" Beth pressed, her stance defensive. I had a feeling she didn’t believe him either.

He grinned, a mirthless twist of his lips. "Oh, the usual ways. But that's their secret to keep."

"Or to expose," I said through gritted teeth.

He shrugged.

"Do you have any proof of what you’re saying?” I asked.

Again, he shrugged. "I don’t really need proof, because it doesn’t matter to me if you believe me or not.”

I squared my shoulders, glaring at the man who was so nonchalantly dangling the fate of an entire species. "So, what's your plan with those lands? If that ancient paperwork checks out? Do you mean to tell us you have some noble reason for wanting that property?"

"Not at all, because my plan is simple. I sell the property off. Piece by piece. To the highest bidder."

"Even though there are rare, beautiful unicorns on those lands?" Beth's voice cracked.

"Rare, sure. Beautiful? That's subjective. But yes, even with the unicorns."

Carol and I exchanged a look, both of us sickened. "You can't be serious," I said. "Unicorns are not just some commodity for you to trade?—"

"Everything has a price," he replied with a shrug, playing with his car keys. "And I intend to cash in."

"Those creatures... they're innocent." Beth stepped forward, fists clenched.

"Nothing's innocent in this game," he countered with a cold laugh. "Besides, they're not my problem."

"Maybe not now, but karma has a way of," I started, but he cut me off.

"Save it. I've heard all about karma, destiny, whatever you want to call it." He smirked. "Funny thing though, it never seems to catch up with me."

"Because you don't care," Beth said.

"Exactly," he said, popping open his car door. "I don't care."

"Killing unicorns..." My words hung between us, disbelief lacing each syllable.

"Of course," he said with a snort. "You think anyone's hands are clean in this? The committee, me, whoever gets those lands—the unicorns are as good as dead."

Deva’s eyes were wide, her face pale. "But why? They're not hurting anyone."

"You ladies seem smart, but, apparently, not smart enough.”

"How so?” Daniel asked angrily from behind me.

"Because you can’t seem to put two-and-two together.”

"Then, help us out,” Beth said, glaring.

"There are new werewolves in town," he said, almost casually, as if discussing the weather. "Turns out, unicorns are pretty damn important now."

"Important for what?" I was confused.

"Let's just say they've become quite valuable with the changes." He winked, a cruel twist to his smile. "More than you know."

I stepped closer, the gravel crunching beneath my boots. "But why? Why are unicorns so damn important?" My voice was steady, but inside I was shaking.

He tilted his head, green eyes narrowing as if he couldn't believe our ignorance. "You really don't know? Unicorn horns, they're part of the cure."

"What cure?" Daniel asked.

"The cure that keeps werewolves from turning. It stops them from losing control." He shrugged, the movement casual, but his eyes were sharp, watchful.

"Is that why they're valuable?" I asked, my thoughts racing.

"Among other things, yes," he said, a half-smile playing on his lips. "But it doesn't matter now."

"What do you mean?" Henry's tone was flat, direct as always.

"Those lands, they're protected as of today. Officially off-limits," he said, the smile broadening, yet there was no warmth in it. "So, all this talk, it's pointless. My part in this is done. All you’re left with is the committee and what they’ll do next."

I watched him, the man who once had claims to the lands now out of reach. His eyes were distant, his stance relaxed. The indifference rolled off him in waves.

"You lost the lands, huh?" I kept my voice even, though inside I was anything but calm.

"Yep," he replied, popping the 'p' with a nonchalance that irked me.

"And you're just... okay with that?"

He shrugged, a half-hearted gesture. "They're gone. Nothing I can do about it now."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing," he confirmed, and something flickered behind his eyes, a spark of something new, something moving on. "There's always another deal, another opportunity."

With that, he turned away, his movements sure and purposeful. He didn't glance back as he headed to the driver’s side of his car, a sleek black sedan.

"Hey." I called after him, but he didn't stop, didn't even pause.

The car door opened with a creak, a testament to its age or maybe just lack of care. He slid into the driver's seat, his frame disappearing behind tinted windows.

"Damn it," Beth muttered next to me, her arms crossed tight.

The engine came to life with a rumble, breaking the heavy silence that had settled around us. Gravel crunched under tires as he pulled away, the car's taillights glowing red before disappearing around a bend.

"Onto the next thing," I whispered, more to myself than to Beth. "Just like that."

"I guess we are too," she said, her voice low but determined.

"I guess so." I watched the spot where the sedan vanished, the dust settling back down, the night swallowing any trace of him.

That man was an awful person. A person Karma was coming for, but it didn’t make sense for him to be involved in attacking the committee members and infecting them. Not when he never had control over the unicorns. So, who is hurting people? And why?