Some stories, he reflected,have better endings than anyone has a right to expect.
Still, something didn’t sit right.
CHAPTER 27
THE TRUCK RUMBLED THROUGHSunburst territory, the familiar landmarks blurring past as they made their way back to the packhouse.Nadine sat beside Conall, exhaustion radiating from her, while Quinton dozed fitfully in the back seat.
Gregory was dead, the Prometheus Group dismantled, Chimera finished.By every measure, they’d won.
So why did Conall feel like they were missing something?
The phone call from Anders played on repeat in his head.Una figuring out Robert Mitchell was the leak during routine security checks.It all made sense on the surface.
I’ll be right back,Conall told Nadine as they pulled into the packhouse lot.
She looked up at him with those dark eyes that had been haunting his dreams since he’d met her.Where are you going?
Just need to check something.Won’t take long.
Her expression shifted to the same analytical look she got when puzzle pieces weren’t fitting together properly.Conall—
Trust me.The words came out more plea than command.I’ll explain later.
He left her standing by the truck, Quinton stretching the kinks out of his back beside her, and headed for the newly constructed holding cells in the basement of the packhouse.
Robert Mitchell sat on a narrow cot, head in his hands.When Conall entered, he looked up with the hollow eyes of a man who’d lost everything that mattered to him.
Come to gloat?His voice carried the edge of defeat.
Come to listen.Conall pulled up the single chair in the cell area.Tell me you weren’t the leak.
Robert’s laugh held no humor.I wasn’t the leak.
The conviction in his voice made Conall’s inner wolf pace restlessly.Either Mitchell was a phenomenal liar, or they’d arrested the wrong man.
Then explain the evidence.The financial records, the communication logs—
I don’t know.Robert leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly together.Conall, you’ve known me since we were cubs.Have I ever lied to this pack?Have I ever done anything that wasn’t in Sunburst’s best interests?
No.The honest answer sat like a stone in Conall’s chest.Robert had always been solid, reliable.The kind of pack member who did his job without complaint and never sought glory for himself.
The payments—
I never received any payments.I haven’t seen a single dollar from anyone outside this pack.His voice cracked.Conall, I swear on my parents’ graves, I never betrayed this pack.I don’t know how that evidence got there, but it wasn’t me.
The mate bond whispered warnings through Conall’s consciousness—Nadine’s analytical instincts, her ability to see patterns others missed.She’d been suspicious from the beginning, convinced someone was playing a longer game.
What if she’d been right all along?
Conall left Robert with more questions than answers and headed straight for Anders’s office.The lead guardian was hunched over his desk, sorting through reports with the methodical precision that made him invaluable.
Anders.
He glanced up as Conall entered, noting something in his expression that made him straighten.
Problem?
Maybe.Conall closed the door behind him, his instincts screaming that they were being watched.I just talked to Robert.He swears he’s not the leak.
