Page 56 of Conall


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Or the world’s most sophisticated manipulation.

Thank you,he said quietly once they were alone.For giving me a chance to prove my innocence.

I’m not giving you anything except honest investigation,she replied, standing to pack away the evidence.If you’re innocent, the truth will clear you.If you’re guilty…

She didn’t finish the sentence.Couldn’t voice the possibility that she might be falling for her father’s killer, that every protective instinct their growing mate bond triggered might be directed toward someone who deserved her hatred instead of her love.

I know,Conall said, understanding the unspoken threat.And I know this is hard for you.Investigating someone you’re beginning to care about.

I don’t care about you,she said automatically.

Don’t you?His smile was sad, gentle.Because the mate bond works both ways.I can feel your conflict, your fear that you’re being manipulated by biology into protecting someone who might be your enemy.

That’s exactly why this investigation is necessary,she said, forcing steel into her voice.To determine whether what’s developing between us is genuine or just elaborate manipulation.

And if it’s genuine?If the evidence points to someone else?

Hope colored his question, carried through their bond with an intensity that made her chest tight.

Then we’ll deal with that when it happens.But don’t expect me to ignore evidence just because it’s inconvenient for…She waved her hand between them.For whateverthisis.

I wouldn’t want you to.Conall stepped closer, and her wolf shivered at his proximity as his voice dropped to a whisper.I want you to trust the truth, whatever that truth might be.

Then he stepped away, leaving her inner wolf feeling oddly bereft.

As he left her alone with the evidence that might destroy him, Nadine found herself hoping desperately that the truth would set them both free rather than tear them apart.

But in her experience, the truth was rarely that kind.

CHAPTER 13

THE NEXT MORNING, THEformer newspaper office still smelled like old ink and fresh suspicion.

Nadine stood in the doorway leading into the basement, her fingers gripping the frame hard enough to leave marks in the wood.

The entire room had been turned into some kind of high-tech surveillance hub.Everything about this felt wrong—especially the way Conall moved through the space like he belonged here, the mate bond between them like an electric current she couldn’t cut.

Well?Underneath Conall’s voice lurked something Nadine couldn’t quite identify.Exhaustion, maybe.Or the same bone-deep weariness that had been eating at her for weeks.

Nadine stepped inside, letting the reinforced door swing shut behind her with a metallic thunk.The sound reminded her of prison doors, of places designed to keep secrets locked away from the world.

Remember,she said,this alliance doesn’t make us friends.

Wasn’t expecting it to.

She watched him move to one of the workstations and pulled up a chair, his broad shoulders tense beneath his shirt.

The display wall showed a complex web of connections—names, dates, locations, all linked by red lines that formed a pattern she was only beginning to understand.

Have a seat.Conall gestured at the other chairs.So what do you know about the other packs being targeted?

Nadine remained standing, arms crossed.More than you do, apparently.

His jaw tightened.This isn’t a pissing contest, Nadine.People could be dying.

The use of her name sent an unwelcome shiver through her.Coming from his lips, it sounded different.

She forced herself to focus on the wall display.The Blue Stone Pack in Colorado.Completely wiped out three weeks ago.Official report says rogue shifters, but the attack patterns were too coordinated.Too precise.