32. Chapter Thirty-Two

"Sam, if you tell us what we need to know, this doesn't have to be bad," Heath said softly as he leaned onto his desk. I walked around him and sat behind the desk. I couldn't trust myself not to kill someone, and I hit harder than the werewolves.

The idea of torture scared me, genuinely made me uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure I wanted part of it once it started. I had been acting in a fit of rage when I stabbed the human and twisted the knife.

Now my head was clear, and I just wanted to get to the real source of my problems. I wanted to know who started this, and I wanted to fix that. If these three were wayward souls, hired to do this, they weren't actual threats. They were just desperate for money or whatever they were offered.

Sam took a deep, shaky breath as he looked up at Heath, then at me.

"I don't want to die," he said, swallowing. "It was never supposed to go like this. We were told it would be easy, and it was for the good of…" Sam frowned at Heath. "You're a werewolf, right?"

"Yes," Heath answered, crossing his arms.

"The guy who hired us said it was for the good of all werewolves. He said if someone went against this, they were going against the pack, and…" Sam looked down. "The job was to kill this one chick because she was going to bring more problems for the werewolves, then he would turn us."

I could smell Heath's shock. Quid pro quo Changing was frowned upon. Every person needed to be carefully judged for their suitability for the Change. Each species had its own way of doing that, but quid pro quo wasn't considered acceptable in lieu of normal testing methods.

"Turn? Did he say turn?" I asked softly.

"Um…yeah?" Sam didn't understand my question, but that was okay. I raised an eyebrow as Heath looked over his shoulder at me. Sam didn't think he was lying, but there was a chance he misremembered, based on what word he wanted to use.

"It's just an interesting choice of words," I explained for Sam. "Werewolves and werecats Change people. It's a common misconception."

"Well, in reality, we just infect them with the same curse that causes us to turn into beasts on the full moon." Heath shrugged. "But turning isn't the normal word packs use. Let's stay on topic, though. Someone told you Jacky was a threat to the pack, and if you killed her, you would join the pack."

"Yes," Sam answered, nodding vigorously.

"Your knee is getting worse?" I asked, and this time, Sam went pale, and I saw a bit of his anger and could smell it on the air like faint rot.

"I did everything for it, and it gives out on me. The pack is like the military, and I…I need that community. I have nowhere else to go. My knee won't let me go back to the military, and private security firms…" He shook his head.

"They're not the service." Heath was sympathetic to the plight of this veteran. "You seem like a good man, Sam, so I'm going to ask you to look at her." He pointed at me. "She was born and raised in this country. She leads a quiet group of people, all trying to live their lives, enjoy their freedoms, and work hard not to hurt people. In fact, unless someone forces their hand, she's part of a very peaceful family who preach peace and unity. The only pack that would be threatened by her is one that doesn't believe in those ideals, and that pack misled you."

Sam narrowed his eyes on me, studying me. "How can I believe that?"

"Someone asked you to commit a murder," I said, countering his question of our trust with some logic of my own. "Murder, Sam. When the pack faces a threat, the pack fights together. It's the werewolves' greatest strength and the way they win against things like me. Yet, for some reason, whoever told you to do this didn't send you with the pack. They sent three humans to kill a supernatural with silver bullets and no real plan. Does that make any sense to you?"

"He…" Sam looked between us. "Oh my God."

"He used you," Heath whispered kindly. "Preying on your need for community and healing for your knee. He didn't think any of you would live through this. He expected you to kill her, then to die for it." Heath reached out and touched Sam's shoulder, kneeling in front of the man. I now saw Heath had never planned on torturing anyone. He found the weakest link and did what he was good at. He was their Alpha for a moment, offering them wisdom and comfort, guiding them to where he wanted them to be.

"Why don't you tell us the entire story?"

"I got a part-time job as a parking garage security guard. Alpha Price and the Boston pack used it for a lot of things. We got talking a couple years ago, and eventually, he gave me a job in the pack, and I put in a package to get…Changed. I was never picked, but, uh, a week ago, he said he knew something I could do to get to the top of the list. He would Change me the moment it was done. He had them, too." Sam jerked his head toward the door. "She was going to destroy the werewolves, and if we killed her before she had the chance, we would be werewolves, too. That's it. I agreed to put everything in my name, so the other guys could be covered. Thought I was doing something…something good for the pack. I don't know how all this supernatural stuff works."

"Have you been having second thoughts?" Heath asked softly.

"Yeah, of course," Sam said quickly, the truth apparent through his scent and the pained expression on his face. "I was getting drunk when you showed up because I was getting cold feet, you know. We tried twice, and she's…right there." He nodded at me. "And like…she was hanging out with that little girl and you, and she's got the bar. I just didn't understand. David and Jacob said she must be good at keeping it secret, but…" Sam shook his head. "I was planning on leaving in the morning and telling Alpha Price I couldn't do it. We tried twice, and she was still alive, but sometimes missions fail."

"Most supernaturals are notoriously hard to kill. Don't feel bad about it." I honestly felt for this guy, something I didn't want to do. He'd shot at me and run me off the road. He or one of his buddies took a cheap shot at me, which was now aching painfully, thanks to the rush of activity. My neck burned, something I hadn't even looked at yet.

And Sam gave me the name I needed, so he wasn't too bad of a guy.

Alpha Price.

"We're done," Heath decided. "We're going to take you back out to the dining room. Landon will get you some water and keep you away from the others—"

"They won't talk to you, but I can tell you everything," Sam said quickly. Heath waved for him to continue. "David was the one with me when we opened fire on your car." He directed it at me. "I drove, and he shot at you. He told me to ram your car, so I did. He was the one who tried to kill you at the movie theater. I mostly drove us around and put stuff in my name. Now that I look back, I was the fall guy, wasn't I?"

"Probably," Heath agreed. "Someone got your license plate, which led us to your name. Then we saw the credit card charges for the motel. They were using you to keep all the evidence in your name. It could have been any two people off the street in that truck with you."

"Jacob's laptop will get him. He's a POG."

"What's a pog?" I frowned this time.

"Person other than grunt," Heath answered, chuckling softly. "Supply and tech guys, people who don't see combat very often, if ever. Grunts call them POGs. It's an insult."

"Ah…" I nodded. "What was Jacob doing on his laptop?"

"Tracking your phone."

I growled softly, and Heath lifted a hand.

"Let's get Sam more comfortable somewhere else, then we'll handle the others."

I stayed in the office as Heath and Landon switched who we had. Instead of going to David, the primary attacker, we took aim at Jacob, the POG, as Sam had called him.

Jacob didn't want to be in front of me. His hateful glare was one of those dangerous looks that told me I had made an enemy for life for the terrible offense of not dying.

"We don't need you to tell us who did this or why. I just want to know how you got my phone number."

"Fuck you," he snapped. "You fucking stabbed me, and now you're violating my rights as an American citizen."

I lifted my hands in defeat, looking at Heath to handle this one.

"Why don't you head home?" Heath asked softly. "You still have my keys, and now you have a name. Take it to your family and see what they say. I don't know Alpha Price that well, so I can't even begin to understand his motivation. I'll decide what to do with these three without you. I'll probably hand them over to someone we can trust to keep them alive until we can use their testimony."

"Of course. Call me tomorrow. Get in touch with Miller, too. See if Collins is okay." I didn't touch Heath or kiss him in front of this human, who would most definitely tell someone.

"It's on the to-do list," Heath promised. There was a heat in his eyes that made my toes curl, so I waved for him to come closer to me as if we needed to get away from Jacob to say something.

He followed me out of the office, and the moment no one was watching, I threw my arms around him, holding him tightly. He pushed me against the hallway wall and kissed me like our lives depended on it.

"I needed that," I said softly, leaning my forehead against his.

"You and me both," he said, chuckling as he lowered his lips to mine again.

If I had all night, I would have stayed. In a heartbeat, I would have stayed there with him, letting him be my rock, my friend, and my lover. I would have watched a movie with him on his couch and pretended like none of this was happening.

I didn't have all night.

I kissed him one more time before forcing myself to walk away and was able to get out the front door before I stopped to look at him through the window.